What is Ackuna?
Ackuna is the world's first and largest free crowd-sourced translation system designed by and for app developers. App developers can upload various text strings and localize apps for Android, iOS, Blackberry and other platforms in over 20 different languages. We consider ourselves a translation machine powered entirely by humans.
How does Ackuna work?
Ackuna works with 10 different file formats including .String (iOS), .XML (Android), .RRC (BlackBerry), .XLF, .Properties, .YML, .RESX, .PO, .XLF and even .XLS and XLSX. The first step is assigning your project a name; provide a description and a link to the existing app. The second step is to simply upload your source app's files and a crowd of volunteers will translate it. Your text can be translated until you are fully satisfied with the results. The text will be returned in the same format with the translations integrated directly into the coding.
Translators can choose their projects by scrolling the projects section by languages required. For each project, the translator will see a list of terms in the original source language, and then submits their suggestion for the translated text. Translations are then peer reviewed and rated based on their accuracy. Ackuna’s method creates an algorithm for the translators to be rated which can increase or decrease their reputations online.
What are the benefits of crowd-sourcing translations?
Crowd-sourcing gives professional translators opportunities and creates a window for further learning. Mastering a language doesn’t happen over night. Even at a professional level you should always leave room to perfect your skills by allowing others to review and edit your work. Crowd-sourcing is basically a symbiotic relationship of sorts between developers and translators in which everyone benefits while helping to narrow the language gap online.
Is crowd-sourcing a sustainable model for translation?
Crowdsourcing is a remarkably stable business and it will be sustained due to the fact that everyone wants to feel that they are a part of a community. Twitter and Facebook for example, allows you to express yourself through statuses. This gives users the feeling that you are apart of a specific community. Ackuna is designed so that the more people who use the platform, the faster and more accurate the translations become. We have incorporated a Translation Memory into the system, so that when a translation is verified to be accurate, it saves the translation in the system for future use. This is particularly useful for app developers, since many of the same words are universally used in a lot of apps. If those words appear again for the same language, the developer automatically receives the saved translation instantly. From a business perspective, while this may take away from the profits earned from the upgraded ‘Professional Translation’ option, it allows Ackuna to become the fastest, cheapest, most precise translation tool available online. For Ackuna, that is worth the cost.
Irina Usharenko
About the Author:
Irina Usharenko is a marketing intern at Ackuna. Irina is expected to graduate this year with a B.A. in Marketing Management from Baruch College, Zicklin School of Business
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