Wikipedia:Translate us

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This page is a guide for anyone, but particularly new volunteers, willing to help translate articles from the English Wikipedia into other languages.

Welcome to Wikipedia

Hello!

The Wikipedia content may be used by anybody, provided appropriate credit is given. However, we're especially interested in having volunteers write articles to cover any gaps where there are English Wikipedia pages but none on any of the 300+ Wikipedias in other languages.

Before you start

Please spend some time becoming familiar with the fundamentals of editing Wikipedia before you begin translating articles. Please pay attention to the five pillars, or ideals, that serve as our compass.

The Wikipedia for each language has its own rules for inclusion, content, sourcing, etc. Following the instructions below will allow you to build an article on another Wikipedia that is equally subject to those rules as one you would write from start. Therefore, make sure that your translated article complies with the destination Wikipedia's policies and that you are aware of them.Thank you for the reminder! To effectively contribute to Wikipedia, especially when translating articles, it's important to understand its foundational principles and guidelines. Here's an overview of key points to keep in mind:

1. Five Pillars of Wikipedia The Five Pillars guide how articles should be written and how contributors should behave. These include:

Encyclopedic content: Wikipedia aims to create a neutral, factual, and well-sourced encyclopedia, avoiding original research or biased viewpoints. Neutral point of view (NPOV): Articles must present facts fairly, without personal opinion, and without promoting or condemning any subject. Verifiability: Information in articles must be verifiable and backed up by reliable sources. Claims without proper citations are not acceptable. No original research (NOR): Only information that has already been published by reliable sources can be included. Do not add new interpretations, theories, or unproven ideas. Free content: Wikipedia’s content must be freely licensed so that it can be freely used, modified, and distributed. 2. Language-Specific Wikipedia Rules Each language version of Wikipedia has its own set of specific guidelines and norms, which may differ slightly from others. This is important when translating articles as they may require adjustments to match the conventions, tone, and formatting of the destination language. For instance:

Cultural Context: Different languages may have unique perspectives or sensitivities to certain topics. Ensure that the article respects the local cultural context and avoids unnecessary bias. Notability: The standards for what constitutes "notable" might vary across languages. Articles must meet the notability criteria in the target Wikipedia to be accepted. Sources and References: Wikipedia rules for what counts as a "reliable source" can differ by language. It’s essential to make sure that the sources used are considered reliable and appropriate for that language’s version of Wikipedia. 3. Compliance with Policies Before translating, familiarize yourself with the policies and guidelines of the destination Wikipedia. Some key policies to review include:

Article structure: The general format and structure might differ depending on the language version. For example, sections like "History," "Reception," or "References" might be named differently. Citations and footnotes: Different language Wikipedias may have specific formatting styles for citations and references. Be sure to adhere to those standards when translating content. 4. Translation Guidelines When translating articles from one language Wikipedia to another:

Accuracy: Ensure that you translate the meaning correctly without introducing errors or personal opinions. Neutrality: The article must maintain a neutral tone, even if the original article contains biased language or controversial topics. Attribution: Always provide attribution to the original authors and include a note that the content has been translated. Formatting: Stick to the target Wikipedia’s style, including heading formats, citation styles, and general layout. By being mindful of these principles and taking time to familiarize yourself with the destination Wikipedia’s rules, you can help ensure that the translated article aligns with its policies and contributes positively to the platform.

Would you like more specific information on a particular Wikipedia version or guidance on any of these points?

Here's how you can help

Sign up for a Wikipedia account (not mandatory, but very useful).

