If a project is open to the public and you find it online, you can share it.
However, because we are only able to deliver high-quality translations thanks to our community as a whole, please stress that you contributed to a project for TWB and the extent of your contribution (for example chunks, a translation task, a revision task, etc.). This way, we acknowledge the key roles that teamwork and collaboration play!
If the translation is not open to the public, please contact translators@translatorswithouborders.org with the details of the translation you would like to use and we will look into it.
I actually have a suggestion: I donāt know if this is possible, but it would be awesome if the translatorsā and editorsā names could appear at the bottom of the translated texts on the websites where the texts are published.
A signature-sentence as small as āTranslated by X, proofread by Yā.
I have been thinking to use some translations that I am doing for TWB in my portfolio, but unfortunately I have no way of āprovingā that I am indeed the translator behind the text.
And public recognition would be highly motivating for every translator
Hi @Antoine_Wicquart
It would indeed be amazing to get public recognition for our work.
My understanding is that if names get put onto the documents there then becomes a legal issue over who owns the document: the original author or the translator?
I think in many cases TWB doesnt get recognition that it is the translating company and I believe this is more or less standard in the industry (please correct me someone if Iām wrong). We are the silent elves who come in the night to keep the shoemakers factory running.
I think in many cases TWB doesnt get recognition that it is the translating company
I donāt understand what you mean with ātranslation companyā - Is there an intermediary between TWB and the organisations that benefit from TWBās volunteer services?
Yes it is indeed the standard when you work with agencies, but I thought that it might be different here and that TWB was not a āproperā translation agency.
Sorry if I wasnāt clear. By translation ācompanyā I meant that TWB acts in a similar way to an agency in that it matches translators with projects. Although TWB is a charity not an agency/company set out to make money from their work.
Hi everyone and thanks a million for the interesting conversation that you started here
In some cases and for some specific projects, partners do ask the names of the translators working on them because they would like to feature them on their websites. Other projects simply arenāt publicly available and the name of the translator isnāt displayed anywhere.
I agree that it would be great to give TWB translators more visibility for the work they do. Itās also a technical challenge we need to address. In our plans for 2021 thereās also implementing technology in our database to automatically create a list with names and email addresses of people who worked on a specific project and indicated they would like to be publicly credited, if possible. This will make it easier for TWB and the nonprofit organization to provide some sort of public recognition in a more systematic way.
And remember that if you would like TWB to confirm with anyone that you worked on a project, you only need to contact us and we will take care of that for you!
Hi, It might be stupid but Iām not really sure of the part Iāve translated once itās uploaded. How do we know? Is there something/some document that provides details: who did what for each project?
I am sorry for my (stupid) question, but I was wondering how do we know if a project is open to the public. Iām asking it, because I would like to share on my website some of the translations I made.
Never think that - there are no stupid nor wrong questions. And, as a matter of fact, your questions are actually great questions.Many volunteers wonder about these things, so I will try to shed some light on the subject.
The best way to make sure you know which part you either translated or revised, the best strategy is to save a copy of your work. You can also save the link to KatĆ³ TM. If you have neither, you can reach out to the PM responsible for your project and ask them to send you the KatĆ³ link, so you can save your work;
Usually, when organizations publish the documents we translate / revise, etc., volunteersā names arenāt mentioned. Some organizations, like INEE, include a line acknowledging the document was translated by Translators without Borders; others donāt. In short, thereās no official way to know who did what. So, if you want to share your work, you need to write down the task type (translation / revision / transcription, etc), the project (and if it is a chunked project, the specific chunk(s) you have worked on), and the organization youāve contributed to.
A way to know if your project is open to the public is looking for it on Google. In most cases (at least thatās my experience as a Portuguese translator), you can find it on the organizationās website. I think the project will only not be open to the public if the content is somehow sensitive - like an interview of a victim / witness - or meant to be private - like a medical report, or perhaps a training session. But I will tag our kind @JoannaW, so she can either confirm or rectify this information (thanks in advance, Joanna ).
After locating the project you contributed to, all you know need to do is find the page(s) including the work youāve submitted. But please note that some organizations (like INEE) submit projects to a final revision stage on their end, introducing changes here and there, so the published work may look slightly different from the translation / revision you originally uploaded.
Thank you everyone for this lovely discussion! As usual the lovely @andfraz is spot on
@Emilie4, if you havenāt saved your work for a task youād like to share, feel free to email us and weāll let you know which section you worked on
@Alex9 If you arenāt sure if a project is open to the public, send us an email and we will look into it for you
Thanks to @JoannaW@faretto5 & @andfraz for your answers @JoannaW Iāll definitely ask for help in case Iād have problems finding out whether a project is open to the public or not u.u
Does this mean that I can show my translation work / text in my personal portfolio if I find it already published online (I mean showing the source and the target text I translated)?
I just want to be sure before I do anything wrong.
And is it okay if we mention the link where the translation text is (together with both source and target text) in the portfolio or can we only show both source and target text?
(I ask this because I found both my first two projects on the page of the organisation which provided a reference link on the translation project itself, and by clicking on it and switching the language into Italian, there it was, my translation!! )
Yes, I believe that if the translation is public, then you can share it as part of your portfolio and you can share the link to where the translation is published online!
Thatās great to hear you found your first two projects on the organisationās page! Itās an amazing feeling to see how your contribution makes a difference for the organisation
Some projects are revised, before being completed. In case a text has been stylistic revised and improved, and this text is published, can we still use the translation (revised) in our portfolio? Or how is it in that case? (At the end it was a kind of two-peopleās work, where the reviewer made some further changes on the text and I donāt know which text can be shown in my portfolio ).
Should there be a note (under the text) about the revision?
Hi @charlotte1, sorry for bothering
Could you please let me know how to proceed in cases where the translation has also been revised? (see question above)
Not urgent, so thereās no need to answer in the weekend, but it would be great to know how to proceed in such cases (regarding the personal portfolio)
We donāt have a specific policy on this, so weād advise you to use your best judgment here. You could use the translation as a part of your portfolio but specify that it is a revised version, for example.
The best way to make sure you know which part you either translated or revised, the best strategy is to save a copy of your work. You can also save the link to KatĆ³ TM. If you have neither, you can reach out to the PM responsible for your project and ask them to send you the KatĆ³ link, so you can save your work;
- like an interview of a victim / witness - or meant to be private 
- like a medical report, or perhaps a training session. But I will tag our kind 
).
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