Social media and the internet have brought people closer together, opening up new avenues for collaboration. Crowdsourcing translation is one example. This is a method of engaging people who bring together diverse talents for a common cause. This type is web-based and members can share, edit, or delete potential translations as easily as they wish. It is always exciting to learn new technologies and collaborate in the field. People are no longer doing their own work and are now working together to produce amazing translations.
In May 2006, a journalist named Jeff Howard published an article titled “The Rise of Crowdsourcing”. Crowdsourcing refers to the act of outsourcing a job that was previously performed by an employee to an undefined group of people via an open call. This is done using the internet. We know that complex projects can be completed by a group of people that are not part of larger corporations. Traditional translation was performed by professionals in a separate room. Crowdsourcing is a way to open this silo for everyone. Volunteers, students, and hobbyists can all get involved in translation projects. Ted is one industry that allows volunteers to transcribe original transcripts. In order to ensure “a varied patchwork of quality and adequacy”, volunteers can access online information as well as peer knowledge during the translation process. An extra team of volunteers with more experience is formed to revise, edit and change the final translation before publication. Because of our increased connectivity, it’s easier than ever for people to contribute ideas and expertise. Crowdsourced translation initiatives were also used as “training areas” for novice translators. English used to be the dominant language on the internet. However, it now accounts for only 53.2%. Facebook opened its first public translation project in 2008 to the public. Facebook realized that in order to internalize, they needed to expand beyond America. Facebook was limited to English language until then. It can be difficult and time-consuming to translate a website and make it local. Facebook encouraged everyone to take part in this huge project, my brother included. They had approximately 2,400 phrases to translate at the time. The company created a translation app that runs on top Facebook. This made the task of translating easier. Each word that is translated will be highlighted after the app has been activated. Click on any word to vote on translations submitted by others. Crowdsource translation allows users to translate websites at lightning speed, from English only to many languages. Crowdsourcing is, according to me, about using the “wisdom and collective intelligence of crowds”, which can help with certain projects. The decisions of a group of people is often more effective than those made by each individual.
Crowdsourcing translation is a great option, but there are some drawbacks that can be hard to overlook. While crowdsourcing is a good option for online translation, it’s not the best. I found this out by searching the internet. Crowdsourcing is usually voluntary. Volunteers are usually not professionals in the field and often have only a basic interest. Wikipedia is an example of crowdsourcing. However, its accuracy can be questioned. According to Wikipedia’s translation, David Beckham was an 18th-century Chinese goalkeeper. Crowdsourcing results are not guaranteed to be accurate or credible. Julie McDonough Ddmaya’s 2012 Wikipedia Survey revealed that 86% of 73 Wikipedians did not receive formal translation training. Only 30% of those surveyed had formal translation training. Only 9% of respondents were provided additional translation assistance by professional translators. Low percentages may indicate that translators among Wikipedians do not have the same skills as professionals.
Jimenez Crespo stated in 2017 that crowdsourcing allows for “better solutions for existing problems”. This suggests that crowdsourcing has transformed the way we work, think, and hire. People can collaborate and organise themselves to create productive units, which are normally difficult to set up for corporations or managers. Successful crowdsourcing projects like Ted or Facebook show that these units were founded by customers, audiences, and users. Users with social media literacy translate more than professional translators. O’Hagan also stated that translations are made based on users’ knowledge of the language and of particular media genres or content, fueled by their deep interest in the topic. Crowdsourcing doesn’t eliminate businesses. It changes the format of companies, encouraging them to approach potential partners. Crowdsourcing is a risky option because of its unpredictable and often inaccurate results. Crowdsourcing is not a solution that works for every organization, project, and content. This obstacle will be overcome by future industries that must apply a more rigorous review and editing approach.
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