{{Short description|U.S. nonprofit organization}} {{multiple issues| {{original research|date=January 2013}} {{primary sources|date=January 2013}} }} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2024}} {{Infobox organization | name = Translators without Borders | image = Translators without Borders.png | image_size = 250px | type = Non-profit | founded = 1993 (as Traducteurs Sans Frontières) | tax_id = Translators without Borders US, Inc. | registration_id = Translators without Borders US, Inc. | founder = Lori Thicke<br>Ros Smith-Thomas | location = [[Danbury, Connecticut|Danbury]], United States | coordinates = | origins = Paris, France | key_people = Andrew Bredenkamp (Board Chair)<br>Aimee Ansari (Executive Director) | region_served = Worldwide | product = | focus = Humanitarian and development assistance | method = Translation, language and content services | revenue = | endowment = | num_volunteers = over 100,000 | num_employees = 30–50 | num_members = | subsid = | owner = | former_name = | website = {{URL|http://translatorswithoutborders.org/}} | dissolved = | footnotes = }}

'''Translators without Borders''' ('''TWB''') is a non-profit organization<ref>''"Translators without borders expands management structure, holds first board meeting", Globalization and Localization Association (GALA), June 2010''</ref> set up to provide translation services for humanitarian non-profits. It was established in 2010 as a sister organization of {{lang|fr|Traducteurs Sans Frontières}}, founded in 1993 by Lori Thicke and Ros Smith-Thomas. As of 2022, it had over 100,000 members.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-08-08 |title=Celebrating 100,000 TWB community members |url=https://translatorswithoutborders.org/celebrating-100000-twb-community-members/ |access-date=2024-10-03 |website=Translators without Borders |language=en-US}}</ref> TWB's objective is to address language disparities that impede crucial humanitarian efforts. They aim to accomplish this by facilitating collaboration between non-profit humanitarian entities and a volunteer community of translators.<ref>[http://translorial.com/2012/01/01/translating-for-humanity/ TRANSLATING FOR HUMANITY&nbsp;– NCTA's Translorial Online Edition<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

The organization provides services to humanitarian non-profit organizations in need of translated content. Some of these include [[Doctors Without Borders]], [[Medecins du Monde]], [[UNICEF]], [[Oxfam]], [[Handicap International]]. They are known for translating information about reports, vital health information, and crisis response material for organizations responding to emergencies in different countries, such as [[Burundi]], [[Liberia]] and [[Greece]]. The organization translates over 10 million words per year.<ref>Multilingual Computing and Technology, volume 12 issue 8</ref> According to their website, Translators without Borders has donated over 50&nbsp;million translated words to non-profits.

On June 15, 2017, TWB and [[The Rosetta Foundation]] (TRF) agreed to merge operations. The merger was announced at the Localization World conference in [[Barcelona]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://translatorswithoutborders.org/translators-without-borders-and-the-rosetta-foundation-are-merging/|title=Translators without Borders and The Rosetta Foundation are merging|website=Translators without Borders|date=June 15, 2017|access-date=November 7, 2017}}</ref>

==Working with translators==

===Translators without Borders translation platform=== [[ProZ.com]] created an online automated translation platform for Translators without Borders in May 2011. This translation center was referred to as the Translators without Borders Workspace. Approved non-profits post [[translation project]]s are picked up by translators voluntarily.

The workspace was effective in increasing translation speed. When projects were handled manually, TWB translated 29 projects, with 37,000 words of text, in seven language pairs, for nine different organizations. In January 2012, seven months after the Translators without Borders Workspace was completed, they translated 183 projects, with 280,000 words, in 25 language pairs, for 24 organizations.<ref>{{cite web|last=Petras |first=Rebecca |url=http://hir.harvard.edu/youth-on-fire/translation?page=0,2 |title=Translation &#124; Harvard International Review |publisher=Hir.harvard.edu |date=November 30, 2012 |access-date=January 11, 2013}}</ref> In 2015 Translators without Borders reported to have delivered 7 million translated words through 780 projects to 214 aid organizations.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://translatorswithoutborders.org/node/213|title=Translators without Borders translates 30 million words for aid organisations {{!}} Translators without Borders|website=translatorswithoutborders.org|access-date=April 19, 2016}}</ref> In early 2017, TWB upgraded its translation platform by adding machine assisted translation technology and translation memory. The enhanced platform was named Kató. In June 2017 Translators without Borders merged with The Rosetta Foundation, an Irish registered non-profit organization is known to relieve poverty, support healthcare, develop education and promote justice through equal access to information and knowledge across the languages of the world.

