Linguistic and political barriers in the international transfer of information in science and technology

The development of data transmission networks has promo ted the free flow of information between countries, allowing the diffusion of science and technology. Linguistic and political barriers still remain. The paper analyses the growth of the publication in English of scientific and technical matenal over the past ten years and examines some of the proposed solutions to translation. The political conflicts of national information policies together with the need for International co-operation are reviewed, concluding with a case study on the advantages and limitations of Euronet.