Wikipedia is easily the largest compendium of knowledge in over 200 different languages. People from all across the globe can read, edit, and learn from Wikipedia all from the convenience of an internet connection. Because of the wealth of languages present in the community, there are obviously going to be better-written and more informative articles in one language that another. For instance, it’s entirely possible that an article written about the government of Chile might be better in Spanish than in English. In this case, some people might call for a Wikipedia page translation so that the English version can be as well-informed as the Spanish version.
Translating Faulty Pages
There are several steps that people have to go through if they want an official page translation from one of the Wikipedia community members. In some instances, the page in question is actually written in another language on a Wikipedia devoted to a specific language. For instance, a page about a Colombian basketball team might find itself written in Spanish on the English Wikipedia. In that case, it would need to be translated to meet the community standards or it would be flagged for deletion.
Taking from Another Language’s Wikipedia
In cases where another language’s entry on a topic is more fleshed out, a member of the community can ask for a translation. For instance, in the example above of the Chilean government article, the English Wikipedia could be lacking in quality information while the Spanish Wikipedia could have a wealth of information. In this case, a member would simply have to place a translation template in the English Wikipedia page for the Chilean government to indicate that a translation might be necessary. Then, someone (a fluent English and Spanish speaker) can take it upon themselves to translate the page accordingly.
In other cases, the article might not even exist in the desired language. For instance, an article about a Colombian basketball team is unlikely to be available at all in the English language. But, it might exist in Spanish. In order to get the ball rolling on Wikipedia page translation, a member of the community must first create a stub article that details bits and pieces of information about the Colombian basketball team in question. Then, they must place a translation template on the page to indicate that the Spanish version should be translated.
It’s important to note that translation is a very difficult process because no two languages are exactly alike. Even if you are fluent in both languages, it can still be a taxing exercise. Many people might think it’s appropriate to simply use machine translators, but Wikipedia expressly prohibits the use of machine translators. They often produce shoddy translations and it’s a general rule among the Wikipedia community that a page produced with a machine translator is actually worse than having no page at all. But, there are plenty of competent Wikipedia writers and translators who would be willing to take almost any translation job they could find.
by Michael Wood – Michael Wood is an online marketing expert and owner of Legalmorning.com. He specializes in reputation and brand management, article writing, and professional Wikipedia editing. He is an expert Wikipedia editor and has helped hundreds of businesses and people post their articles to the site where they have otherwise failed. He is a regular contributor to many online publications including AllBusiness Experts, Yahoo, Business Insider, and Social Media Today.