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Translating WAI Documents

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Translation Assistance Welcome

We welcome your assistance translating documents developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). This page includes information on the W3C translation policy, how to coordinate with W3C and WAI when translating documents, and priorities for translations of WAI documents.

Existing Translations

A list of all WAI document translations is available from the W3C translations database.

To get a list of WAI documents already translated in a specific language, use the advanced search and "Choose a language", and under "Web Accessibility Documents" select -- Any WAI Documents --.

W3C Translation Policy

Please read Translations at W3C for the overall policy, procedures, and support on translating W3C documents.

More detailed information is available in W3C's intellectual rights FAQ, particularly under the question can I translate one of your specifications into another language? There is also useful information in the section on W3C Documents in the FAQ, including the "can I change it?" question; the "is it official?" question, and the "can I annotate it?" question. It is also important to read the information on W3C document use.

Authorized W3C Translations

Most translations are informative and unofficial. In cases where standards translations are meant for official purposes, they may be developed as Authorized W3C Translations according to the Policy for Authorized W3C Translations. Generally only completed W3C Recommendations and Working Group Notes are candidates for Authorized W3C Translations, including the WAI guidelines, techniques, and other documents listed under "WAI Technical Activity" on the W3C Technical Reports and Publications page. The authorized translations policy is designed to ensure transparency and community accountability in the development of authorized translations under the oversight of W3C.

Coordinating with W3C and WAI

If you are translating a WAI document, please follow the instructions in the W3C Translations page on how to help translate a W3C document, and be sure to notify the w3c-translators@w3.org mailing list when you first plan to translate a document, and then again when you have finished a translation. You can also subscribe to the translations list and ask questions about translation on that list. If you have additional questions specifically related to WAI documents, you can contact us at wai@w3.org.

Priorities for Translating WAI Documents

People frequently ask us which WAI documents they should translate. Four lists are below:

  1. Top priority WCAG 2.0 materials
  2. High priority introductory and short materials
  3. Secondary priority introductory and short materials
  4. Secondary priority technical materials

These lists are suggested priorities only. They are not meant to prevent people from translating documents for which they have a specific need. If you are interested in translating WAI documents that are not listed on this page or on the W3C Technical Reports page, please inquire first by contacting us at wai@w3.org.

See the status information for each document. Some documents are available now, but will be updated soon. You might choose to provide a translation now, or wait until the document is updated.

Top priority WCAG 2.0 materials

WCAG 2.0 Web Standard / W3C Recommendation

WCAG 2.0 short materials

WCAG 2.0 longer technical materials

High priority introductory and short materials

WCAG 2.0 materials listed above.

Secondary priority Introductory and short materials

WCAG 2.0 short materials (secondary priority):

Other guidelines overview documents:

Business case, Mobile Web overlap, older users overlpa:

Managing and evaluating accessibility:

Others:

Secondary priority technical materials

To be completed or updated in 2011 (not yet ready for translation):

Out-dated, superceded, or soon-to-be superceded documents

The following documents are not recommended for translation:

The complete list of WAI documents is available on the WAI Site Map.