User:Mguirguiss

Translation Card is a language aide to use in critical situations where users use to convey a message or ask a question in a language they do not speak. It can be a card size printed document or an electronic application that displays these cards.

History

The oldest mention of the term "translation card" goes back to 2008 as people used these cards to inform about food allergies, they have in a language they do not speak and happen to be at. The urge to use such cards emerged more as waves of refugees and migrants hit Europe and America. Therefor, a collaboration between Google.org, ThoughtWorks, Mercy Corps, and UNHCR Innovation yielded into "Translation Card" application. In 2016 the app received an award for innovation at the United Nations Humanitarian Summit.

Types

Printed format: pre-printed or ready to print credit card size format document. These cards are based on simplicity but also "strongly worded" to state that one’s allergies are severe enough to call for emergency services.

Application: Designed for humanitarian response, Translation Cards is an app for devices that allows for tap-and-play audio translations, even in the most remote bandwidth-constrained locations. Each card contains an audio translation, optional text translation, and works across multiple languages. Any organization can rapidly create a deck of cards catered to their own specific use cases.

Uses

Allergy: People with allergy who plan to travel or reside in a country they do not speak it's language use these cards with physicians, hotel, food servers and any one in a position to help with needs. Those with food allergy have been benefited the most from Translation Cards. Ideally, these cards state if someone is allergic to a particular type of food or ingredient also it may list potential substitutes that a dish could be prepared without one’s allergen.

Features to look for and issues to consider:

• Cards need to mention cross-contamination and the recommendation of working with completely clean utensils, pans, and cutting boards while prepping food for the person with food allergy

• Card holders need to have an extra set of these cards in case of losing the first set. If someone is having a layover in a country, they don’t speak it’s language, they should buy cards with the language to that country as well just in case flight is delayed and they need to eat

• Cards need to be ordered early enough to check for completeness and accuracy

• Illustrations and graphics may be added to these cards to convey a visual message

Crisis: Usually in a form of application, these translation cards have been used to resolve complexity of working in multiple languages in the field of Humanitarian response. These cards were first used by UNHCR in collaboration with Google.org, ThoughtWorks and Mercy Corps to generate solutions that would help them to share accurate, accessible information with refugees and migrants in the language they understand. Users of this type of cards are able to create and use simple audio and visual ‘flash cards’ so that refugees or migrants can hear a pre-translated phrase spoken aloud in their own language. Cards that fall under this category are based on the frequently asked questions from refugees and migrants. It also includes key questions that would help field teams to determine how best to support refugees or which services to refer them too.

References:

Translation Cards https://www.anaphylaxis.org.uk/living-with-anaphylaxis/travelling/translation-cards/ Making sure refugees aren’t lost in translation – with one simple app https://www.unhcr.org/innovation/making-sure-refugees-arent-lost-translation-one-simple-app/ Translation Card https://www.mroliverblank.com/design-index/translation-cards http://translation-cards.com/index.html