--- Forwarded Message from [log in to unmask] ---

>From: [log in to unmask]
>Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 18:29:52 EST
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Multilingual Website: a possibility?

Dear list members:

I am responsible for web development at Central Piedmont Community =
College, and I need your help to solve an issue.

It is one of my primary goals to make our school's web site multilingual, =
in order to closely mirror the multi-cultural mix of our customer base. =
Currently, a third of our student population lists English as a second =
language. In order to accomplish this, I am looking for a real-time =
language translation system; one in which student could simply select a =
language of their choice, click a button, and have a web page translated =
instantly. This system would make it possible to maintain a single web =
site in a language of our choice, and then have the site's content =
translated on-demand into other languages as needed by customers.

I have made calls to Systransoft, creators of the Babelfish real-time =
translation site (http://babelfish.altavista.digital.com). Of the language =
systems I have found, Systransoft's was the only one that offered a =
real-time translation server. It was my intent to purchase a system like =
Babelfish for installation on our school's computer network. But in =
talking with Systransoft, it became clear that the company would only sell =
its software according to the number of client users. Clearly, to install =
Systransoft as a feature on our web site would entail thousands of "client =
users."=20

So I am in a quandary. How have each of you solved the challenge of making =
web content available to customers in their native languages? How do you =
maintain the content on your systems? Any advice and suggestions would be =
appreciated.

Thank you,

-Mark Little
Director of Online Services
Central Piedmont Community College
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704/330-6089