Multilingual Websites

What It Is

Providing appropriate access to people with limited English proficiency is one of the requirements for managing your agency's website. You need to determine how much information you need to provide in other languages, based on an assessment of your website visitors.

Why It’s Important

• The number of people who are not proficient in English is growing dramatically every year. According to a 2000 Census Report (PDF, 481 KB, 11 pages, September 2003), there are over 20 million people in the U.S. who speak English less than "very well." This includes over 7 million people who classify themselves as speaking English "not well" and 3 million who don't speak English at all.
• Many people who are eligible for federal services can't effectively use those services because they aren't yet proficient in English.
• Providing individuals who aren't yet proficient in English with easy-to-find government information online encourages their participation in and inclusion into American society.
• If 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.

Specific Requirements

OMB 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 Executive Order 13166, "Improving Access to Services for People with Limited English Proficiency" (PDF, 255 KB, 6 pages, August 2000). Agencies must determine whether any individual document on their Federal agency public website(s) requires translation."

In February 2011, the Department of Justice issued a memo to Federal Agencies Reaffirming the Mandates of Executive Order 13166. The memo includes specific steps to help agencies comply with their responsibilities in this area.

How to Implement

• Top 10 Best Practices for Multilingual Websites
• Federal Agency LEP Guidance - The Department of Justice website lists guidance by agency.
• Automated Translations—Good Solution or Not?

Resources

• Federal Multilingual Websites Committee - Join this committee to share ideas, challenges, and solutions for managing federal foreign language websites.
• Lep.gov - Sponsored by the Federal Interagency Working Group on Limited English Proficiency, this website helps agencies meet requirements of Executive Order 13166 regarding language access.
• Language Data by Region - Using data from the 2000 Census, the Modern Language Association has created a language map that shows where speakers of 33 languages live in the U.S.
• Agencies with Spanish Language Websites - GobiernoUSA.gov provides a list of agency names in Spanish and links to each agency's Spanish webpages and contact information.
• Pew Hispanic Center - Nonpartisan research organization that conducts research about the Latino population in the U.S. and its growing impact in society.
• Spanish Language Style Guide and Glossaries for U.S. Government Websites. 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!
• Position Description for Bilingual Content Manager (PDF, 37 KB, 5 pages, May 2007)

Examples

• GobiernoUSA.gov - U.S. government's official web portal to all online information and services in Spanish.
• U.S. Government's Multilingual Gateway - See which agencies have developed content in other languages, from Arabic to Vietnamese.
• CDC en español - The official web portal in Spanish for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Social Security Multilingual Gateway - The Social Security Administration provides information in 15 different languages.
• MedlinePlus in Spanish - MedlinePlus, from the National Library of Medicine, provides comprehensive health information in Spanish.
• HUD in Spanish - HUD has translated its entire website into Spanish.

Content Lead: Leilani Martínez and Laura Godfrey
Page Reviewed/Updated: December 27, 2011