Global Voices (GV) is an international, mostly volunteer community of writers, translators and human rights activists. Together, we work to build understanding across borders. Through our community-based journalism, media ecosystem research, digital rights advocacy and digital media training for marginalized communities, we aspire to a world where curiosity abounds and respect for human dignity flows equitably across differences of language, country and culture.
There is not one singular Global Voices website. There are many:
- globalvoices.org is the English-language site
- all other languages have URLS that feature their ISO 639 language code at the beginning; for example:
- ar.globalvoices.org is the Arabic-language site
- bn.globalvoices.org is the Bangla-language site
- zht.globalvoices.org is the traditional Chinese-language site
- different projects at Global Voices may have their own subsite; for example;
- lingua.globalvoices.org is the subsite for the Lingua project as a whole
- rising.globalvoices.org is the subsite for the Rising Voices initiative
This guide is for Translation Managers who want to take up the baton of a Lingua language community at Global Voices.
Contents
Introduction to the Lingua translation project
Global Voices stories feature people and experiences rarely seen in mainstream media. These stories are produced by the Newsroom, where Regional Editors and other editorial staff work with volunteer authors to write and publish their original work. These stories can be originally published in several languages, although most stories are first published in English. No matter the language, original stories must undergo an editing process by the Newsroom before publication.
The Lingua project makes these stories accessible to a larger audience by translating them into other languages. Each language site has one or more Translation Managers who work with a community of volunteer translators to translate stories. These translations can represent a multitude of language pairings, but the most common is from English into a non-English language. All translations must be reviewed by a Translation Manager before they are published.
No matter where it appears, a story features a hyperlinked list of all of the languages that it is available in, making it easy for a reader to navigate from one language to another.
A list of available languages at the top of a story.
On a translated story, the translator is credited with their name and profile picture right next to the author’s name and profile picture – equal photo and font size for both. Translators also have a personal profile URL that lists all their translations along with a bio section to promote their work.
The credit line on a story or translation links to the contributor's public profile.
Volunteer translators report a diversity of reasons for participating in the project, but some of the most common motivations include:
- the opportunity to build up a portfolio of published work
- the feeling that their translations make a positive contribution to the world, such as by raising awareness of a certain issue or revitalizing a marginalized language
- the chance to receive mentorship, friendship and connections to which they wouldn’t otherwise have access
The Translation Manager role
Lingua is a volunteer-driven project, and as such, anyone with the appropriate language and community management skills is welcome to volunteer as a Translation Manager for a language community that lacks one.
Translation Managers oversee all of the translations that are published into their language. They recruit and care for a community of volunteer translators, training them in the practice of translation and in the use of our WordPress content management system, as well as editing any translations before they are published.
Translation Managers also ensure that their language site’s infrastructure, including categories and About pages, are localized and updated. They are free to also undertake promotion and outreach activities on behalf of their language community, such as social media publishing, newsletter production or event opportunities, if they have the time and passion to do so.
In sum, the impact of the Translation Manager role is two-fold:
- Translation Managers increase the language accessibility of Global Voices stories, and
- Translation Managers ensure that the experience of a volunteer translator is one of personal transformation and growth.
All of the Translation Managers at Global Voices are part of the Lingua Translation Managers team, led by the Lingua Director. The team communicates with each other through a dedicated Google Group (mailing list) and a dedicated Slack channel on the Global Voices workspace. The team also meets periodically on a video call to discuss common challenges, brainstorm ideas and share successes with each other. These calls are not mandatory to attend, but they offer an important opportunity to connect with and learn from your peers.
Some language sites only have one Translation Manager; others can have two or up to several Translation Managers who distribute tasks. Translation Managers are free to organize themselves however they deem best as well as dedicate as much or as little of their time to the project as they want, as long as they fulfill the rights and responsibilities of the role. (See below.)
Rights and responsibilities of Translation Managers
All Translation Managers are entitled to certain rights. You also have certain responsibilities that will be expected of you.
Responsibilities
- You have the responsibility to produce work that supports the manifesto and mission of Global Voices.
- You have the responsibility to put yourself in the shoes of someone who is not from your country, culture, context or background and produce work that is accessible to them.
- You have the responsibility to complete any work and meet any deadlines that you accept, and if you cannot complete the work or meet the deadline that you have accepted, you have the responsibility to be communicative with those who will be affected.
- You have the responsibility to ensure that any work (e.g. a translation) produced by others that you review or any work that you produce yourself is accurate, original, human, and undertaken to the best of their or your ability.
