With the COVID-19 (coronavirus) crisis impacting every industry in the world, translation professionals are feeling the effects first hand.

As the people who keep the world communicating to save lives, connect loved ones and break down language barriers for critical organizations, translators deserve to know about the COVID-19 resources for translators that are available for free online access.

We scoured the web to create this round up of free and helpful COVID-19 resources with the hopes that you will find something that helps you during this uncertain time.

5 Helpful COVID-19 Resources for Translators

1. Coronavirus Data & Standards

Corona Crisis Corpus
This is perhaps one of the most helpful COVID-19 resources for medical translators, in particular those who use machine translation software with machine learning capabilities. 

TAUS (The Language Data Network) has launched the Corona Crisis Corpus project in response to the Coronavirus outbreak. They are collecting language data related to the pandemic, and cleaning, organizing and compiling it into their data library to make it accessible to translators for free download in multiple languages.

At the time of this post, it is available in the following languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian and Chinese.

Access the Corpus here.

12-Language Glossary of COVID-19 Terms
Eriksen Translations have also compiled a COVID-19 glossary. At the time of this post, it is available in 12 languages, including the following: Arabic, Bengali, Chinese (traditional & simplified), French, Greek, Haitian Creole, Korean, Polish, Russian, Spanish and Urdu. 

Access the Glossary here.

COVID-19 ASTM Standards
ASTM (American Society for Testing & Materials) is offering public access to important ASTM standards related to COVID-19. 

These are ones used in the production and testing of personal protective equipment – including face masks, medical gowns, gloves, and hand sanitizers – to support manufacturers, test labs, health care professionals, and the general public as they respond to the global COVID-19 public health emergency.

Language pairs currently available are English-French, English-German, English-Italian, and English-Spanish.

Access the Standards here.

2. Free Webinar Recordings

In Times of Corona Continued
This TAUS webinar is another great COVID-19 resource for translators. It brings together a few industry leaders to discuss the impacts of the corona crisis on our industry and business and to gather ideas and inspiration for collaborative actions that may bring relief. 

Those who are looking for insight into what the virus means for the language industry at this time and beyond might find it helpful. It answers the question, “What will this global reset mean to the language industry over the medium and long term?”

ProZ Freelancer Success Summit 2020
COVID-19 – Cancellations, Rate Reductions and the New Normal
This ProZ webinar is hosted by linguist and lawyer, Sue Leschen, and it covers how to respond to job cancellations and rate reductions requests from clients. 

Get an explanation of “Force Majeure,” and how you might request postponement versus cancellation. Understand your contractual rights and more.

Working from Home: Overcoming Practical Challenges
Languages entrepreneur Paul Urwin explores the issues commonly encountered when working from home and gives advice on how to work more effectively as a remote freelance translator.

More Educational Videos
For any translators experiencing job uncertainty or downtime, free online education might come as both a welcome distraction and productive endeavor. For example, get an introduction to video game localization or learn how to make your own freelance translator website.

Watch hundreds of translation-related videos at no cost from ProZ until June 1st, 2020 (they require you complete your ProZ profile for free access).

3. COVID-19 Financial Relief 

Last but not least, COVID financial relief resources for independent contractors and small businesses have finally been addressed. 

The US Chamber of Commerce has published An Independent Contractor’s Guide to the CARES Relief Act. It addresses PPP Loans/Grants, Economic Injury Disaster Loans and Unemployment Compensation. This handy guide simplifies what can be confusing information for many contractors.

4. Freelance Translation Job Postings

For translators lacking work due to COVID-19, the following websites post translation jobs at the following links. They’re updated regularly. Be sure to use the available search filters that help you find a job or project that suits your individual needs.

• ProZ
• Upwork
• Indeed

5. Volunteer Opportunities During Coronavirus

Wondering how you might be able to help during the coronavirus crisis? The United Nations Online Volunteering Service posts available translation volunteer opportunities here.

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