Forvo, the largest online reference for pronunciations with over 2.5 million words pronounced by native speakers, has drawn steady attention from technology and culture press around the world. This page gathers the awards and editorial mentions logged on the Pronuncionary blog.
Awards & Rankings
- Top 100 websites of 2016. Forvo made the list of the top 100 websites of 2016, a milestone that reflected years of community growth.
- Time — 50 Best Websites of 2013. In May 2013, Forvo was named one of the 50 best websites of 2013 by Time magazine, earning a spot alongside widely used reference and learning tools.
Press Coverage in Spain
Spanish-language media took particular note of Forvo’s pronunciation archive. In June 2013 the platform was featured by outlets including El País, RTVE and Diario Vasco, broadening its reach among Spanish-speaking learners and contributors.
Looking for platform news beyond press mentions? Visit Languages for coverage of new language additions.
Recognition from media and industry observers has been a steady part of the journey for a large pronunciation reference. Coverage in technology and culture press often highlights how a community-driven catalog of spoken words can grow into a widely used resource. Mentions in editorial roundups tend to focus on the scale of contributions from native speakers and the everyday usefulness of looking up how a word is actually said. The page that gathers these awards and editorial mentions serves as a record of moments when independent voices in journalism paused to note the work being done by the community and the team behind it. Awards and rankings offer a different kind of signal, reflecting how a service is evaluated against peers. Being included among top website lists suggests that a pronunciation tool has crossed over from a niche utility to something recognized as broadly relevant. Such recognition is rarely about a single feature; it usually reflects sustained activity, clear purpose, and a user experience that keeps people coming back. For a catalog built one recording at a time, appearing on these lists is a reminder that small daily contributions can add up to something widely noticed. The combination of editorial mentions and ranked awards paints a picture of a project that has been watched closely over many years. Press features tend to appear alongside major product updates, while rankings often arrive as part of annual roundups compiled by larger publications. Taken together, they form a quiet timeline of how an audio reference built by volunteers evolved into a familiar name in language learning and reference tools.
Pronuncionary gathers stories and updates tied to one of the most widely referenced pronunciation guides on the web, a service built around a growing library of words recorded by native speakers across many languages. Readers tend to arrive curious about how sounds are captured, curated, and shared, and the blog offers context that complements the main platform. Posts explore the practical side of recording speech, the challenges of documenting accents and dialects, and the broader appeal of hearing a language spoken by someone who truly lives it, bridging casual curiosity with everyday reference needs for learners and travelers alike. Behind the scenes, the blog also follows the steady evolution of a tool used by students, translators, journalists, and curious readers who simply want to hear how a word sounds. Entries touch on community contributions, mobile experiences, and the way pronunciation fits into how people search, learn, and share language online. The tone stays approachable and informative, offering a window into the decisions shaping one of the more distinctive reference resources available, where authentic voices and clear guidance meet in service of better understanding across languages and cultures.
Community Highlights Around the Coverage
The 2015 trending words on Forvo included “Bowie”, “Snape” and “Saoirse” — examples of how cultural moments steer people toward the pronunciation dictionary.