We’re excited to announce a new accessibility feature on the DORA website: optional automatic translations powered by Google Translate. This enhancement is part of our ongoing commitment to making our content more accessible and inclusive for our global community.
Why This Matters
Language should never be a barrier to accessing important information. By enabling automatic translations, we aim to:
- Increase accessibility for diverse language speakers
- Support global collaboration by making our resources more widely understandable
- Foster inclusivity by welcoming diverse linguistic communities into the DORA conversation
With just a few clicks, visitors can now view our website content in dozens of languages, instantly.
If you also feel multilingualism is important in scholarly communication, you could consider signing the Helsinki Initiative on Multilingualism in Scholarly Communication. You can find more about it on their website and on our blog posts.
How It Works
The translations are powered by the Google Translate API, a widely used machine translation service that supports over 100 languages. It uses advanced neural machine translation models to provide real-time translations of text content. Users can choose their preferred language on the top bar of our website.
While this feature greatly improves accessibility, it’s important to understand its limitations:
- Translations are automatic: They are not reviewed or edited by human translators.
- Accuracy may vary: Some phrases, technical terms, or context-specific language may not be translated correctly.
- Not all content may be translated: Certain embedded elements or images with text may remain in the original language, including downloadable resources.
We encourage users to refer to the original English version when precision is critical. Please remember that the Declaration itself has been accurately translated for 30 languages and can be found at https://sfdora.org/read/.
Feedback Welcome
We’re always looking to improve. If you have strong objections to this or encounter major issues with translations or have suggestions for better accessibility, please don’t hesitate to contact us at info@sfdora.org.
Thank you for being part of our global community!