Have you been dying to use LingQ for a language we don’t offer? We are often asked when we are going to add new languages. One of the holdups has always been the need to provide a library of content for each new language. This meant we could only add languages we thought had the potential to generate enough learners to justify the effort. That’s where Beta Languages come in!
What are beta languages?
Beta languages are languages that are available but not fully supported. Users can import content and use LingQ’s functionality, including dictionaries, flashcards and cloze tests. Users can also create and share lessons in the Library and offer tutoring (writing correction and conversation), earning points by doing so just like for supported languages. The only difference is that the libraries for Beta languages will be non-existent or limited at the beginning. However, with the dedicated efforts of a few members that can change in a hurry.
This will allow us to add many more languages at LingQ. From now on, new languages will be added more quickly. Today we are launching Dutch, Arabic, Czech and Polish! Whenever a Beta language is launched, it will have no lessons, no user hints and no tutors. It will be up to you, the LingQ Community, to make the new language come to life. Once a language becomes popular enough, we will add it to our list of official languages and add full support for it (including language-specific bug fixes, a unique color scheme, a cultural outfit for the Avatar and more).
When will new beta languages be added?
Starting in August, a new Beta language will be added each time it reaches 1000 votes. You will decide which language is next. Vote for your desired language on our Facebook poll (Redirecting...).
Be sure to get your friends to vote for the language you would next like to see on LingQ!
When can I start?
You can start on Dutch, Arabic, Czech or Polish right now!
Be sure to regularly check the “New Lessons” tab in the Library to see if there is any new content!
The fine print
Along with the introduction of beta languages, we are making a couple of changes:
The Import Bookmarklet will now be available to ALL members, and is no longer reserved for paying members.
All Free members will now be limited to 5 all-time imported private lessons. You will still be able to add lessons to be shared, but to import more private lessons you will need to upgrade your account.
I have a problem, I wanted to add some my Polish resources, as public lessons, to the Polish beta library, but I’m not a premium member now and I have already tones of private lessons imported when I was Premium :), and because of that my Import feature is blocked. Is there any possibility to walk around this obstacle? I don’t have a plan, in the near future, to upgrade my account. I’ve only wanted to share some content for learners of Polish ( for example my Polish translation of the Steve’s book ‘The Linguist’). Any ideas?
For example, could you delete all my private imported lessons? I don’t have now enough free time to delete them one by one from my active lessons, and because of that I can’t remove them from my Importet asstes.
This appears to be a bug. I’ve now added it to our list of things to do. Just give us a few days and we should have it all sorted out, then you will be able to add shared lessons
Dziekuje! Dekuji! It’s great that among the four new beta languages there are two beautiful Slavic languages one of which I’m trying to improve now (Polish), with Czech waiting patiently. I will also learn Dutch some day!
And, while I’m not interested in Arabic, it’s good to have it on LingQ.
I hope that, within 2-3 years you will have added all the missing European languages!
I am unable to change the language. The new dropdown closes immediately before I am able to choose another langauge. I have to change the URL to switch languages…
I use Google Chrome.
Addition: Tried it on Firefox. The same. in 95% of all cases the dropdown vanishes before I am able to click on a language.
Addition: The option “Open language & task popups with click” was checked. If I uncheck, it works.
Maybe it should also work, if this option is checked…
@alex - I would be very happy if they all became available as beta languages, not necessarily official ones.
By the way, I was scrolling the list of languages in the Friends page (where you can sort members by native language) and I noticed that Maltese is missing! :-o
@osaieh + hape - We will continue to take a look at this. I can’t reproduce it on my machine, so I’m just wondering what exactly is happening. Are you able to take a screencast so I can further understand why it might be disappearing and what we can do to fix it?
On a related note, someone made a Polish version of Who Is She on Youtube. I don’t know if person who made it is part of LingQ or not, but that should get added to the library somehow! Here is the link:
How can I create lessons to be shared in Arabic (not imported pre-made ones)? How can I add a video to a lesson?
I, also, wish to have the full transcript of who is she so it can be translated and reproduced in Arabic. Thanks
@hape - It appears this issue is related to clicking on the triangle rather than clicking on the other portion of the dropdown. In the meantime, simply click where the language is displayed rather than on the triangle. We will attend to this issue shortly.
@Muhannad - Thank you for your offer! I will email you the transcript for Who is She. To add lessons, simply visit the Help section here: Import Help
To add a video to a lesson, you must first have the video on YouTube. Once it is available on YouTube, copy the video URL and follow the instructions here: http://bit.ly/pFu2vn
Any ideas?
