Multilingualism as an economic activity of the XXI

st
century.
Instruments of multilingual documentation.
Contents:
1. Definitions of bilingualism and multilingualism pag.1
2. Defining multilingualism pag.1
3. Economic development opportunities with multilingualism pag.2
4. English is no longer dominant in world tarde and internet traffic pag.3
5. anguage use in !"Es pag.4
#. $he economic of multilingualism pag.4
%. $he e&port effects in !"Es of multilingual mar'et pag.5
(. anguage use and e&port success among European countries pag.#
). Conclusions pag.)
1*. +ibliograph, pag.1*
-e,.words: bilingualism, multilingualism, market, economy, value, export, import, world trade,
dominant, increase, small enterprise, medium-enterprise.
Definitions of ilingualism and Multilingualism
/hen people hear the term bilingual man, imagine an individual who spea's two languages perfectl,. 0or
them someone who is 1trul,1 bilingual is two native spea'ers in one. $he, imagine that such a person can
spea'2 understand2 read2 and write in two languages at the highest levels. 0or others2 the term bilingual means
something 3uite different. /hen newl, arrived immigrant children entering 4.!. schools2 for e&ample2 are
described as 1bilingual children21 the term is often used as a euphemism for 1poor1 and 1uneducated1. 5n this
case2 newl, arrived immigrant children do not ,et function in two languages. $he, are monolingual spea'ers
of their first language and not bilingual at all. $he term bilingual here is used to conve, a ver, different set of
meanings from what linguists intend.
Defining Multilingualism
$he 3uestion of how to define bilingualism or multilingualism has engaged researchers for a ver, long time.
!ome researchers have favored a narrow definition of bilingualism and argued that onl, those individuals
who are ver, close to two monolinguals in one should be considered bilingual.
"ore recentl,2 however2 researchers who stud, bilingual and multilingual communities around the world
have argued for a broad definition that views bilingualism as a common human condition that ma'es it
possible for an individual to function2 at some level2 in more than one language. $he 'e, to this ver, broad
and inclusive definition of bilingualism is 1more than one1.
0rom the perspective of this framewor'2 a bilingual individual is not necessaril, an ambilingual 6an
individual with native competenc, in two languages7 but a bilingual of a specific t,pe who2 along with other
bilinguals of man, different t,pes2 can be classified along a continuum. !ome bilinguals possess ver, high
levels of proficienc, in both languages in the written and the oral modes. 8thers displa, var,ing proficiencies
in comprehension and9or spea'ing s'ills depending on the immediate area of e&perience in which the, are
called upon to use their two languages.
:ccording to this perspective2 one admits into the compan, of bilinguals individuals who can2 to whatever
degree2 comprehend or produce written or spo'en utterances in more than one language. $hus2 persons able
to read in a second language 6e.g. 0rench7 but unable to function in the spo'en language are considered to be
bilinguals of a certain t,pe and placed at one end of the continuum. !uch persons are said to have receptive
competence in a second language and to be 1more bilingual1 than monolinguals who have neither receptive
nor productive abilities in a language other than their first. $he ;udgment here is comparative: total
monolingualism versus a minor degree of abilit, to comprehend a second language.
!conomic development opportunities with multilingualism
<ames "edia=s trilingual team2 creates and manages free game websites in 0rench and English.
$his :ugust2 !herbroo'e will benefit from a substantial economic impact that will result from the thousands
of athletes and their entourages who will visit for the 2*13 Canada !ummer <ames. /ith potential for over
>13* million of economic activit,2 /illiam ?ogg2 Director of anguage !ervices for the 2*13 Canada
<ames2 suspects that the high rate of bilingualism was a ma;or factor in !herbroo'e being awarded the
games.
$he same might be said for +romont2 host of the upcoming /orld E3uestrian Championships in 2*1(.
