[gnso-osc-ccc] OSC-Communications Work Team Sub Team Call 26 May 2009

["Julie Hedlund" <jahedlund@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dear Work Team Members,

Here are the brief notes from yesterday's Sub Team call with Christina
Rodriquez.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

Best regards,

Julie

Communications Work Team Translation Briefing Call, 26 May 2009 -- Brief
Notes

Participants:  Helen Laverty - DotAlliance, Zbynek Loebl - Intellectual
Property Interests Constituency; ICANN Staff: Gisella Gruber-White, Julie
Hedlund, Christina Rodriquez
  a.. Christina noted that some details in the document that Rob circulated,
"Translation in the Policy Department," are out of date.  She will review
the document and provide updates.
  b.. Christina explained various details of the ICANN policy process:
  c.. a.. Translation into 6 UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, French,
Russian, and English) and sometimes 10-11 languages.  Chinese is most in
demand, followed by Spanish.  Considering whether to add Japanese and other
Asian languages, particularly in preparation for the ICANN meeting in Seoul.
    b.. By working with an increased number of providers ICANN has reduced
translation costs and improved the quality and speed of translations.
    c.. Use independent providers for documents less than 25,000 words.
Independent providers provide good turnaround times, are lower cost, and are
loyal.
    d.. For documents over 25,000 words or 10+ languages, use one business
to keep the translation memory in one place: example Welocalize (
http://www.welocalize.com/english/index.php3) (Christina will provide a list
of vendors.)
    e.. Developing an open source translation management system that will
include all translation memories
  d.. Questions:
    a.. Q -- Does ICANN provide a vocabulary of terms used in ICANN
documents to ensure consistency? A -- Yes, this is the translation memory;
the goal is to be consistent.
    b.. Q -- Are most documents created in English and is this the legal
source?  A -- Yes and this is stated on the translations.
    c.. Q -- Should translations have a brief summary to make them more
accessible?  A -- Yes this is something we are considering.
    d.. Q -- Can members of the community participate in translating
documents?  A -- In many cases this cannot be done because of concerns about
accuracy, but ICANN is considering the possibility to enable the community
to participate in providing translations of public comments during public
comment periods.
    e.. Q -- Does posting of documents for public consultation begin only
when all translations are complete and does this create delays?  Could a
summary be provided prior to posting the full translations?  A -- We are
looking into ways to post information as quickly as possible to avoid delays
while awaiting full translations.
    f.. Q -- It can be difficult to find documents on the ICANN sites, even
for English speakers.  Are improvements underway?  A -- We are looking at
translation of some web pages with links to translated documents and making
these easier to find.a..