languages

About a month ago, Google announced some things it was doing that would improve the way sites rank across different language versions of its search engine, in an effort that would clearly make Google more useful on a global scale. In what seems to be a continuation of this tradition, Google has announced a couple more language-based improvements to its products.

There are all sorts of stories about friendships that were formed despite language barriers, and let's not forget that many people have learned how to speak English even if it's not their native tongue.  But FriendFeed has taken a step towards accommodating current members and recruiting new ones by launching six new language interfaces today.

There's nothing like a global recession to expand one's perspectives, and now more than ever, connection-seekers can be counted on to appreciate potential contacts whether they speak Albanian, Vietnamese, or anything in between.  So LinkedIn has created a new profile option that capitalizes on this fact.

There's something seemingly futile about discussing language options; after all, anyone who's reading this article already understands English.  Still, we're somewhat excited to report that Google is releasing a new version of Gmail in 37 languages.

Some announcements are surprising, while others are expected.  This is neither; although we didn’t know it was going to happen, it’s actually quite logical that the Google Talk Gadget would gain support for 19 more languages.

Pictures tend to transcend language barriers, and now Flickr is trying to do the same - Yahoo’s photo-sharing site has just added support for seven new languages.

Yet another Google Labs product has made it into the real world; behold Google Notebook in its non-beta glory.  The tool has gained the ability to “speak 17 other languages besides English,” but would-be users shouldn’t expect much in the way of additional improvements.

If you go to InterCall's home page, you will find the word "global" prominently featured. Their tag line in the logo is: "InterCall - Global Conferencing Solutions" and down at the bottom of the page the small type says "InterCall is the leading conference call solution for global business." Not only that, but before you go surfing around their site, you are forced to select your country and language preference from a list of 18 representative flags.