Options for supporting people who are more familiar with reading a language other than English
Form Logic & Language Options
If your organization has different language versions of the same form, you can use form logic rules to make a shared form where the participant chooses their language, and the form changes to show that language.
1. Create the form with a field in the first section for choosing the preferred language.
2. Add a section for each language
a. Include all of the instructions/description fields in that language in that section.
b. Set the section to be hidden. This is so you can show it as needed.
3. Label any shared/common fields in all of the languages the form supports and any field options should include be in those languages.
a. Having shared data entry fields will simplify reporting.
b. If the shared fields are too wordy for ease of use, you can make separate fields. If possible, those fields should have numeric as well as text options so you can easily combine results from the individual language fields.
4. Create a form logic rule for each language that the form includes.
a. The IF trigger field will be the field where users select their language.
b. Then THEN actions will include showing the section for the selected language and any language specific fields in other sections.
5. Test the results to make sure the language selection changes the form in the desired ways.
6. If you will need paper copies of the multilingual form, you can use the Rule list .... menu's print option to get a blank version of the form with the selected rule applied. You will want to make different printouts for each language that you included in the form.
Google Chrome Browser - Google Translate
Compyle forms are fully compatible with the Google translate built into Chrome. If the people taking a survey are using Chrome and have a different primary language set, Google Translate will automatically translate all of the field labels, field options, and system buttons into that language. For users working on their own personal devices, their language may already be set to their primary language.
If you plan to provide devices for participants to use on site, you may want to set Chrome's default language to that of your target population on at least one of those devices and label it in that language. See below for guidance from Google Chrome's help documentation.
Also, keep in mind that the survey reminder email is dependent on the recipient's email program. It may be best to send the email reminders and other communications in the main languages of your participants.
The following text is from the Google Chrome Help Center's translation support page.
Change Chrome languages & translate webpages
You can change your preferred language in Chrome. Chrome can also translate pages for you.
Translate webpages in Chrome
When you come across a page written in a language you don't understand, you can use Chrome to translate the page.
- On your computer, open Chrome.
- Go to a webpage written in another language.
- On the right of the address bar, click Translate .
- Click on your preferred language.
- Chrome will translate your current webpage.
Not working? Try refreshing the webpage. If it’s still not working, right-click anywhere on the page. Then, click Translate to [Language].
Change your default language
You can select the language Chrome translates the page into.
- On your computer, open Chrome.
- At the top right, click More Settings.
- On the left, click Languages.
- Under “Google Translate,” click Translate into this language.
- Select the language that you want from the language list.
Change the language of your Chrome browser
On Windows, you can set Chrome to show all settings and menus in the language you want. This option is only available on Windows computers. On Mac or Linux? Chrome will automatically display in the default system language for your computer.
- On your Windows computer, open Chrome.
- At the top right, click More Settings.
- On the left, click Languages.
- Under "Preferred languages," next to the language you'd like to use, click More .
- If the language isn't listed, add it by clicking Add languages.
- Click Display Google Chrome in this language.
- This option is only available on Windows computers.
- Restart Chrome to apply the changes.