Charting the Language Industries

Hot on the heels of last year’s Language Engineering Directory comes the Language Industries Atlas, another substantial reference work produced by Paul Hearn and colleagues at the now defunct INK Luxembourg.
Whereas in the LED, Hearn and company concentrated primarily on compiling listings of linguistic software, both commercial and academic, with the Atlas they have bitten off a much larger chunk of the linguistic world. A lengthy introduction on general language matters clears the way for a dozen or so collections of listings. Included are listings dedicated to language organizations, standards bodies, research institutes, conferences, and publications, among others. Looking for the address of the European Bureau for Lesser,Used Languages? You will find it in the Atlas (it is in Ireland). Useful navigational aids include an index of organizations by translation (in English) name and an index of abbreviations. While the editors strive to cover North America and japan as well as Europe, the coverage of the Atlas is inevitably skewered in favor of the latter. A quick look at the listings by country index reveals that japan and Norway have approximately the same number of entries, while the us has fewer than Holland; hardly likely to be an accurate reflection of reality.
    One of the Atlas’s strengths — not surprising in view of its origins — is its coverage of European governmental efforts in the area of language, most notably those of the Commission. You probably won’t find a more compact overview of LINGUA, MLAP, ERASMUS, and the rest of that alphabet soup. Less understandable in view of these very origins is the lumping together of both projects and program\” under the heading Programmes. LRE is a program; EDR is a project. The two, strictly speaking, are not the same. A quibble perhaps, but we need all the help we can get to navigate through the dense thicket of governmental organizations.

While it is regretable that a publication financed by the Commission has to cost US$80, this is the price one pays for engaging a commercial publisher. But at least now IOS Press can ensure the Atlas finds its way to the public through that publisher’s established distribution channels. Hopefully, however, it will be a two,way channel and the editors of the next edition, whoever they may be, can draw on feedback generated by the first edition. In the Atlas’s current form, it is not entirely obvious who its audience is. With its breadth and slight lack of focus, the Atlas reminds us just how vague the term “language industries” is. After all, is there anyone out there not involved in some way with the language?

Language Industries Atlas, ISBN 90 5199 148 7, P. Hearn and D. Button eds., NLG150/US$80/GBP55/ DEM135

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