TED Translators attending TEDActive 2011 in Palm Springs, CA. Photo: Michael Brands

Today is the 2-year anniversary of the Open Translation Project! To date, our volunteer translators have created over 18,000 translations of TEDTalks in 81 languages. For the occasion, we asked a few translators to tell us (in English and the language they translate in) about some of the talks they’ve worked on by filling in the sentence:

   (Name of talk)    is the most __________ talk I’ve translated because …

Here’s what they had to say …

Jenny Yang, Chinese translator:
Tim Berners-Lee: The year open data went worldwide is the most mindset-changing talk I’ve translated because I believe enabling and allowing people to access open data helps ordinary people see the truth, and it also builds the foundation for public participation in democracy.

蒂姆•伯纳斯•李: [公开数据遍布世界新纪元]是我翻译过的最具社会影响力，拓宽人们视野的演讲之一，因为我相信公开数据技术会帮助公众辨明是非，也为公众广泛地参与民主打下了基础。

Watch it with Chinese subtitles:

[ted id=788 lang=chi_hans]

Iva Todorova, Bulgarian translator:
Benjamin Zander on music and passion is the most inspiring talk I’ve translated because I believe the shortest way to make the world a better place is by loving what we do, and by sharing our passion with other people.

Бенджамин Зандер за музиката и страстта е най-вдъхновяващата презентация, която съм превела, защото вярвам, че най-лесният начин да направим света по-добър е, като обичаме това, което правим, и споделяме нашата страст с другите.

Watch it with Bulgarian subtitles:

[ted id=286 lang=bul]

Ivana Korom, Serbian translator:
Jane McGonigal: Gaming can make a better world is the most influential talk I translated because it gave me a new perspective on gamers’ psyche and I realized how powerful games and game dynamics can be.

“Džejn MakGonigal: Igranje igara može poboljšati svet” je najuticajniji TEDTalk koji sam prevela jer sam stekla novi uvid u psihu igrača i shvatila koliko igre i principi igara mogu biti moćni.

Watch it with Serbian subtitles:

[ted id=799 lang=scc]

Guarav Sharma, Hindi translator:
Kiran bedi: A police chief with a difference is the most inspiring talk I have translated because it’s a magnanimous example of one thing: any good change can be brought by a single person if he/she stands up for it.

मैंने किरण बेदी एक अलग पुलिस मुखिया का अनुवाद किया क्यूंकि यह एक बहुत बड़ा उदाहरण है की बदलाव के लिए जरुरी है किसी का सही चीजों क लिए खड़ा होना!!

Watch it with Hindi subtitles:

[ted id=1032 lang=hin]

Lourdes Cahuich, Spanish translator:
Jill Tarter’s TED Prize wish is the best talk I’ve translated because she inspired me to look beyond my everyday problems and made me look at my life as a human being — “one possible outcome of billions of years of evolution of Hydrogen and Helium” — and how the SETI research could change our history.

La charla del deseo TED Prize de Jill Tarter es la mejor charla que he traducido por que ella me inspira a mirar más allá de mis problemas cotidianos y me hace ver mi vida como ser humano como…”un posible resultado de miles de millones de años de evolución del hidrógeno y el helio”, y cómo la investigación SETI cambiará nuestra historia.

Watch it with Spanish subtitles:

[ted id=468 lang=spa]

Kostas Karpouzis, Greek translator:
Gaming can make a better world by Jane McGonigal is the most inspiring talk I’ve translated because it offers insight on how gaming concepts can be applied to real-world problems and, more importantly, why gaming is so appealing to so many people, often distanced from those problems; we really have to find a way to make use of game players’ skills and values in the real world, if we want to stand a chance as a society.

Η ομιλία με τίτλο “Τα παιχνίδια μπορούν να κάνουν τον κόσμο μας καλύτερο” από τη Jane McGonigal αποτέλεσε έμπνευση για μένα, γιατί προσφέρει ιδέες για το λόγο για τον οποίο τα παιχνίδια είναι τόσο ελκυστικά σε ένα ειδικό κοινό και για το πώς μπορούν τα παιχνίδια σοβαρού σκοπού να χρησιμοποιηθούν για τη λύση προβλημάτων στον πραγματικό κόσμο – για να γίνει αυτό όμως, απαραίτητη προϋπόθεση είναι να εντάξουμε σε αυτήν τη διαδικασία τους παίκτες και τις δυνατότητες και τις αξίες τους.

Watch it with Greek subtitles:

[ted id=799 lang=gre]

Kelwalin Dhanasarnsombut, Thai translator:
Anthony Atala: Printing a human kidney is the talk I have translated because it’s very inspiring and his idea is worth spreading.

“แอน โทนี่ อลาทา: พิมพ์ไตมนุษย์” เป็นปาฐกถาที่ฉันแปล เพราะเนื้อหาของปาฐกถาก่อให้เกิดแรงบันดาลใจและความคิดของคุณหมอ เป็นความคิดที่ควรค่ายิ่งแก่การเผยแผ่แบ่งปัน

Watch it with Thai subtitles:

[ted id=1088 lang=tha]

Gauthier Nadaud, French translator:
Jimmy Wales on the birth of Wikipedia is one of the most inspiring talks I have translated because Wikipedia is one of the most beautiful examples of collective work, one international and volunteer team united in one goal: sharing knowledge all around the world!

Jimmy Wales et la naissance de Wikipédia est l’une des plus intéressantes conférences que j’ai eu l’occasion de traduire, Wikipedia est l’un des plus beau exemple travail collectif, une équipe bénévole et internationale qui travaille main dans la main dans un seul but : le partage de connaissances !

Watch it with French subtitles:

[ted id=37 lang=fre_fr]

Bill Hsiung, Chinese translator:
Janine Benyus shares nature’s designs is the most life-changing talk I’ve translated because now I believe learning from nature from the bottom up is the only way out for humanity.

Janine Benyus 分享自然的設計  是我所翻譯過對人生影響最為深遠的一個演講，因為它令我相信：唯有從根本上向大自然學習，才是人類文明唯一的出路。

Watch it with Chinese subtitles:

[ted id=18 lang=chi_hant]