Forvo

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Forvo
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Type of site
Linguistics
OwnerForvo Media SL
URLforvo.com
CommercialYes[1]
RegistrationOptional, but required to download MP3s and to add pronunciations
LaunchedJanuary 2008
Content license
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0
License was Creative Commons from January 2008 until August 2019. See note below.

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Forvo.com (/ˈfɔːrvoʊ/ Audio file "en-us-Forvo.oga" not found Script error: No such module "Respell".) is a website that allows access to, and playback of, pronunciation sound clips in many different languages to facilitate language learning. 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. It claims on its "about" page to be the largest pronunciation guide website on the Internet.[3] It has been listed among the 50 best websites of 2013 by Time.[4]

All sound clips on Forvo.com are user-generated, which are voted on by other users, 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] that allows other websites to draw from its pronunciation repository which requires a fee ($2/year for non-commercial use).[7]

Recommendations for adding words

Forvo just encourages adding simple words but there are some exceptions that can be clearly found in their recommendations and policy.[8]

Forvo License and User's Rights

For a long time since the beginning of Forvo in 2008 it operated under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0. By the end of 2019 Forvo had removed the "Creative Commons" terms and conditions from their website,[9] replacing them with an "ad hoc" license that severely restricts user's rights to copy, modify and redistribute the audio files.[10]

From 2008 until 2019 at Forvo's request volunteers recorded their voices and approximately 5 million audios were recorded under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0.[11] Afterwards, Forvo suddenly changed its license to make all recordings their exclusive property.[12] Many users have complained about the new restrictions on audio downloading.[13][14] Forvo tried to revoke the rights of users and impede them from downloading their own voices.

More than 5 million audios were recorded under a Creative Commons license that grants irrevocable rights to users to obtain a copy, modify and redistribute the data.[15] However, Forvo violated the Creative Commons license by restricting the freedom of its users. In contrast, the free and open source alternative Lingua Libre allows users to copy, modify and share their audios.[16]

See also

References

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Bombilla = Light bulb". 12 November 2010.
  3. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."About Forvo". Retrieved 2010-09-26.
  4. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Time Best Websites of 2013". 2013-05-06. Archived from the original on 2013-06-02. Retrieved 2013-05-22.
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."pronunciation guide. Recent collaborators". Forvo. Retrieved 2012-03-13.
  6. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Forvo Pronunciation API, let's show the world how to pronounce!". Api.forvo.com. Retrieved 2012-03-13.
  7. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Forvo.com API Pricing". Forvo.com.
  8. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Forvo rules".
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."2015 Forvo License". Archived from the original on 2015-09-05.
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."License". Forvo. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
  11. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."2015 Forvo License". Archived from the original on 2015-09-05.
  12. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Team, Forvo. "Forvo, the pronunciation guide, license of use". Forvo.com. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."A Free and Open Source alternative to Forvo.com (Pronunciation) - A language learners' forum". forum.language-learners.org. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
  14. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."data request - Where to download the Forvo database?". Open Data Stack Exchange. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
  15. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Creative Commons — Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-NC-SA 3.0". creativecommons.org. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
  16. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Lingua Libre". lingualibre.org. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
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