Abstract The rapid demand of information access on internet has created the possibility of retrieving documents in multiple languages. This is even possible if majority of the people are not proficient in the internet main language. Multilingual Information Retrieval (MLIR) accepts queries in numerous languages and retrieves the results in the demanded language probe by the users. Pakistan is a country where multiple languages are spoken by the population, and Urdu is the national language used internationally. However, the people of Pakistan do not like to use their national language, or the other languages used by the people in Pakistan in the internet search engine. Based on this situation, this study is conducted to explore the needs of MLIR and the role of Roman Urdu in retrieving information on internet in Pakistan. A questionnaire-based web survey is designed and directed to the internet users through the survey link. The researcher does not specify the number of respondents but distributes the link to the people who use internet through E-mail, WhatsApp groups and Facebook. Descriptive statistics by free Online Survey web and IBM SPS statistics are used to analyze the data. Finally a total of 110 participants responded and the researcher detects majority of them use internet daily. They use the internet for educational purpose and gathering information, as well as to socialize or for entertainment. English language is identified as the popular language used for searching information. They have the ability to understand the English language, but use Roman Urdu for socialization and for retrieving information which include audio, video etc. The conclusion of the study reflects that majority of the internet users are young people who have good command of English and their needs are fulfilled by the current multilingual systems. To them, using Urdu and Urdu keyboard characters on the device are difficult. On the other hand, internet users use Roman Urdu for socialization or searching of information and are satisfied with the search results. Therefore, a new multilingual system for searching information is not crucial to them.

中文翻译：

---

罗马乌尔都语在多语言信息检索中的作用：区域研究

摘要 互联网上信息访问的快速需求创造了检索多种语言文档的可能性。如果大多数人不精通互联网主要语言，这甚至是可能的。多语言信息检索 (MLIR) 接受多种语言的查询，并在用户所需的语言探测中检索结果。巴基斯坦是一个人口使用多种语言的国家，乌尔都语是国际上使用的国家语言。然而，巴基斯坦人民不喜欢在互联网搜索引擎中使用他们的国家语言，或巴基斯坦人民使用的其他语言。基于这种情况，本研究旨在探讨 MLIR 的需求以及 Roman Urdu 在巴基斯坦互联网检索信息中的作用。设计了基于问卷的网络调查，并通过调查链接针对互联网用户。研究人员没有具体说明受访者的数量，而是通过电子邮件、WhatsApp 群组和 Facebook 将链接分发给使用互联网的人。免费在线调查网站的描述性统计数据和 IBM SPS 统计数据用于分析数据。最后共有 110 名参与者做出回应，研究人员发现他们中的大多数人每天都使用互联网。他们将互联网用于教育目的和收集信息，以及社交或娱乐。英语被确定为用于搜索信息的流行语言。他们有能力理解英语，但使用罗马乌尔都语进行社交和检索信息，包括音频、视频等。该研究的结论反映了大多数互联网用户是英语水平良好的年轻人，他们的需求在当前的多语言系统中得到了满足。对他们来说，在设备上使用乌尔都语和乌尔都语键盘字符很困难。另一方面，互联网用户使用罗马乌尔都语进行社交或信息搜索，并对搜索结果感到满意。因此，用于搜索信息的新的多语言系统对他们来说并不重要。互联网用户使用罗马乌尔都语进行社交或搜索信息，并对搜索结果感到满意。因此，用于搜索信息的新的多语言系统对他们来说并不重要。互联网用户使用罗马乌尔都语进行社交或搜索信息，并对搜索结果感到满意。因此，用于搜索信息的新的多语言系统对他们来说并不重要。