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The Washington Post (WaPo) is testing a new tool to let users read articles in several different languages, Nieman Lab reports.
The company is in the midst of testing translations with specific articles deemed to be of relevance to foreign audiences, such as explainers about the American election and political system, and coverage on Brazil surrounding the Olympics, the Zika Virus, and the ongoing Presidential impeachment trials.
Aside from English, the languages currently available through this tool are Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Italian. The company plans to release a Mandarin Chinese-functionality, and also intends to add Arabic, Tagalog, and Russian to the mix.
Allowing readers to convert articles into different languages will help WaPo attract wider audiences to its platform. It could prove especially useful to foreign readers who seek an "American" perspective on current affairs, without requiring them to step outside their native tongue.
It would also help WaPo capture segments of the US immigrant population who might not speak English as a first language. For example, one-third of Hispanics in the US aged 5 and older – an estimated 15.7 million people – are not proficient in English, according to the Pew Research Center.
Many US news publications have put international expansion at the center of their strategies to grow readership. The New York Times has launched dedicated Chinese- and Spanish-language digital editions, and recently announced that it would invest $50 million into a global digital expansion. Meanwhile, Bloomberg revealed plans to launch a Middle East edition, building upon the sites that it launched in Europe and Asia in the past year.
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