A service on the B.C. RCMP website that allowed users to translate any news release into French using Google Translate has been removed after a report criticizing the practice by CBC French.
The change means that French residents of B.C. – who once had access to instant, if imperfect, translations on the RCMP website – will now have to wait up to a month for RCMP news releases to be officially translated.
“After an internal examination, the RCMP has decided to remove Google Translate for French translation of news releases,” RCMP spokesman Insp. Tim Shields confirmed Tuesday. “It’s disappointing, because now French-language visitors to the website will not be able to read news releases in their own language instantly when they are posted.”
Under the Official Languages Act, federal government agencies – like the RCMP – are required to communicate with the public in both English and French.
However, Shields said the RCMP has only a single French translator for the whole province, which made it impossible to instantly translate all news releases into French.
Until recently, residents of B.C. requiring a French translation were asked to e-mail the RCMP, after which they had to wait up to a month to receive an official translation.
In June, said Shields, the RCMP added Google Translate to its website, allowing visitors to receive an unofficial translation of any news release in the language of their choice. Users could still request an official French translation by e-mail.
On Monday the French CBC ran a story criticizing the practice, arguing many of the automatic translations were of poor quality and that RCMP divisions elsewhere in the country offer instant official translations.
The story was picked up by the Montreal newspaper La Presse.
Shields said the Mounties decided today to remove the service from its French site.
“Officially and technically the website isn’t compliant with the Official Languages Act,” he said.
However, Shields said the force still doesn’t have the resources to offer simultaneous French translations.
And given the urgency of many of its releases – from escaped prisoners to missing children – it can’t wait around for translations.
So, for now, the French RCMP site will feature English news releases.
“At this point, the HR section is looking for a way to find funding to hire a full-time translator,” he said. “But for the time being, we will only translate into French upon request and it will take a minimum of one week to fulfill that request.”
Shields said the RCMP site will still offer Google Translate to those who speak other languages, such as Mandarin and Punjabi. But it will disable the feature for French speakers.
According to the 2006 Census, 63,000 B.C. residents speak French as their mother tongue, fewer than Punjabi (165,975), Cantonese (134,015), German (89,885) and Mandarin (73,325).
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.