:nother largel, English event is the !herbroo'e 5nternational ife !ciences !ummit in !eptember 2*13. 8n
the agenda is an @open discussion between ma;or pla,ers in the pharmaceutical and medical technologies
sectors2 !"Es and researchers from all over the world.A
:t the Canada <ames2 )* per cent of the athletes will be English spea'ers. ?ogg=s ;ob is to ensure that one of
the <ames= founding principles2 bilingualism2 is upheld. $o prepare2 CE8 uc 0ournier has been ta'ing
private English lessons for two ,ears and his staff receive two sessions of language training per wee' to
improve their s'ills. :nd ever, /ednesda,2 all da,2 the entire office spea's onl, English. :s for the
volunteers2 ?ogg sa,s that %* per cent are functionall, bilingual. $he <ames are not the onl, reason locals
are improving their language s'ills. :ccording to <ordon ?arling of !herbroo'e 5nnopole2 local companies
realiBe that their customers are worldwide.
0or e&ample2 <ames "edia creates and manages free game websites in 0rench and English2 with revenue
gained from advertising. $he countries who pla, the most2 aside from the 4nited !tates2 are +raBil2 Cussia2
$ur'e, and :rgentina. Dow2 owner Eean.0rancois Ferron sa,s the, are planning to launch their site in 3*
different languages including ?indi2 :rabic2 Gietnamese2 5talian2 and -orean. $he compan, is wor'ing with
advertising agencies in all the target countries to sell advertising space and ensure that ads have a local
conte&t.
@/hen traffic is good2 the, come to ,ou2A sa,s Ferron2 commenting on the fact that the compan,=s high
ratings ma'e them desirable to advertisers wishing to reach a large audience. 5n fact2 the games site boasts
one of the top 1** 0aceboo' groups in Canada. $he site2 gamesfree.ca2 gets more than 4.5 million hits per
month and has various portals such as www.gamesgirl.ca. 5n 2*122 the Entertainment !oftware :ssociation
of Canada reported that the >1.% billion Canadian industr, emplo,s 1#2*** people with more than half those
;obs in Huebec.
!herbroo'e.based <ames "edia2 founded in 2**#2 has more than 2* emplo,ees with language s'ills in
0rench 6Huebec and 0rance dialects7 as well as !panish2 and Fortugese. :ll the programming is done in
English. 5f ,our compan, wants to begin e&porting2 <ordon ?arling recommends the Carrefour Huebec
5nternational: www.c3international.org 2 whose mission is to help manufacturers e&pand their international
sales and strategicall, position themselves in foreign mar'ets.
!nglish is no longer dominant in world trade and internet traffic
$he English language1s role as the sole language for 5nternet and world trade has declined and other
languages are being used to an increasing e&tent. $he Chinese language1s importance for trade relations2 for
e&ample2 has grown from 5I in 2*** to 2*I in 2**). "eanwhile2 the English language1s importance has
declined from 51I in 2*** to 2)I in 2**).
:s we can see English is not the onl, language used in international business relations. $his is due to the
tendenc, for companies to tr, to use the local language of the mar'et if possible2 and if not2 then one of the
ma;or European languages2 such as <erman2 !panish or 0rench.
/hen 2*** small and medium.siBed companies in 2) countries were as'ed b, the European Commission2 in
their stud, on effects on the European econom, of shortages of language s'ills in !"Es2 to identif, the
languages the, used in their ma;or e&port mar'ets it was apparent that there is widespread use of intermediar,
languages for third mar'ets. 0or e&ample2 English is used to trade in over 2* different mar'ets2 including the
four :nglophone countries2 4-2 4!:2 Canada and 5reland. <erman is used for e&porting to 15 mar'ets
6including <erman, and :ustria72 Cussian is used to trade in the +altic !tates2 Foland and +ulgaria and
0rench is used in ( mar'ets 6including 0rance2 +elgium and u&embourg7.
$he percentage of separate instances of languages used for specificall, identified e&port mar'ets b,
companies in the sample is :
English 51I
<erman 13I
0rench )I
Cussian (I
!panish 4I
8thers 15I
5t is surprising that English is not more widel, spread. $his is due to the tendenc, for small and medium.
siBed companies to tr, to use the local language of the mar'et if possible2 and if not2 then one of the ma;or
European languages. 5n +elgium2 there are cases of companies using man, languages2 e.g. English2 <erman2
0rench and Dutch2 as a minimum. "uch depends on the multilingual receptivit, of the countr, concerned2 as
well as geographical and cultural pro&imit, : Cussian is used in +ulgaria J !panish is used to e&port to
Fortugal J 0rench is used in !pain and 5tal, 6European Commission2 2**#7.
