Voice of America - Languages

Languages

The Voice of America currently broadcasts in 44 languages (TV marked with an asterisk):

  • Afan Oromo
  • Albanian*
  • Amharic
  • Arabic*
  • Armenian*
  • Azerbaijani*
  • Bengali*
  • Bosnian*
  • Burmese
  • Cantonese*
  • Creole
  • Croatian*
  • Dari*
  • English* (also Special English)
  • French*
  • Georgian
  • Greek*
  • Hausa
  • Hindi
  • Indonesian*
  • Khmer
  • Kinyarwanda
  • Kirundi
  • Korean
  • Kurdish
  • Lao
  • Macedonian*
  • Mandarin*
  • Ndebele
  • Pashto*
  • Persian*
  • Portuguese
  • Russian*
  • Serbian*
  • Shona
  • Somali
  • Spanish*
  • Swahili
  • Thai
  • Tibetan*
  • Tigrigna
  • Turkish*
  • Ukrainian*
  • Urdu*
  • Uzbek*
  • Vietnamese

The number of languages broadcast and the number of hours broadcast in each language vary according to the priorities of the United States Government and the world situation. In 2001, according to an International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) fact sheet, VOA broadcast in 53 languages, with 12 televised. For example, in July 2007, VOA added 30 minutes to its daily Somali radio broadcast, providing a full hour of live, up-to-the-minute news and information to listeners. VOA estimates it produces 1,500 hours of programming each week to an audience of 123 million

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Famous quotes containing the word languages:

    “It is time for dead languages to be quiet.”
    —Natalie Clifford Barney (1876–1972)

    “People in places many of us never heard of, whose names we can’t pronounce or even spell, are speaking up for themselves. They speak in languages we once classified as “exotic” but whose mastery is now essential for our diplomats and businessmen. But what they say is very much the same the world over. They want a decent standard of living. They want human dignity and a voice in their own futures. They want their children to grow up strong and healthy and free.”
    —Hubert H. Humphrey (1911–1978)

    “I am always sorry when any language is lost, because languages are the pedigree of nations.”
    —Samuel Johnson (1709–1784)