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Translating documents into another language
Some online volunteers are asked to translate short documents, such
as brochures, newsletters, flyers or web pages, usually from English
to another language, or vice versa.
Successfully translating documents from one language to another language:
- requires that a volunteer be absolutely fluent in the other
language (preferably a native speaker).
- requires that there are at least two proofreaders for the finished
document, and, preferably, that one of the proofreaders is a native
speaker of language the document has been translated into.
Otherwise, you run the risk of creating a document that is confusing to
readers in that particular language.
Some general tips:
- Do not provide your documents in another language unless you are
trying to outreach to a particular population. Providing a document
in another language may imply that you provide services in that particular
language.
- Note on any translated documents whether or not there is someone
on staff (volunteer or paid) who can answer questions about your organization
in another language, and how to contact that person. Otherwise, you
will have no way to accommodate those who see your document or Web
page in a different language and assume there is someone at your organization
they can talk to in that particular language. This can cause misunderstandings,
frustration, and even bad public relations.
- Not all English words have an equivalent in another language. It's
a good idea to let the online volunteer know if any words or phrases
in particular should or should not be translated literally. For instance,
there's no equivalent to "Virtual Volunteering" in Spanish, and, literally,
it could be translated to "imaginary volunteer." However, "working
with volunteers online" can be translated literally into Spanish without
causing confusion.
- For large documents, such as books or guides, an organization should
consider hiring a professional translation company, rather than relying
on volunteers. Companies may be willing to provide services at discounts
to nonprofit organizations.
An organization or volunteer should not rely on the following free tools
to create translated web pages or other publications from English to another
language, to be used publicly. These tools are valuable, however,
to look up selected terms and to provide a very general and somewhat accurate
translation of a web page from another language into English.
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Probably the most popular free translation tool. Translates to or
from English, Spanish, French, Italian, German or Portuguese.
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Translates to or from English, Spanish, French, German or Portuguese.
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Multilingual E-Translator for more than 20 languages
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Dictionaries in more than 200 languages
To find out why we don't recommend these as "ultimate" translating
tools for presenting an agency's web pages into another language, use
these tools to convert a web site into Spanish, then translate the translation
back into English.
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