I scanned the current topics and did not see one directly addressing this one. How do you handle posts or tweets in languages that your team does not know? (or you)

For example, I will be managing a page which will have frequent posts in Spanish; however I do not currently know much of the language (crash course!). Our staff for this association is only 3 so not a lot of resources. And as much as I like Babel Fish, I can’t translate everything and I would like to respond when I can to encourage engagement (see my other topic about Trade Associations).

@andrea-vahl Is it ok to use my dad? Ha! He has been studying for 6+ years now.Your intern idea reminds me of the in transition friends who might want to keep their Spanish skills fresh. I’ll have to poll them.   

The executive director is bilingual; however, I eventually want to take the burden off of him to free him up for other projects. Hopefully the membership director is bilingual too. (I start my job Jan. 3rd)

Thanks @juleswebb. Why did I completely forget about Google’s “translate pages” option? Or in this case, a copy-and-paste translation!

Of course there is more to conversing in another language than just the words, such as tone and intent. Those are a bit harder to pick up

@kc_kreative @andrea-vahl

I think that’s a fair assumption that you wouldn’t want to try to impart humor if you were using Google Translate to write in another language.

Here is my point:
If they are reading your blog and all you write in your blog is English then they must be able to read English or they have some way of translating it themselves through their browser or some other software.  

With this in mind I only thought you would be using Google translate to see what a comment written in a foreign language was saying. If it was spam or inappropriate you could delete it in good conscious. If it was a legitimate comment why couldn’t you respond in English? And if you did want to use Google Translate you could always preface the comment that you don’t know the language, but wanted to give it a try. 

Just my 2 cents:)

@ifenwick I will investigate the FB translation app / add-on. Thanks for letting me know that something is available.

 @juleswebb I agree with you about translating to see if it is spam or a bot post. A reply in English is probably better than no reply at all.

@andrea-vahl A disclaimer on my Spanish skills is a good idea if I don’t reply in Spanish.