- When reviewing work produced by others, you have the responsibility to preserve their voice, perspective and artistry to the extent possible.
- When reviewing work produced by others, you have the responsibility to explain any changes that you make to their work, and if they are uncomfortable with the particular changes, you have the responsibility to engage with them in a good-faith effort to find a compromise.
- You have the responsibility to be friendly and respectful in your communication with Global Voices community members, including the contributors with whom you work, and you have the responsibility to be collaborative, accepting of feedback and open to compromise in your dealings with them.
- You have the responsibility to foster community, encouraging collaboration and conversation amongst the members of your team(s) of contributors.
- You have the responsibility to communicate to your language community and to other team members of Lingua when you are traveling, on vacation or otherwise unavailable for an extended period of time, including if and when you decide to step away from the Translation Manager role.
- You have the responsibility to behave in accordance with the Community Ethics and Harassment Policy and to practice secure communication in accordance with the Communication and Safety Guidelines.
Rights
- You have the right to review and consent to any significant changes made to your own work before it is published in your name, and if you do not consent, then the work will not be published.
- You have the right to ask for and receive explanation for why changes were made to your work, and if you are uncomfortable with the particular changes, you have the right to receive a good-faith effort from the reviewers of your work to find a compromise.
- You have the right to receive friendly and respectful communication from Global Voices community members, including the contributors with whom you work.
- You have the right to experiment, innovate and think outside the box when it comes to promoting your language and fulfilling the responsibilities of the Translation Manager role.
- You have the right to contact anyone in the Global Voices management team at any time with ideas, complaints or suggestions for improvement.
- As a member of the community, you have the collective right to three representatives on the Global Voices board, who represent the interests of contributors, both contractors and volunteers. You have the right to reach out to your representatives at any time with an issue and receive due attention.
Translating, editing and publishing
Selection of stories for translation
As soon as an original Global Voices story is published, it is available to be translated. The publication of new stories can be monitored by visiting the home pages of language sites where original work is published (generally the sites in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese, as well as Advox, Rising Voices and the Community Blog subsites). Another way is to browse the “Lingua All Original Posts” report in WordPress, which presents a listing of all original stories published across all Global Voices sites all possible source texts for a translator – as well as information about their translations. See the guide Where Can I Find Global Voices Stories to Translate? for more information.
Translation Managers are free to set priorities for their language site in terms of which Global Voices stories are translated. In general, most Translation Managers allow new stories to be translated on a first-come, first-served basis:
- volunteer translators either independently decide to translate a story and “claim” it technically using the “fetch” feature (see the Beginner’s Guide to Translating Global Voices Stories), or
- a Translation Manager will send a message to the entire group of translators for their language promoting a particular story, and then the volunteer translator responds to the message “claiming” the story for translation.
However, Translation Managers might also assign a particular story to a volunteer translator when they are just starting out, instead of allowing them to choose.
Formatting and publication on WordPress
Global Voices stories and translations are published using WordPress. WordPress is a content management system that we use to manage all of the Global Voices websites. As a Translation Manager, you will be given a WordPress account on your language site with “admin” permissions by the Lingua Director; importantly, this will allow you to create new WordPress accounts for volunteer translators who join your community, as well as make changes to posts and pages authored by other people.
There are several unique features in the Global Voices WordPress set-up. Please carefully study the Beginner’s Guide to Translating Global Voices Stories to learn about them. As Translation Manager, it is your responsibility to make sure all translations that are published conform to the technical guidelines explained there.
Editing translations and giving feedback to translators
But a translation is more than just formatting and technicalities. It is a complex art, a creative balancing act between staying accurate to the original text and creating beauty and meaning in translation. As a Translation Manager, it is your responsibility to walk this line in your own translations as well as guide volunteer translators to do the same.
You are free to communicate your guidance to volunteer translators however works best for you. This includes through email, messaging platforms like WhatsApp or Slack, or video calls. The Global Voices WordPress system also features a collaborative tool called Edit Flow which allows you to correspond with a volunteer translator and leave comments on their translation. The advantage of Edit Flow is everything is kept in one place: both the actual translated story and the discussion related to it. Edit Flow also offers a straightforward way for volunteer translators to notify you that their draft translation is ready for revision. Consult the Beginner’s Guide to Translating Global Voices Stories to learn more.
