Translating WAI Resources

Thank you for your interest in translating resources from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI).

You are welcome to translate any WAI resource. For suggestions on which to translate first, see Priorities for Translations below.

Translation Instructions

Scope:

• These instructions cover web pages with a URI that begins with www.w3.org/WAI
• For web pages that begin with www.w3.org/TR/ or something else, there is a different process that is introduced in TR & Authorized W3C Translations below.

Translator background — we prefer translators to be:

• native speakers
• familiar with accessibility terminology in their language
• comfortable editing a file with code (example file for translation)

To avoid overlapping work:

• please do not translate files from the web
• follow the steps below to get the right file to translate and to ensure that the resource is ready for you to translate

If you want to translate a WAI resource:

1. Check if that resource is already published and listed in All WAI Translations.
   (You can also check if someone else is working on a translation, or we will check for you. If you want to: Search in the WAI Translations e-mail list archives for “Intent to Translate”, the document title, and your language.)
2. Get a W3C account if you do not already have one. (This will allow us to associate your translations with your W3C profile.)
3. Send an e-mail: Indicate your interest in translating the resource by sending an e-mail to the WAI translations list using this e-mail template.
   • WAI staff will send you an e-mail with instructions when the resource is ready to be translated.
     Please wait for e-mail from WAI staff before starting a translation.

We encourage you to keep up on related translations work by subscribing to the WAI Translations mailing list.

Translator Information

Detailed instructions are in the Translation Instructions wiki page.

Translation Agreement

By submitting a translation, you agree:

• To the redistribution terms of the W3C Document License. Your translation may be republished by the W3C or other entities if it is done in compliance with the License terms.
• That the W3C may rescind your right to publish or distribute the derivative work if the W3C finds that it leads to confusion regarding the original document’s status or integrity. (Source.)

Reviews

Translations will be reviewed before they are published.

Names and Links

This policy is based on Internationalization Links, which provides some background.

Translations can include:

• Translator’s formal name, common name used online, &/or Twitter handle.
  • Link to information about the translator as an individual, such as “about” page on personal website or biography page on a scholarly website.
• Organization name - translator’s employer &/or other sponsor/funder of the translation.

Cannot include:

• Links to organizations. (Exception: Qualifying accessibility/disability organizations or translation organizations. To request an exception, e-mail wai@w3.org with subject [Translations link request].)
• Links to personal home pages rather than “about” pages.

Updating Resources

When the English version of a resource is updated, we will inform translators what has changed, and request that translators update their translation. If original translators do not respond before we need the update, we will invite others to update the translation.

In some cases, we will add the updated English to the translation while awaiting an update. If the changes are substantive, the translation may be removed until an updated version is provided.

W3C Translations Information

More information is available in W3C Translations and in W3C Intellectual Rights FAQ, particularly under the questions starting with can I translate one of your specifications into another language?

WAI Translations Mailing List

• To subscribe, send e-mail to public-wai-translations-request@w3.org with subject: subscribe.
• To unsubscribe, send e-mail to public-wai-translations-request@w3.org with subject: unsubscribe.

You can see past messages from the WAI Translations List Archives.

There is also a broader W3C Translators list. To subscribe: e-mail to w3c-translators-request@w3.org with subject: subscribe, archive: W3C Translators List Archives.

TR & Authorized W3C Translations

Web pages at URIs that begin with www.w3.org/TR/ (for “Technical Report”) follow a different process described in W3C Translations.

Most translations are informative and unofficial. In cases where standards translations are meant for official purposes, they may be developed as Authorized W3C Translations according to the Policy for Authorized W3C Translations. Generally only completed W3C Recommendations and Working Group Notes are candidates for Authorized W3C Translations, including the WAI guidelines. The authorized translations policy is designed to ensure transparency and community accountability in the development of authorized translations under the oversight of W3C.

• WCAG 2 Translations lists in-progress and completed translations of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 and 2.0, including unofficial translations and Authorized W3C Translations.
• Authorized Translations of W3C Recommendations lists completed Authorized W3C Translations of WCAG 2.1, WCAG 2.0, Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) 2.0, and others.