Genealogy Search in a Foreign Language

Most people researching their family tree finds that the road eventually takes them to records written in a language with their not familiar. To locate these genealogy records, however, most ancestral "surfers" will find the need to delve into foreign language search engines. While not as universal as Google, "foreign" search engines offer an untapped gold mine of family histories, transcribed records, vital records databases and other records of interest to genealogists.

Google in Your Country

If you're nervous about jumping into foreign search engines, Google offers 140 international versions of its search engine. They each allow you to search "the Web" or limit your search to pages from that country. The information you find may surprise you too! When searching for a place, family or name from a particular country, I usually find more results in the country-specific version of Google, than in Google.com.

Country-Specific Search Engines

While Google, MSN Search and other search engines that many of us use on a daily basis aim to serve the entire world, there are also search engines devoted to a specific regions and countries. These search engines generally offer more comprehensive access to foreign-language sites and resources than the major "world-wide" search engines.

Obviously, these country-specific search engines operate in the language of their country, but don't let that hold you back. The search box is generally easy to find, and almost all search engines allow you to use basic search techniques, including phrase searching, boolean operators and wildcard search. Familiarizing yourself with common genealogy terms -- birth, census, surname, genealogy, etc. - in the language of your choice, will help you phrase productive searches. Genealogy word lists are great for this.

Parle Vous Search Engine?

Moteurs de recherche. Suchmaschinen. Buscadores. Learning the correct term for "search engine" in the language of the country can help you locate new search engines to try in your genealogy search.

How to say "Search Engine"
Danish - Søgemaskine
Dutch - Zoekmachines
French - Moteurs de recherche
German - Suchmaschinen
Italian - Motore di Ricerca
Portuguese - Máquinas de Busca
Spanish - Buscadores
Swedish - Sökmotor

Another good place to find country-specific search engines is the international directory Search Engine Colossus.

I Think I Found Something...Now What Does it Say?

The necessity of reading and interpreting a foreign language is the stumbling block for most genealogists venturing into a new region of research. It's not as imposing as you may think, however. Automatic translation tools, such as Google Translation, Babelfish and FreeTranslation.com help you translate pages as you browse. While machine translation isn't perfect, has lousy grammar, and won't always translate slang or vernacular, it will provide a good approximation of the site's content - enough to open up the world of genealogy in languages other than your own.