Content translation tool

The Wikipedia:Content translation tool can be used to assist with translation of English Wikipedia articles (and other pages) into other-language Wikipedias, that have no corresponding article for the same topic. Mere machine translations, without substantial modification are highly undesirable. For that reason you must have a reasonable level of fluency, so that you can make appropriate changes to the tool's automated output.
To check whether an English Wikipedia page you are viewing has an existing page in another language, look to see whether the desired language is linked under the "Languages" section of the page's left-hand sidebar [Now at the top of the page across from the title]. Note that though the lack of a language link normally means no article exists, occasionally pages may actually exist but that have not yet been properly linked. If that is found, please help add the link by following these instructions.
If appropriate, please tidy up the layout of any pages you translate. Please note that some non-prose elements of pages, such as templates like Infoboxes, may be placed using different wording in other-language Wikipedias, and so at times cannot simply be copied from one Wikipedia to another (when that is encountered, fix the template name, delete or add suitable parameters, etc.). It may be appropriate to check the list of available templates on the Wikipedia into which you are translating, and, if necessary, to help improve the translation of the template using TemplateData.

Go to Content Translation Tool

Handmade

Find a suitable page that exists on the English Wikipedia, but not on Wikipedia in the other language (or where the other language only has a stub).
On the other Wikipedia, go to the corresponding page or enter the wanted name in the search box. Then click the button marked "create" or "edit" in the new language. If you are not logged in to an account then some languages have no option to create a page directly. In that case, try looking for the language to the left of Wikipedia: Article wizard, or create an account, or ask for help at the other Wikipedia.
Paste your translation on the target page. Don't worry too much about formatting at this stage.
Save the page, including an edit summary providing mandatory copyright attribution stating what you're about to do and that the text was translated from the English Wikipedia. You must provide an interlanguage link to the source article by name, to give credit to the original writers. We suggest text for the edit summary like:
Content in this edit is from the existing English Wikipedia article at [[:en: Exact name of English article/page]]; see its history for attribution. Formatting follows.
Go to the sidebar and click "Add links" or "Edit links" (under 'Languages', in the language of that wiki). Enter "en" as the language of the wiki you got the content from, and the title of the page you translated, then click "Link with page".
If appropriate, edit again, tidy up the layout, and add links, headings, and images. If you want to add templates, do that, too. (Note that templates for such items as Infoboxes have different wording in other languages Wikipedias, and can't simply be copied from one Wikipedia to another. Check the list of available templates on Wikipedia into which you are translating. If necessary, help to improve the translation of the template using TemplateData.)
Save again, including a suitable edit summary.
Check and correct as necessary.

Thank you!

Classroom collaborations

Wikipedia welcomes the involvement of students in article editing. Article translation is particularly well-suited to student involvement. We suggest that they are asked to translate from the language they are learning, to the language with which they are already familiar.

Such efforts provide useful, real-world translation experience for students, who will be motivated by the fact that their work will be seen by thousands of Wikipedia readers. This also benefits Wikipedia readers, who gain access to information about other cultures and peoples. For assistance setting up a classroom translation project, please see Wikipedia: WikiProject Classroom coordination and Wikipedia: School and university projects.

Userbox

{{User Translator 2}} may be used to indicate your willingness to translate/proofread and your participation in this project:

{{User Translator 2|es}} produces:

This user is a translator from English to Spanish on Wikipedia:Translate us.

{{User Translator 2|hi|proofreader=yes}} produces:

This user is a translator and proofreader from English to Hindi on Wikipedia:Translate us.

{{User Translator 2|ar|project=no}} produces:

This user likes to translate articles from English to Arabic.

{{User Translator 2|de|proofreader=yes|project=no}} produces:

This user likes to translate and proofread articles from English to German.

After putting this template on a user page, the page will be added to the appropriate subcategory of Category: Available translators in Wikipedia. When the proofreader attribute is set to 'yes', the page will also be added to a subcategory of Category: Available proofreaders in Wikipedia.

External links

Abstract Wikipedia.
Wiktionary:Translations
Meta: Translation of the week
MediaWiki translation on translatewiki.net, a localisation platform for translation communities, language communities, and open source projects

This page serves as a reference for anyone, but especially for new contributors, interested in assisting in the translation of articles "from" the English Wikipedia "into" other languages.