===Volunteers===

TWB accepts applications from professional translators and people who are fluent in at least one language other than their native language.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://translatorswithoutborders.org/translators/ | title=Translators | publisher=Translators without Borders | access-date=August 29, 2016}}</ref> There is a streamlined process for applicants holding certifications from [[American Translators Association]], [[Lionbridge]], ProZ.com Certified PRO or with those with a MITI qualification from the [[Institute of Translating and Interpreting]]. Since merging with The Rosetta Foundation in mid-2017, TWB has acquired over 26,000 volunteers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.therosettafoundation.org/blog/translators-without-borders-and-the-rosetta-foundation-are-merging/|title=Translators without Borders and The Rosetta Foundation are merging {{!}} The Rosetta Foundation|website=www.therosettafoundation.org|language=en-US|access-date=December 29, 2017}}</ref>

==Projects==

===Words of Relief project=== [[File:TWBK-photo.jpg|thumb|The Spider Network volunteers for the Words of Relief project]] [[File:Translation Matters The Story of our Work in Kenya.ogv|thumb|A video which communicates the effectiveness of translation in increasing communications with communities, and highlights the critical importance of local language communications in health, education and crisis situations.]] [[File:TWB Impact Study Infograph.pdf|thumb|Infograph showing the impact of translation]] Words of Relief (WoR) is a translation crisis relief network which aims to improve communications when the crisis response humanitarian workers and affected populations do not speak the same language.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ebola Outbreak: TWB providing translation in local languages|url=http://digitalhumanitarians.com/news/ebola-outbreak-twb-providing-translation-local-languages|website=Digital Humanitarian Network|access-date=August 10, 2015}}</ref> They are responsible for the following:<ref>{{cite web|title=Ebola: a crisis of language|url=http://odihpn.org/magazine/ebola-a-crisis-of-language/|website=The Humanitarian Practice Network|publisher=Nadia Berger & Grace Tang|date=June 2015|access-date=March 15, 2016}}</ref> * Translating key crisis and disaster messages into the relevant languages and openly distributing them ahead of potential crises. * Building a network of translators around the world who can translate from world languages into regional languages and who are trained to assist immediately. * Creating a crowd sourced, online (and mobile) application that connects the translation team with aid workers and data aggregators who need immediate help (entitled the Words of Relief Digital Exchange&nbsp;– WoRDE).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://repository.translatorswithoutborders.org/en/home-en/|title=TWB Repository&nbsp;– Free Translations|website=repository.translatorswithoutborders.org|access-date=May 17, 2016}}</ref>

Words of Relief was piloted from January 2014 to May 2015 in [[Nairobi]], [[Kenya]] and concentrated on [[Swahili language|Swahili]] and [[Somali language|Somali]]. Approximately 475,000 words of crisis relief content from various sources including the Infoasaid Message Library were translated.

The Words of Relief model has been deployed to respond to several crises worldwide, including the [[Ebola]] emergency<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://thecontentwrangler.com/2016/04/15/content-crisis-translators-without-borders/|title=Content and Crisis: Translators Without Borders|date=April 15, 2016|website=The Content Wrangler|access-date=May 17, 2016}}</ref> in West Africa and the [[April 2015 Nepal earthquake|2015 Nepal earthquake]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/heather-leson/how-digital-humanitarians_b_9101950.html|title=How Digital Humanitarians Are Closing the Gaps In Worldwide Disaster Response|date=January 28, 2016|website=HuffPost|access-date=May 17, 2016}}</ref> Response Teams in [[Arabic]], [[Persian language|Persian]], [[Greek language|Greek]], [[Kurdish language|Kurdish]] and [[Urdu]] also provide rapid translations for aid organizations along the refugee route in Europe. Teams of professional volunteers work with partners to translate information on reception centres and ferry strikes, signage for the centres, and health information.

Words of Relief relies on a crowd-sourced, online (and mobile) application, called the Words of Relief Digital Exchange (WoRDE). The platform was launched in 2014 and it connects teams of rapid response translators with aid workers to do&nbsp; translations during a sudden onset crisis.

Words of Relief is supported by the Humanitarian Innovation Fund, a program managed by ELRHA. The Words of Relief Digital Exchange is funded by Microsoft's Technology for Good.<ref>{{cite web|title=Translators without Borders Receives Funding for Crisis Relief Network|url=http://translatorswithoutborders.org/node/21|website=Translators without Borders|publisher=Rebecca Petras}}</ref>

===The HealthPhone project=== Translators without Borders is in partnership with the Mother and Child Health and Education Trust in India. HealthPhone, which was founded and created by Nand Wadhwani, creates health videos that are preloaded to phones throughout India and other countries that speak Indo-Aryan languages.<ref>[http://rising.globalvoicesonline.org/blog/2012/08/30/languages-translating-health-content-without-borders/ Rising Voices » Languages: Translating Health Content Without Borders<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The videos cover a variety of health issues, such as [[breastfeeding]], [[malnutrition]], [[post-natal]] and [[newborn care]], and more.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://twbnewsletter.translatorswithoutborders.org/the-health-phone-subtitling-project-saving-lives-through-captioning/ |title=The Health Phone Project: Saving lives through subtitling&#124; The Health Phone Project: Saving lives through subtitling |publisher=Twbnewsletter.translatorswithoutborders.org |access-date=January 11, 2013}}</ref>

Through translators, videos are subtitled so that people throughout [[India]] (and in [[Africa]]) who do not speak or read the source language can learn from the videos. So far videos have been subtitled into about 10 [[Indo-Aryan languages]], [[Swahili language|Swahili]] and [[Spanish language|Spanish]].

