So, what if you’ve heard about this great television series from France, but you don’t speak a lick of French? Before Viki was created, you would have to cross your fingers hoping that someone somewhere would find the funding and the need to translate that show into English. Now that Viki has arrived, you can watch television shows from around the globe thanks to a team of global translators.
Viki is a television and movie website (www.viki.com) that includes thousands of different TV and movie titles from around the world. This open-source site allows users to upload and translate any kind of content. What’s more, the people who translate this content are passionate, organized, and right on the money – dare I say that most of these people are better at translating one language to another than most professional translators?
How Viki Works
When you visit the Viki site (listed above), you’ll be asked to select your language. Once your language has been chosen, you will be sent to a site that lists all of the content that has been translated into your native tongue. You’ll find that a vast majority of the content listed on Viki comes from Asia, but this is bound to change once the site picks up speed.
If a show or movie looks appealing to you, all you have to do is click on that content caption. Within minutes the video or television show that you have chosen will begin to play. You can search through various episodes, and you can also sign up to be a translator. Most of the videos on Viki have been translated into more than ten different languages. At the bottom of each video, there’s a space for users to add comments about the show or about the translations (much like YouTube).
Becoming a Translator
Amazingly, the Viki community of translators is highly organized. Even though the possibility of translating is open to every user, you have to go through a process in order to become a translator. This process begins by joining the translation community, proving your skills, and then working on some content.
If you’re fluent in another language, translating for Viki could be your big break. After all, proving that you’ve successfully translated an entire film is a decent way to show off your skills. But I’ll warn you, if you aren’t great at translating or if your spelling and grammar aren’t top-notch, you might get booted from the translation community, and this is exactly how it should be. Really, nobody wants to watch a badly translated television show or movie!
Signing Up for Viki
The great thing about Viki is that it’s completely free. So, you don’t need to spend any money to enjoy all of the great content on the Viki site. All you have to do is go to the site, pick something to watch, and enjoy your selection. If you’re in the mood to watch something different, Viki is definitely a site worth checking out.