Translation Subcommittee

Initiate:

• Members decide to translate ACA literature and contact ACA WSO and the Translations Subcommittee.  📧 [email protected]
• They are invited to participate in the monthly Translation Subcommittee meetings and to join the ACA WSO slack channel, where they have a dedicated space for questions and exchange between translators and committee members.

Verification of Existing Teams:

• No team exists: Members are encouraged to gather at least two or three people to form a group conscience. Contact with the Intergroup or local meeting is recommended. If no meeting exists yet, starting with the Foundational Literature helps place materials on the WSO website and supports new meetings.
• A language team exists (but not for the publication): New members are encouraged to connect with the existing team, use the glossary and style guide, and seek shared guidance.
• An active team exists (language and publication): The interested member is connected with the team so efforts remain coordinated.

Note: WSO does not license multiple groups for the same publication; therefore, each team is asked to designate a point of contact (often called the Language Coordinator).

Licensing:

• Each team member should request a Translation License Agreement for the publications they intend to translate and will receive access to view the English master files for the items they have signed licenses for.
• Licenses are valid for 12 months. Teams must renew expired licenses to remain active and maintain access to the files and the system. 
• We ask that any changes in members and/or contact information be communicated promptly to avoid access problems.
• At least quarterly, teams are asked to submit the status of work in progress through the Translation Status Form.

1. Glossary
   Teams begin with the TMS Glossary Template, which serves as a starting point for translation consistency. It includes terminology from ACA’s Foundational Literature and Core Concepts.

• Additional terms can be added gradually, in line with the publications being worked on.
• For reference, consult the English Foundation Dictionary for meaning, context and ideas for other terms that might be useful to include. You may also send suggestions for new terms or expressions that cause confusion to translators through the Dictionary Feedback Form.
• The glossary may be updated as needed and submitted to [email protected].

1. Foundational Literature
    After the glossary, teams translate the Foundational Literature directly in the TMS if it has not yet been translated. If a translation has already been completed outside the system, teams may send their versions to [email protected] so that the content can be aligned and imported into the TMS. Teams are also encouraged to translate the additional Free Literature pieces.
• These texts are short (usually one page), quick to translate, and provide training and familiarity with the system (for those that will use it).
• Translating them first helps build the Translation Memory (TM), because this content is repeated across many ACA publications.
• They also provide essential material to carry ACA’s message early in the process.

3. Style Guide (highly recommended)
   Once the Foundational Literature has been translated, teams can begin creating a Style Guide or expanding an existing one. By this stage, many stylistic decisions will already have been made, and documenting them helps ensure consistency across publications.
   • The Style Guide serves as a reference for all translators and can later provide the basis for the Translator’s Note.
   • It can also be uploaded into the TMS, where it will appear as a pop-up each time a translator opens a job and remains available for consultation in the menu for reference.
   • To have the Style Guide uploaded to the TMS, please submit it to [email protected].

Note: Both the TMS glossary and the style guide are living documents and should be updated continuously as new challenges, terms, and style decisions arise during the translation process.

Access to Licensed Files
Once the Glossary and the Foundational Literature have been translated, the team is granted access to the licensed publications in the TMS.

If the team decides to work offline (outside the system), an alignment document containing the English content and the machine translation (MT) side by side can be provided for post-editing. This file can also be requested directly through the CAT Tool by clicking Export QA.

• Whether working inside or outside the system, access is granted one chapter at a time. Once a chapter is delivered (submitted), the team should notify the TMS Coordinator so that the next job can be assigned.
• After all chapters have been submitted, the team receives access to the generated PDF for final review. Any modifications identified during this review phase can be corrected in the system so that a new PDF can be generated and approved for publication. (This review cycle may be repeated as many times as necessary until final approval is achieved)

Importing Partial, Completed and Legacy Translations

• Teams that began translating before contacting WSO Publishing will need to import their work into the system in order to complete the process there and benefit from the pre-formatted output.
• Teams that already have a published translation may also choose to import it. Doing so helps build the Translation Memory (TM), allowing content reuse when the same material appears in other publications.

In all cases, the team will need to provide an alignment document in an excel file, with the source and target languages side by side. WSO can supply the template with the source column prefilled, following the standard workflow (one chapter at a time).

• This step is optional for previously published materials but strongly recommended.
• For manual translations (partial or completed), routing the content through the system becomes necessary.

From this point forward, typesetting is managed within the TMS. Centralizing the process allows WSO to reduce external production costs, increase consistency, and make better use of limited resources.

1. After the translation stage is completed, the teams are expected to translate the Accessible Documents related to the publication. These include metadata, image descriptions, and alt text.

1. At this point, teams may also prepare a Translator’s Note (optional but recommended). The Translator’s Note usually presents important linguistic decisions, cultural adaptations, or clarifications that may help readers understand how the translation was approached.
2. For books that contain an index (such as the BRB and SMR), page numbers are finalized during this phase. Important: when a Translator’s Note is included, it needs to be completed before the index is finalized, as it may affect pagination.

4. Once all required materials are ready, they are submitted through the Publishing Intake Form. (For Free Literature, please use the Free Literature Intake Form.)
5. A confirmation email is then sent to the person who submitted the form with instructions for the typesetting phase. During this stage, typeset reviewers are invited to examine the formatted drafts according to a defined schedule. At this point, content changes are no longer possible; only minor typographical corrections can be made. More info: Final Review of Typeset Document

1. Production Confirmation format

E-book production

• All main publications are produced as e-books.

Printing & Proof Approval

• Printing preparation may occur in parallel with the completion of the typeset review and e-book production.
• For the print phase to proceed, approval of the first proof of the cover, spine, and sample pages is required.

2. Fellowship Review and feedback submission: Once the book is published, members of the Fellowship are welcome to review the content and submit suggestions for future editions using the Translations Feedback Form.
3. Publication on the ACA WSO Website
   Obtaining bulk stock for Local Intergroups/Meetings: Registered intergroups receive a 60% discount on the first 300 printed copies. After that, a 30% discount remains available on future orders. Orders can be placed through the International Literature Order Request Form.
   Online Sales for individual copies: Individual copies can be purchased directly through the ACA WSO Shop.

Publications may also be available through online retailers, depending on the country.

International Literature Fund (ILF) Request Link

Meetings and Intergroups may apply for ILF support to help:

• subsidize initial literature purchases for emerging groups;
• adjust prices to improve global affordability;
• hire professional proofreaders, indexers or aligners to strengthen translation quality.

You may also reach out the Publishing Committee to ask other support: [email protected]

Publishing Staff: questions about TMS: [email protected] / questions about typesetting: [email protected] / questions about printing and orders: [email protected] / for feedback: [email protected]