"anguage use in #M!s
!mall.and medium.siBed enterprises in Europe are using to an ever increasing e&tent the specific language of
the e&port mar'et to establish themselves in new emerging mar'ets. $he languages used in the conte&t of
e&port of !"Es var, from one countr, to another. Data from si& European countries show that companies
using fewer mar'et languages have a higher percentage of missed e&port contracts.
$he table below shows that !wedish !"Es in the stud, sample ma'e use of onl, three mar'et languages :
English2 <erman and 0rench. 5n the other surve,ed countries2 !"Es ma'e use of at least eight mar'et
languages. 5n addition2 the !"Es in the other countries use mar'et languages to a greater e&tent than the
!wedish. 5n Denmar'2 for e&ample2 (1I of !"E companies use <erman and 33I use 0rench. 5n England
45I of !"E firms ma'e use of 0rench and 3%.1I of <erman2 compared with 25I and 14I among !wedish
!"Es.
$he <erman and 0rench languages are thus used b, far fewer !wedish !"Es than in other countries. :n
important observation here is that all European countries in the stud, group use !wedish or !candinavian as a
mar'et language. Farticularl, stri'ing is the fact that !wedish !"Es still use English as their primar,
language despite the fact that !"Es in England2 5reland and !cotland in their business use at least eight
languages2 including !wedish.
/hen we stud, language use among !"E companies in separate countries related to e&port success the
relationship between the two variables becomes even more clear. $he table above shows that in countries
where companies are using man, languages the percentage of firms missing e&port contracts due to language
barriers are lower. $he percentage of !"E companies missing e&port contracts due to language barriers are
2*I in !weden compared with 1I for 5reland2 #I for +ritain2 3I for Fortugal and %I for Foland.
$he economics of multilingualism
$he lin' between language s'ills and e&port success has previousl, been studied at both a macro.economic
and micro.economic level.
$he macro-economic dimension
:n emerging research field called Economics of multilingualism increasingl, emphasiBes the importance of
language and multilingualism in the econom, in general and e&port performance in particular.
"ultilingualism has become more and more important to economic growth. 5n several publications <rin
61))*2 1))#2 2**22 2**#2 2**)7 has provided an overview of the stud, of the economics of language. <rin
62**#2 2**)7 defines the concepts and tools of economics of multilingualism at a macro.economic level.
Economic considerations in multilingualism constitute a relativel, new development. anguage is not often
thought of as a discipline relevant to economics. $he economics of multilingualism points to the main issue :
?ow do language variables affect economic variables K
:ccording to the research group stud,ing economics of multilingualism at the 4niversit, of <eneva the
language diversit, in !witBerland generates )I of <DF .$he researchers began b, stating that !witBerland
has four main languages in decreasing order of number of spea'ers : <erman2 0rench2 5talian and Comansh2
which is spo'en b, *.5I of the !wiss population. English2 which is used more and more in business2 is also
taught earlier and earlier2 especiall, in the <erman.spea'ing part of !witBerland. $he researchers found that
!wiss multilingualism generated 4# billion francs2 which is )I of <DF 6<eneva2 2**)7.
$his is the first time the economic value of a countr,=s language s'ills has been calculated. $hus2 !wiss
multilingualism is a source of wealth and not onl, in terms of culture.
"an, studies measure language barriers as trade tariff e3uivalents. 0ran'el2 61))%7 0ran'el L Cose 62**272
and ?eliwel 61)))7 attempted to measure language differences as trade barriers and have 3uantified the costs
of language barriers as between 15I. 22I in terms of tariff e3uivalents. $he, also estimate that sharing a
common language can reduce language barriers to bilateral trade b, between %5I and 1%*I.Doguer L
!iscart 62**37 argue that language barriers var, across sectors : the tariff e3uivalent of language barriers is
close to Bero the, sa, in sectors such as agriculture2 mining2 petroleum refineries2 iron L steel and food.
?owever2 there are large tariff e3uivalents of language barriers in printing L publishing 61(I7 J clothing
614I7 J professional2 scientific and controlling e3uipment 61*I7. 0. <rin showed that the value of
multilingualism varies though from one sector to another.
