The authorities announced its new trilingual space on Friday, launching the majority of its website in English and in German. Vdl.lu provides information concerning events, getting around the capital, administrative procedures for those living and working in Luxembourg City, and much more.
Offering the website in English and German will be an asset to newcomers to the Grand Duchy who may not be well-versed in French. In the announcement, the authorities wrote that "publishing our content in three languages serves a genuine need in terms of information availability. It also represents a major step towards better the integration of all segments of society."
The majority of the content on vdl.lu is now available in English. Throughout the rest of the year, the website will gradually add English and German versions of PDF documents, as well as of content and features from external sources. There will be one exception to the website's large-scale translation - legal documents will only be available in French, as it is the governing language.
Translating all of vdl.lu into English was a large undertaking, notably involving the translation of approximately 4,500 pages, or in other words, over a million words. As VdL wrote, "the City has sought to ensure the content is transparent, relevant and accurate, that the site is easy to navigate and that terminology is consistent across all of its communications through various media."
Finally, VdL will also offer its newsletter in the three languages (French, German, and English) as of Wednesday 12 June. Those interested can already sign up or change their language setting once this feature is introduced.
VdL's move in offering its website in English follows other official websites, such as guichet.lu and gouvernement.lu, which both offer their content in English as well.
