Hi Mentors,
We may not have the translation tasks this year also since some one can use Google Translate or other tools to translate that words/phrases. So please keep in my while creating the tasks.
Message from Google about the translation tasks
- We haven’t specifically banned translations tasks this year BUT please think carefully about any translation tasks that you offer. In general, we’d encourage you to avoid them. If a task can be mostly completed with Google Translate or another automated translation tool, it is not a good task and you should not offer it. Good translation tasks should require deep knowledge of the target language – and you must be able to verify that the work was done correctly. These tend to not be “translation” tasks, but “language” tasks.
- Zulip has written some documentation as to different classes of “translation” tasks and what to look for.
- Good examples:
- Developing a language specific style guide for translators to use.
- Research into UI changes/challenges for different languages. (For example: German has above average word length, and might not fit on your normal buttons.)
- Find and fix examples where a current translation has a word that doesn’t make sense (and explain why it’s wrong). (For example: Many languages have multiple different words that mean “button”. Are you using the right one?")
- Bad examples:
- Translate our app/documentation/poster/etc. into language X.
- It’s worth repeating, you must be able to validate any translation work done. For example, if you don’t speak Klingon, you have no way of knowing if the student translated into proper Klingon, or into Romulan. (And the consequences of that could be dire.)
- If you’re not sure if you can make the right kind of translation tasks, we suggest you just don’t offer them. Even if you tell them to not use automated translation tools, many students will anyway.