$he research report "Les langues trangres dans l'activit professionnelle"64niversit, of <eneva2 2**)7
listed the 'e, figures in the table above showing the effects of multilingualism on different sectors.
"ultilingualism has the greatest impact on 5$ services 622.#%I7. Chemistr,2 transport and mechanical
engineering hold a second position with 1#.2*I2 1#.*3I and 15.31I. "anufacturing and finance occup, a
third place with 12.33I and 11.)2I. 5n public administration and retailing multilingualism is less important
62.(4I and 3.45I7.
$he micro-economic dimension
$he economics of multilingualism has also been defined at a micro.economic level. $he micro.economic
anal,sis model was developed mainl, in connection with the measurement of e&port effects of lac' of
language s'ills in business. 5t is particularl, the +ritish Chambers of Commerce and $he Dational Centre for
anguages that have launched the model.
$he +ritish Chambers of Commerce language surve, 62**47 e&plicitl, loo'ed at the impact of language s'ills
on e&port performance. 5t identified four different profiles of e&port managers based in the 4-2 ta'ing into
account their motivations2 ambitions2 education and individual language competence and classif,ing them
as :opportunist2 developer2 adaptor and enabler. $hese behavioural st,les were then lin'ed with different
t,pes of e&port performance in their companies.
$he surve, found there was a direct correlation between the value an individual e&port manager placed on
language s'ills within their business and annual turnover. 8nl, 33I of 8pportunists2 who valued language
s'ills the least2 had an annual e&port turnover above M%5*2***. $his increased to 54I for Developers2 #%I
for :dapters and %%I for Enablers2 who placed the most value on language s'ills within their business.
"oreover2 e&port sales b, 8pportunists were declining b, an average of M%52*** a ,ear per e&porter2 while
Enablers= e&ports were increasing b, an average of M44*2*** a ,ear per e&porter.
$he European Commission has studied the impact of language s'ills on e&port performance (ELAN : Effects
on the European Economy of Shortages of oreign Language S!ills in Enterprise" European Commission
2**#7. $he surve, of !"Es in 2) countries found that a significant amount of business is being lost as a
result of lac' of language s'ills. :cross the sample of nearl, 2*** businesses2 11I of respondents 61)5
!"Es7 had lost a contract as a result of lac' of language s'ills. "an, were unable or unwilling to indicate the
siBe of the contract lost2 but 3% businesses had lost actual contracts which together were valued at between M
( million and M 13.5 million. : further 54 businesses had lost potential contracts worth in total between M1#.5
million and M25.3 million. :t least 1* businesses had lost contracts worth over M1 million.
$he export effects in #M!s of multilingual market communication
$he importance of multilingualism varies b, sector and industrial structure. $herefore the importance of
language barriers for trade is affected b, a countr,1s industrial structure. !weden2 <erman, and 0rance have a
similar industrial and economic structure and can therefore be compared with regard to the use of e&port
languages among !"Es.
+ased on the language of economic anal,sis 5 have in this stud, conducted a comparative anal,sis of
!wedish2 <erman and 0rench small.and medium.siBed enterprises. $he stud, is based on statistical data from
several national and international sources which will be referred to in each specific table or diagram and list
of references.
"anguage use and export success among #wedish, %erman and &rench #M!s
:mong !wedish !"Es onl, three languages are used : English used b, (#I of companies2 <erman used b,
25I of companies and 0rench used b, 14I of companies. 0rench !"Es ma'e use of at least four languages :
English 645I72 <erman 63*I72 !panish 61*I7 and 5talian 65I7. 8ther languages are used b, 11I of 0rench
!"Es 6including Fortuguese and Eapanese7.
$he <erman !"E companies are the most language.intensive among the comparison countries. <erman
companies1 use of language is divided into fre3uent use2 to some e&tent2 and occasional use. $he fre3uentl,
used languages are English 6(*.#I72 0rench 633.#I72 !panish 613.3I7 and 5talian 6(.3I7. Eight other
languages2 including Eapanese and Chinese are used to some e&tent. $hirteen other languages2 including
$ur'ish2 :rabic2 ?indi.4rdu2 5ndonesian are used sporadicall,.
