Adding Friulian as a Language Setting on Facebook

Today, we’re making Friulian, the minority language spoken in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy, available as a language setting on Facebook. The initiative is a result of our collaboration with the Regione Autonoma Friuli Venezia Giulia, ARLeF (Regional Agency for the Friulian Language) and Insiel, the in-house ICT company of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, to promote everyday use of the local language spoken in Friuli.

The translated interface is now available not only to the Friulian population, but to everyone on Facebook globally. The project is part of the General Language Policy Plan for the Friulian Language 2021-2025, which supports the dissemination of Friulian on all major tech platforms.

In addition to Friulian, we offer several local Italian languages on Facebook. Sardinian, the language spoken in the Italian region of Sardinia, had already been introduced, and abroad, indigenous languages available include Aymara (in Bolivia), Inupiaq (in the U.S.) and Inuktitut (in Canada).

“Language is an integral part of each person’s identity and the area or region of the world to which they belong. It helps each of us communicate more personally and effectively, including through social platforms. Our hope is that the addition of Friulian to the languages on our platform can offer people in Friuli, especially younger people, a way to feel more involved and represented in their online community, and can help preserve and enhance our country’s cultural heritage.”

– Rosa Cialini, Government & Social Impact Director of Meta in Southern Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Translating Facebook into Friulian

The translation of Facebook was conducted by ARLeF with the support of Insiel to ensure that people had the best experience on the app, ARLeF ensured that the translation was high quality and consistent with existing terminology.

“Today we are making available to everyone an additional tool with which we intend to encourage the use of the Friulian language in everyday life. The possibility of using the Facebook interface in Friulian will also allow us to strengthen the social community, which we have been working on for some time now, and, not least, it will help consolidate the sense of identity and community of Friulians in the territory and around the world.”

– Eros Cisilino, President of ARLeF.

“I am happy to see this important project realized today, in which our company participated in its prototype phase. Today, Insiel is working on the Italian-Friuli online translator, which involves the collaboration and use of technology from a major international company.”

– Diego Antonini, President of Insiel.

For information on how to manage Facebook’s language settings, visit the Facebook Help Center.

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