Principle: Understandable

Use familiar languages

Tactics to apply to make your communications understandable

Use familiar languages

To ensure target audiences understand WHO information, advice and guidance, communicators should create messages in multiple languages and provide translation support.

Distribute messages in relevant languages

People are more likely to understand messages presented to them in their local languages.

To increase multilingual messaging, communicators can carry out the following steps.

Publish information in WHO’s six official languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish).
Personalize the message by using the decision-maker’s language.
Use regional and country offices to create and adapt content to meet specific preferences of their communities and partners. For example, WHO worked with the Russian Federation’s Federal Research Institute for Health Care Organization and Informatics to create fact sheets in Russian for hospitals and health care establishments.
Encourage creating original messages in non-English languages rather than translating English messages.

Support translation in emergencies

Distributing information in the most easily understood language is critical, especially in emergency situations.

Communicators can review WHO’s multilingual workflows for corporate, technical and emergency content for more information on translation support. WHO communicators should consider translation services for: