2This article introduces translation studies in order to theorize about the ways in which multiple languages in international companies can be combined. Its purpose is to develop different language strategies based on different theoretical perspectives within translation studies. Considering the historical developments in this discipline, we identify three perspectives each with a different conception of translation and language use. These conceptions are the theoretical basis on which we develop three language strategies: a mechanical, cultural and political language strategy. For each strategy, we discuss the selection of language(s), the role of translators and the validation method, and formulate proposition about the types of texts being produced. These propositions indicate that, through their international communication process, international companies become scripted as a particular type of multilingual organization, be it a uniform, a culturally sensitive or a hybrid text. & Johansen, 1994). Second, consumers in countries where the primary language is not English expect information and support in their local languages, as will business partners (Tayeb, 2000). Third, at the societal1eve1, as countries outside the Western sphere continue their economic resurgence, other major languages will be studied in school. People from different cultures will use these languages with each other and English speakers will find more resistance to the expectation that they use English with them, as well (Huntington, 3 1996).These trends all indicate that international companies are multilingual organizations in which multiple languages not only coexist side by side but also are in combination with each other.The purpose of this article is to increase our understandings of the ways in which multiple languages can be combined. Specifically, we address the question which language strategies can be chosen by international companies to organize their international communication process. A language strategy refers to several components: the decision which language(s) can be spoken, the role of translators in creating multilingual texts, the method used to validate the translation process and, consequently, the types of texts that are expected to be produced. To develop different types of language strategies, we rely on insights from translation studies. We have turned to this discipline for three reasons. First, the focus of this discipline is to theorize on the use of multiple languages. This discipline represents a whole tradition of thinking, reflected in different conceptions of translations which draw on particular assumptions on language and culture (Venuti, 2000). We rely on these theoretical conceptions and assumptions to develop different types of language strategies.