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Questions about translations could be interesting or useful. For instance, asking about translations that are contested, or wouldn’t be easy to understand by using translation software (perhaps requiring additional cultural input). In this case, the asker should bring both the original text and the translation in question.
Translate this for me questions should be off topic. Perhaps the only exception being if someone is asking about a historic/dead language, or one for which language translation services tend to work poorly. Generally, this should not include widely spoken living languages.
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I think these sort under the "too broad" category and should be closed. Questions should ideally have some lasting value to future readers, meaning that they must be rather specific.
It is fine to ask about the meaning/usage/etymology of specific words or sentences, or to ask grammar questions. But not to ask for a whole translation or use the site to post job requests. "Do all the work for me" questions are generally frowned upon across the network.
I don't think proof reading whole texts should be on-topic either.
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Asking for translations is a common and normal technique that novice language students use to learn their language of choice. This allows them to connect and transfer some of their existing language skills to the target language.
A dictionary is arguably nothing more than a bunch of single-word translations, and yet it would be silly if a language site banned questions about equivalent words across languages.
I suppose the worst case scenario with allowing translation requests is that the site may come to be seen as a place where translators offer their work for free, which would perhaps be nice for asker, but not very fun for answerers.
The obvious solution would be to qualify:
- When asking for a translation, you must first try resources like Google Translate, and only if they don't work you're allowed to ask here
- Translation requests should specify exactly what was wrong with the translation obtained from the "other source"
- Translation requests should be limited to the part that didn't translate well. For example, don't ask about for the whole letter if it's only the signature that's giving you trouble.
This gives plenty of room for pedagogy, while also preventing questions that don't contribute much to the site. When the [translation] tag is added to a question, the site UX can warn them about the rule. People would only ask non-straightforward translation requests, where explaining the translation is actually a useful learning opportunity, without clogging up the site with uninteresting posts.
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