Cross-language communication
Review a translated community notice for clear actions
Read the translated notice as someone who has not seen the original. Can you find what to do, by when, where and whom to ask? Mark any phrase you doubt and have a fluent reviewer check how it sounds locally.
A text to start with
Here is a community notice in [source language] and its translation into [target language]: [paste both]. Readers should [action] by [date] at [place], and questions go to [contact]. Check that the translation includes each of these, point out phrases that are unclear or can be read two ways, and list anything in the original that the translation omits.
Example request. Change the details to fit your situation.Notice review worksheet
Notice title: [ ] Original language: [ ] Translated language: [ ] Main action for readers: [ ] Date or deadline: [ ] Place: [ ] Contact for questions: [ ] Unclear phrase 1: [ ] Why it is unclear: [ ] Unclear phrase 2: [ ] Why it is unclear: [ ] Details in the original but missing from the translation: [ ] Fluent reviewer: [ ] Local phrasing concerns: [ ] Revised text approved by: [ ]
Missing or shifted details
Compare the date, time, place and contact line by line, since small changes there matter most. Check that deadlines still read as deadlines and that a request has not become an option. Look for phrasing that is correct in a dictionary but stiff or odd to local readers, and for terms that differ by region. Confirm that names, addresses and phone numbers are unchanged. The fluent reviewer should read the whole notice, including unflagged lines, because omissions and tone are easy to miss.
Ask another agent to check the result
You are a fluent reader of the translated language. Check this notice for local phrasing that sounds off and confirm every essential detail from the original appears: action, date, place and contact. List anything missing or reworded, and say what a reader would do after reading it.
Get a fluent read, then revise
Send the notice and your marked phrases to a fluent reader who knows the community. Ask what they would do after reading it and compare that with what you intend. Revise the unclear phrases, then confirm every essential detail from the original is still present. Keep both versions together so later edits stay matched.