Consider translations
Follow any policies from your organisation on when you need to provide a translation. For example, you may have a Welsh language scheme.
If it’s not covered in a policy, it’s up to you to decide whether you need a translation. Look for evidence of a user need, such as:
- search terms in other languages – find out how to use analytics to see what users are searching for
- existing government services in other languages
- calls to contact centres in other languages
- requests for translations
Do not add translated text on the same page as the English version, as it creates problems for users with assistive technology like screen readers.
Instead, find out how to add translations to the content type you’re using in the guidance on publishing content.
You cannot add a translation to fatality notices or statistical data sets.
Languages you can use
These are the currently available languages for translations:
- Arabic
- Armenian
- Azeri
- Bangla
- Belarusian
- Bulgarian
- Chinese (Simplified)
- Chinese (Traditional – Hong Kong)
- Chinese (Traditional – Taiwan)
- Croatian
- Czech
- Danish
- Dari
- Dutch
- Estonian
- Finnish
- French
- German
- Georgian
- Gujarati
- Greek
- Hebrew
- Hindi
- Hungarian
- Indonesian
- Irish
- Italian
- Japanese
- Kazakh
- Korean
- Kurdish Sorani
- Kyrgyz
- Latvian
- Lithuanian
- Malay
- Nepali
- Norwegian
- Pashto
- Persian
- Polish
- Portuguese
- Punjabi Gurmukhi
- Punjabi Shahmukhi
- Romanian
- Russian
- Serbian
- Sinhala
- Slovak
- Slovene
- Somali
- Spanish
- Spanish (Latin American)
- Swahili
- Swedish
- Tamil
- Thai
- Tigrinya
- Turkmen
- Turkish
- Ukranian
- Urdu
- Uzbek
- Vietnamese
- Welsh
- Yiddish
Responsibilities around Welsh language on GOV.UK
The Government Digital Service (GDS) is responsible for:
- managing GOV.UK so organisations can publish Welsh versions of any official publication and comply with their Welsh language schemes
- understanding the government’s statutory obligation to support the Welsh language, by working with the Wales Office, Cabinet Office and Welsh-language specialists in departments and agencies
- understanding users’ need for Welsh-language content and ensuring that GOV.UK responds to that need
- developing and maintaining a consistent approach to translating Welsh-language content on GOV.UK
Government organisations are responsible for:
- deciding which content on GOV.UK needs translating
- arranging high-quality translations
- keeping Welsh content accurate and up to date
Many government organisations have a Welsh language scheme explaining their approach to publishing content in Welsh.