The translation system is basically flawed

[Hagardunor]

I stumbled on another french translation which is a complete mess (tic-tac match tutorial : https://boardgamearena.com/tutorial?gam ... orial=1069).

There are tons of word by word translation which sound completely silly in french, there is the same word having two diverging translations in two phrases next to eachother (one of the translations is totally inadequate for the context), etc... etc... It took me just a few seconds to spot all these inconsistencies : why then could have they been left in the validated translation ? And I did not check the game translation itself : what can we fear to find if we do ?

I dare say that the translation system, and especially the validation process, is totally inefficient.

This comes on top of other flaws that I reported recently (serial translators, scavengers).

In my opinion, a deep revision of the translation and validation process is much needed, and of the rewarding system as well.

[Joe]

A huge part of the problem is the translation interface itself. For boardgames a CAT tool is quite a necessity, to include a Glossary (for keeping the translations of the same phrases/terms consistent) and also a Translation Memory (to ease translating similar phrases). Without that you are struggling anyway.

[cigma]

And I did not check the game translation itself : what can we fear to find if we do ?

The translation of the game itself is probably much better than the translation of the tutorial. This is the reason why:
Only a part of the players of a specific game use the tutorial, because the others already got to know the game in other ways (for example, through live play, through a video or on BGA before the tutorial was published). Besides, you usually watch a tutorial only once, while you probably play the game more often. Consequently, these translations are far less likely to be reviewed within 30 days than the translation of the game itself.

The translation process of tutorials is already discussed here: https://boardgamearena.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=29525

[SonicJuz]

Word for word (with barbarisms and false friends) translation is the habit of many people. There may exist two main reasons for that:
- it's quicker and they don't really care (what you seem to mention).
- it's easier and they can't really tell the difference or if a difference can be obtained.
In this latter case, it's not the same problem, it's not that the system shouldn't reward people that don't do a proper job, but that you shouldn't make rewards only for people who had the chance of a higher/more specific education. It's not a paid work, it's a sort of community task, contributing makes you belong to the community and by belonging you should logically have the same reward as any other. Most people contributing are aware that they can't code without studying code, but you can't tell them they don't know their own language (in fact no one knows the entirety of their language, but social structures control tightly what you know of it).
The only solution I see to this problem would be some sort of translation tutoring, developing some general cadre that would replace linguistic prerequisites.
As a rule of thumb, if it's possible that people do things in order to belong/help rather than because they are greedy, I think we should not take a path that punish them for doing things incorrectly.

[fruktansvärt]

well, I feel neither should we reward the for doing thing incorrectly.
in board games, a sloppy translation may result in wrong rules, and frustrated gamers.

[Hagardunor]

well, I feel neither should we reward the for doing thing incorrectly.
in board games, a sloppy translation may result in wrong rules, and frustrated gamers.

I fully agree.

I do not know how to pilot a plane and I refrain from taking the wheel and firing the motor when I step inside one of them (other passengers do not acknowledge how wise I am acting that way, but that's not the question).

For translators it is the same thing : if you do not master english language or your mother tongue enough (it's frequently both !) you should refrain from translating.

"Point barre" (in french)

[HockeyCeres]

I do not know how to pilot a plane and I refrain from taking the wheel and firing the motor when I step inside one of them (other passengers do not acknowledge how wise I am acting that way, but that's not the question).

For translators it is the same thing : if you do not master english language or your mother tongue enough (it's frequently both !) you should refrain from translating.

"Point barre" (in french)

Absolutely agreed. Well said. +1

[HockeyCeres]

A huge part of the problem is the translation interface itself. For boardgames a CAT tool is quite a necessity, to include a Glossary (for keeping the translations of the same phrases/terms consistent) and also a Translation Memory (to ease translating similar phrases). Without that you are struggling anyway.

While I do have some level of agreement, you still have search functions in the interface. If you won't use them and translate "randomly", and without consistency, then it's still your fault of being lazy or not well informed. As it has been said, there's a reason if you need a specific license to pilot an airplane, or to drive a car. While it would be stupid to think about having a "license" for translators (I am strongly against it in real life and in my professional job) - especially on a boardgaming website - the concept remains. I can't code, so I let programmers code our beloved games. If one can't translate properly, then they should simply find other ways to contribute to the website if they feel this need for whatever reason, including gaining experience in the translation fields to avoid doing random things to rush for points.

[Hagardunor]

... While it would be stupid to think about having a "license" for translators (I am strongly against it in real life and in my professional job) - especially on a boardgaming website - the concept remains. I can't code, so I let programmers code our beloved games. If one can't translate properly, then they should simply find other ways to contribute to the website if they feel this need for whatever reason, including gaining experience in the translation fields to avoid doing random things to rush for points.

I agree with your statement. However, some kind of "control" could be beneficial for the whole community (I believe there is one for beta testers, why not for translators ?)

[Joe]

A huge part of the problem is the translation interface itself. For boardgames a CAT tool is quite a necessity, to include a Glossary (for keeping the translations of the same phrases/terms consistent) and also a Translation Memory (to ease translating similar phrases). Without that you are struggling anyway.

While I do have some level of agreement, you still have search functions in the interface. If you won't use them and translate "randomly", and without consistency, then it's still your fault of being lazy or not well informed. As it has been said, there's a reason if you need a specific license to pilot an airplane, or to drive a car. While it would be stupid to think about having a "license" for translators (I am strongly against it in real life and in my professional job) - especially on a boardgaming website - the concept remains. I can't code, so I let programmers code our beloved games.

The Search function is a very poor alternative. I use it as the only real possibility to find the same word/phrase, but it is like scratching your left ear with the right toe on your foot. If the site allows direct translations, it would be useful to at least provide basic CAT tools.

If one can't translate properly, then they should simply find other ways to contribute to the website if they feel this need for whatever reason, including gaining experience in the translation fields to avoid doing random things to rush for points.

That is why I often correct translations of other users (for Slovak and Czech) when they are not consistent.