How about training language experts in academic institutions on how to translate contents from one language Wikipedia (Eg. English wikipedia) to another? I believe this would be more productive than paying people directly to contribute or translate contents.
Sometimes in 2016, I discussed with a professor of Yoruba language and Head of Department of Yoruba language on possible collaboration between the department and the Yoruba Wikipedia community. We agreed that students could be assigned to translating high quality articles from the English Wikipedia to Yoruba Wikipedia and they could be doing these translations as part of their course work in Yoruba language. In Nigerian universities for example, Yoruba students take "Àyan Ògbùfò (the principle of translation) " as part of a course(s) they must pass to be awarded a degree in Yoruba language. We could take advantage of this and approach them on possible collaboration. Today, I had about 30 minutes discussion with one of the contributors to the Yoruba language version <https://www.jw.org/yo/awon-itejade/%C3%A0w%E1%BB%8Dn-%C3%ACw%C3%A9-%C3%ACr%C3%B2y%C3%ACn/> of The watchtower and awake! magazine. <https://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/> on possible collaboration. He was excited and agreed to be fully involved. There are institutions and individuals that would be interested in translating high quality contents, we just need to reach out to them and devise a means to get them fully involved. Regards, Isaac On Sat, Feb 24, 2018 at 4:04 PM, James Heilman <jmh...@gmail.com> wrote: > I agree with John that it is very difficult to turn a translator into a new > editor. I also agree with Jean-Philippe that it is key to have involvement > of the local projects and preferable if they lead the efforts. Of the > languages we worked in only one explicitly requested not to be involved / > have translations from TWB. > > James > > On Sat, Feb 24, 2018 at 7:59 AM, John Erling Blad <jeb...@gmail.com> > wrote: > > > You can turn it around; give added credits for translations from small > > language projects and into the larger ones, that is a lot more > interesting > > than strictly translating from the larger language projects. > > > > On Sat, Feb 24, 2018 at 3:55 PM, Jean-Philippe Béland < > > jpbel...@wikimedia.ca > > > wrote: > > > > > I think the request for such projects should come from the concerned > > > language projects, same for the list of articles. If not, in my simple > > > opinion, it is a form of coloniasm again. > > > > > > Jean-Philippe Béland > > > Vice President, Wikimedia Canada > > > > > > > > > On Sat, Feb 24, 2018 at 9:40 AM John Erling Blad <jeb...@gmail.com> > > wrote: > > > > > > > Should have added that the remaining points are somewhat less > > interesting > > > > in this context. Preloading a set of articles is a bad idea, the > > > > translators should be able to chose for themselves. Articles should > > also > > > be > > > > pretty broad, not very narrow technical or medical, ie vertical > > articles, > > > > as the number of editors that can handle those will be pretty small. > > > > > > > > In particular: Do not believe you can turn a teanslator into a new > > > editor! > > > > You can although turn an existing editor into a translator. > > > > > > > > On Sat, Feb 24, 2018 at 3:34 PM, John Erling Blad <jeb...@gmail.com> > > > > wrote: > > > > > > > > > 1) You must start with high quality content and thus all articles > are > > > > >> extensively improved before being proposed for translation. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Note that to much pressure on "quality" can easily kill the > project. > > > > > > > > > > 3) The "Content Translation" tool developed by the WMF made efforts > > > more > > > > >> efficient than handing around word documents. Would love to see > that > > > > tool > > > > >> improved further such as having it support specific lists of > > articles > > > > that > > > > >> are deemed ready for translation by certain groups. Would also > love > > > the > > > > >> tool to have tracking metrics for these types of projects. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Didn't mention ContentTranslation, but it should be pretty obvious. > > > > > > > > > > 4) We used volunteer translators mostly associated with our partner > > > > >> Translators Without Borders. One issue we found was that languages > > in > > > > >> which > > > > >> their are lots of translators such as French, Spanish, and Italian > > > there > > > > >> is > > > > >> often already at least some content on many of the topics in > > question. > > > > The > > > > >> issue than becomes integration which needs an expert Wikipedia. > And > > > for > > > > >> languages in which we have little content there are often few > > > avaliable > > > > >> volunteers. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > I used projects below 65k articles as an example, as the chance of > > > > > competing articles are pretty low. > > > > > > > > > > 5) With respect to "paying per word" the problem is this would > > require > > > > >> significant checks and balances to make sure people are taking the > > > work > > > > >> seriously and not simple using Google translate for the 70 or so > > > > languages > > > > >> in which it claims to work. We often had translations undergo a > > second > > > > >> review and the volunteers at TWB have to pass certain tests to be > > > > >> accepted. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > I'n my original email I wrote "verified good translators". It is as > > > > > simple as "Has the editor contributed other articles at the > project?" > > > > > > > > > > On Sat, Feb 24, 2018 at 2:26 PM, James Heilman <jmh...@gmail.com> > > > wrote: > > > > > > > > > >> We learned a few things during the medical translation project > which > > > > >> started back in 2011: > > > > >> > > > > >> 1) You must start with high quality content and thus all articles > > are > > > > >> extensively improved before being proposed for translation. > > > > >> > > > > >> 2) A lot of languages want "less" content than is present on EN > WP. > > > Thus > > > > >> we > > > > >> moved to just improving and suggesting for translation the leads > of > > > the > > > > >> English articles. > > > > >> > > > > >> 3) The "Content Translation" tool developed by the WMF made > efforts > > > more > > > > >> efficient than handing around word documents. Would love to see > that > > > > tool > > > > >> improved further such as having it support specific lists of > > articles > > > > that > > > > >> are deemed ready for translation by certain groups. Would also > love > > > the > > > > >> tool to have tracking metrics for these types of projects. > > > > >> > > > > >> 4) We used volunteer translators mostly associated with our > partner > > > > >> Translators Without Borders. One issue we found was that languages > > in > > > > >> which > > > > >> their are lots of translators such as French, Spanish, and Italian > > > there > > > > >> is > > > > >> often already at least some content on many of the topics in > > question. > > > > The > > > > >> issue than becomes integration which needs an expert Wikipedia. > And > > > for > > > > >> languages in which we have little content there are often few > > > avaliable > > > > >> volunteers. > > > > >> > > > > >> 5) With respect to "paying per word" the problem is this would > > require > > > > >> significant checks and balances to make sure people are taking the > > > work > > > > >> seriously and not simple using Google translate for the 70 or so > > > > languages > > > > >> in which it claims to work. We often had translations undergo a > > second > > > > >> review and the volunteers at TWB have to pass certain tests to be > > > > >> accepted. > > > > >> > > > > >> 6) I hired a coordinator for the translation project for a couple > of > > > > >> years. > > > > >> The translators at TWB did not want to become Wikipedians or learn > > how > > > > to > > > > >> use our systems. The coordinator created account like TransSW001 > > (one > > > > for > > > > >> each volunteer) and preloaded the article to be translated into > > > Content > > > > >> Translation. They than gave the volunteer translator the user name > > and > > > > >> password to the account. > > > > >> > > > > >> 7) Were are we at now? There are currently just over 1,000 leads > of > > > > >> articles that have been improved and are ready for translation. > This > > > > >> includes articles on the 440 medications that are on the WHO > > Essential > > > > >> List. We have worked a bit in some 100 languages. The efforts have > > > > >> resulted > > > > >> in more than 5 million works translated and integrated into > > different > > > > >> Wikipedias. The coordinator has unfortunately moved on to his real > > job > > > > of > > > > >> teaching high school students. > > > > >> > > > > >> 8) The project continues but at a slower pace than before. The > > > > Wikipedian > > > > >> and retired orthopedic surgeon Subas Chandra Rout has basically > > single > > > > >> handedly translated nearly all 1,000 leads into Odia a language > > spoken > > > > by > > > > >> 40 million people in Eastern India. The amazing thing is that for > > many > > > > of > > > > >> these topics this is the first and only information online about > it. > > > > >> Google > > > > >> translate does not even claim to work in this language. Our > > > partnerships > > > > >> with WMTW and medical school in Taipai continue to translate into > > > > Chinese. > > > > >> There the students translate and than their translations are > > reviewed > > > by > > > > >> their profs before being posted. They translate in groups using > > > hackpad > > > > to > > > > >> make it more social. > > > > >> > > > > >> I am currently working to re invigorate the project :-) > > > > >> James > > > > >> > > > > >> On Sat, Feb 24, 2018 at 5:51 AM, John Erling Blad < > jeb...