Another great project for technical communicators is happening right now over at WebAIM. As announced on the WebAIM blog post, September 30, 2008 "Update on Wave", they have started a translation project for WAVE, WebAIM's web accessibility evaluation tool. After all, who says web accessibility evaluation is only necessary in English! For the full announcement see the September 30, 2008 blog post "Update on Wave", Coming Soon (we hope) / Internationalization.
First stop is Spanish.
The Center for Persons with Disabilities at Utah State University is funding an initial translation of a Spanish-language version of the WAVE web-based tool and Firefox toolbar and the development of a framework that will support translation into many other languages. Diogenes Hernandez and Jon Whiting, both Spanish speaking members of the WebAIM team, will be coordinating these efforts.
In what ways can you, dear reader, help this project? You can
- Improve translation of the WAVE feedback.
- Improve the accuracy of WAVE rules.
- Improve the translation of the WAVE site and toolbar. (Includes Help files!)
- Identify WAVE bugs and offer suggestions for improvement.
- Spread the word.
- Be ready for translation into other languages.
WebAIM says the initial Spanish translation project must be finalized before beginning any new translation projects. However, let WebAIM know if you have skills they can use for future projects. They'd love to hear from you! Use the WAVE Feedback form at https://wave.webaim.org/feedback