Native Language as an Information Flow Barrier in the Internet Marketplace

Abstract

With the advancement of communications and information technology, competition in the global market place has been significantly changed. The traditional concept of trading barriers, such as physical distance or time, are getting obsolete, and the (relatively) free flow of tangible and intangible assets make most traditional barrier meaningless. Contrary to this general belief, information flow on the Internet cannot be impeccable without a proper attention on different native languages. I argue that native language would affect as a significant barrier in seamless flow of information. Based on this proposition, this research suggests a possible empirical research setting, using a natural experiment, whether English would be a dominant communication tools in the Internet. The results would have significant implications for language policies, software development and e-commerce strategy.