Spanish and Other Language Websites

NEW: Spanish Language Style Guide and Glossaries for Federal Government Web Sites. 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!

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), 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." Agencies must determine whether any individual document on their Federal agency public website(s) requires translation."

How to Implement

Department of Justice guidance for implementing the Executive Order - Sections 9 and 10 provide specific guidelines related to federal agency websites.

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.
Plain Language Guide - The Mexican Government provides a website called Lenguaje Ciudadano where you can find the plain language guide to writing in Spanish.
(PDF, 1.32 MB, 2006, requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
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
Position Description for Bilingual Content Manager

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.
SBA in Spanish - The Small Business Administration has a prominent link to its Spanish language website and provides extensive business information in Spanish.
HUD in Spanish - HUD has translated its entire website into Spanish.

Page Updated or Reviewed: May 21, 2007