Paul Papadimitriou

In tests that we and others are now seeing on some parts of the site (only on Pages, at this point), comments in languages other than your account’s current one now include “Translate” button next to them. If you click on the button, the comment is automatically translated to your account language. The Translate button is then replaced by “Original,” which if clicked will untranslate the comment.

Simon Kemp mentioned in his SMWF Asia talk this Friday in Singapore how global brands were adapting to an audience that speaks many languages. Some brands go the route of having only one global Page presence, holding multilingual conversations.

This is a human-intensive and time-consuming option that works for big brands. Many smaller players simply use Google Translate, if they care at all. The launch of a Translate option on Page comments would therefore be welcomed by many. My guess is that it’s using the same crowd sourced Translation Tool that’s been offered to app developers since July 2008.

I would advise brands that look for a more precise approach to their own comments —but also their content in general— to look at myGengo‘s innovative solution: the Human Translation API.