Desher Kaj
Translating between Bangla and English
One of this site’s guides or task texts from Bangla into English, or English into Bangla: plainly, adding nothing and leaving nothing out.
Area
Nationwide
People
2 people
Time
About 4 hours
Difficulty
Medium
About this task
Translating one of this site’s guides or task texts: Bangla into English, for foreign organisations or second-generation Bangladeshis abroad; or English into Bangla, for people in the villages. Paragraph by paragraph, then a second bilingual reader checks them side by side.
Why it matters
Good writing stuck in one language misses half its readers. Machine translation often shifts the meaning, and in safety advice that mistake is dangerous.
What changes after
The original and the translation side by side in one file, checked by a second reader, ready for staff to put on the site.
Who can join
Anyone who knows both Bangla and English well.
Step by step
- 1Done
Choose the text20 min
Which text, which way (Bangla to English or back), due when: one line on the task page.
- 2Done
Translate150 min
Paragraph by paragraph. Keep names, numbers and dates exactly as they are. If a machine helps, read and fix every line yourself.
- 3Done
A second reading60 min
Another bilingual person reads the original and the translation side by side.
- 4Done
Hand it in10 min
A two-column file: the original on the left, the translation on the right.
When it counts as done
- Every paragraph of the original has its translation beside it
- Names, numbers and dates match the original exactly
- The second reader is named in the file
Proof required: Document
What it costs
| Mobile data or internet (nothing if you already have it) | 1 month | ৳0–500 |
| Software: free (LibreOffice, Google Docs or Sheets) | — | ৳0 |
| Total (about) | ৳0–500 | |
Getting ready, step by step
Day one
Fix the text and the direction; note it on the task page.
Agree a second reader.
Day two
Translate paragraph by paragraph in a two-column file.
Day three
Correct by the second reader’s notes.
Hand in the file.
Who does what
- Translator (1): Translates plainly, keeping the meaning. — ____________
- Second reader (1): Reads the original and the translation side by side and asks questions. — ____________
The day, hour by hour
- 20:00Read the whole text once.
- 20:20Translate paragraph by paragraph.
- 21:30Match names, numbers and dates to the original.
- 21:45Send it to the second reader.
What can go wrong, and what to do
- Machine translation shifting the meaning → Read every line yourself; when unsure, ask the second reader.
- A number or date going wrong → Keep digits exactly; check them separately at the end.
Questions people ask
- Can I do this from outside the country?
- Yes. All of it is done on a phone or a computer; internet is enough. Hand it in on the task page.
- Must it be word for word?
- No. Keep the meaning, in plain words. Only names, numbers and dates stay exactly as they are.