Translate This: A Campaign in Every Language

MEDIA -- April 3, 2012 at 11:40 AM EDT

Translate This: A Campaign in Every Language

Do you read or write a language other than English? If so, we need your help. In partnership with the Participatory Culture Foundation through the Universal Subtitles project, the all-volunteer PBS NewsHour captioning and translation team is up and running.

Here's a brief FAQ to get things started:

WHY?
Because we believe that everyone should have access to the political conversation regardless of whether English is their first language. We also believe that people who have hearing difficulties or are deaf should be able to see and read important moments and be able to learn what their fellow Americans think.

WHAT WILL I BE CAPTIONING AND TRANSLATING?
Key moments in the political cycle and the voices of fellow Americans. The NewsHour has already been live-streaming important events and speeches from the Republican presidential candidates, and we will continue to add content that we think marks key moments on the road to the White House.

For example, the entire State of the Union address was translated by volunteers.

We've also launched a campaign called Listen To Me. We're asking voters in every state about the direction of the country and how they feel about the political process. We're asking you what the most important issues are, whether you're hopeful about the future and if you think the political system is broken. Stay tuned for details on how you can add your voice.

We'll post those videos on our team page at Universal Subtitles, then volunteers like you translate and caption the videos into other languages.

HOW DOES THE TRANSLATION WORK? WHAT IF I DON'T KNOW A WORD?
We say team because you're not alone -- other NewsHour fans are working with you. You will likely not be the only person translating into that language. The entire process is transparent to all volunteers. You can make edits to an existing translation, and as soon as someone edit yours, you'll be notified so you can check one another's work.

DO I NEED TO CREATE AN ACCOUNT?
Not necessarily. You can log in through your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Open ID accounts.

READY TO BE A MEMBER?
Thank you. Click here to begin.

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