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:
- 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.) - Get a W3C account if you do not already have one. (This will allow us to associate your translations with your W3C profile.)
- 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.
- WAI staff will send you an e-mail with instructions when the resource is ready to be translated.
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 the changes are only small changes, such as a new paragraph or a new short section, we might add the English to the translation while awaiting an update. If the changes are substantive, the translation will 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.
Priorities for Translating WAI Resources
You are welcome to translate any current WAI resource that you think would be useful in your language. The lists below are suggested priorities.
- High priority introductory resources
- High priority WCAG resources
- Main navigation overview pages
- Other priority resources
- To be updated
High priority introductory resources
- Video Introduction to Web Accessibility and W3C Standards (including VTT file)
- Introduction to Web Accessibility
- W3C Accessibility Standards Overview
- Mobile Accessibility at W3C
- Accessibility Principles
High priority WCAG resources
- Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 — the Web Standard / W3C Recommendation (TR)
- WCAG 2 Translations lists translations in-progress and completed.
- This document may be developed as an Authorized W3C Translation.
- To get the latest update with errata included, use the Editor's Draft.
- WCAG Overview
- WCAG 2.1 at a Glance
Main navigation overview pages
If you translate these pages, then users will get the main navigation in your language. In most cases, we will wait to publish these until all of them are translated.
- Accessibility Fundamentals Overview
- W3C Accessibility Standards Overview (repeat from above)
- Evaluating Web Accessibility Overview
- Design and Develop Overview
- Planning and Policies Overview
- Teach and Advocate Overview
- WAI home page (see notes on which parts to translate)
Other priority resources
- How People with Disabilities Use the Web — 4 pages
- Other standards overviews:
- Essential Components of Web Accessibility
- WAI-ARIA Overview (this page will be updated in the future; however, it could be many months before it is updated)
- User Agent Accessibility Guidelines (UAAG) Overview
- Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) Overview
- Advocating and teaching resources:
- Planning and managing resources:
- Design and development resources:
There are many more WAI resources available for translation. The complete list of WAI resources is available in the WAI Site Map.
To be updated
The following pages will be updated. You might want to wait to translate them until after they are updated, or be prepared to update your translation. To get announcements when they are updated, see Get WAI News and subscribe to the WAI Translations mailing list, per above.
- About W3C WAI — minor update planned for 2019
- Participating in WAI (see notes on which parts to translate) — minor update planned for 2019
- Easy Checks - A First Review of Web Accessibility — significant update planned for 2019
- Why Standards Harmonization is Essential to Web Accessibility (no date set for the update to be completed)
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.