Translation Management¶
User Guide¶
Translate archival descriptions between languages using offline machine translation (NLLB-200). Supports all 11 South African official languages plus major international languages.
Overview¶
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| TRANSLATION WORKFLOW |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| SOURCE TRANSLATE TARGET |
| LANGUAGE (NLLB-200) LANGUAGE |
| | | | |
| v v v |
| Afrikaans ---> AI Model ---> English |
| isiZulu Preview Sesotho |
| Dutch Review French |
| Apply German |
| |
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What Gets Translated¶
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| TRANSLATABLE FIELDS |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| Title Scope and Content |
| Alternate Title Archival History |
| Acquisition Arrangement |
| Access Conditions Reproduction Conditions |
| Finding Aids Related Units of Description |
| Appraisal Accruals |
| Physical Characteristics Location of Originals |
| Location of Copies Extent and Medium |
| Sources Rules |
| Revision History Edition |
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Supported Languages¶
South African Languages (11 Official)¶
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| SOUTH AFRICAN LANGUAGES |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| Code | Language | Code | Language |
+--------+--------------------+-------+-----------------------+
| af | Afrikaans | zu | isiZulu |
| xh | isiXhosa | st | Sesotho |
| tn | Setswana | nso | Sepedi (Northern Sotho)|
| ts | Xitsonga | ss | SiSwati |
| ve | Tshivenda | nr | isiNdebele |
| en | English | | |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
International Languages¶
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGES |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| nl | Dutch | fr | French |
| de | German | es | Spanish |
| pt | Portuguese | sw | Swahili |
| ar | Arabic | | |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
How to Access¶
Record View Page
|
v
Actions Panel
|
v
Translate Button --------------------------------+
| |
+---> Opens Translation Modal |
| |
+---> Step 1: Select Fields |
| |
+---> Step 2: Review & Edit |
| |
+---> Step 3: Approve & Save |
Step-by-Step Translation¶
Step 1: Open the Translation Modal¶
- Navigate to any archival description record
- Look for the Translate button/link in the actions panel
- Click to open the translation modal
Step 2: Configure Translation Settings¶
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| TRANSLATION MODAL |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| Source Language: [Afrikaans (af) v] |
| |
| Target Language: [English (en) v] |
| |
| +-------------------------------------------------------+ |
| | [ ] Save with AtoM culture code | |
| | Saves translation in target language's culture | |
| +-------------------------------------------------------+ |
| | [ ] Overwrite existing | |
| | Overwrite if target field already has content | |
| +-------------------------------------------------------+ |
| |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
Step 3: Select Fields to Translate¶
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| Fields to Translate [Select All] [Deselect All] |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| [x] Title [x] Scope and Content |
| [ ] Alternate Title [ ] Archival History |
| [ ] Acquisition [ ] Arrangement |
| [ ] Access Conditions [ ] Reproduction Conditions |
| [ ] Finding Aids [ ] Related Units |
| [ ] Appraisal [ ] Accruals |
| [ ] Physical Characteristics [ ] Location of Originals |
| |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
Step 4: Preview Translations¶
Click Translate to generate translations:
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| TRANSLATION PREVIEW |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| [OK] Title |
| +-------------------------------------------------------+ |
| | Source Text: | |
| | Die Argief van Johannesburg | |
| +-------------------------------------------------------+ |
| | Translation (editable): | |
| | The Archive of Johannesburg | |
| +-------------------------------------------------------+ |
| |
| [OK] Scope and Content |
| +-------------------------------------------------------+ |
| | Source Text: | |
| | Hierdie versameling bevat dokumente... | |
| +-------------------------------------------------------+ |
| | Translation (editable): | |
| | This collection contains documents... | |
| +-------------------------------------------------------+ |
| |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
Step 5: Review and Edit¶
- Review each translation for accuracy
- Edit directly in the text area if corrections are needed
- The AI translation is a starting point, not the final word
Step 6: Approve and Save¶
Click Approve & Save to apply translations:
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| SUCCESS |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| Successfully saved 2 translation(s) with culture code "en" |
| |
| Page will reload automatically... |
| |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
Translation Options Explained¶
Save with AtoM Culture Code¶
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| CULTURE CODE OPTION |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| ENABLED (Recommended): |
| Translation saved to target language culture |
| Example: Afrikaans -> English saves to 'en' culture |
| Result: Record has separate language versions |
| |
| DISABLED: |
| Translation saved to source language culture |
| Example: Afrikaans -> English saves to 'af' culture |
| Result: Original text is replaced |
| |
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Overwrite Existing¶
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| OVERWRITE OPTION |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| ENABLED: |
| Replace existing content in target field |
| Use when updating/correcting translations |
| |
| DISABLED (Default): |
| Skip fields that already have content |
| Prevents accidental overwrites |
| |
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Draft System¶
Translations are saved as drafts before being applied:
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| DRAFT WORKFLOW |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| 1. Translate --> Draft Created (status: draft) |
| |
| 2. Edit --> Draft Updated (if needed) |
| |
| 3. Approve --> Draft Applied (status: applied) |
| Text saved to record |
| |
| 4. Reject --> Draft Rejected (status: rejected) |
| No changes to record |
| |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
Benefits of Draft System¶
- Preview before committing changes
- Edit translations before saving
- Maintain audit trail of translation history
- Deduplicate identical translation requests
Settings Configuration¶
Access settings at /translation/settings:
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| TRANSLATION SETTINGS |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| MT Endpoint: |
| [http://192.168.0.112:5004/ai/v1/translate ] |
| Example: http://127.0.0.1:5100/translate |
| |
| Timeout (seconds): |
| [60 ] |
| |
| [Save] |
| |
| --------------------------------------------------------- |
| Health check: /translation/health |
| |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
Health Check¶
Test the translation service connectivity:
- Go to
/translation/health - Response indicates service status:
Common Use Cases¶
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| USE TRANSLATION TO: |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| Translate Afrikaans archival descriptions to English |
| Create multilingual access to historical records |
| Translate Dutch colonial documents for wider access |
| Support South African indigenous language preservation |
| Enable international researchers to access local archives |
| Provide English summaries of foreign language materials |
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Tips¶
+--------------------------------+------------------------------+
| DO | DO NOT |
+--------------------------------+------------------------------+
| Review translations before | Blindly accept AI output |
| saving | |
| | |
| Check health endpoint first | Ignore connection errors |
| | |
| Use culture codes for | Overwrite original text |
| multilingual records | without backup |
| | |
| Translate most important | Translate everything at |
| fields first | once without review |
| | |
| Edit translations for | Assume perfect accuracy |
| accuracy | |
+--------------------------------+------------------------------+
Troubleshooting¶
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| ISSUE | SOLUTION |
+---------------------------+----------------------------------+
| "Translation failed" | Check health endpoint |
| | Verify MT service is running |
| | |
| Timeout errors | Increase timeout in settings |
| | Check network connectivity |
| | |
| "No source text" | Field is empty in source |
| | language - add content first |
| | |
| "Target not empty" | Enable "Overwrite existing" |
| | option to replace content |
| | |
| Poor translation quality | Edit before saving |
| | Some language pairs work better |
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Translation Quality Notes¶
NLLB-200 (No Language Left Behind) provides good quality for: - High-resource language pairs (English, French, German) - Common South African languages (Afrikaans, isiZulu)
Quality may vary for: - Low-resource language pairs - Technical/archival terminology - Historical language forms
Always review translations before applying.
Need Help?¶
Contact your system administrator if you experience issues with the translation service.
Part of the AtoM AHG Framework