1 Introduction

Driven by the concept of "the the Belt and Road" and "a community with a shared future for mankind", Chinese enterprises actively expand international cooperation and strengthen information transmission through the Internet platform. The construction of multilingual websites has become an important way for enterprises to internationalize, but there is currently a lack of systematic research. This article aims to reveal the rules and influencing factors of language selection on Chinese corporate websites by analyzing the language data of the official websites of Fortune 500 Chinese companies in 2021, providing reference for multilingual website construction and corporate internationalization.

2. Enterprise language management and website language selection

Enterprise language management has been valued since the 1990s and matured in the early 21st century, mainly focusing on language policies of multinational corporations. Language has instrumental, cultural, and administrative characteristics in multinational corporations, and language policy is the rule and system that guides the use of working language, playing a crucial role in controlling language related issues in enterprises. There are language barriers within the enterprise and between the headquarters and subsidiaries of multinational corporations, and failed language policies can lead to poor communication effectiveness, increased employee uncertainty and anxiety. There are two types of language management strategies for multinational corporations: single language policies improve communication efficiency, while diverse language policies balance international communication and localization considerations. Researchers propose a language management analysis framework and language audit evaluation method to improve corporate language policies. Current research mainly focuses on language barriers and policies within enterprises, with insufficient attention paid to online media language management and language selection for external communication channels. The Internet plays an important role in the international development of enterprises, and online language policy has become an important part of enterprise language management. A small amount of research has explored language management at the online level and found that English dominates in brands, but minority languages are gradually challenging English's position. The construction of multilingual websites includes the process of internationalization and localization. Global enterprises influence the diversity of Internet languages through different language practices. The choice and application of language affect social attitudes, and the rules and internal mechanisms of language selection on corporate official websites are of great significance. Existing research has provided some understanding of corporate internet language selection, but exploration of language management in Chinese enterprises is limited. Under the background of Chinese enterprises' "going global", the rules and driving factors of language selection on official websites need to be further explored.

Multi language website construction and language selection for 3 Fortune 500 Chinese companies

This chapter studies the multilingual website construction and language selection mechanism of 143 Chinese companies in the 2021 Fortune Global 500 through qualitative and quantitative methods. Research has found that there are relatively few language types on Chinese corporate websites, mainly concentrated in Chinese and English, with English websites having a higher level of completeness. There are differences in language choices among different types of enterprises, with private enterprises placing greater emphasis on language diversity, while state-owned enterprises place more emphasis on the practical value of language. The degree of internationalization, market distribution, and localization of a company are key factors that affect the choice of language on its official website. For example, companies with a high degree of internationalization are more inclined to build multilingual websites, while companies with a high proportion of local employees pay more attention to the construction of local language websites. Although many companies have attempted to promote internationalization through multilingual website construction, there is still room for improvement to achieve linguistic and cultural diversity and drive their international development.

4 Discussion and Reflection

Research has shown that there is an imbalance in the construction of multilingual websites among Fortune 500 Chinese companies, with some websites still being monolingual and mainly using Chinese, which limits their international development. The maintenance of multilingual websites is insufficient, and the quality of information updates and translations needs to be improved. In terms of language selection, companies tend to use both Chinese and English, with a weak awareness of language diversity. Although some companies consider the symbolic value of language, most companies focus more on the practical value of language, such as the high usage rate of English. Factors such as corporate equity attributes, industry, year of establishment, and international market collectively affect language choice. There are differences in language choices between state-owned enterprises and private enterprises, and language choices in computer and Internet industries are more diversified. The increase in internationalization of enterprises has also promoted the construction of multilingual websites. External factors such as national policies and the "the Belt and Road" initiative have a significant impact on the language policies of Chinese enterprises, prompting enterprises to improve their awareness of language diversity.

5 Conclusion

This study reveals the current situation and problems of 143 Fortune 500 Chinese companies in multilingual website construction and language selection through quantitative and qualitative analysis. Research has found that the language choices for corporate official websites are mainly concentrated in Chinese and English, and the quality of multilingual website construction varies. The language choice of enterprises is influenced by internal factors such as equity attributes, industry, year of establishment, international market, as well as external factors such as socio-economic environment. Among them, the degree and distribution of market internationalization are key factors affecting the construction of multilingual websites for enterprises. Research suggests that companies increase their awareness of language diversity, draw on excellent cases, improve website architecture and language diversity, strengthen internal language service capabilities, and promote internationalization. At the same time, the government should mobilize resources to support enterprises in solving language problems, enhancing their internationalization level and influence.