> I have grept my logs for the past half year, and find that although
>the number of visitors from Japan is Very Very low, there is some traffic
>from Japan.
> However, most Japanese do use a different writing
>system, let alone a different language, and this might dissuade the common
>Japanese web surfer from visiting some of our American web sites.
I believe that the long term trend is that the _deveoped_ world is moving
inexorably toward using English as a common mode of communication. I do not
say this out of any feeling that English is in any way "better" than any
other language. While it has a tremendous vocabulary and offers some
advantages, in many ways it is a frustrating language to learn because of
it has taken in words from so many other different languages.
But as the world shrinks due to advancing communication technology and more
and more people from different countries start to interact on a regular
basis, English will prevail as the "common" language.
However, what will be the state of affairs 200 years from now I have no
earthly clue :>) But for the remainder of my lifetime, I'll bet anyone
that English usage continues to grow.
The wild card is whether or not computer-based translation systems become
usable in 10 years or 100 years. It's a very tough problem, and there is a
ways to go before really useful systems are available on a widespread
basis. If they do become the reality, than one of the driving forces behind
a worldwide common language is lessened. But by then the trend may be
irreversible.
And to get back to javilk's point, while of course the Japanese use an
entirely different writing system from the West, the fact is that many
educated Japanese can read English and speak it to a certain extent. In
Japan you see a surprising number of advertisements that contain English
words in Western characters.
Barry <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Web Design & Development - Online Marketing <http://www.ToTheWeb.com>
In a world without walls or fences, what use do we have for windows or gates?
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