[Foundation-l] Push translation

[Ray Saintonge]

stevertigo wrote:
> Translation between wikis currently exists as a largely pulling
> paradigm: Someone on the target wiki finds an article in another
> language (English for example) and then pulls it to their language
> wiki.
>
> These days Google and other translate tools are good enough to use as
> the starting basis for an translated article, and we can consider how
> we make use of them in an active way. What is largely a "pull"
> paradigm can also be a "push" paradigm - we can use translation tools
> to "push" articles to other wikis.
>
> If there are issues, they can be overcome. The fact of the matter is
> that the vast majority of articles in English can be "pushed" over to
> other  languages, and fill a need for those topics in those languages.
>   
This is well suited for the dustbin of terrible ideas.  It ranks right 
up there with the notion that the European colonization of Africa was 
for the sole purpose of civilizing the savages.

Key to the growth of Wikipedias in minority languages is respect for the 
cultures that they encompass, not flooding them with the First-World 
Point of View.  What might be a Neutral Point of View on the English 
Wikipedia is limited by the contributions of English writers.  Those who 
do not understand English may arrive at a different neutrality.  We have 
not yet arrived at a Metapedia that would synthesize a single neutrality 
from all projects.

In addition to bludgeoning these cultures with an imposed neutrality, 
there is also the risk of overwhelming them with sheer volume.  I 
remember only too well the uproar when the large quantity of articles on 
every small community in the United States were botted into en-wp.  
Neutrality was not an issue in that case, but the quantity of unchecked 
material was even if it came from a reliable source.

It's important for the minority language projects to choose what is 
important to them, and what is relevant to their culture.  As useful and 
uncontroversial as many English articles may be in our eyes they may 
still not yet be notable for minority languages.

Ray