[Actionchix] Re: Getting started
Clytie Siddall
clytie at riverland.net.au
Mon Mar 20 12:41:37 EST 2006
On 19/03/2006, at 5:39 PM, Anne Sorsa wrote:
> This will be my first project which I participate. So, could I have
> few hints how to get started this translation project. Is there any
> good websites to look at? I know that I will need good Finnish-
> English dictionary :-D , but some kind "getting started-manual"
> would help a lot.
Hello, Anne :)
Welcome to the world of open-source translation! :)
I think the best reference I can give you is to the Translate Wiki
[1], a central resource for internationalization (i18n ,which
contains localization [l10n], of which translation [for some reason
nobody's called that t9n yet ;) ] is the major part).
Have a good look at the Localization Guide there, which includes
information on translation editors and other tools, and the major OSS
projects (the Translation Project article gives you quite a good
introduction to translation). Also look at the Resources page.
If, after reading these resources, you have any further questions,
please ask me. I translate for a lot of projects now, and I started
out exactly as you are here, because a project in which I was
interested (the cross-platform Jabber client, Psi) asked for
translators. I really enjoy the i18n world, and I hope you will, too!
I have started a Google Group to mentor new translators [2],
particularly women (but all are welcome as long as behaviour is
appropriate.) It might be a good idea to use that for specific
translation-related questions, rather than going through them all
here, when they only apply to one specialized task. What do others
here think? People thinking of translation, please, you are welcome
to use this group. It's very quiet right now, since my last group of
new translators have grown their wings and flown off into different
projects. :D
I have kept the group invitation-only, so it stays small and
manageable. If you would like to join, current or prospective
translators, please email me, and I'll send you an invitation. :)
Anne, the Translate Wiki links to other projects are also useful for
getting into contact with the Finnish language-teams there. It's
really helpful to be able to discuss issues specific to your
language, with other translators working in it. You might like to
join one of the language teams, even if you're not currently
translating for that project. The Translation Project [3] accepts
files from all OSS projects, so it's a good place to start. Here's
[4] the Finnish team's page.
They can certainly advise you on the best resources for your
language. Other members of your language team can also help you watch
out for specific issues, or avoid them altogether. That can save you
a lot of time.
As soon as possible, we need to know in which format we will receive
files for translation. This affects which editor we choose. The
translation editors save us a _lot_ of time by automating and
improving many common tasks. The most common translation formats in
OSS are PO format, HTML and XML/Docbook, but the professional
translation standard XLIFF is growing in use, and is the best choice
if we can use it. I can advise on editors etc. once the decision is
made about the format of the original text.
Again, welcome! :)
from Clytie (vi-VN, Vietnamese free-software translation team / nhóm
Việt hóa phần mềm tự do)
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/vi-VN
[1] http://translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/
[2] http://groups.google.com/group/i18n-mentor
[3] http://www.iro.umontreal.ca/translation/HTML/index.html
[4] http://www.iro.umontreal.ca/translation/registry.cgi?team=fi
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