Evaluating multilingual digital resources: machine translation adoption and user satisfaction across six European countries

Abstract

As the digital space becomes increasingly multilingual, understanding how users interact with language resources and machine translation tools is vital for improving accessibility and usability. Adopting a human-centered approach, this study investigates the interplay between multilingual digital resources and user behavior by analyzing machine translation adoption patterns and satisfaction levels through a survey of 4,217 respondents across six European countries. Key findings reveal a strong preference for web content in local languages, alongside notable demographic and linguistic disparities in satisfaction with translation technologies, explaining persistent gaps in digital accessibility. The paper offers user-driven recommendations to overcome these challenges, arguing for a more inclusive digital space that moves beyond the dominance of English as a lingua franca.