Does the Internet really connect everyone?

<i>At SIL we’re working toward a world where people can use their first language for the parts of life that matter most to them.</i><p><p>—Steve Moitozo, Chief Innovation Development Officer for SIL International

(July 2015) In the early days of networked computers, digital communication was the domain of a small number of technical professionals. Since that time, the Internet has grown from a novelty to a necessity for much of the world’s population. The Internet has become the primary means by which many of us work, study and socialize. However, recent studies have shown that about 60% of the world’s population remains offline.

In one sense, there are few borders or boundaries in the online world—no passport is needed to take a virtual tour of any corner of the globe. However, some intangible barriers prevent many people from taking advantage of the resources and opportunities of the Internet.

The possibility of using a given language online and with digital technology may play a role in whether a community continues to use their language. SIL’s Steve Moitozo comments, “At SIL we’re working toward a world where people can use their first language for the parts of life that matter most to them.”

Moitozo, Chief Innovation Development Officer for SIL International, presented on this topic at the 2015 Expert Meeting on Multilingualism in Cyberspace, hosted 4-9 July in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russian Federation by UNESCO’s Information for All Programme (IFAP). Since 2003 SIL has been part of collaborations with UNESCO and other organizations to promote multilingualism in the online world.

Moitozo identifies language as a key factor in providing more equitable access to the information and interactive capacities of the Internet. “When we look at the digital divide through the lens of multilingualism, we see the impact of language...Language is the foundation for relevance,” he contends. Acknowledging the importance of language is the first step, but the issues involved are complex.

Factors that prevent more than half of the world’s population from making use of the Internet include:

  • Content is only available in a limited number of the world’s 7,102 languages. Only 176 minority languages are currently being used on Twitter, for example.
  • Many of the world’s languages still lack a writing system. While others have established writing systems, there are no fonts or keyboards available for using the language in digital platforms. (Complex scripts require special engineering.)
  • Using the Internet requires reading skill and much of the world’s population remains non-literate in the mother tongue, their regional language of wider communication or both.
  • Using the Internet requires basic proficiency with computers or other digital devices. Many people don’t have the resources to gain these skills, though simple feature phones are bridging this gap in many parts of the world.
  • In some areas of the world, the infrastructure for connectivity is limited or too expensive for the average person.


SIL is making contributions to meeting these challenges through its work in mother-tongue literacy, multilingual education and the development of fonts and software. By adhering to the Unicode standard, SIL’s font developers are creating fonts for non-Roman scripts that can be used across a variety of platforms. Webonary and ScriptSource are two online resources that provide tools for language communities and language development specialists.

Mark Karan, SIL’s International Sociolinguistics Coordinator, also spoke at the conference. His presentation was titled “Detrimental aspects of prescriptivism.”

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