FOSS L10n Guide

Some of the content of this book is based on material from the website of the Translate project: http://translate.sourceforge.net/ ( منال حسن ) Project conception and coordination Manal Hassan Dwayne Bailey Author Friedel Wolff Additional content Samuel Murray – terminology transliteration – ( خالد حسني ) Khaled Hosny Proofreading and feedback Hermien Bos Kenneth Nielsen Illustration and covers Heather Bailey French translation Mohomodou Houssouba La localisation au service d’un changement durable Claude Paroz ( خالد حسني ) Arabic translation Khaled Hosny ( أحمد غربية ) Ahmad Gharbeia إحداث التغيير بتوطين المعلوماتية Spanish translation Lucía Morado Vázquez La localización al servicio de un cambio verdadero Silvia Rodríguez Vázquez Funding International Development Research Centre (IDRC) © 2011 Translate.org.za This book is licensed under the Creative Commons licence called ªAttribution Non- Commercial Share Alikeº: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0 Introduction Computers are amazing tools. They can help us in so many ways, yet we are often frustrated when they don't work the way we want them to. We are frequently in interaction with technology where we change the way they work, and they change the way we work. A lot of this change is good, but we are not always aware how it changes us. A lot of technologies we work with often, such as software, web sites and cell phones, contain text which is in some language or another. Today, it is often in one of the major languages of the world, such as English or French. Those of us who understand the language of the technology are able to use it, while other people might be entirely locked out, or unable to fully enjoy the benefits that the technology brings. This book explains how software can be localised ± the process whereby software is translated or adapted in some other way. It will empower the user with knowledge of the issues and tools involved in translating software into new languages. Translated software can ensure that technology is usable for more people, and to ensure that more languages become used in information technology. It is important to realise that even if we are able to use technology in our second or third language, the constant exposure to this language doesn't only allow us to use the technology, but it also slowly degrades our ability to use our own language. It is my belief that languages that are not used in all the important spheres of our lives will have a hard time surviving the onslaught of globalisation. Software localisation can therefore not only help with access to information and useful technology, but also with language revival and cultural preservation. This book specifically discusses the localisation of so-called Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) ± software that we are able to localise and distribute freely. Many such software projects are leading the industry in language support. Although this book is about FOSS, it will also be useful for learning about software localisation in general, and about contributing to FOSS projects in more ways than just localisation. While several topics are discussed in this book, the scope is obviously limited to keep it at a manageable size. Many more topics might be relevant to localisation in a specific language, or with certain tools. We limit the discussion to topics of general interest to most FOSS localisation, and we limit the discussion on tools mostly to Virtaal and Pootle. Content Introduction.................................................................................................................. Chapter 1: Background...................................................................................................1 Software localisation...................................................................................................1 Open Source localisation.............................................................................................2 Differences from normal translation............................................................................3 Differences from commercial localisation.....................................................................4 Chapter 2: Orientation....................................................................................................5 What do you want to achieve?.....................................................................................5 Some principles to keep in mind..................................................................................6 Your environment........................................................................................................7 Chapter 3: Before you start............................................................................................11 The tools that we'll use..............................................................................................11 Viewing your language...............................................................................................12 Typing your language.................................................................................................13 Codes and locales ± initial support for your language.................................................13 Useful extras.............................................................................................................14 Chapter 4: Style.............................................................................................................15 Orthography..............................................................................................................15 Grammatical style.....................................................................................................18 Be true to the original text.........................................................................................19 Be true to the target language....................................................................................19 Chapter 5: Terminology..................................................................................................21 Why develop terminology?..........................................................................................21 Which terms should be developed?............................................................................23 Available resources....................................................................................................23 General principles.....................................................................................................25 Acronyms, abbreviations, brand names, product names............................................26 Terminology assistance in translation tools................................................................27 Chapter 6: Reuse...........................................................................................................29 When should translations be reused?........................................................................30 Some available sources..............................................................................................30 Some techniques and tools........................................................................................31 Translation memory, terminology and machine translation........................................33 Reuse in Virtaal.........................................................................................................33 Chapter 7: Technical issues...........................................................................................35 Things to leave untranslated......................................................................................35 Escapes.....................................................................................................................37 Markup.....................................................................................................................38 Simple plurals...........................................................................................................40 Variables...................................................................................................................41 Proper plurals...........................................................................................................43 Accelerators..............................................................................................................44 Advanced handling of variables.................................................................................48 Chapter 8: Localisation tools..........................................................................................51 Virtaal.......................................................................................................................51 Pootle........................................................................................................................55 Chapter 9: Localisation projects.....................................................................................59 A simple localisation process.....................................................................................59 Finding the relevant files...........................................................................................60 Project communication..............................................................................................61 Version control systems.............................................................................................64 Project schedule........................................................................................................65

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