'igh language skills provide better access to emerging markets
!wedish small.and medium.siBed enterprises use a smaller number of mar'et languages compared with those
in 0rance and <erman,. !wedish !"Es e&port2 primaril, to neighboring mar'ets2 mainl, !candinavia2 which
restricts the e&port and ma'es it vulnerable. !"Es in 0rance and <erman, use up to 12 languages2 giving
them better conditions for mar'et access to emerging mar'ets.
$he difference in the proportion of e&porting !"E companies appears to be correlated to the number of
languages used b, !"Es in each countr,. $he higher the multilingual s'ills among !"E companies2 the
greater the proportion of firms e&porting to emerging mar'ets and the better the e&port geograph,. :mong
<erman !"Es 43I are e&porting to Central :sia2 compared with 1*I of 0rench !"Es2 and (I of !wedish
!"Es. $his seems to be correlated with business language s'ills in Chinese. :mong <erman !"Es 3*I are
e&porting to !outh :merica2 compared with 13I of 0rench and (I of !wedish !"Es. $his seems to be
related to business language s'ills in !panish and Fortuguese. 41I of <erman !"Es e&port to East :sia and
8ceania2 compared with 2(I of 0rench and 14I for !wedish !"Es.
?igh multilingual s'ills also provide a larger number of e&port countries. <reater investment in multilingual
staff brings about 1*.% e&port countries for the <erman !"Es2 and %.( e&port countries for the 0rench !"Es
on average. ower investment in multilingual staff onl, gives the !wedish !"Es 3.) e&port countries on
average.
!pecific language s'ills also seem to be associated with higher e&port performance to separate countries.
/hen we consider the proportion of e&porting firms in relation to separate countries2 we can notice that
!weden has a significantl, lower proportion of !"Es e&porting to China2 $ur'e,2 Cussia and Foland than
0rance and <erman,. :lthough Cussia is closer to !weden2 onl, 12I of !wedish !"Es e&port there2
compared with 2)I of <erman !"Es and 1)I of 0rench !"Es. $here are onl, 1)I of !wedish !"Es
e&porting to Foland2 compared with 42I of <erman !"Es. $his is an interesting contrast2 given that Foland
is a neighbor of both !weden and <erman,. Even 0rance has a higher percentage of e&porting !"E firms to
Foland 623I7.
?igh multilingual s'ills also seem to give a larger mar'et share in the +C5C countries : +raBil2 Cussia2 5ndia
and China. <erman,1s mar'et share is 5.# in China2 5.) in 5ndia2 1*.4 in +raBil and 1#.( in Cussia.
E&port Countries "ar'et !hare in China
"ar'et !hare in
5ndia
"ar'et !hare in +raBil
"ar'et !hare in
Cussia
0rance 221 321 42( 325
<erman, 52# 52) 1*24 1#2(
!weden n.a *2% 122 12(
$he corresponding figures for 0rance are 2.1 for China2 3.1 for 5ndia2 4.( for +raBil and 3.5 for Cussia. $his
compared with !weden1s figures that are at *.% for 5ndia2 1.2 for +raBil and 1.( for Cussia. !weden1s mar'et
share in China has not developed enough so that it can be included in international trade statistics.
Multilingual website provides higher export
/hen !"Es are loo'ing to e&pand their business globall,2 5nternet or more precisel, a multilingual website
can greatl, help them to reach a global audience. +, incorporating multilingual support in their website2
companies are greatl, increasing their chances to capture more business.
$here are no data available for !wedish !"E companies concerning website and multilingualism. +ut when
comparing <erman and 0rench !"Es 5 find a connection between having a multilingual website and e&port
performance.
$he <erman !"E companies present higher web language s'ills than the 0rench firms. 5n <erman, a larger
number of web languages are used b, a greater percentage of !"E companies. :gainst this bac'ground2 it
has been possible to further test the h,pothesis of e&port impact of language s'ills with particular focus on
the <erman and 0rench !"E companies web language s'ills in English2 !panish2 Folish2 Cussian and
Chinese. 5n principle2 a larger number of languages and a higher percentage of companies using these at their
website should ,ield a higher proportion of companies e&porting to the mar'et where the specific language is
spo'en.
