[Actionchix] Re: Translations

[Clytie Siddall]

On 27/03/2006, at 9:15 AM, jennyw wrote:

> Clytie Siddall wrote:
> > In mentioning this, I just want to get things started  
> effectively: we haven't decided who is going to co-ordinate the  
> Linuxchix translation effort, nor how it will be done (and when).
>
> I nominate Clytie! ;-) You sure sound like you know a lot about this.

Ouch, that wasn't my intention! :S

But thankyou for the appreciation. :)

It's a very messy area, OSS internationalization, in many ways.  
Causes severe spaghetti snarls in the brain!
>
> A question about information architecture ... do we envision that  
> the organization of URLs will be similar between the different  
> languages (with the URLs being written in different languages)?  
> Should URLs begin with a language code, like http:// 
> www.linuxchix.org/en/kernel-hacking?  Or should we have different  
> domains for each language, like http://es.linuxchix.org/, http:// 
> cn.linuxchix.org/, etc.?

I think the normal usage for translations is to begin with a language  
code. The different domains usually indicate individual content (e.g.  
a chapter site, or a language project).
>
> I admit I'm completely unfamiliar with how these are organized at  
> other sites, except that at ruby-lang.org, they use /en or /ja  
> depending on language.

Yes, that is usual. The list of ISO-639 language codes [1] is also  
available at the Translate Wiki [2].
>
> Also, do we envision merely keeping translations of the (currently  
> all-English) content in as many languages as possible, or will each  
> language have potentially original and unique content as well?

This is again a matter of translations or individual content. If the  
emphasis is on translation of the main content, anytime you add new  
content in your own language, you are also expected to add it in the  
English (main) section.

That way, the English section is the superset, and other languages  
know that if they maintain the translation of that superset, they  
aren't missing out on any new information on that site.

I think this is a very effective structure. Otherwise, the  
"translations" lose their integrity with the original text.

There are some situations where individuality is more important:  
cultural projects and local projects, but in the case of any main  
project wanting to reach people in different languages, integrity is  
definitely more important.

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://www.loc.gov/standards/iso639-2/englangn.html

[2] http://translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/l10n/resources