Controlled Language 4-99 (December 1999) by Jeff Allen

Here is a summary of a survey that I conducted in April 1999. These results reflect replies received as of 10 June 1999.

 

The Original Questionnaire

Subject: Percentages - Controlled Language Documents/Presentations

I would like to know in which languages different articles, papers, theses, dissertations, have been written/presented on the subject of Controlled Languages/Sublanguages.

The recipients of the questionnaire have been requested to provide the following general information in replies:

1. language name(s) in which the information on Controlled Languages/- Sublanguages has been conveyed;
2. the approximate percentage of documents/presentations on Controlled Languages/Sublanguages that you have read/heard in this/(each of these) language(s);
3. please differentiate between documents/presentations that are publicly accessible (published, available on the Internet) and those that are not (e.g. internal company documents, company meetings). No details are necessary, just approximate percentages.

If they wish to indicate the approximate number of reports/papers/presentations per public and non-public categories, it would be greatly appreciated but is not necessary.

 

Summary of the Results

The survey was posted to 9 discussion lists and 3 internal institute lists on 6 April 1999.

From compiling information on the number of subscribers on each list (I have not included this detailed information in this summary), it is estimated that approximately 20,000 people received the questionnaire. The recipients on the lists were located in countries all over the world. Those recipients who were contacted directly (not via lists) with the questionnaire were located in the following countries: France, Germany, England, Ireland, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland, Holland, Greece, Italy, Belgium, Japan, China, Australia, USA, Canada, etc.

Response rate: 26 replies were received, but 5 of the replies have been categorized as non-usable because the respondents did not have information pertinent to the survey.

Of the remaining 21 useful replies, these include: Europe (12 replies); North America (8 replies); Asia (1 reply).

The breakdown of percentages for the useful 21 replies is given in Table 1. .

In conclusion, this survey indicates that for nearly all respondents, 90% of both internal and publicly accessible documents written on the topic of CLs are in English. To determine how much documentation is available in other languages on this topic, I will continue the survey work with reminder questionnaires sent individually to all known specialists and new researchers and students in the field of CLs. An updated version of this survey is expected to be presented at the Controlled Language Applications Workshop 2000. The compilation of a complete bibliography of CL works is also in progress.

Table 1. Breakdown of Percentages for the Useful 21 Replies

Country	# of replies	% public documents - languages	% internal documents - languages	Remarks
France	4	- English (95...100)	- English (50...100%)
Germany	2	95 % - English (90...100%) - German (...10%)	5 % - English (90...100%) - German (...10%)
Switzerland	2	- English (90...100%) - German (...10%)	- English (90...100%) - German. (...10%)	No difference made between public and internal
Holland	1	None	70% English 10 % Dutch 10% French 10% German (based upon natural language sources in English, French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Greek, Danish)
Belgium	1	85% - English (100%)
Ireland	2	- English 100%		No difference made between public and internal
USA	4	English (90...100%) French (5%) German (2%)	English (100%)
Canada	4	English (90...100%) German (2%)	English (90...100%) French (...10%) (only 1 respondent responded that 100% of internal documents are written in French)
China	1	English (60%) Chinese (30%) Japanese (10%)		No difference made between public and internal

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