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A Quick Start Guide for New Contributors

The Aims of the Tatoeba Project

  • Briefly, ...

    • We are collecting sentences and their translations into other languages.
    *   Sentences we create are used by [various projects](http://a4esl.com/temporary/tatoeba/links.html) under the Creative Commons - Attribution 2.0 license.

The 6 Basic Rules

You can click the links to read [Translations] or read the [Source] documentation.

  1. We want complete sentences.

  2. Don't change sentences that are correct.

  3. You can, instead, submit natural-sounding alternate translations.

  4. Don't add sentences from copyrighted sources.

  5. We want natural-sounding translations, not word-for-word direct translations.

  6. Make a good translation of the sentence that you are translating. Don't let translations into other languages influence you.

  7. Don't add annotations.

    • [Translations]     [Source] In other words, don't do this kind of thing. X It's raining cats and dogs. (idiom) X I like her/him. For more details, ...

  8. Read our blog entry on how to be a good contributor.

  9. Read our blog entry about our submission policy.

Things a Contributor Can Do

  1. You can <span style="font-weight: bold;">translate a sentence</span> by clicking on this icon whenever you see it.

    • Please do not forget capital letters and punctuation.

  2. You can add <span style="font-weight: bold;"> alternate translations</span>. ()

    • If you feel there are several possible translations, you can add them all.
    • Just make sure you are adding the translations to the other language. (In other words, don't add an English translation to an English sentence.)

  3. You can<span style="font-weight: bold;"> proofread sentences</span> and "adopt" () sentences that you think are good.

  4. You can <span style="font-weight: bold;">correct mistakes</span> that you find, if the sentence is not "owned" by another user.

    • To do this, ...

      *   Adopt (![](http://tatoeba.org/img/adopt.png?1271500434)) the "orphan" ("unowned") sentence.

    *   Then click the text to edit it.

    *   Then, optionally, "unown" (<a>![Let go](http://flags.tatoeba.org/img/let_go.png "Let go")</a>) the sentence if you want others to be able to easily edit it again.

    • Special Note

          *   Tatoeba.org prefers that you DO NOT CHANGE any sentence that could be considered correct.

    *   Instead of changing correct sentences, you should add an alternate translation.

  5. You can <span style="font-weight: bold;">add comments to sentences</span>.

    • If you find a mistake, but it's "owned" by another user, then leave a comment telling the "owner" how it can be corrected.

      • If you see something that seems strange or you don't understand, you can leave a comment and someone may explain it to you.

      • If you find things that are absolute nonsense or are not sentences, you can leave a comment alerting moderators that perhaps the item should be deleted.

  6. You can <span style="font-weight: bold;">add new sentences</span>.

    • The best approach is to search first to make sure the sentence is not already in the database.

      *   Search with the sentence in quotes to find exact matches.

        *   LIKE THIS: "I have a dog."

            *   NOT:&nbsp; I have a dog. For more information, read the [FAQ](http://tatoeba.org/eng/faq).

Register and Become a Member

  • If you haven't already done so, after reading this page, register.

  • I'd recommend creating a short and simple username. (Mine is CK.)

  • It's also a good idea to you write your native language and the languages you translate from in your profile.

  • You don't need to register, if you aren't planning to contribute. Just go to the main page and start looking around.

Warning! There are errors!

  • Briefly, 
    1.  Some sentences **sound unnatural** and are likely contributed by members who are overconfident in their abilities in their non-native langauges.

2.  Some sentences use **archaic and/or old-fashioned** language and perhaps aren't really suitable for people learning a foreign language.

3.  Some sentences contain **grammar and vocabulary errors**.

4.  Some linked sentences **may not be good translations**.

5.  For more details, read the [Warning About the Sentences from the Tatoeba Project](http://www.manythings.org/corpus/warningtatoeba.html).

Recommendation

  • To help maintain the quality of our sentences, I recommend that you only translate from a non-native language into your native language. I also recommend that you should be careful to only translate from sentences "owned" by native speakers. This helps to avoid problems.

  • To learn more about this, read the following page. Is it OK to submit sentences in my non-native language? (Note: This is not the official policy of the Tatoeba Project. However, many people would agree with this.)

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