How can I read an article that is written in a language other than English?
Answer
It's common to come across articles published in languages other than English when you're doing research. Oftentimes the abstract is published in both the author's language and in English, which makes it easier for databases to index these articles and for researchers to find and use them.
Here are some tips for translating non-English articles so you can read and cite them in your research:
- Upload the .pdf file into Google Translate -- it won't translate 100% correctly, but you'll get the gist of it
- Ask social media (use tags like #translationhelp in your post)
- Ask a language club or a fluent speaker
If you really need a 100% fully accurate translation, there are a multitude of paid translation services out there -- but we recommend trying the free options first! You can also limit your searches to English-language articles by using the language filter in OneSearch or in the database you are searching.