Multi-language capabilities have been extended on the SPOTTERON Citizen Science App Platform. From multiple translations of Project Apps, the platform also supports direct multi-language communication by sending direct messages to all participating citizens. Extended language capabilities have also been integrated in the platform's toolkit for international citizen science projects, which allows researchers and consortiums to access data per country and now communicate with the participants in their native languages through outreach messages and integrated pop-ups. The World Atlas of Languages indicates approximately 7 000 languages used across the world; with 1 412 languages being recognized by national constitutions, laws, and other legal instruments, and with 530 languages being legally recognized in more than one country (UNESCO, 2021). At SPOTTERON we facilitate multiple languages as part of the App toolkit and different language translations are possible on all levels for content, interface, and data submission dialogs.
Citizen science initiatives embedded in local settings need to apply the languages spoken in the region thus limiting language barriers and facilitating more inclusive participation. At SPOTTERON we support the vision that Citizen Science is for everyone and thus local language plays a role. More detailed view on the use of language (including complexity, terminology, tone) available in the Science of Citizen Science Book Chapter: Communication and Dissemination in Citizen Science. We are always happy to extend the availability of numerous languages with Latin, Cyrillic, Greek alphabet and beyond. When the user opens the App the first time it displays a number of visually appealing intro slides which introduce the basic usage of the App. The App including these intro slides are automatically displayed in the language a participant uses on their own device if that language is included as a translation in the App toolkit. For other languages the Apps integrate a fallback system to automatically display an internationally common language like English. This is a crucial component thus new users are welcomed in the App and can immediately start participating!
On the SPOTTERON Citizen Science App Platform, project partners can independently use a wide range of science communication and dissemination features to reach out to all participants with nice-looking messages and popups. In projects with multiple languages, it is possible to create messages and popups for every integrated language in the project's apps. In an easy-to-use interface, the project team can set up the content for a new message or popup alongside a headline, a cover image, or even a video, and furthermore, links back to e.g. the own project's website or a blog. With the multi.-language capabilities of the SPOTTERON Platform, project teams can set up all elements optionally for each language they want to have the message or popup in.
When sending a message or popup in multiple languages, the user automatically sees the content in the language the app is set to, avoiding any barriers or the need to manually switch a new message to the language a user actually understands. When including a link to the project's website or blog for reading more, the link can also be localized for each message/popup translation. The same is true for the media elements; each added optional translation of a new message/popup can have its own localized version of the cover image or included video. Including multi-language capabilities in the integrated outreach tools is an essential feature to be able to reach out to participants in their native language. With the SPOTTERON Project Internationalization Toolkit, it is furthermore possible to provide access to the Administration Interface for partners on a per-country or even regional basis:
The SPOTTERON Project Internationalization Toolkit for multinational or global Citizen Science Apps enables project partners from different countries to work together. Each partner in the international research team can log into the Data Administration Interface, where all user submissions from the Citizen Science App come together. Via the per-country self-maintenance access to data and community contributions, each country can not only work independently, but also communicate without language barriers to their national user group. In the interface's communication section for creating messages ore popups, a partner from one country can independently set up and send messages/popups to their own country's user base. This enables international project teams to have direct native language communication with participants of regions and countries active in the project, which further extends the use case and strengthens impactful outreach activities and making innovative science communication possible in all project's languages.
Two languages are already included in each basic package, and as an extension we can implement an unlimited number of translations in the project's Apps. During the App development process, the project-specific translation files per language are provided to the partner for translating the app's content elements, like headlines, button labels, project description, etc., so we can implement the languages into the public app toolkit for the release. This also includes translated representations of the App on the App Store pages of Apple and for Android. Furthermore, as soon as a participant opens the App for the first time, it automatically displays in the language set in the participant's phone settings and the user is welcomed with already translated intro slides in the right language:
We also enjoy learning new phrases from local languages coming from the Global Citizen science community! More about our recent journey of Indigenous Language Trio available here.
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