Quality translations in GNOME
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Quality translations in GNOME How to enrich the users' experience through a good translation Sílvia Miranda Sánchez
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Localising open-source software is important, as more languages means more users. However, it is equally important to provide high quality translations. This slideshow prov is an overview of the importance of quality translations in GNOME
Transcript of Quality translations in GNOME
Quality translations in GNOME
How to enrich the users' experience through a good translation
Sílvia Miranda Sánchez
Who am I?
I am not a developer.I am a translator.
Localisation.From a linguistic point of view.
Intro.What is localising?
Well. Wait. What is translating?
”Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source language text with the
equivalent target language translation (text) to help a reader understand a foreign (source)
language text.”
Wikipedia
Translation
It's been done for ages.
First in stone.
Then in paper.
Now in computers.
”the process of adapting software for a particular geographical region (locale).”
LISA
Localisation (l10n)
Date and time formatsCurrencies
Measurement unitsTerminology
Tone and style
Including:
Why should we care about l10n?
More languages = more users.
Why is it importantto provide good translations?
Why should developerscare about this too?
Bad translations are funny, but not very useful.
Bad impression of the product.
”The lift is being fixed for the next day. during that time we regret that you will be unbearable.”
(in a hotel)
Eat Wikipedia:
(in a menu)
”No entry for heavy good vehicles. Residential site only.”
____________________________________________________”Nid wyf yn y swyddfa ar hyn o byrd. Anfonwch
unrhyw waith i'w giefieithu.”
Which means:
”I am not in the office at the moment. Send any work to be translated.”
(bilingual sign in Wales)
(restaurant name)
Good translations.Requirements.
Good knowledge of the source language.
Excellent knowledge of the target language.
”I am an native english speakerand don't do alot of mistakes,
can I be a translator?”
Ability to paraphrase.
Knowledge of the field.
DOs and DON'Ts
DON'T:
✗ Force people to stay alive.
✗ Tell people to eat Wikipedia.
✗ Ask truck drivers to send you e-mails while they are driving.
✗ Don't rely on MT.
✗ Don't rely solely on bilingual glossaries.
✗ Don't skip the review process.
Or:
DO:
Use glossaries AND specialised dictionaries.
Use translation memories.
Use a style guide.
Keep all the resources in one place. Make them accessible to all translators
and reviewers.
Run the spellchecker. Please.
Review the translation.
Review the translation(yes, twice).
If possible, check the translationin the actual UI.
In documentation, check for consistency with the actual UI options.
Process
Download po file
Translatefile
Self-review
Run QA checks
Run spellcheck
Download po file
Reviewfile
Run QA checks
Run spellcheck
Translator Reviewer
Commit file
Committer
Upload file
Upload file
Tools
Gedit
Text editor
Gtranslator
CAT tool
Lokalize
CAT tool
Virtaal
CAT tool
TransifexLaunchpad
Pootle
Web tools
Web translations
Nice, but...
...what if our translation teams consistsof very few people? How can we find
good translators?
Money!
Students!
... (suggestions?)
www.silviamiranda.com
@silviamira
Questions, suggestions, complaints...
Thanks for coming!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rosetta_Stone.JPG
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vlashton/1140669128/in/photostream/
http://galeria.badall.net/main.php?g2_itemId=3570
http://galeria.badall.net/main.php?g2_itemId=3574
http://galeria.badall.net/main.php?g2_itemId=3578
http://www.flickr.com/photos/arunjrk/2393439923/
http://ourfounder.typepad.com/leblog/WindowsLiveWriter/Menu.jpg
http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=301
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