===Simple Words for Health=== Simple Words for Health (SWFH), a simplified medical terminology resource, was set up in 2014. SWFH is a database of 12,000 essential medical terms that have been simplified and translated into more than 40 world languages by qualified doctors and trained medical translators.

===Wikipedia=== In 2011, Translators without Borders began a collaborative effort to translate medical articles on [[English Wikipedia]] into other languages.<ref>{{cite news |title=Translators fight the fatal effects of the language gap |first=Mark |last=Tran |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2012/apr/11/volunteers-translation-language-health-messages |newspaper=The Guardian |date=April 11, 2012 |access-date=May 10, 2012}}</ref> The WikiProject Medicine Translation Task Force initially focused on 80 medical articles with the goal of achieving {{wli|WP:good article|n|y}} or {{wli|WP:featured article|n|y}} status on those articles.<ref>[http://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/08/09/wikipedia-project-takes-on-global-healthcare-information-gap/ Wikipedia project takes on global healthcare information gap&nbsp;— Wikimedia blog<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> After the improvement of the articles, they are then translated into simplified English by Content Rules (the simplified English is provided on the Wikipedia simplified English site). The organization aims to translate these articles into all 285 languages Wikipedia offers. Articles are also translated into spoken Wikipedia. This process is expected to take several years.

===Training Center in Kenya=== In April 2012, Translators without Borders opened its first Healthcare Translation Center in [[Nairobi|Nairobi, Kenya]]. New translators in the centre are trained to work in Kiswahili, as well as a number of the other 42 languages spoken in Kenya. Since the Center was first launched in 2012, basic translation training has been provided to over 250 people. This project focuses on healthcare information translated into Swahili.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/translators-bridges-communication-in-kenya-healthcare-149036215/370034.html|title=Translators Bridge Communication in Kenya Healthcare|website=VOA|date=April 25, 2012 |access-date=May 17, 2016}}</ref>

The purpose of the Healthcare Translation Center is to train local Kenyans with backgrounds in language or health to become professional translators. These translators assist in the process of getting healthcare information out in Swahili.

==Management== Translators without Borders is managed by a board of directors. Day-to-day operations are managed by a staff who report to an Executive Director and senior management staff.

==Criticism== Concerns have been raised about possible conflicts of interest within TWB's board of directors and Board of Advisors, because of the presence of major industry players who own or operate commercial concerns.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lossner |first=Kevin |title=Translators Without Borders: cui bono? |url=https://www.translationtribulations.com/2014/10/translators-without-borders-cui-bono.html |access-date=September 2, 2023 |language=en}}</ref> These concerns seem to have caused former members of the board to step down.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bielsa |first1=Esperança |title=The Routledge handbook of translation and globalization |last2=Kapsaskis |first2=Dionysios |date=2020 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-8153-5945-6 |series=Routledge handbooks in translation and interpreting studies |location=London |pages=418}}</ref> Among the ethically questionable practices that have been pointed out, there is the fact that texts translated on a voluntary basis benefit corporations represented on the TWB board,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lossner |first=Kevin |title=Translators Without Borders: some projects |url=https://www.translationtribulations.com/2014/10/translators-without-borders-some.html |access-date=September 2, 2023 |language=en}}</ref> that these corporations might have leveraged "unpaid crowdsourcing" to improve machine translation solutions,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lossner |first=Kevin |title=Translators Without Borders: the ACCEPT project |url=https://www.translationtribulations.com/2014/11/translators-without-borders-accept.html |access-date=September 2, 2023 |language=en}}</ref> and that TWB "has helped profit-making concerns [...] obtain public monies for developing valuable digital media translation solutions". Baker and Piróth define as "problematic" the fact that some of the "participating for-profits" in TWB's projects are "handsomely paid", while those who undertake translation tasks are "systematically asked to work on a volunteer basis".<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bielsa |first1=Esperança |title=The Routledge handbook of translation and globalization |last2=Kapsaskis |first2=Dionysios |date=2020 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-8153-5945-6 |series=Routledge handbooks in translation and interpreting studies |location=London |pages=420}}</ref>

==See also== * [[Science and Development Network]]

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

==External links== * {{official website|http://translatorswithoutborders.org/}} * [https://archive.today/20130113130901/http://www.tsf-twb.org/index-fr.shtml TSF site] {{in lang|fr}}

