Motherboard Tongue

English has long been the language of choice on the Internet. But that’s now changing, as non-English speakers flock to the Net and a growing number of companies abroad use the medium to conduct business.

To accommodate this, companies such as LanguageForce Inc. of Orange are beginning to specialize in translation software.

LanguageForce’s Universal Chat, a recently released product, lets people chat online in several languages. The software automatically translates the conversation from English into French, Spanish or German.

Dozens of other companies vie for the language market, experts say, and each has its own solution to the tongue-twisting problem. Zi Corp. in Calgary has developed e-mail software that lets users choose from three Chinese character sets. Transparent Language in Hollis, N.H., has a product that translates both Web sites and e-mail. Even the bigger players in the software world--think Netscape and Microsoft--have long offered programs in dozens of languages.

But most of these products have their limitations, especially in distinguishing Asian characters. And accuracy remains a problem that plagues everyone in the translation industry.

“This is still an emerging technology,” admits Ian Simpson, president of LanguageForce. “But the technology is getting better every day.”

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P.J. Huffstutter covers high technology for The Times. She can be reached at (714) 966-7830 and at p.j.huffstutter@latimes.com