# Translations
> How to build a site in more than one language, with a page for each language, hreflang links, the lang of each page, translated layout text, and a sitemap.
bongo has no language setting. A translation is a page of its own, and frontmatter tells the layout which pages are versions of one page. The layout then finds them in `$pages`.
## Write a page for each language
Put the pages of each other language in a folder, such as `content/fr/`. Give each translated page its `lang`, and a `key` that all versions of the page share. The key lets each language have its own slug:
```md [content/about.md]
---
title: About
key: about
---
```
```md [content/fr/a-propos.md]
---
title: À propos
lang: fr
key: about
---
```
A page without `lang` is in the language of [`$site.lang`](/config/). A page without `key` has no translations.
## Link the versions of a page
Search engines find the other languages of a page through `` in its ``. The layout finds every page with the same `key`:
```hbs [layouts/html.hbs]
{{#var lang = $page.params.lang || $site.lang}}
{{#var versions = $page.params.key ? $pages.filter(p => p.params.key === $page.params.key) : []}}
{{ $page.title }}
{{#each versions as v}}
{{/each}}
{{#if versions.length > 1}}
{{/if}}
```
On `/fr/a-propos/`, and on `/about/` too, this writes:
```html
```
- Each page lists all its versions, itself included, as search engines ask.
- `v.url` is a full URL, which hreflang links need.
- `x-default` names the version for other languages: the one in `$site.lang`.
- `` gives each page its own language, for screen readers and browsers.
These are plain `` elements. [``](/alternates/) is for versions that bongo writes, such as a [Markdown copy](/markdown-copies/).
## Translate the text of the layout
Put the text of your layouts in [`data/`](/data/), with one entry for each language:
```json [data/i18n.json]
{
"en": { "toc": "On this page", "more": "More pages" },
"fr": { "toc": "Sur cette page", "more": "Autres pages" }
}
```
```hbs [layouts/html.hbs]
{{#var text = $data.i18n[lang]}}
{{ text.toc }}
```
## List the pages of one language
`$pages` holds every page, in every language. Filter it by `lang` for a menu or a list of posts:
```hbs
{{#var others = $pages.filter(p => (p.params.lang || $site.lang) === lang && p.path !== $page.path)}}
```
## Add the versions to the sitemap
A [sitemap](/output-files/#sitemap) can list the versions of each page too, with `xhtml:link`:
```hbs [content/sitemap.xml.hbs]
{{#each $pages as page}}
{{ page.url }}{{#each page.params.key ? $pages.filter(p => p.params.key === page.params.key) : [] as v}}{{/each}}
{{/each}}
```
This writes one `` for each page:
```xml [/sitemap.xml]
https://example.com/about/
```