Global and European News in 30 Languages
DW stands for Deutsche Welle (German Wave, referring to air waves). Contrary to its name, DW actually delivers not just European, but global news and stories of interest in 30 languages, all from within the DW website.
The European language options available on DW are: Albanian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Croatian, English, French, German, Greek, Macedonian, Polish, Portugues, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Turkish, and Ukrainian.
DW covers global topics of interest. While some features, articles or videos are available in more than one language, for the most part, each individual language option on DW also offers different content, as it is of interest to that particular country.
When selecting either English or German language option, the site categories include the categories Germany, World, Business, Science, Environment, Culture and Sports. Due to the pandemic, the Coronavirus category has been added. Here, you’ll find COVID-related news and updates from around the world, in one place.
Different Content in Different Languages – All on One Site
In French, the site actually features heavily on Africa. The Polish version, on the other hand, features somewhat different categories. These include Policy, Economy, Society, Culture, Press, Europe, Job, Studies and Projects. With a lot of Polish immigrating to Germany to work, the Job category concentrates on topics such as difficulties when working in a foreign country. the effect of Brexit on the workforce in Germany, or how the Coronavirus affects travel from Poland to Germany for Polish workers in the field of elderly care.
When opening the French or Polish sites, my browser offered the option to translate the pages into English. These translations are well-done. It therefore is possible to read topics of interest on each of the pages, regardless of their native language.
Other services on DW include the DW TV channel, featuring image galleries, audio programs and video content, as well as a Live TV Stream. There’s a limited number of actual shows available in the German version, but for the most part, DW TV Stream runs news and short features.
Aside from content on the DW website, you can also view videos on their YouTube channel, or download the DW app to some Smart TV models, Apple TV (4th and 5th Generation), Amazon Fire, or Roku. The stream options are of course different than the website content. In some languages, the site also features live radio, and podcasts.
A Little Too Much Content Perhaps
The large amount of information and options on DW are undoubtedly great, but they also can get a little confusing. Not everything on the site is clearly explained. Some countries’ pages have far fewer categories than others, and not always the same. Also, some functions don’t seem to work. I tried to listen to the English-language Live Radio stream, but received nothing but an endlessly repeating sound effect. I was, however, able to listen to a radio show made for Africa’s youth. While the topics of this series are Africa-related,the stories could be of interest to any listener.
It seems one has to spend some time studying the various offers on DW, trying to figure out what works, and what doesn’t, to truly navigate the desired shows, features or radio shows listed on the site.
DW also offers free German-language courses. Oddly, part of the lesson questions or instructions are written in German. It seems you already need to know some German in order to do the exercises. Overall, the site has enough great content for anyone to find something of interest. Such as Europe-related news and stories that aren’t covered in U.S. news, or world events covered with a European viewpoint.
Check out the English-language version here. Language selection option is located at the top right of the page.
For more recommendations of European content publications, check out our Publications Page.