Multilingual Book Production

Book excerpt: The universal process of globalisation brings the peoples, cultures and languages of the world closer together. But this process does not have to make them more the same. The emerging technological tools of digital text creation and manufacture make possible quite the opposite - the revival of small cultures and languages. This books sets out to argue two things. Firstly, that the technological, commercial and cultural forces of globalisation are moving into a very complex phase in which the effects on the Australian publishing industry may not be what we expect. They need not fortify and extend the technological, commercial and cultural domination of the multinational corporations and the English language, but could become agents which foster increasing cultural diversity, greater local commercial autonomy, and the revival of local and ancestral languages and culture. The second aim of this book is to discuss the technological, human skills and enterprise possibilities for Australia, a small, multicultural country in an economic region where the English language is becoming less important.