Training and caring for your language community
Applications and recruitment of volunteer translators
Where do volunteer translators come from? They may be recruited from a Translation Manager’s personal networks or they may come as part of a partnership or internship program that a Translation Manager has set up. Otherwise, a volunteer translator will come to the attention of a Translation Manager by submitting an application to the volunteer translator application form on a language site.
The tool that we use to power the application form is called Gravity Forms. When an application is submitted, an email is sent to the Translation Manager(s) with all of the applicant’s details included, and it is up to the Translation Manager(s) to get in touch with the applicant or not. The email will also include a link to the backend of the language site’s WordPress, where all applications are stored and searchable. (If there isn’t an application form on your language site, the Lingua Director will work with you to set one up.) See the guide Managing Applications From Potential Contributors for more information.
In order to assess a potential volunteer translator’s skill, some Translation Managers ask applicants to complete a short translation test before inviting them to participate. Other Translation Managers require applicants to attend an online translation workshop in order to conduct a more hands-on assessment of their abilities. Still, other Translation Managers require no test at all and welcome all who apply to participate. It is up to you to implement whatever processes work best for your language community. The Lingua Director is available to support you.
Onboarding a new volunteer translator
When a new volunteer translator is invited to participate in Lingua, the Translation Manager(s) should let them know how things work in their language community: How are stories chosen for translation? Where is feedback communicated? How would the Translation Manager like to be alerted to translations ready for review?
They should also receive some basic training on how to translate stories both technically and substantively. Translation Managers are free to hold individual trainings over video call or create their own training materials tailored to their language community’s needs, or they can simply share the Beginner’s Guide to Translating Global Voices Stories with the new volunteer translator. (Translation Managers are also free to translate the Beginner’s Guide into their own language.) There is also a quiz that accompanies the guide; you are welcome to make it a requirement of all aspiring volunteer translators that they receive a certain score on the quiz before they can start translating stories.
Communication and encouragement of volunteer translators
Lingua language communities should have a central meeting point where all volunteers can come together and communicate. This might be a Google Group mailing list, a WhatsApp group, a Slack channel on the Global Voices workspace, or a group on some other platform of the Translation Manager’s choosing. You should also encourage volunteers to join spaces that exist for the entire Global Voices community, such as the Community mailing list or the GV Bar WhatsApp Group.
Translation Managers should regularly think about how to motivate their community of volunteer translators. Several common tactics include:
- Celebrating a volunteer translator’s first translation as a group
- Encouraging conversation amongst the group by sharing interesting stories (from Global Voices or beyond) or opportunities
- Sending a regular internal newsletter that compiles recently published translations and celebrates the successes of volunteer translators
- Organizing a translation sprint around a certain topic
- Offering certificates of recognition after a certain level of participation is reached
- Offering to serve as a professional reference for volunteer translators
- Nominating a translation for the Translated Story Spotlight on the Lingua project site
The Lingua Director is available to support you on any and all initiatives to motivate your language community.
Maintaining your language site’s public face
Featured translations on the homepage
As previously mentioned, Translation Managers are free to set priorities for their language site in terms of which Global Voices stories are translated. This includes deciding which translated stories are featured prominently in the top four slots of the homepage of a language site; Translation Managers simply need to select the category “Feature” with the backend of a story to give it top billing.
Promotion and outreach
Translation Managers are also free to use their language site’s social media channels and publish personalized messages that promote translated stories. The Lingua Director can give you access to the corresponding accounts. Personalized social media posting is encouraged because personalized messages perform better, but it is not required; thanks to RSS tools, simple posts that promote a newly published translated story will automatically be published on a language site’s social media accounts.
For Translation Managers who are interested in starting a newsletter in their language which promotes translations, please get in touch with the Lingua Director, who can get you set up in the Global Voices MailChimp account.
If a Translation Manager has an idea for a potential partnership with another organization or has identified an opportunity to either republish the stories of a third-party media outlet or have a third-party media outlet republish Global Voices stories and translations, please get in touch with the Lingua Director.
Localizing a language site
Translation Managers manage not only translated stories on their language site, but also the translations of all of their language site’s infrastructure, ensuring that site categories, terminology and About pages are localized and updated. Please consult the How to Localize a Global Voices Site guide for details.
Onboarding
When you join a language community as a Translation Manager, there are certain steps that must be taken to ensure that you are fully equipped to undertake the role. The Lingua Director will work with you to complete the necessary onboarding: learning the formatting requirements for our stories and translations; getting you set up in our WordPress system and communication channels; and introducing you to the community.
In general, the best place to start is to read the following materials:
