General FAQ

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Revision as of 10:07, 22 August 2011 by ElsDK (talk | contribs) (Added ==Do I need to be online all the time while I work on my translation?==)
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Do I need to be online all the time while I work on my translation?

No, you can also translate offline and upload your translation when it's finished. The Hungarian TED Translator team have prepared a short guide to translating offline.

How do I know which changes the reviewer made to my translation?

There are two ways of knowing which changes a reviewer made to your translation:

  • If you still have access to the translation in dotSUB, the lines that have been modified by the reviewer will be yellow. However, dotsub does not show the exact changes made by the reviewer.
  • Even without access to the translation in dotSUB, e.g. because the review was completed while you were on holidays, you can still find out what the reviewer has changed. Proceed as follows:
  1. Download the attachment from the mail that was sent to you by TED announcing the start of the review. This mail has the following header: Ready for review: [Title of the Talk]
  2. Download the attachment from the mail that was sent to you by TED announcing the completion of the review. This mail has the following header: Ready to publish: [Title of the Talk]
  3. Compare both documents in a word processor, using the "Track Changes" feature. This will show you the exact changes made by the reviewer. If you were not consulted by the reviewer and you do not agree with the changes, you can send a mail to subtitles@ted.com and ask them to reopen the translation.
  4. You can also use this method before the end of the review process, during the phase of discussion between translator and reviewer. In that case, you should export the modified text from dotSUB. Use the "Export" button in the "Controls" section on the bottom of the dotSUB page. Compare this exported version with the one under 1, using the "Track Changes" feature.

Do TED translators get paid?

TED does not pay for translations (just as we don’t pay speakers to present), but we will give you credit for your work by name on our website.

How long can I work on my translation?

We ask that you complete your translation within 30 days. If you’re unable to finish, there might be someone else in our translator community who can finish the work you began. If you want to relinquish ownership of a translation you were unable to finish, please email us.

What if I don't agree with the changes the reviser made to my translation?

dotSUB automatically emails you and the reviser once a translation has been assigned for review. We encourage revisers to contact translators with suggested changes before they actually make them. Since both of your names will appear on the translation when it is published on TED, we want you to both be satisfied with the quality. Please email us immediately if a dispute arises.

Where can I get help with using dotSUB?

You can find help on the dotSUB Help Portal.

Check our DotSUB Tips & Tricks page.

I've tried to translate a talk, but dotSUB is denying me access. What's wrong?

You must first request to translate the talk by clicking on the button on the talk page on dotSUB. Once someone at TED approves your request, you may begin translating. We try to respond as quickly as possible, but it may take as long as 48 hours.

Can more than one person work on a translation?

Yes. We prefer the process where one person translates and one person reviews, but you may work on a translation as a group if you wish. We can only give credit, however, to two people when the translation is published on TED.com

Why is TED offering subtitles instead of dubbing voiceovers in other languages?

Subtitling has the additional benefits of making our talks available to audience members who are hearing-impaired. Along with subtitles, we're also providing interactive transcripts for each talk, which allow users to select any sentence in the talk, and be taken directly to the appropriate moment in the video. The transcripts are fully indexable by search engines, revealing previously inaccessible content within the talks themselves. For example, someone searching on Google for "green roof" would find the moment in architect William McDonoughs talk when he discusses Fords River Rouge plant, and also the moment in Majora Carters talk when she spoke of her green roof project in the South Bronx.

Can I volunteer to transcribe talks in English?

Thanks for your interest, but we transcribe all talks in-house.

How do I find other translators working in my language?

There are several places to find other translators in your language:

Can I use other tools outside of TED or dotSUB to organize other translators working in my language?

Please do. We have purposefully taken a light-handed approach here in order to encourage the translators to find solutions that best fit the way they want to work. To determine whether a group already exists in your language, check the discussion board on our Facebook group I Translate TEDTalks. You can also email the TED Staff.

I already use other software to create subtitles. Can I upload an SRT file to dotSUB?

Yes. The link to do this is at the very bottom of the translation page for your talk on dotSUB. The dotSUB system is finicky about what it will accept, though. It doesn't like extra spaces or extra carriage returns. It also won't accept your file if you attempt to adjust the timecode. Download a completed SRT file from another talk to compare formatting.

Check our short guide to translating offline for more details about the procedure.

Someone has checked out a talk I want to translate, but they don't appear to be working on it. What should I do?

Try posting to your language's thread on the discussion area of our Facebook group I Translate TEDTalks. If your language already has a self-organized group, check in with them. If that fails, you can contact the TED Staff.

I want to link to my TEDTalks translation on my blog. Is that OK?

Please do!

I want to create a version of TED.com in my language. Can I?

You are welcome to embed TEDTalks or syndicate them in your language via an RSS feed. If you wish to do more than that, please see the guidelines for the TEDx program, which allows anyone, anywhere, to hold their own TED-style events.

What if I find an obvious factual mistake in a TED Talk that is not a transcription error?

In that case, you can send a mail to the TED Staff or post your comment on our Facebook group I Translate TEDTalks. The TED Staff will put the correct text between brackets.

An example of this is the correction of "playing music to your baby in vitro" to "playing music to your baby in [utero] (Tod Machover and Dan Ellsey play new music, 00:17).

Are there any other sites that have videos like TED?

Here’s a list.