F.A.Q
Here you can find answers to frequently asked questions.
How does Linguo evaluate the translator's skills?
Short answer: Linguo is permissionless, so it does not. Translator skills are self-declared.
If there is no evaluation process, how can I be sure the translator is qualified enough for the job?
Linguo uses crypto-economic incentives to regulate the behaviour of users. Translators are required to provide a deposit when they are assigned to a task.
After the translated text is submitted, there is a review period. During this time, anyone (including yourself) can look for potential flaws in the translation and raise a challenge.
If a translation is challenged, a case is created in a specialized Kleros court which decides whether or not the translation fulfils the requirements. If the challenger wins the case, the translator loses the initial deposit, which is then sent to the challenger as a reward for her or his work.
This way we incentivize translators to only accept tasks they think they are qualified enough to work on, otherwise they will suffer financial losses.
How are translator skills defined in Linguo?
Linguo considers language skills as defined by the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR).
I am not sure how I rank on the CEFR scale. How can I find out?
You can test your skills by using this self-assessment grid.
What are the Linguo translation tiers?
Linguo translation tasks can be defined in 3 different quality tiers:
Cost Effective: A basic translation. The conveyed meaning must be similar, but nuances might be lost. Occasional typos and translation errors are acceptable. Standard: The standard level of a translation. The meaning must be almost identical. Occasional typos are acceptable. Professional: Professional translation. The meaning and spirit of the translation must remain identical and the translator must reflect the style and nuances of the original text. Translators are expected to have their text reviewed before submission.
How do my skill levels affect the number of tasks I will be able to work on as a translator?
Translation tasks are available according to the required translation tier as specified by requesters:
Cost Effective: translators with B2 level and above.Standard: translators with C1 level and above.Professional: only translators with C2 level.
Notice that if your level is lower than B2, you will not be eligible for any translation tasks in Linguo.
I need a translation between two languages other than English. What do I do then?
Currently, finding specialized jurors to evaluate a translation between an arbitrary pair of languages has been challenging (e.g.: Korean ↔ Russian).
We use English as the “pivot” language, so there can be enough jurors. At this point, there is one way to do this. Let’s say you want a translation Korean → Russian:
You should first create a translation task for Korean → English.
Then, after this intermediate translation is delivered, you can create another one for English → Russian.
Why do I need to set a minimum and a maximum price when requesting a translation?
From the moment you create the translation task to the moment some translator assigns it, the price will increase linearly. The higher the payout, the more interesting it will be for translators to work on your translation task. This will help you discover the right prices for your tasks. If you would like to avoid this mechanism, you can set the same value for both minimum and maximum prices.
What happens to my deposit if a translator picks up the task before it reaches the maximum price?
From the moment you create the translation task to the moment some translator assigns to it, the price will increase linearly. The higher the payout, the more interesting it will be for translators to work on your translation task.
This will help you discover the right prices for your tasks.
If you would like to avoid this mechanism, you can set the same value for both minimum and maximum price. When a translator is assigned to a task, your remaining deposit — the maximum price minus the current price — is immediately sent back to your wallet.
This is done automatically, there is no need for user input.
Is there a limit on the number of translation tasks I can request on Linguo?
No. You can request as many tasks as you want, even at the same time.
Is there a limit on the size (text length) of translation tasks I can request on Linguo?
There is no hard limit.
If a task is too long, reviewers will probably try to optimize their work and evaluate only certain segments of the whole text. This might lead to reviewers overlooking certain mistakes in the translation.
It is safe to expect that reviewers will be efficient enough in finding errors (as they are financially incentivized to), however, if the translation is critical, you should also make sure to do a double check and review the translation yourself.
We advise you to break longer translations into multiple parts whose individual size is around 4,000 words.
Notice that currently there is no guarantee that all individual tasks will be assigned to the same translator, as anyone with the required skills could do this at any time.
Should I trust the word count for a given translation task displayed on the Linguo interface?
The short answer is: no! Always double-check it yourself.
Linguo works with several languages and a myriad of file formats. There is currently no fail-proof way to determine the word count for a translation task.
While we do have some heuristics in place to get the approximate word count for text-based file formats, such as TXT, PDF or JSON, its input is ultimately controlled by the translation requester.
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