Download - Российский комитет Программы ЮНЕСКО ...

Fig.8 – Language of publication of WIPO patents between 2004 and 2008 12
The outlook is not disastrous, as for a few years now speakers of French,
Italian, Spanish and Portuguese have been working hard in many international
bodies either to give their language specific status or to ensure that it is used
as provided for in the rules and regulations. However all these languages are
in decline in science and higher education, with our own research institutes
preferring to publish their discoveries directly in English without providing a
translation into the national language, and our higher education institutions
proposing more and more courses in English only. The risk of “domain loss”, well
known in Nordic countries, leading to the disappearance of whole segments of
the language and meaning that engineers will no longer be able to talk among
themselves other than in English, is on the way to becoming a reality.
Lack of Indicators
We lack an accurate vision of the situation of languages that could help us
propose actions for a readjustment in favour of linguistic diversity. The statistics
are incomplete, indicators are skewed, studies are biased and above all studies
to measure languages are in their infancy.
12
PCT Annual Review: The international patent system in 2008, WIPO, 2009, p. 20 of French version,
[online]. (page consulted on 12
April 2010).
75