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Put your language on software that millions of people use.

You do not need a translation degree, a certificate or a portfolio. You need one language you are genuinely fluent in, a few hours a month, and a willingness to be reviewed.

Join a team Read the style guide

What a first month looks like

  • Week 1 — you are paired with a mentor and given ten low-risk strings.
  • Week 2 — your mentor reviews everything and explains each change.
  • Week 3 — you work independently; a reviewer still signs off.
  • Week 4 — you are credited in a release, by name, for the first time.
Structure

The reviewer ladder

Everyone starts on the first rung. Moving up is based on reviewed work, not on time served.

Contributor

You translate. Everything you submit is reviewed by someone else before it ships. Expect detailed feedback — that is the point.

Reviewer

After roughly 500 accepted strings with a low correction rate, you can review others' work and sign strings off.

Team lead

You own a locale: glossary decisions, release readiness, onboarding new contributors and settling terminology disputes.

Mentor

Optional at any rung above contributor. Mentors take one newcomer at a time and are the reason our retention is what it is.

People

Some of the regulars

Sixteen of the six hundred and forty. Every one of them is credited in at least one shipped release.

Amy — Reviewer, fr-FRAmy
Reviewer, fr-FR
Dwight — Lead, de-DEDwight
Lead, de-DE
GnuMax — ToolingGnuMax
Tooling
Hils — Lead, en-GBHils
Lead, en-GB
iiKozen — Reviewer, ja-JPiiKozen
Reviewer, ja-JP
Jarred — DocsJarred
Docs
Klutzon — Reviewer, nl-NLKlutzon
Reviewer, nl-NL
Marcos — Lead, pt-BRMarcos
Lead, pt-BR
Matt — i18n engineeringMatt
i18n engineering
NoNumber — Project maintainerNoNumber
Project maintainer
OceanWatcher — Lead, nb-NOOceanWatcher
Lead, nb-NO
OT2Sen — PlatformOT2Sen
Platform
Parth — Lead, hi-INParth
Lead, hi-IN
Steven — Reviewer, sv-SESteven
Reviewer, sv-SE
Sully — CommunitySully
Community
Tess — Glossary & terminologyTess
Glossary & terminology
Join

Offer a language

Tell us what you speak and how much time you realistically have. Two hours a month is a genuinely useful amount.

Optional — but it helps us match you to a mentor.

Expectations

What we ask, what we give

No. Roughly two thirds of our active contributors have never worked as professional translators. What matters is genuine fluency in the target language, care with detail, and being comfortable having your work corrected in public.

Two hours a month keeps a small project current. A large project during a release push might want six to eight. We would much rather have a reliable two hours than an enthusiastic twenty that stops after a month.

Say so, on the string, in public. Terminology disputes go to the team lead and the decision is recorded in the glossary with the reasoning. Disagreement handled openly is how glossaries get better; disagreement handled privately is how contributors quietly leave.

Volunteer work is not paid, and we will never blur that line. Client work is paid at professional rates, and we recruit for it from our contributor community first. Several of our current freelancers started as volunteers — tick the “looking for paid work” option and we will keep you on that list.

Your name in release notes and repositories, a mentor for the first month, a public track record you can point an employer at, and software you use every day that finally works in your language.

Code of conduct, in one sentence

Assume good faith, critique the translation rather than the translator, and remember that for most people here English is not the first language either.

Ready to speak to the whole world?

Tell us about your project and we will come back within two working days with a scope, a timeline and the names of the people who would do the work.

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