12 July 2011

Ideas worth translating: TEDGlobal Translator Workshop

For the first time at TEDGlobal, a small group of TED Translators came together to present ideas and talk about the future of the Open Translation Project. Discussions centered around how to better collaborate, communicate and capture knowledge amongst the TED translator community, as well as playing subtitled TEDTalks in schools and engaging with the TED community at large. Addressing the workshop attendees, TED’s June Cohen said, “Translators are knit into the fabric of what TED is — and what it’s becoming. Not only have you taken the TED mission farther than we imagined, but we’ve learned from you.”

Armenian translator Kristine Sargsyan presented on bringing translated TEDTalks into schools. Spanish translator Lidia Cámara de la Fuente talked about universal Spanish — that is, reconciling the language variations across Spanish-speaking countries. Kaloyana Milinova shared her story of collaboration with the MaYoMo translation team and TEDx in Bulgaria. Katja Tongucer, a German translator, explored how to improve translation quality through knowledge sharing.

Polish translator Krystian Aparta talked about translating terminology, telling the story of how he tracked down the perfect translation for a term in Janna Levin’s talk. Els De Keyser, a Dutch, French and Italian translator, connected online to talk about regionalism — and how translators and reviewers can work together to bridge differences by finding a mutually acceptable word. Serbian translator Ivana Korom talked about community building among the Serbian translators, and proposed the idea of regional translator workshops. And Jenny Yang, a Chinese translator, talked about how she noticed 3 different tribes of translators — and how and why they translate for TED.

Norwegian translator Martin Hassel brainstorms with TED engineers at the TED Translator Workshop in Edinburgh, Scotland. Photos: James Duncan Davidson / TED

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