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#24: Multilanguage Communication Support: Translation Workflow
- Contents
- Proposed by
- TFF
- Proposal type
- Other
- State
- deferred
Definitions
Motivation
A multi-language platform requires a collaborative translation workflow, to bridge cultural barriers and improve communications.
Assumptions
Proposal
Translations will be performed
* Automatically by the system itself (ex: Systran, http://w4.systranlinks.com/)
* Manually by volunteers and professionals
ADMINISTRATORS
--------------
The system will enable a set of administrators to manage the workflow of
translators’ work. At all time there will be a limited budget allocated to
translations and a limited amount of translation resource (we could use CDDA
feature to help administrators manage the workflow).
The administrators can always override the system choices to assign translators.
TRANSLATION PRESENTATION
------------------------
How the users view a translation?
A translation always contains the link to the original document.
The translation contains the links to the others translations related to the
same original document.
Translation can be three states:
- draft: not finished
- done: finished
- reviewed: finished and was reviewed by X (super translator? administrator?)
A translation indicates if it is done by the system, a professional or a
volunteer.
A translation may contain the translator signature, up to the translator
choice.
If the translator is a user, there can be a link to his public information.
TRANSLATIONS RATINGS
--------------------
The system allows users to comment and rate the translations from
professionals. As the comments and rates are very subjective, they are visible
only to the administrators, to help them choose and decide the translators to
choose.
NO RATES FOR THE VOLUNTEERS.
The volunteers participate from their own initiative, in no way our system may
discourage them (as rating them) but provide them tools to publish their work
as easily as possible.
SIGN UP
-------
The translators will have to sign up on the site (giving their availability,
the languages they know...), for the professionals will be an extra form so
they can give their price.
This way the system can keep tracks of the translator’s availability and share
the tasks among them.
PROFESSIONAL TRANSLATORS
------------------------
The professionals can be individuals or companies.
For professional will be available a form where they can submit their
information, and price conditions (sign up).
The translator has the possibility to sign his document (every user knows who
wrote it). The administrators can always know who made a translation.
A translator has the possibility to inform the system his availability for any
translation.
VOLUNTEERS TRANSLATORS
----------------------
The volunteers are given the possibility to submit spontaneous translations.
Their translations will always be accepted by the system as long as they signed
up.
If they wish, they can belong to the list of translators to whom the system
assignees translations.
ASSIGN TRANSLATIONS
-------------------
Every document will have a priority code, to determine a timeframe translation.
It could be:
* critical -> must be translated in 1 hour!
* high -> must be translated in 12 hours
* media -> must be translated in 72 hours
* low -> must be translated within 3 weeks
The system has to keep track as much as possible who is working on a
translation, the translation state (draft, done, reviewed)... The purpose is to
avoid having all the translators working on the same document.
The system prevents from giving excess work to a translator. Ex: no more than
two translations at the same time and no more than 3 translations a week ; or
offer a translator to set himself these parameters.
Conclusion:
According to
* the priority
* the translators availability
* the translators rating (when there is)
* the budget (if there is)
the system sends requests to the chosen translators whom may accept or not the
translation.
TOOLS WE PROVIDE TO HELP
------------------------
We provide interfaces to submit and upload translations.
The system proposes tools like orthography and syntax correctors.
LIMITATIONS (format issues)
-----------
The users will be limited to view documents according to the software installed
on their documents (ex: can not view a *.doc file without Word or OpenOffice).
Three solutions:
1) we can ask the translations to be written in very common format as text
ASCII or HTML files.
2) the system can propose links to the software download pages (when there is)
that read each format.
3) the system can convert a document format to another one (and keep tracks of
all different formats).
IN THE FUTURE
-------------
This translation system could be extended to audio and video documents.