Category: Partnerships

Today we’re excited to announce the official launch of the German language interface across all of YouVersion, including the Bible App™! While of course the YouVersion.com website has already offered German since February, what we’re sharing today is much more than that. Thanks to the generosity of our publishing partners, and to the passionate dedication of our YouVersion volunteers, now every interaction you have with YouVersion—whether it’s sharing with your friends or engaging with the Bible—you can do entirely in German! German is our ninth complete language, after English, Norwegian, Spanish, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Russian, Korean, and most recently, Brazilian Portuguese.

Here are just a few examples of the many ways that you can now enjoy God’s Word and His people—completely in German:

• Great German Bibles. Our publishing partners generously provide—for free—high quality, widely read German versions of the Bible for all of us in the YouVersion community. To see a complete list, visit the Versions page and look for “Deutsch.” Or, in the Bible App, select the Bible version you’re using, and you’ll see a long list of other versions, including several excellent ones in German.
• Entire User Interface. Try selecting German at YouVersion.com or in the Bible App on your mobile device—iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Android, or BlackBerry. Now you can display all of your controls, buttons, and menu options in German, all thanks to YouVersion’s worldwide community of amazing volunteers.
• Communication in German. In the upper right corner of the English language version of our blog, you’ll see a place to select other languages—including Deutsch. You can also go directly to the German language version, where you’ll find articles specifically relevant to YouVersion’s German-speaking users, courtesy once again of translation by YouVersion volunteers. And if you send us an email in German, or post a question on Facebook or Twitter in German, German-speaking volunteers will respond to you—in German!
• Support in German. Need help with the Bible App or YouVersion.com? If you submit your question in German, German-speaking volunteers trained in YouVersion support will gladly assist you. Even our all-new Tech Support site now offers a German version.

At YouVersion, one simple vision guides everything we do: To help as many people as possible freely, easily engage with God’s Word, no matter where you live or what language you prefer. And you can help—if you have friends whose heart language is German, please share this great news about YouVersion.com and the Bible App with them. Also, please come connect with us on Facebook and Twitter and share your personal YouVersion story!

Just the beginning… To all of our German speaking friends: We are thrilled and honored to welcome you to the YouVersion family. We’ll continue sharing more details about the German language launch over the next few days, right here on our blog. We hope you’ll be as excited as we are about all that your new community has to offer you!

YouVersion’s vision is simple and straightforward: Helping people freely, easily engage with the Bible and connect with each other. And of course, hearing the Word of God read aloud in your native language can build your faith like nothing else. Generous publishers partner with our community to provide high-quality audio and print Bible translations. And people just like you graciously offer their gifts and abilities to help reach others through interface and website translation and other tasks. We’re blessed to have the unique, world-changing opportunity to serve alongside you.

Bible Publishers

YouVersion is privileged to be able to offer, for the first time, each of these popular “plain language” Português Bibles in audio form. (They’re also available in print):

• Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje (NTLH). The Brazilian Bible Society spent 12 years developing the NTLH, working diligently to keep its meaning as close to the original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek as possible. The NTLH was designed specifically for readability, targeted at people who have not had the opportunity for so-called “classical” training in the Scriptures.
• Tradução Revista e Corrigida de João Ferreira de Almeida (ARC). Also from the Brazilian Bible Society, the ARC was first published in two volumes in 1748 and 1753. A translation of the King James Version of the Bible into Portuguese, the ARC is considered a milestone because it was the first time the entire new New Testament was available in this beautiful language.
• Nova Versão Internacional. The NVI is one of the most recent translations of the Bible into Portuguese. Provided by Biblica, the NVI adheres to more modern sensibilities for Scriptural translation, taking into account not only faithfulness to the original sources, but balancing that with clarity while also maintaining the beauty inherent in the language.

But that’s not all! YouVersion offers additional excellent print translations like the Tradução Brasileira (A Brazilian Translation), 2nd edition (TB) and the Brazilian Portuguese New Testament (WBPT).

Volunteers

Obviously, good Bible translations in a specific language are pivotal for helping YouVersion offer God’s Word to speakers of that language—and audio versions are the icing on the cake. But YouVersion is more than just Bibles. Even the best Bible App is still difficult to use if its audience can’t read its menus and controls. And that’s where YouVersion’s world-changing volunteers come in. People from literally all around the world—people just like you—generously offer their language skills to help others experience the story of God’s love. And the need for Portuguese speakers and translators never ends. YouVersion is constantly updating the Bible App on its many platforms to continue making it easier to use. Our community can use all the help it can get responding to user requests for assistance and technical support, whether that comes through email, Facebook, or Twitter. If you can help, please let us know.

