TED Open Translation Project: Volunteers needed!

If you are wondering who this TED guy is then you are one of those who has never heard of TED.com, a non-profit organization devoted to the spreading of Ideas Worth Spreading in annual conferences and on the web. TED online conference talks cover all fields of life, from science through business and technology to culture and arts, so everyone can find something to one’s taste. And if you feel that passively watching these videos is not enough for you and you would like to actively contribute to TED’s “Spreading of Ideas” then you might consider joining the TED Open Translation Project which constantly seeks volunteer translators!

“Our mission: Spreading ideas.” 

TED was born in 1984 as a conference and its name was coined out of the words: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then TED has come a long way, though the underlying idea remained unaltered: “We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and, ultimately, the world.” One of the main events in TED’s life is the annual springtime conference where 50+ speakers share their ideas on wide-ranged topics. Over the years the best of these talks became the core engine of TED’s website, www.ted.com. According to their data, already in November 2012, the number of views of TED talks exceeded 1 billion.

These talks and performances are accessible on TED’s website, free of charge. It is telling that the talks are not grouped on thematic bases, but under the following labels: Rated persuasive, courageous, ingenious, fascinating, inspiring, beautiful, funny, informative. You can find more than 1500 TED talks online and every week new videos are uploaded. The only “problem” is that all of these talks are in English with English subtitles… this is where TED Open Translation Project comes into the picture.

Ideas Worth Spreading – in every language

As TED Talks have become more and more popular, TED realized that there is a need for translations in order to ensure that people outside of the English-speaking community have access to these talks too. However, for professional translation you need resources, and limited resources meant that TED would be able to create subtitles only in a couple of major languages like French, Russian or Arabic. This would not fit into TED’s vision and belief of spreading ideas all over the world and hence the idea of a large-scale, volunteer translator project was born and later realized with great success. The Open Translation Project was launched in 2009 with 300 translations in 40 languages and 200 volunteer translators. Four years later, these numbers look a bit different: 46810 translations in 102 languages and 10501 volunteer translators. The numbers speak for themselves. If you go to TED’s website you can find subtitles in languages from all over the world including languages from Europe (German, French, Russian, Polish etc.) and languages from other parts of the world (Chinese, Bengali, Hebrew, Japanese, Urdu etc.) as well. And if you cannot find your native language you can submit a request to add it!

Although I am a volunteer TED translator myself, I decided to talk about the TED Open Translation Project to Anna Patai, who is one of the Language Coordinators (LC) of the Project and thus a more experienced member of the volunteer translator community at TED.

The CEU Weekly: When did you become a TED volunteer translator and what are your languages?

Anna Patai: I think I started in 2009 or early 2010. I translate to Hungarian.

TCW: Do you need translating experience to become a volunteer translator?
AP: Not really, but it can certainly be an advantage, especially subtitling experience. Very few of our translators have professional experience, and although a high level of English and the target language are essential, having an understanding of the subject matter of the talk can be far more important. TEDTalks tend to be very specialised and advanced in their own field (eg. neuroscience), so having a grasp of the jargon or the willingness to research the right expressions to use are a TED translator's biggest assets.

TCW: Translations of TED video subtitles is carried out on a site called „Amara”. Do you need any special Computer Skills to be able to create subtitles?

AP: No, the program is fairly intuitive and there are tons of resources at your disposal to learn how to use Amara. 

TCW: The Project ensures high quality translations through a review system. What is the task of a reviewer? How do reviewers and translators cooperate?
AP: The TED Open Translation Project puts great emphasis on collaboration, and the translator and the reviewer can play equally important parts.  I have to point out that all reviews are peer reviews, it is translators who review each other’s work, so it's not a title just a phase of the translation process. Once a translation is complete, anyone can review it. The reviewer checks the translation for typos, whether the lines are short enough to read, grammatical or translation errors. Translator and reviewer are always supposed to communicate throughout the process and make sure that they are both happy with the final version of the subtitles before submitting it.

TCW: What would you say are the benefits of being a volunteer translator?

AP: At the risk of sounding pretentious, the core tenet of TED is to spread great ideas, and as a volunteer you can actively take part in this, helping to spread ideas beyond English speakers. Most people become translators because they come across a talk that gets them so excited, or strikes such an emotional chord with them that they want to share it with everyone they know. Volunteers are also part of a global community made up of like-minded, enthusiastic, positive people. Working on a translation also leads to a deeper understanding of the subject matter through active engagement. 

TCW: What kept you in the community? What motivates you as a volunteer translator? 

AP: I became a volunteer translator because I wanted to help spread a particular talk. I stuck with it, because I had been living abroad for a long time at that point, and I realised this was a great way to practice my Hungarian and do something meaningful too. Since then I moved back to Hungary and now it's a great way to practice my English. With TED releasing a new talk every day and thousands of TEDxTalks having become available for translation we won't be running out of ideas worth spreading for a long time either.

TCW: Do you have a favourite TED video that you translated into Hungarian?

AP: Too many to list...My favourite kind of talks are the ones about individuals bringing about great changes in their community or even society at large. I'd highlight Majora Carter: Greening the ghetto and Stephen Ritz: A teacher growing green in the South Bronx. These were also technically very challenging, as passionate people tend to talk very, very fast.

TCW: Thank you for talking to The CEU Weekly! 

Alexandra Medzibrodszky, Hungary, History

If you have become interested in TED or in TED Open Translation Project do not forget to check out the website: www.ted.com!