{
    "version" : "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1",
    "content" : "news",
    "type" : "single",
    "title" : "Multilingual Digital Content |Digital.gov",
    "description": "Multilingual Digital Content",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/07/01/multilingual-digital-content/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"Multilingual Digital Content","summary" : "Federal agencies are required to provide meaningful access to government information to people with limited English proficiency. This also applies to agency digital content.","date" : "2014-07-01T10:00:13-04:00","date_modified" : "2025-01-27T19:42:55-05:00","authors" : {"lgodfrey" : "Laura Godfrey","lmartinez" : "Leilani Martinez"},"topics" : {
        
            "content-strategy" : "Content strategy",
            "multilingual" : "Multilingual"
            },"branch" : "bc-archive-content-3",
      "filename" :"2014-07-01-multilingual-digital-content.md",
      
      "filepath" :"news/2014/07/2014-07-01-multilingual-digital-content.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2014/07/2014-07-01-multilingual-digital-content.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2014/07/2014-07-01-multilingual-digital-content.md","slug" : "multilingual-digital-content","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/07/01/multilingual-digital-content/","content" :"\u003cp\u003eFederal agencies are required to provide meaningful access to government information to people with limited English proficiency. This applies to your agency’s digital content too. You need to determine how much information you need to provide in other languages, based on an assessment of your audience.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2016/02/600-x-400-Global-internet-communication-online-messaging-and-translation-concept-cybrain-iStock-Thinkstock-501821118.jpg\"\n    alt=\"Global internet communication, online messaging and translation concept.\"/\u003e\u003cp\u003ecybrain/iStock/Thinkstock\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003ch2 id=\"the-need-is-increasing\"\u003eThe need is increasing\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe number of people who are not proficient in English is growing dramatically every year. According to the \u003ca href=\"http://www.census.gov/2010census/\"\u003e2010 Census\u003c/a\u003e, there are approximately 25 million who speak a foreign language at home and whose English-speaking ability is at the level “less than very well.” Among Hispanics, 16.5 million speak English “less than very well.”\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Census Bureau report “\u003ca href=\"http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/american_community_survey_acs/cb10-cn58.html\"\u003eLanguage Use in the United States\u003c/a\u003e” (April 2010) identifies the top six non-English languages in the United States as: Spanish, Chinese, French/Creole, Vietnamese, Korean and Russian.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMany people who are eligible for federal services can’t effectively use those services because they aren’t yet proficient in English.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProviding individuals who aren’t yet proficient in English with easy-to-find government information online encourages their participation in and inclusion into American society.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIf part of your agency’s mission is also to provide information to people in other countries, you may need to provide information in other languages specific to that audience.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"our-mandate\"\u003eOur Mandate\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOMB Policies for Federal Public Websites states that “your agency is already required to provide appropriate access for people with limited English proficiency by implementing Department of Justice guidance for \u003ca href=\"http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/Pubs/eolep.pdf\"\u003eExecutive Order 13166, “Improving Access to Services for People with Limited English Proficiency\u003c/a\u003e” (PDF, 255 KB, 6 pages, August 2000). Agencies must determine whether any individual document on their federal agency public website(s) requires translation.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn February 2011, the Department of Justice issued a \u003ca href=\"http://www.justice.gov/crt/lep/13166/AG_021711_EO_13166_Memo_to_Agencies_with_Supplement.pdf\"\u003ememo to federal agencies reaffirming the mandates of Executive Order 13166\u003c/a\u003e. The memo includes specific steps to help agencies comply with their responsibilities in this area.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"tools-to-make-it-happen\"\u003eTools to Make it Happen\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"image image-right image-right-legacy\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2012/10/250-x-248-Translating-Concept-Sticker-on-Message-Board-Tashatuvango-iStock-Thinkstock-484520783.jpg\"\n    alt=\"A translate icon is on a note, pinned to a corkboard.\"/\u003e\u003cp\u003eTashatuvango/iStock/Thinkstock\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/resources/top-10-best-practices-for-multilingual-websites/\" title=\"Top 10 Best Practices for Multilingual Websites\"\u003eTop 10 Best Practices for Multilingual Websites\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"http://www.usa.gov/gobiernousa/directorios/federal/index.shtml\"\u003eOfficial Directory of Federal Agency Names in Spanish\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/resources/bilingual-glossaries-dictionaries-style-guides/\" title=\"Spanish Language Style Guide and Glossaries\"\u003eBilingual Glossaries, Dictionaries, and Style Guides\u003c/a\u003e—Browse the Guide and learn about Spanish language use of capitalization, abbreviations, punctuation, diacritics and much more. Consult glossaries on health, technology, government terminology and more!\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://digital.gov/resources/introduction-to-translation-technology/\"\u003eLost in Translation\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"resources\"\u003eResources\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/07/Accessibility-Editorial-Guidelines-for-YouTube.doc\"\u003eSample Video Editorial and Accessible Guidelines\u003c/a\u003e (Word document, 56 kb, 2 pages, August 2012)—\u003ca href=\"https://www.usa.gov/espanol/\"\u003eUSAGov en Español\u003c/a\u003e (\u003cem\u003eformerly known as GobiernoUSA.gov\u003c/em\u003e) and \u003ca href=\"https://www.usa.gov/\"\u003eUSA.gov\u003c/a\u003e developed these guidelines as a roadmap for producing and submitting videos. These guidelines agree with the principles and best practices that guide our YouTube channels.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/communities/multilingual/\" title=\"Multilingual Community of Practice\"\u003eMultilingual Community of Practice\u003c/a\u003e—Join this group to share ideas, challenges, and government in Spanish, provides a list of agency names in Spanish and links to each agency’s Spanish Web pages and contact information.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"http://www.lep.gov/\"\u003eLep.gov\u003c/a\u003e—Sponsored by the Federal Interagency Working Group on Limited English Proficiency, this website helps agencies meet requirements of Executive Order 13166 regarding language access.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://lang-map.mla.org/\"\u003eLanguage Data by Region\u003c/a\u003e—The Modern Language Association has created a language map that shows where speakers of 33 languages live in the United States.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"http://www.pewhispanic.org/\"\u003ePew Hispanic Center\u003c/a\u003e—Nonpartisan research organization that conducts research about the Latino population in the U.S. and its growing impact in society.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"examples\"\u003eExamples\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.usa.gov/espanol/\"\u003eUSAGov en Español\u003c/a\u003e—U.S. government’s official Web portal to all online information and services in Spanish.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"http://www.cdc.gov/spanish/\"\u003eCDC en español\u003c/a\u003e—The official Web portal in Spanish for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"http://www.ssa.gov/multilanguage\"\u003eSocial Security Multilingual Gateway\u003c/a\u003e—The Social Security Administration provides information in 15 different languages.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/\"\u003eMedlinePlus in Spanish\u003c/a\u003e—MedlinePlus, from the National Library of Medicine, provides comprehensive health information in Spanish.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003ca href=\"http://www.irs.gov/\"\u003eIRS Multilingual Gateways\u003c/a\u003e—The IRS provides basic federal income tax information in \u003ca href=\"http://www.irs.gov/Chinese\"\u003eChinese\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"http://www.irs.gov/Korean\"\u003eKorean\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"http://www.irs.gov/Russian\"\u003eRussian\u003c/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"http://www.irs.gov/Vietnamese\"\u003eVietnamese\u003c/a\u003e, and \u003ca href=\"http://www.irs.gov/Spanish\"\u003eSpanish\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n"}
  ]
}