But don’t just take our word for it. Read what some of our incredible Portuguese language volunteers have to say about what it’s meant to them to reach out and support their YouVersion community:

“There’s nothing better than feeling God’s presence. To read about His love for us through the history of Christ is certainly the best way to do this. Being part of YouVersion.com and The Bible App translation team is a blessing because I know that every day more and more people will have easy access to the Bible in their own language. YouVersion is an excellent tool to strengthen your faith, no matter what language you speak or where you are!”
—Alessandra M., Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil

 

“It is wonderful to feel the presence of God as alive as our God, experiencing the love of Jesus in our lives and His saving work. And the only way to know all these promises for our lives is knowing God’s Word. For this reason it has been so gratifying to be part of the YouVersion translators team. The more I work, the more I read the Bible and the more I feel God’s presence. And YouVersion’s Bible App lets us do it anywhere, reading or listening to God’s Word while doing any activity! God be praised!”
—Marcelo C., Limeira, São Paulo, Brazil

 

“When I discovered this awesome application, I had no doubt that I would use it and show it to my friends. I quickly realized it wasn’t available in Portuguese yet, but I saw that I could volunteer! The fact that I can help this great application reach and bless many other people in my language is enough to feel great and satisfied!”
—Eric S., Limeira, Brazil

To speakers and readers of Brazilian Portuguese, no matter where in the world you choose to call home, the YouVersion community is happy to welcome you to the Bible App™ and to YouVersion.com. Partnerships with generous publishers of Bibles in Português now make it possible for our community to steadily add popular versions in Português like ARC Tradução Revista e Corrigida de João Ferreira de Almeida, as well as easy-reading translations NTLH Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje and NVI-POR Nova Versão Internacional.

But Bibles are just one aspect of the YouVersion experience. YouVersion’s community of awesome volunteers work hard to continually bring Português speakers improved versions of everything YouVersion has to offer, entirely in their own language. More than just menus and buttons, this includes email exchanges, conversations on social networks like Facebook and Twitter, reading plans, and full technical support.

• Brazilian Portuguese Speakers in Brazil. Speakers and readers of Brazilian Portuguese represent the potential to contribute to the YouVersion community in a truly dramatic way. The World Factbook reports that Brazil (also known as the Federative Republic of Brazil) is the fifth most populous nation in the world, home to more than 200 million people. And according to Wikipedia, most Brazilians speak and write in Brazilian Portuguese, a language all its own, unique from European Portuguese by as many as 15% of its words.

• Brazilian Portuguese Speakers elsewhere. While the majority of people who count themselves as Brazilian Portuguese live in Brazil, of course millions more also live abroad, in places as far-flung as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Paraguay and of course, even Portugal.

Fortunately, no matter where you live, the Bible App is as close as your mobile device. It runs on all major platforms, ready to bring you full access to all its Bible engagement tools in Português the moment it completes downloading.

We’re thrilled to formally welcome all of our Brazilian Portuguese speaking friends into our ever-growing global YouVersion family. We look forward to hearing your stories about all the ways God is using our worldwide YouVersion community to reach more people than ever before with the life-changing story of His love.

For the first time, now you can participate with the YouVersion community and use the Bible App™ entirely in Brazilian Portuguese! If you follow language developments at YouVersion, then you may remember that Português has already been offered at YouVersion.com for some time now. But what we’re announcing today is so much more than that. With the official launch of Brazilian Portuguese across YouVersion, now every way you can connect with YouVersion—whether you’re participating in community or using tools to engage with the Bible—you can do so entirely in Português! Brazilian Portuguese is our eighth complete language, after English, Norwegian, Spanish, both Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Russian and, most recently, Korean.

But what does all of this mean to you? Well, specifically, here are all the ways you can now connect with God’s Word in Brazilian Portuguese:

• Great Português Bibles. Publishing partners generously provide the YouVersion community with many high quality, widely read Português versions of the Bible. (For the full list, look for Português on the Versions page or, in the Bible App, select the Bible version you’re already using to see a list of alternatives, including several excellent Português ones.)
• Entire User Interface. YouVersion’s incredible community of volunteers continues to change the world. Thanks to their efforts, now when you select Português as your default language, whether you’re at YouVersion.com or using the Bible App on your mobile device—iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Android, or BlackBerry—all of the controls and menu options display for you in Português.
• Communication in Brazilian Portuguese. You’ll find blog posts relevant to you in Português, courtesy of translation by YouVersion volunteers. And if you send us an email in Português, or post a question on Facebook or Twitter in Português, Português-speaking volunteers will respond to you—in Português!
• Support in Brazilian Portuguese. For the first time, now you can even get help with the Bible App and YouVersion.com in Português. Check the Português version of our all-new Tech Support site for details. Ask your questions in Português, and Português-speaking volunteers trained in YouVersion support will gladly assist you.

YouVersion’s simple vision is to help people connect easily with God’s Word, for free, no matter where you live or what language you speak. If you have friends whose heart language is Português, please share this great news about YouVersion.com and the Bible App with them. And be sure to come visit with us on Facebook and Twitter. We love hearing what YouVersion means to you!

Keep checking back… If you’re a Brazilian Portuguese speaker just joining us: Welcome to your YouVersion family. We’re thrilled you’re here! Right here on our blog, we’ll be sharing more about this exciting Brazilian Portuguese launch in the coming days. We can’t wait to show you all that your new community has to offer you!