How Simple English Can Help Save Lives
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Transcript of How Simple English Can Help Save Lives
Can Simple English Save Lives?
Translators without Borders is the world’s largest community of
humanitarian translators
About Content Rules
• Content services firm specializing in global content strategy, content creation, and global readiness
• We donate global readiness services to Translators without Borders
• Global readiness: Simplify source content prior to translation
• Global readiness: Makes source English easier to read for everyone
Projects
• Kenya Health Services Information• Wikipedia 80 x 80• Translator training in Nairobi• Health Education And Training (HEAT) in Africa• More projects every day
More people die from lack of
information than from lack of medication
In Sub-Saharan Africa, 1 IN 8 CHILDREN DIEbefore the age of 5
Kenya Health Services
Africa has 25% of the world’s disease burden and 2-3% of
its doctors and nurses
Health information in Thange, Kenya
Regina in Thange, Kenya, does not speak English
Her community healthcare worker
barely speaks English
Kibera, Kenya
Kenya Health Services Information
• Brochures often distributed in English to Kenyan residents
• Prior to simplification, most brochures were thrown away due to lack of understanding
• Edited 16 health-related brochures to use simple English
• Difficult but essential topics
Results
Trained 19 sex workers how to translate brochures to distribute in Kibera
Wikipedia 80 x 80 Project
• Take the 80 most often used medical articles on Wikipedia.org
• Simplify the English – vetted by physician• Post to simple.wikipedia.org• Translate into 80 languages (mainly African)• Expected to take 3-5 years to complete
Why Wikipedia?
• ~200 million page views for more than 25,000 medical articles
• More than 40 million page views for medication articles each month
• 50% to 100% of physicians use Wikipedia (most frequently used source by junior physicians besides Google)
• 35 to 70% of pharmacists admit to its use
Content Rules Editors
• Requested help from Content Rules editing community
• Received >50 volunteer responses• Had to turn people away (!)• Many continue to edit
multiple articles
Before
After
Before
After
Translation Center
• After simplification, articles go to the translation center hosted by ProZ
Results• 18 articles simplified to-date• All posted at simple.wikipedia.org
YorubaKinyarwandaTeluguNorwegianUrduChinesePortugueseGermanSpanishFrenchRussianItalianArmenianArabicDariDutchCzechSerbianTamilUkrainianKoreanGreekBulgarian RomanianCroatianTurkishPolishSwedish HungarianBengali Hindi Swahili Persian Tagalog IndonesianMacedonian
Training for Nairobi Translators
• Held Simple Writing training via Skype
• 5 sessions X 25 translators
Taking the training to the Maasai Lands
Healthcare Translators’ Training Center
Introduction to Simple WritingHow to write using simple and clear language
Translators without Borders
27
Contents
• Why write using simplified English?• Simplified English best practices• Visual content best practices
Today’s Translator Training Centre
Quotes from Translators
“I am in total agreement with the philosophy of Translators without Borders: that never again should people die of lack of information whilst there is something we could do to avert the
situation. I therefore would love to become a professional translator in order to help avail information to the average, less privileged population, which cannot access important medical information because it is encoded in a foreign language (quite literally).”
- Matthias K. Kathuke
Quotes from Translators
“Translators without Borders came in handy at a time when I had just completed my training and ripe for health promotion, and as a Health Promoter, I felt it would be quite
prudent to give information in a language that is well understood by the majority in my country. Therefore when I got the chance to be part of the translators at the Translators without Borders Healthcare Translators’ Training Center, I totally embraced it because it is a positive engagement that would enable me to promote health through a language that the majority would understand.”
- Anne Njeri Mwangi
Summary
• Translators without Borders work is essential for saving lives
• Simplifying English saves lives– Makes it easier for ESL readers– More accurate and simple translations– Makes mobile delivery possible
Ask us how you can help today.