@gmail.com > > > > > > > >> wrote: > > > > >> > > > > >> > This discussion is going to be fun! =D > > > > >> > > > > > >> > A little more than seventy Wikipedia-projects has more than 65k > > > > >> articles, > > > > >> > the remaining two hundred or so are pretty small. > > > > >> > > > > > >> > What if a base set of articles were opened for paid translators? > > > There > > > > >> are > > > > >> > several lists of such base sets. We have both the thousand > > articles > > > > from > > > > >> > "List of articles every Wikipedia should have"[1] and and the > ten > > > > >> thousand > > > > >> > articles from the expanded list[2]. > > > > >> > > > > > >> > Lets say verified good translators was paid about $0.01 per word > > > > (about > > > > >> $1 > > > > >> > for a 1k-article) for translating one of those articles into > > another > > > > >> > language, with perhaps a higher pay for contributors in > high-cost > > > > >> > countries. The pay would also have to be higher for languages > that > > > > lacks > > > > >> > good translation tools. > > > > >> > > > > > >> > I believe this would be an _enabling_ activity for the > > communities, > > > as > > > > >> > without a base set of articles it won't be possible to build a > > > > >> community at > > > > >> > all. By not paying for new articles, and only translating > > > > >> well-referenced > > > > >> > articles, some of the disputes in the communities could be > > avoided. > > > > >> Perhaps > > > > >> > we should also identify good source articles, that would be a > > help. > > > > >> > Translated articles should be above some minimum size, but they > > does > > > > not > > > > >> > have to be full translations of the source article. > > > > >> > > > > > >> > A real problem is that our existing lists of good articles other > > > > >> projects > > > > >> > should have is pretty much biased towards Western World, so they > > > need > > > > a > > > > >> lot > > > > >> > of adjustments. Perhaps such a project would identify our > inherit > > > > bias? > > > > >> > > > > > >> > [1] > > > > >> > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/List_of_articles_every_ > > > > >> > Wikipedia_should_have > > > > >> > [2] > > > > >> > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/List_of_articles_every_ > > > > >> > Wikipedia_should_have/Expanded > > > > >> > _______________________________________________ > > > > >> > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/ > > > > >> > wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/ > > > > >> > wiki/Wikimedia-l > > > > >> > New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > > > > >> > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/ > > > mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l > > > > , > > > > >> > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject= > > > unsubscribe> > > > > >> > > > > >> > > > > >> > > > > >> > > > > >> -- > > > > >> James Heilman > > > > >> MD, CCFP-EM, Wikipedian > > > > >> _______________________________________________ > > > > >> Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wik > > > > >> i/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wik > > > > >> i/Wikimedia-l > > > > >> New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > > > > >> Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/ > > mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l > > > , > > > > >> <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject= > > unsubscribe> > > > > >> > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: > > > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and > > > > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l > > > > New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > > > > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/ > mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > > > > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/ > > > wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/ > > > wiki/Wikimedia-l > > > New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > > > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > > > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/ > > wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/ > > wiki/Wikimedia-l > > New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> > > > > > > -- > James Heilman > MD, CCFP-EM, Wikipedian > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/ > wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/ > wiki/Wikimedia-l > New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org > Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, > <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe> > _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia-l New messages to: Wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:wikimedia-l-requ...@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
