BilinguaVMulti-Lingual Business Software: the Spreadsheet zyx Robert H Barbour Centre for Science, Mathematics and Technology Education Research University of Waikato, Hamilton New Zealand Email: r.barbour@waikato.ac.nz Alvin Ye0 Department of Computer Science, University of Waikato, Hamilton New Zealand Email: awy@waikato.ac.nz Abstract zyxwvuts The problem zyxwvutsrqp of providing software across national and cultural boundaries is considered. Intemationalisation (i18n), localisation zyxwvut (I1 On) and globalisation ( g l l n ) are three descriptors for recent Information Technology developments in this field. Current practice and advice for successfully providing software in places other than countries and cultures of origin is reported. An example spreadsheet with an English and Maori intelface is demonstrated. Suggestions are made f o r further work in developing multi-lingual sofnyare. 1. Introduction Information Technology (IT) is being adopted by users all over the world. Software users are not limited to the English speaking West but include people from all language groups and cultures. Kay zyxwvuts I161 reports “international sales make up more that half of the revenues for the top 100 software companies”. Reduced demand in Western nations has provoked software developers to widen markets and amortise development costs by attempting to meet the needs of all users from diverse cultures at the scale of major language groups. Software developers have also attempted to customise their products to meet the needs of specific communities and cultures. In this paper we describe the current strategies and approaches used in the design of software intended for use in global markets. Reference to check-lists for cultural attributes that need to be addressed during the software development process are provided. Possible future approaches to the globalisation of software are also discussed. An example of the development of a bi-lingual spreadsheet is provided as a basis for discussion. 2. Key concepts and Definitions Internationalisation (il8n) is the process of making application software independent of, or transparent to, natural language. If software can support any language, then it is fully internationalised: if it supports only a limited subset languages, then it is partially internationalised [23]. Preparing software in this way is usually carried out in the country of origin [19]. The modifications require removing or replacing culturally specific features in the original software [19]. Globalisation involves a global corporation seeking to force suitably standardised products and practises on the entire globe [191. Since this paper is focused on ways of providing software choice for many cultures on a voluntary basis, globalisation is zy 63 0-8186-7710-1/96 $05.00 zyxwvutsrqp 0 1996 IEEE