 |
 | |
Type of site | Linguistics |
|---|---|
| Owner | Forvo Media SL |
| URL | forvo.com |
| Commercial | Yes[1] |
| Registration | Optional, but required to download MP3s and to add pronunciations |
| Launched | January 2008 |
Content license | Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 |
| License was Creative Commons from January 2008 until August 2019. See note below. | |
Forvo.com (/ˈfɔːrvoʊ/ FOR-voh) is a website that allows access to, and playback of, pronunciation sound clips in many different languages in an attempt to facilitate the learning of languages. Forvo.com was first envisioned in 2007 by co-founder Israel Rondón,[2] and came to fruition in 2008. Forvo.com is owned by Forvo Media SL, based in San Sebastián, Spain. Forvo's 'About'-page states Forvo to be the largest pronunciation guide website on the Internet.[3] It has been listed in the 50 best websites of 2013 by Time.[4]
All sound clips on Forvo.com are created by its users, who also have the power to vote on each clip, positively or negatively, in an effort to ensure that the highest quality sound clips have priority in the site's listings. The pronunciations are also reviewed and edited by a volunteer team of editors.[5]
Forvo has an API[6] to share its pronunciation with other websites. The API service is paid ($2/year for non-commercial use).[7]
- ^ Forvo's About page says "Headed by Félix Vela ... I love working at a startup". That implies Forvo is a startup commercial company. Currently they appear to be making money off the iPhone app and website advertising. The site nowhere says it's non-profit, just that the content is CC-licensed.
- ^ "Bombilla = Light bulb". 12 November 2010.
- ^ "About Forvo". Retrieved 2010-09-26.
- ^ "Time Best Websites of 2013". 2013-05-06. Archived from the original on 2013-06-02. Retrieved 2013-05-22.
- ^ "pronunciation guide. Recent collaborators". Forvo. Retrieved 2012-03-13.
- ^ "Forvo Pronunciation API, let's show the world how to pronounce!". Api.forvo.com. Retrieved 2012-03-13.
- ^ "Forvo.com API Pricing". Forvo.com.