The Construction of the Multilingual Internet: Unicode, Hebrew, and Globalization. Issue 3 (26th March 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: John, Nicholas A.
• Is Part Of: Journal of computer-mediated communication. Volume 18:Issue 3(2013:Apr.)
• Page Start: 321
• Page End: 338
• Publication Date: 2013-03-26
• Subjects: Telematics -- Periodicals; Computer networks -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Communication -- Periodicals; 302.20285
• DOI: 10.1111/jcc4.12015
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1083-6101

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main"> <title>Abstract</title> <p> <italic>This paper examines the technologies that enable the representation of Hebrew on websites. Hebrew is written from right to left and in non‐Latin characters, issues shared by a number of languages which seem to be converging on a shared solution—Unicode. Regarding the case of Hebrew, I show how competing solutions have given way to one dominant technology. I link processes in the Israeli context with broader questions about the 'multilingual Internet, ' asking whether the commonly accepted solution for representing non‐Latin texts on computer screens is an instance of cultural imperialism and convergence around a western artifact. It is argued that while minority languages are given an online voice by Unicode, the context is still one of western power</italic>.</p> </abstract>