Often times we are asked about "translation" or someone just says outright, "put google translate on my site". They'll even go so far as to reference a law that says they need it in order to comply. The truth is "translation" isn't about a technology or piece of software, but rather similar to accessibility it's about a set of best-practices and recommended features for your site.
Certainly as a developer it's much easier to put a few lines of JavaScript into a theme file or include it in the header and just check off the "translation" checkbox, but are we really meeting the goal?
I think it's too much time under the business analyst hat that has me always looking deeper into not only the headline of requirements but why they exist at all. So when someone tells me they "have" to have their site translated I push back and ask "why". Then when they reference a law or a statute or a policy, i read it and actually ask them if translating the website alone will mean compliance.
Take for example this sentence from a document a user recently brought to my attention...
From: Code of Federal Regulations (Title 29 Part 38)
Excerpt: A recipient should ensure that every program delivery avenue (e.g. electronic, in person, telephonic) conveys in the appropriate languages how an individual may effectively learn about, participate in, and/or access and aid, benefit, service, or training that the recipient provides.
Now if you read that sentence you'll see that translating the website is only a very small portion, in fact it's only a small portion of "electronic". You see because, and I'll use the google widget as an example, these "silver bullet" widgets only translate the visible HTML it means they miss any text "burned in" on images. It also won't cover any PDFs or office documents someone may download. Let alone emails you may try to exchange with a potential "aid recipient".
Now take into account the fact that your call center and walk-up services also either must have access to or be trained in interpreting and you've now got a picture of what following the true spirit of the law means. Think of it this way, how well will your baseball be in the field if you only man first base and the pitchers mound and leave all the other positions empty?
Now for those who need further proof to demonstrate that there is no "magic pill" that solves the issue and in fact they can make things worse by trying to have an automated system translate "meaning" and "intent" here are a couple links from federal sites which cover the topic very well and should hold weight with management, at least more so than the blog ramblings of a developer.
Lost in Translation - A quick piece about how automated translation is seen as a "silver bullet" but really the problem is much larger.
Dept. of Labor (Machine Translation) slide deck: a comprehensive look at the pitfalls of automated translation and a set of best practices and suggested approved alternatives and additives to automated translations.
Of course, I'm always interested in your views on it and your experiences in handling this request. Please comment and let me know your story and how it went.
2 comments:
Great post!
Hey Chris, nice blog!
John C.
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