«Back

Some online volunteers are asked to translate short documents, such as brochures, newsletters, flyers or web pages, from English to another language. Successfully translating documents from English to another language requires that a volunteer be absolutely fluent in the other language (preferably a native speaker), and requires that there are at least two proofreaders for the finished document. Preferably, one of these proofreaders will be a native speaker of the other language. Otherwise, you run the risk of creating a document that is confusing to readers in that particular language.

Some general tips:

• Do not provide your documents in another language unless you are trying to outreach to a particular population. Providing a document in another language may imply that you provide services in that particular language.
• Note on any translated documents whether or not there is someone on staff (volunteer or paid) who can answer questions about your organization in another language, and how to contact that person. Otherwise, you will have no way to accommodate those who see your document or Web page in a different language and assume there is someone at your organization they can talk to in that particular language. This can cause misunderstandings, frustration, and even bad public relations.
• Not all English words have an equivalent in another language. It's a good idea to let the online volunteer know if any words or phrases in particular should or should not be translated literally. For instance, there's no equivalent to "Virtual Volunteering" in Spanish, and, literally, it could be translated to "imaginary volunteer." However, "working with volunteers online" can be translated literally into Spanish without causing confusion.
• For large documents, such as books or guides, an organization should consider hiring a professional translation company, rather than relying on volunteers. Companies may be willing to provide services at discounts to nonprofit organizations.

Online Translation Tools

An organization or volunteer should not rely on the following free tools to create translated web pages or other publications from English to another language, to be used publically. These services provide rough translations that will help a reader get the gist of a document written in another language. These tools are valuable to look up selected terms and to provide a very general and somewhat accurate translation of a web page from another language into English.

• Altavista's Babel Fish
  Probably the most popular free translation tool. Translates to or from English, Spanish, French, Italian, German or Portuguese.
• FreeTranslation.com
  Translates to or from English, Spanish, French, German or Portuguese.