$he table above shows clearl, that the <erman !"E companies have a higher percentage of e&porting
companies to all studied countries and e&port mar'ets. $his appears to be related to a larger percentage of
companies presenting web language s'ills in each mar'et language. 5n all cases higher web language s'ills
result in a higher proportion of e&porting firms.
?igher web language s'ills give the <erman !"E firms a real advantage in Central and !outh :merica. 21I
of the <erman !"E companies e&port to this area2 compared with 12I among the 0rench.
0urthermore2 the <erman advantage in Cussia and Foland cannot onl, be e&plained b, <erman,1s
geographical pro&imit, to these countries. Huite 3)I of the <erman !"E companies e&port to Cussia
compared with onl, 15I of the 0rench. anguage s'ills appear to have a bearing on this. :mong the 0rench
!"E companies2 onl, 1I use Cussian as a web language2 compared with #I for the <erman ones.
<erman,1s superiorit, in Foland can be partiall, e&plained b, geographical pro&imit,2 but language s'ills
also pla, a role. Huite 42I of <erman companies e&port to Foland2 compared with 23I of the 0rench. 4I
among <erman !"Es use Folish as a web language compared to none for the 0rench. 8verall2 we can notice
that the proportion of !"Es e&porting to a certain countr, or area can be correlated with the percentage of
companies using the language of the e&port mar'et as a web language.
"anguage skills provide a higher number of foreign-billed customers
Data from firms about the results 6sales2 profits7 are limited. $his is often due to the fact that companies want
to protect trade secrets. +ut enough information is available on the 0rench and <erman !"Es foreign.billed
customers. $he number of foreign.billed customers is an indicator that can be used instead of sales to
measure the impact of language s'ills on economic performance of e&ports.
?igher language s'ills among <erman !"Es appear to have direct effects on the number of foreign.billed
customers. :mong <erman !"E companies2 which have higher language s'ills than 0rench !"Es2 the
percentage of companies billing more than 5* customers abroad are at #3I. $he corresponding figure for
0rance is 15I. 0urthermore2 44I of 0rench !"Es invoice between 1* and 4) customers abroad. $his is the
largest categor,. Entire 1%I have less than five customers abroad.
$he corresponding figure for the <erman !"Es is onl, 1I. ?ere we can again observe differences in e&port
performances that seem to correlate with the companies1 linguistic s'ills in the specific language of the e&port
mar'et.
$he (hinese language is becoming increasingly important for foreign trade
$he importance of language s'ills for e&ports will become more and more important as four out of five start.
ups toda, are service companies. $his is particularl, true for the world1s largest economic growth mar'et
China. 5n 2**(2 the value of !weden1s e&ports of services to China amounted to %.3 billion !wedish crowns.
5n the same ,ear2 Denmar' e&ported to a value of 14.5 billion Danish crowns. $he fact that Denmar'1s e&port
of services is twice as high as the !wedish can also probabl, be e&plained b, the fact that 1*I of Danish
companies use Chinese as a mar'et language. $here are no corresponding statistical data for !wedish
companies2 but most reports show that Chinese constitutes a substantial trade barrier for !wedish e&ports to
China.
$he English language is no longer dominant in world trade and internet traffic. $he English language1s role as
the sole language for international business relations has declined and more and more companies use other
languages2 particularl, the specific language of the e&port mar'et. $he importance of the Chinese language
for trade relations has grown in less than ten ,ears from 5I in 2*** to 2*I in 2**). "eanwhile2 the English
language1s importance has declined from 51I in 2*** to 2)I in 2**). :gainst this bac'ground2 Chinese has
to be regarded as a new modern language2 on a par with <erman2 0rench and !panish. Chinese should
therefore in the future be a selectable option among other contemporar, languages in high school and at the
universit,.
)olicy (onclusions * what needs to be done in the short and longer term +
$he effects of multilingualism on e&ports involve a number of polic, conclusions when it comes to
promoting e&ports.
,t the national level
5n order to reduce dependence on neighboring mar'ets measures to promote multilingualism need to be ta'en
at the national level. 5n the short term2 efforts need to be made reducing language barriers to mar'et entr, and
facilitating the small.and medium.siBed companies access to new emerging mar'ets through supporting and
financing professional development programs and language training.
onger.term measures concern in particular the adaptation of education to the needs of emplo,ers through
education to a greater number of languages2 particularl, at secondar, and universit, levels. $he languages of
the migrant emplo,ees also provide a shortcut to multilingualism in order to increase small.and medium.
siBed companies1 e&ports to new emerging mar'ets.
,t the corporate level
Companies need to improve their multilingual e&port strategies2 business communication and recruitment
strategies :
%.2.1 !"Es need to 'eep a record of staff language s'ills and e&ploit and develop the linguistic s'ills
available within their compan,.
%.2 2 Cecruitment of new staff should consider language s'ills. 5n order to deal with customers abroad !"Es
need to ac3uire staff with specific language s'ills in an early stage when the, plan to begin trading in new
foreign countries.
%.2.3 !"Es need to adapt their website for foreign mar'ets. "a'ing sure their website is multilingual when
choosing to trade internationall, give a better access to customers abroad.
%.2.4 5n order to avoid missing e&port contracts due to ;udicial miss interpretation and language miss
understanding !"Es need to emplo, e&ternal translators9interpreters for foreign trade.
%eneral policy considerations
!mall.and medium.siBed enterprises1 importance for foreign trade grows. $here is also a clear lin' between
e&port 9 import and emplo,ment rate. !ince small.and medium.siBed enterprises represent nearl, ))I of the
total number of companies in Europe2 one could imagine that if more small companies became successful
e&port companies and those which are alread, e&porting got even better2 this could have a significantl, affect
on emplo,ment. !mall . and medium.siBed enterprises1 e&port performance is of strategic importance in order
to reduce vulnerabilit, within the field of e&ports and emplo,ment.
5n this stud, 5 have shown that there is a lin' between multilingualism and e&port success of !"Es. $his
leads to a number of polic, conclusions with regard to promoting e&ports and reducing dependence on
neighboring mar'ets.
Enhanced polic, development re3uires a picture of !"E companies needs of mar'et languages at the national
level. $his concerns especiall, the need for multilingual mar'et communication and recruitment strategies2
language training and professional development programs2 and /eb communications in enterprise.
0rance and <erman, are important competitor countries to learn from in terms of !"E enterprises1
multilingual e&port strategies. :nother source of inspiration when it comes to multilingualism and e&ports is
Denmar'. +oth !wedish and Danish are small languages. $his means that these countries are comparable in
terms of language barriers to mar'et entr,2 despite differences in industrial structure.
/hile the !wedish !"E compan, ma'es use of three languages2 the number of languages used among
Danish companies amount to 12. $he percentage of companies presenting a multilingual e&port strateg, is
#(I in Denmar' and 2%I in !weden. 5n Denmar'2 )5I of companies use English in their business relations
compared to (#I in !weden. <erman is used b, (*I of companies compared to 25I in !weden. 0rench is
used b, 32I of Danish companies compared to 14I in !weden.
$he percentage of the remaining mar'et languages used b, Danish !"E1s are : !candinavian languages 51I2
!panish 1)I2 Cussian 1*I2 Chinese 1*I2 :rabic 4I2 Folish 4I2 Fortuguese 3I and 5talian 2I.
"ore than half of the Danish companies have in recruiting personnel with language s'ills hired people who
spea' the mar'et language as a mother tongue or who have lived in an, of the companies1 e&port countries.
$here is a clear preponderance of staff with the corresponding !wedish Fh D in language. 8nl, a fifth of
companies recruit staff with a +.:. degree in language from +usiness schools. 8nl, a tenth recruit staff with
a +.:. degree in language from the universities. :mong the criteria for recruitment is that language s'ills
being formal or not have to be combined with other education such as sales2 mar'eting and communications.

+ibliograph,:
http:99en.wi'ipedia.org9wi'i9"ultilingualism
http:99www.linguisticsociet,.org9resource9multilingualism
http:99europa.eu9languages9
http:99conferencemultilingualism.stendenmeetingu.com9
http:99www.cal.org9resources9digest9digestglobal.html