| There are around 6,602 million people on earth | | | | Another reason some languages might prove to |
| today - living, working, and communicating with | | | | present a challenge for translation services is |
| those around us, existing as citizens of the | | | | because they are descended from older ways of |
| modern world. Increasingly, we're also | | | | constructing grammar or vocabulary, which is |
| communicating with those who live far away - via | | | | quickly being replaced in towns and cities by |
| technology available through computers, mobile | | | | modern styles of conversation. The constantly |
| telephones and similar equipment. | | | | changing and dynamic nature of language is one |
| A key aspect of this communication is, of course, | | | | of the most exciting and rewarding, but difficult, |
| the use of language. The world has some 6,809 | | | | aspects of the work carried out by today's |
| known languages, which are spoken in what | | | | translation services professionals. |
| amounts to around 200 countries across the | | | | In fact, as the speed of global communication |
| world. 2,261 have writing systems (while others | | | | increases rapidly to cope with our 24-hour |
| are just verbal). | | | | working culture, the pace of change in language |
| This is not a new phenomenon. Multilingualism in | | | | increases proportionally. For example, only around |
| North America, for example, is usually talked | | | | 300 languages are represented by on-line |
| about in terms of Spanish and English, or the | | | | automatic translation software, and online |
| languages of immigrant populations such as Poles | | | | dictionaries - which seems to suggest that |
| or Chinese. However, we should try and | | | | technology simply can't keep pace with the speed |
| remember that the Americas as a whole was a | | | | at which modern languages are changing, and their |
| region with multiple dialects in full use, well before | | | | inherent complexity. |
| modern Asians or Europeans colonized the area. | | | | In addition, languages are not uniformly distributed |
| Over 300 languages were spoken, for instance, in | | | | across the globe. Out of the 6,809 languages in |
| pre-contact times in North America. Half of these | | | | the world, for instance, only 230 of those are |
| (or thereabouts) have now become extinct. But | | | | spoken in Europe, and yet 2,197 of them are |
| that still leaves about 165 indigenous dialects alive | | | | spoken in Asia. Greater focus is given to the |
| and well in North America, and spoken at least | | | | languages in wealthier regions, with higher |
| occasionally. | | | | numbers of professionals working on translation |
| Multilingualism may not be a new invention, but | | | | services using these languages. For example, |
| certainly one product of modern times is the | | | | considering how widely the Indo-European |
| quantity of pan-global communication now taking | | | | languages are distributed across the earth, and |
| place. We now need more translation services | | | | their influence in international relations, you'd |
| than ever before - to help us reach out and | | | | probably think that a high percentage of the |
| make contact with previously remote corners of | | | | world's languages belong to this family. It's not |
| the earth, and to help us provide business and | | | | true, however - there are only about 200 |
| social opportunities to those in developing nations | | | | Indo-European languages. |
| who previously didn't have the chance to join the | | | | In this time of globalized business, the earth is |
| global community. | | | | once again 'becoming flat'. At no time previously |
| However, not all languages are particularly easy to | | | | have so many of us from distant corners of the |
| translate, and coping with that fact is one of the | | | | earth communicated so frequently and with such |
| most tricky challenges faced by modern | | | | apparent ease - making friends, establishing |
| translation services. A good number of the world's | | | | business relationships, and eventually forming |
| dialects are used in the remoter regions, and the | | | | trade patterns that change everybody's lives. |
| opportunity to learn these ways of | | | | Language is truly the currency of the modern |
| communicating are limited for translation services | | | | world! |
| professionals. | | | | |