# Content Translation

Varbase supports multilingual websites, allowing you to translate content, interface elements, and configuration into multiple languages. Multilingual capabilities are provided through the `varbase_i18n_base` recipe, which configures the necessary modules and settings for translation support.

## Overview

When multilingual support is enabled, Varbase provides:

* **Content translation**: Translate individual content items (nodes, media, taxonomy terms, etc.) into any enabled language.
* **Interface translation**: Translate the administrative interface, labels, and system messages.
* **Configuration translation**: Translate site configuration such as views, block titles, and menu items.
* **Language detection**: Automatically detect and serve the appropriate language based on URL, browser preferences, or user settings.

## Enabling Multilingual Support

Multilingual support requires the `varbase_i18n_base` recipe to be applied to your site. This recipe enables the following core modules:

* **Language**: Allows adding and managing site languages.
* **Content Translation**: Provides the ability to translate content entities.
* **Configuration Translation**: Enables translation of site configuration.
* **Interface Translation**: Allows translation of the user interface.

Your development team is responsible for applying this recipe and configuring the initial language setup.

## Adding Languages

Once multilingual support is enabled, additional languages can be added:

1. Navigate to **Configuration > Regional and language > Languages**, or go to `/admin/config/regional/language`.
2. Click **Add language**.
3. Select the desired language from the list of predefined languages, or add a custom language.
4. Click **Add language** to confirm.

The new language will be available for content translation and language switching.

## Translation Tasks

* [Translating Content](/content-designers/content-translation/translating-content.md): How to translate content items into other languages.
* [Language Switcher](/content-designers/content-translation/language-switcher.md): How the language switcher allows visitors to switch between available translations.

## Key Concepts

* **Default language**: The primary language of your site. All content is initially created in the default language.
* **Translation**: A version of a content item in a different language. Each translation is linked to the original content item.
* **Language negotiation**: The mechanism that determines which language to display to a visitor, based on URL prefix, browser settings, or user preferences.


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.varbase.vardot.com/content-designers/content-translation.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.