On a similar theme to the previous blog post on ‘International Mother Language Day’, there are many reasons to have faith that the powers that be will do all they can to help protect the cultural and linguistic diversity of the world’s languages.

In Europe alone, there are a number of government-sponsored cultural agencies that subsidise or, in some cases, fully cover the cost of translating literature.

Why? Well, ultimately, such schemes are designed to help promote the cultural and linguistic nuances of the countless European vernaculars. And by providing publishers with the incentive to translate a best-seller from, say, Norwegian into English, then this will ultimately create a buzz and help Norway’s top writers gain greater exposure on the world stage.

But despite the best efforts of the various cultural bodies, it is proving difficult to stem the flow of English-text that seems to be permeating throughout Europe and the world in general. And the simple fact is, English has become the default language of international business, science, technology and, perhaps most importantly, the internet.

There has been a surge in high-profile European publications launching English-language versions of their websites. And given the popularity of the World Wide Web among the younger generations, English is often used as the common ‘middle-ground’ tongue.

According to some surveys, 15-24 years olds are five times more likely to speak English as a foreign language than French or German. And in conjunction with native speakers, around sixty percent of young Europeans speak English at least to a conversational standard.

So there seems to be a real conflict here. On the one hand, English has really come to the fore as the default language for everyone in this internet-enabled ‘global village’. But on the other hand, there is a real desire from the many cultural communities of Europe to maintain their individual identities.

And as long as this desire is there, then most languages should be safe. Here at Lingo24, the one thing we have noticed is how much more people are coming to realise the importance of localisation over globalisation, which, incidentally, is a model we have followed since we first started way back in 2001.

Whether it’s from Portuguese to Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish to Latin American Spanish or even UK to US English, using the right language for the intended audience is crucial. And whilst English may be the default language in many circles for now, it is mostly because it is convenient in a world that is becoming increasingly globalised.