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.