Mirela
We know how migration patterns reshape cities, economies, and cultures around the world, but it’s not just that. There’s also the impact of migration on local language. In many countries, the “local language” is no longer a singular one. Naturally, if you’re a company seeking to reach new markets, you might be thinking: “How can I communicate with all of their audiences?”.
From a localization standpoint, the question is no longer just which national or regional language to support, but whether businesses should also be localizing for the languages of migrants. Let’s dive into the subject.
Migration, rewriting the language map
Migration increases the number of languages spoken in a given place and also transforms how language functions within a society. We can see the impact of migration on local language in cities like London, Berlin, Toronto, or Dubai, which host communities that speak dozens of different languages.
This is a market reality. These communities bring with them specific language needs, needs that are not always met by the dominant language of the host country. Despite the demographic evidence, many companies still localize only for the majority of the language speakers.
For companies, this effect of migration isn’t just cultural, because it also has direct implications for how people expect to interact with brands and services. We need to be aware of the fact that migrants may not always speak the official language fluently, and even when they do, they often prefer to engage with information in their native language.
Why you might want to consider migrant languages in localization
There’s more than one reason why companies should consider localizing for migrant languages. Access is probably the most important. For many migrants, especially if we’re talking about recent arrivals or older generations, language barriers are one of the main obstacles to engaging with different services (banking, healthcare, education, customer support, and more).
Secondly, migrant communities are often loyal and value-driven consumers. If you take the time to speak their language, you can build long-term relationships in markets where others haven’t made the effort. And speaking of this, another reason would be the competitive angle. In many markets, few companies take the initiative to localize for migrant populations, and this creates an opportunity for other businesses.
In short, you could localize for migrant languages because:
- You can expand your market reach.
- Offering multilingual content can be a key differentiator.
- You can take advantage of the influence of migrant communities on local language use.
- Offering products, services, and support in one’s preferred language increases satisfaction and builds inclusivity.
- In some countries, there might be mandates to provide services in multiple languages.
Choose your “battles”
Of course, you can’t do full-scale localization into every spoken language in a given region. It all depends the size of the migrant population (this is very important), their level of fluency in the dominant language, their digital behavior, the nature of the product or service, and any other reason that might be of interest.
For smaller companies with limited budget or early-stage products, it’s not viable to target every migrant language. In these cases, you could take an incremental approach: start with the most widely spoken or underserved languages, localize high-impact touchpoints (like onboarding, help content, legal disclaimers), and expand from there based on engagement data.
Wrapping up
Localization today reflects the diversity within communities rather than relying solely on national or official languages. In societies shaped by migration, the concept of “local” is inherently multilingual. In this context, the impact of migration on local language becomes a consideration for any brand operating in a global or urban marketplace.
Are you going to ignore these cultural shifts? Instead, maybe first analyze these markets and see if you can meet the needs of different segments of the population, segments that are often overlooked by competitors.