Perspective 2. Most spoken languages on the Internet
According to the US market analysis agency “Stasista,” the most commonly used language on the Internet is “English,” which accounts for about 25% of the market share. However, the share of languages in the online world has been changing along with changes in the composition of Internet users around the world.
Most common languages used on the internet as of January 2020* Data: https://www.statista.com/statistics/262946/share-of-the-most-common-languages-on-the-internet/#statisticContainer
As you can see in the graph above, you can see that in addition to English, languages in the online world have also diversified quite a bit recently, such as Chinese, Spanish, and Arabic. Considering that most online content has been in “English” for quite some time since the advent of the Internet, you can see that quite a few changes have taken place over time.
Also, no matter how common it is in the global age, English education has become commonplace, but most people still tend to much prefer websites that provide services in their native language. Furthermore, if the purpose is to buy products through online shopping, using a website in an unfamiliar language is likely to make you more uncomfortable or hesitant.
From that point of view, hoping that customers will buy their own products without service in the customer's language can be seen as a business-centered laid-back approach that prioritizes only efficiency too much. This is because companies or brands that don't support website localization (regardless of whether customers in the region understand English or not) can result in losing valuable opportunities to communicate more closely with customers.
English has already become the official language of global business, and there's no denying that millions of people around the world are learning or using English. However, in view of the changes we have seen so far, it is expected that website localization through high-quality translation will become even more important in order for web content created by companies and brands to be competitive in overseas markets in the future. Also, along with this trend, I think the status and influence of English and other languages in the online world will naturally continue to change.
Perspective 3. A language with high scalability potential in the future
In the US, there is no official language designated by the country, but of course “English” is the most used language. However, as the United States is a country of immigrants from all over the world, many different languages are used together in addition to English.
Languages of the United States* Data: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_the_United_States
As can be seen in the graph below, the number of “Spanish” users definitely accounts for a large share, with the exception of English. Of the US population of about 320 million people, it is said that the majority of people who mainly speak languages other than English at home speak Spanish (about 40 million people or more).
Top 10 most spoken languages in US other than English* Total number of people (in millions) who speak languages at home
* Data: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-45902204
Furthermore, by 2050, the number of Hispanics who make up Spanish speakers is expected to reach about 30% of the total US population. And in the future, this trend is bound to eventually lead to an expansion of the economic and political influence of Hispanics in the US.
Additionally, the Hispanic community in the United States forms a monocultural community in Spain and Latin America. Therefore, even at present, it has an influence that cannot be ignored as a monocultural community commonly referred to as “Latin” in various aspects such as access to the labor market, income level, average age, and education level.
Distribution of US population by race/ethnicity, 2010 & 2050* Data: https://www.kff.org/disparities-policy/slide/distribution-of-u-s-population-by-raceethnicity-2010-and-2050/
And it is “Spanish” that acts as a common link connecting these Hispanic communities. The majority of Hispanics currently living in the US speak Spanish, and it is clear that Spanish will be a very important medium of communication for future Hispanic generations. In other words, the Hispanic community in the Americas has tremendous potential influence both now and in the future.
Therefore, in order to succeed in the US business and culture industry in the future, producing high-quality Spanish content will become very important. Apparently, companies and brands that present well-localized websites and advertisements in Spanish are bound to be more likely to secure the interest and loyalty of Hispanic customers.
While finishing
On a global level, information in a specific language is “translated” into multiple other languages, and a “global language network” is naturally built. For example, if a K-POP fan from Korea posted a comment on Twitter in multiple languages such as French and Spanish along with Korean to interact with fans from overseas, it can be assumed that those languages have become “connected” to each other. Also, I think this is true not only on social media, but also in the case of published books, which are traditional media, even if you change the situation. In other words, “how many languages does translation increase connectivity or scalability” can be cited as a powerful factor in determining the influence of a specific language.
From that point of view, it seems difficult to deny that “English” is still an influential language that connects users of various languages around the world with each other according to current standards. However, as we've seen so far, depending on what perspective or point of time to judge, “What is the most influential language in the world?” It seems that the correct answer to the Iranian question is bound to change.
Finally, I would like to conclude this post by thanking professional translation companies and translators who are responsible for the important mission of creating a global language network through high-quality translation and localization work. Thanks to your unseen devotion, the influence of our “Korean language” has been able to grow even more than in the past, and I hope that our future prospects will continue to be brighter.
This post continues from last week's “The World's Most Influential Language (1).”
*This content has been transferred from Gicon Studio to Letterworks.
