The Everything2 Translator Directory
This is a directory of active noders who are familiar with a particular language and/or culture and who are willing to field questions encountered when noding about something that either belongs within a culture other than those you yourself are familiar with or something that digresses into the realm of one such culture. English-speaking cultures, with few exceptions, are easy to deal with just by dropping a question in the catbox but information on, for example, Danish or Turkish may not be so readily available. Ultimately, I'd like this node to be the place where we can direct people who need that sort of help.
Where could this be useful? You have some originally foreign text you wish to node but you're not quite satisfied with the translation you have (and Babelfish, as usual, is no help)... check it with an E2 Translator. Check it anyway since you may have missed some obscure idiom which puts the entire text in a different light. Questions about orthography, grammar and transliteration? Bring 'em on. Want to be sure you're not making a fool of yourself when noding about something that belongs to a culture you're not intimately familiar with? A friendly proofreader might be right here.
The individuals listed here aren't necessarily fluent in the languages they're listed under or experts on the culture but will at least have the means of getting accurate information when they're not sure. As more experts offer their services we can relieve the folks who are standing in for lack of expert helpers and end up with a panel that can field almost any question. Please don't be too demanding of these people; the answer to your question may be involved and need some time to answer. Since I don't get around to updating this terribly often, let me know if you spot someone who has left E2 and ought to be removed.
Helpful people: To be added to this list please send a message to an editor--there's no level requirement but I do ask that your E2 account be at least a month old. If you have more expertise with regard to a particular segment of the culture you're familiar with or a dialect let me know, e.g. German (Swiss), Chinese (Taiwan) or French (Quebec). I don't think artificial and fictional languages really belong here (yes, someone volunteered for Tolkien's languages). For sign languages I'll refer you to etoile and oakling for directions. Suggestions for the improvement of this node are always welcome. I hope it will encourage more international and cross-cultural noding. Big thanks to all volunteers on this list. We love you.
Alphabetic list by language
Afrikaans
Arabic
Basque
Chinese
Danish
Dutch
Estonian
Finnish
French
Frisian
Gaelic (Irish)
Gaelic (Scottish)
German
Greek (modern)
Hebrew
Hindi (and languages of the Indian subcontinent)
Hungarian
Icelandic
Italian
Japanese
Khmer
Kiswahili
Korean
Maori
Maltese
Norwegian
Polish
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish (and other languages spoken in Spain, including Catalan)
Swedish
Thai
Turkish
"Dead" languages, extinct cultures and older forms
Chinese (classical)
Greek (ancient)
Latin