Facebook has just announced the launch of a Spanish version of its site, with German and French translations expected in the very near future. Facebook users were invited to help with the translation effort, and over 1,500 Spanish-speaking network members participated in the translation. Starting on Monday, Feb. 11, Internet users who visit Facebook from a Spanish-speaking country will automatically see the site in Spanish. Other members can change settings if they prefer to use Facebook in a different language. “Over 60 percent of Facebook users are now outside of the U.S., and many live in countries where English is not the primary language,” said Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, in a press release. "Our goal has always been to allow people to use Facebook in their native language so we built an application to enable users to participate in translating the site into their local languages and dialects.” This participative approach to translation represents an innovation; however, this strategy can only work for sites with extremely high member loyalty and participation. For your company’s translation and localization needs, contact a specialized language service agency such as Language Translation Inc. in San Diego. “Let us show you how good translation should be.” Subscribe to Language Lines, our monthly newsletter, for current information about language and technology in the global marketplace. Betty Carlson | 
