Amazon has ‘no immediate plans’ to offer Welsh-language services
The global technological company Amazon has confirmed that it has no current intentions to offer services through the medium of Welsh or create a Welsh version of its website, such as amazon.cymru or amazon.wales.
Aled Thomas, Vice-chairman of Grwp Hawl i Welsh – Cymdeithas yr Iaith Welsh, wrote to Amazon which is the UK’s leading e-commerce site to ask them why they do not offer any formal level of support for the Welsh language.
In the past, Amazon has been criticised for not removing Welsh-language reviews of products as they are not in the language of the listing.
Communications
In his email to Amazon, Mr Thomas said: “Currently, there is no Welsh user interface on Amazon.co.uk. Voice services such as Amazon Alexa do not recognize or respond in Welsh.
“There is no option to receive communications through Welsh, or to set Welsh as an account language in personal settings. It is not possible to filter Welsh content on Prime Video, or add subtitles or descriptions in Welsh. Customer support services, the website, or the menus are not available in Welsh.”
Amazon responded to the official email from the campaigner, who launched a #TechnologyYnCymraeg campaign to lobby international companies to recognize the official status of the Welsh language.
In his response, Mark from Amazon’s Executive Administration Relations Department said: “We do offer support in the primary language of the site in which your account is registered and there are no immediate plans to set up an Amazon site that just caters for Wales. We offer support in certain languages only and these would be ones that are more widely spoken worldwide.”
According to Mr Thomas, the response was “disappointing, reckless and undermines the status of Welsh as an official language.”
Marketplace
Amazon have previously clarified that “Generally across all our marketplaces all information posted in listings needs to be in the same language as the product listing. e.g. the product details, seller info and customer reviews.”
But without a dedicated Welsh version of the Amazon marketplace, this means any use of Welsh on the platform could be removed at Amazon’s discretion.
Mr Thomas said: “It is completely unacceptable that a company with millions of customers in the United Kingdom refuses to consider providing a service to Welsh speakers.
“The Welsh language is a living language, protected by legislation, and is used daily by hundreds of thousands of people, including Amazon users. This point of view completely ignores the bilingual reality of Wales.”
The #TechnologyYnCymraeg campaign calls on technological companies – including Apple, Google, Meta and Amazon – to recognise their moral and social responsibility to include the Welsh language in their services.
Mr Thomas added: “The excuse that Welsh is not spoken widely enough globally shows a lack of political will and leadership. Technology bridges languages, it is not its job to eliminate them”.
The campaign continues to raise awareness and encourages the public to contact digital companies directly to ask: Where is Welsh?
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There are also quite a lot of Llyfrau Cymraeg on Audible – but there is no way to find them and they are described as being English Language.
There’s a way of putting reviews in Welsh on Amazon: Type it in English, and edit it into Welsh, or to include Welsh, later on.
Thank you.
If the owner of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, worth $220 billion, who can rent Venice for his wedding for the repulsive sum of $56 million, can provide a Welsh language service. This would not happen in any other bilingual country. Note: Amazon offers an Irish-English voice option for Alexa on Echo devices and in the Alexa app, and they have launched a dedicated Irish website, Amazon.ie, which features a “Brands of Ireland”. Unfortunately there’s a huge flaw in the 1993 Welsh Language Act where it stipulates that only public bodies not private must adhere to rules and must provide services in… Read more »