===Mentions by the press=== * "[https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2012/apr/11/volunteers-translation-language-health-messages Translators fight the fatal effects of the language gap]" ''The Guardian'', April 11, 2012 * "[http://www.econtentmag.com/Articles/Column/Flexing-Your-Content/Leveraging-the-Web-to-Overcome-Challenges-in-the-Developing-World-83535.htm/ Leveraging the Web to Overcome Challenges in the Developing World]", ''EContent Magazine'', July 5, 2012 * "[http://rising.globalvoicesonline.org/blog/2012/08/30/languages-translating-health-content-without-borders/ Translating Health Content Without Borders]", ''Global Voices'', August 30, 2012 * "[https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/30/business/media/editing-wikipedia-pages-for-med-school-credit.html Editing Wikipedia Pages for Med School Credit]" ''The New York Times'', September 29, 2013 * "[https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/10/should-i-be-getting-health-information-from-wikipedia/280138/ Should I be getting health information from Wikipedia]", ''The Atlantic'', October 1, 2013 * [http://theglobalcalcuttan.com/?p=4023 Quest to Spread Dignity, Born in Calcutta], ''The Global Calcuttan'', July 1, 2015 * "[http://soundcloud.com/bbc-world-service/world-update-translators-without-borders-take-on-ebola Translators without Borders Take on Ebola]", [[The BBC World Service Radio]] * "[https://deeply.thenewhumanitarian.org/refugees/articles/2016/03/16/lesbos-online-volunteers-bridge-language-gap Lesbos: Online Volunteers Bridge Language Gap]"{{dead link|date=October 2023}}, ''News Deeply,'' March 2016 * "[http://innovation.unhcr.org/making-sure-refugees-arent-lost-translation-one-simple-app/ Making sure refugees aren't lost in translation&nbsp;– with one simple app]", ''UNHCR Innovation,'' April 19, 2016 * {{cite web|url= http://www.elrha.org/project/words-of-relief/ |website= Humanitarian Innovation Fund Blog |title= Translators without Borders|date= November 23, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304092910/http://www.elrha.org/project/words-of-relief/|archive-date=March 4, 2016|access-date= March 16, 2019}} * {{cite web|url= http://innovatedevelopment.org/2014/05/25/breaking-down-linguistic-barriers-with-words-of-relief|title= Breaking Down Linguistic Barriers with Words of Relief|first=Courtney |last=Mollenhauer |date= May 25, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181227085425/http://innovatedevelopment.org/2014/05/25/breaking-down-linguistic-barriers-with-words-of-relief|archive-date= December 27, 2018|access-date=March 16, 2019}} * {{cite web|url= http://indigotrust.org.uk/2015/05/07/making-translation-a-priority-for-humanitarian-response/ |title= Making Translation a Priority for Humanitarian Response|website=The Indigo Trust|first1=Matthew |last1=O'Reilly |first2=Grace |last2=Tang|date=May 7, 2015|access-date=March 16, 2019}} * {{cite web|url=http://www.chocmoosu.com/ebola-video-potential-audience-400-million-africans/|title= Ebola Video Has Potential Audience of 400 Million Africans|first= Mike |last=Levin |website= Behaviour Change Communication, Developing world, Ebola, Firdaus Kharas, Human Rights, Media For Social Change |date= November 11, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160304132838/http://www.chocmoose.com/ebola-video-potential-audience-400-million-africans/|archive-date= March 4, 2016|access-date= March 16, 2019}} * {{cite web|url= http://www.commonsenseadvisory.com/Default.aspx?Contenttype=ArticleDetAD&tabID=63&Aid=20264&moduleId=390|title =Translators without Borders Receives Grant from Microsoft|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140726115043/http://www.commonsenseadvisory.com/Default.aspx?Contenttype=ArticleDetAD&tabID=63&Aid=20264&moduleId=390 |archive-date= July 26, 2014|website= Common Sense Advisory}} * {{cite web|url=http://blogs.microsoft.com/firehose/2014/03/07/microsoft-grants-three-nonprofits-cash-software-and-services-for-technology-innovation/|title= Microsoft Grants Three Nonprofits Cash, Software and Services for Technology Innovation|date= March 7, 2014|first= James |last= Rooney|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150615021844/http://blogs.microsoft.com/firehose/2014/03/07/microsoft-grants-three-nonprofits-cash-software-and-services-for-technology-innovation/ |archive-date= June 15, 2015|access-date= November 9, 2016|website= The Fire Hose}} {{Sansfrontieres}} {{Authority control}}

[[Category:501(c)(3) organizations]] [[Category:Articles containing video clips]] [[Category:Companies based in Danbury, Connecticut]] [[Category:Non-profit organizations based in Connecticut]] [[Category:Organizations established in 1993]] [[Category:Translation associations]]