Machine Translation Tools webinar

Creating AyudaLegalIL.org: An Experiment with Machine Translation

About Our TIG Grant

• Project of LAF (formerly Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago)

• Started in January 2011• $157,100• Funded: creation and promotion of

AyudaLegalIL.org, 2 year Spanish Outreach and Content Coordinator and integration of machine translation tools and tools to create mirrored sites

Staffing & Structuring the Project

• LAF oversaw the grant• LAF’s Community Engagement Unit

oversaw the outreach component• LAF subcontracted with ILAO for:– Technical Development– Content translation of Existing

Statewide Website Content– Implementation of the outreach plan

The Technology Behind AyudaLegalIL.org

• Google Translate API• A Spanish NSMI• Site Builder Tools

The Google Translate API

• REST-based service that allows seamless translation from a web site

• Everything happens machine to machine; the Google part is completely hidden from the use

Thoughts on Google Translate’s Utility

• Plain Language translates best• Short sentences give better

translations• It has improved significantly in the

past year

How Much?

• Google charges $20/million characters translated

• ILAO has spent less than $100 in Google Translate costs since January 2011

Spanish NSMIWill Be Available on GoogleDocs and we’ll share it with LSNTAP

The “Mirrored Site Builder”

• How it works: – Took English web templates and replaced English

text with variable names– Created a database table to map variable names

to Spanish translations– Built tools to allow us to set the Spanish

translations– Built tools to allow us to generate and re-

generate the Spanish website on demand

Our Site Builder

Tech Docs Coming Soon

• Translated NSMI• List of Variables and their translations used on

AyudaLegalIL.org• Technical Documentation on Google

Translate, including code samples in ColdFusion

• Technical Documentation on the Site Builder

Content & Marketing

The SWAC

• Spanish Website Advisory Committee• 7 Local Pro-Latino Organizations• Meeting every other month

What Content to Translate?

1. ¿Cómo los Antecedentes Penales Pueden Afectar mi

Estatus Migratorio?

2. La U-Visa: Beneficios de Inmigración para Víctimas de

Crimen

3. ¿Cuánto Tiempo Tomará el Proceso de Ejecución

Hipotecaria sobre Mi Casa?

4. Obtener Estampillas de Comida (SNAP)

5. ¿Cómo Puedo Obtener la Residencia Permanente en

los EE.UU.?

6. Consejos para Padres Separados: Cómo Ayudar a

sus Hijos con el Proceso de la Separación

1. Getting a Divorce in Illinois

2. Evicting Your Tenant

3. Getting Custody of a Child

4. Creating a Non-Profit Organization

5. Changing Your Name in Illinios

6. Applying for Unemployment Benefits

7. Expunging Your Criminal Record

1. How can a criminal record affect my immigration

status?

2. U Visa: Immigration benefits for victims of crime

3. How long will a foreclosure on my home take?

4. Getting Food Stamps

5. Getting permanent residency in the US

6. Tips for parents who are separating

Marketing the Site

• Usability testing• Newspapers and other publications• Radio• Presentations

Website Usage

Mobile use …

25% of visits from mobile (16%)

60% Android » 31% iOS » 3% Blackberry

What would we have done differently?

• Prioritized content based on Spanish not on English• Had we not been limited to translating content, we

probably would have developed some new content directly in Spanish

• Quality assurance sooner--especially when English content is changed

Questions?

• Gwen Daniels, Director of Technology Development, gdaniels@illinoislegalaid.org

• Dennis Rios, Spanish Content and Outreach Coordinator, drios@illinoislegalaid.org