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Translator Quick Start Guide

Welcome to the MakerDAO Translation Initiative. Our goal is to bring Maker’s educational content worldwide by providing material for people in their native languages. This document summarizes the guidelines for translators.

Roles and Responsibilities

The role of a translator is to create the initial translation from the original English documents.

Their responsibility is to:

  • Translate as accurately as possible: All languages have their nuances, so there is some flexibility when changing the text to be more readable in a new language. Communicate with the rest of the team early and often in the #translation channel. Don’t be afraid to ask others for advice.
  • Decide which unique terms translate: Refer to the Glossary, if the term doesn’t appear there, bring the subject up in the #translation room for discussion.
  • Provide accurate spelling and grammar
  • Be consist: Ensure terms are translated uniformly across all documents.
  • Maintain simplicity: Writing should be plain, simple, and accessible. Maintain contact with other translators as they work on documents. Be sure to agree on translated terms and other conventions.
  • Format consistently: Ensure that translated documents retain original formatting.
  • Adhere to the Writing Style Guide

Language

The blockchain space is relatively new. Various languages are slowly developing terms to match the English vocabulary. Reach out to other community members in the #translation room to consult on the best way to translate various terminology.

There’s an English glossary of MakerDAO terms which one can work from. There is a chance this glossary has been translated into your language. You should strive to translate each of these terms in a way that makes sense. Additionally, the way the terms are translated should be consistent throughout the documents.

Best Practices

  • Use Markdown: All documents are formatted in Markdown. They contain headers, lists, links, tables, etc. Information about Markdown can be found on Wikipedia. Alternatively, this cheat-sheet is a good reference.
  • Maintain Original Formatting: Refer to the style guide.
  • Use a Markdown Editor: Editors like hackmd.io or VScode make working with Markdown more convenient.
  • Keep Hyperlinks as they are: Do not translate them. The editors will handle any necessary changes to links.
  • Take notes: of the specific things you would like editors to keep in mind.
  • Editor Tools: Feel free to use any software that helps find translation errors and improve writing. We encourage using tools that assist workflow but copying directly from a program will disqualify you from receiving a bounty and from future assignments. Please use them as an aide and not a substitute for your work.
  • Communicate early and often: Join the #translation channel in our chat. We encourage reaching out to translators and editors for guidance.

Getting Started

  • Join our Chat.
  • Ask about open translation opportunities in the #translation channel.
  • Fill out the application form.
  • Get assigned a task by the project coordinator.
  • Go to GitHub documents list and select the assigned document, eg: Dai FAQ.
  • Click "Raw", select all, and copy to clipboard.
  • Go to the markdown editor of your choice.
  • Start translating.
  • Forward the completed document to the project coordinator, keeping its original name, eg. dai.md.
  • Soon after, the editor will read over your work and may reach out to you for clarifications and opinions.
  • Once the editing process is finished, the project coordinator will publish the work and you will get information on how to collect the bounty.
  • Get paid.

Need assistance?

We’ve created a dedicated channel for the Translation Initiative. Come talk to us.

We're always looking for ways to improve this program. Please don’t hesitate to share your feedback