The Internet is Multilingual But You Need To Learn Mandarin
Geopolitics and the global adoption of the internet are creating an East vs West language divide.
The internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow. — Bill Gates.
The language of the internet has shifted from predominantly English to multilingual. But the internet seemingly reinforces a few main languages, putting the majority of others at risk of exclusion. Chinese Mandarin is quickly becoming one of the dominant languages of the internet at the expense of others.
If as Bill Gates says, the internet is a town square, then you need to learn Mandarin in order to have a voice in the digital village of the future.
The Internet’s Multilinguism is Contracting
There are 8 billion people, 195 countries, and over 6,500 languages spoken on the planet. Of the 8 billion, nearly half the people on the planet don’t have regular internet access. And a significant portion of these individuals without access reside in the least developed countries.
Given these stats, it’s fascinating to see the distribution of global languages on the internet.
