> FWIW, a lot of people in Europe and Japan know some English. I would
> say most people under 35 or so probably do. I have lots of live DJ
> sets recorded from radio stations all over Europe, and most use a
> mixture of English and their native language in their station ids and
> such. I also buy a fair amount of cds imported from Europe (mostly
> the Netherlands and Germany), and the text in them is generally in
> English, or a mixture of English and the native language.
>
> So, I don't think it would be much of a problem in practice. Except
> maybe in those countries that are strongly anti-English (which is
> pretty much just part of Canada and France).
People in Europe and Japan have some knowledge of English, but it can be
very shallow. If the English isnt obtrusive or dominating the product, then
it isnt going to be an issue. For example, I sell English clip art products
into Japan. Not much concern about language in clip art -- the license
agreement is, of course, English only. But, I also sell 3D animation
software as well in Japan. That must be localized in order for it to succeed
as a product. A license agreement in English or a small label isnt going to
do any damage. Requiring the product itself to be in English makes it not
very marketable.
--Lynn
