1 # SOME DESCRIPTIVE TITLE
2 # Copyright (C) YEAR Free Software Foundation, Inc.
3 # FIRST AUTHOR <EMAIL@ADDRESS>, YEAR.
8 "Project-Id-Version: PACKAGE VERSION\n"
9 "POT-Creation-Date: 2007-07-01 21:18+0000\n"
10 "PO-Revision-Date: YEAR-MO-DA HO:MI+ZONE\n"
11 "Last-Translator: FULL NAME <EMAIL@ADDRESS>\n"
12 "Language-Team: LANGUAGE <LL@li.org>\n"
14 "Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8\n"
15 "Content-Transfer-Encoding: ENCODING\n"
17 # type: Content of: <chapter><title>
20 "Internationalizing, translating, being internationalized and being translated"
23 # type: Content of: <chapter><para>
26 "Debian supports an ever-increasing number of natural languages. Even if you "
27 "are a native English speaker and do not speak any other language, it is part "
28 "of your duty as a maintainer to be aware of issues of internationalization "
29 "(abbreviated i18n because there are 18 letters between the 'i' and the 'n' "
30 "in internationalization). Therefore, even if you are ok with English-only "
31 "programs, you should read most of this chapter."
34 # type: Content of: <chapter><para>
37 "According to <ulink url=\"http://&www-debian-org;/doc/manuals/intro-i18n/"
38 "\">Introduction to i18n</ulink> from Tomohiro KUBOTA, I18N "
39 "(internationalization) means modification of a software or related "
40 "technologies so that a software can potentially handle multiple languages, "
41 "customs, and so on in the world. while L10N (localization) means "
42 "implementation of a specific language for an already internationalized "
46 # type: Content of: <chapter><para>
49 "l10n and i18n are interconnected, but the difficulties related to each of "
50 "them are very different. It's not really difficult to allow a program to "
51 "change the language in which texts are displayed based on user settings, but "
52 "it is very time consuming to actually translate these messages. On the "
53 "other hand, setting the character encoding is trivial, but adapting the code "
54 "to use several character encodings is a really hard problem."
57 # type: Content of: <chapter><para>
60 "Setting aside the i18n problems, where no general guideline can be given, "
61 "there is actually no central infrastructure for l10n within Debian which "
62 "could be compared to the dbuild mechanism for porting. So most of the work "
63 "has to be done manually."
66 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
68 msgid "How translations are handled within Debian"
71 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
74 "Handling translation of the texts contained in a package is still a manual "
75 "task, and the process depends on the kind of text you want to see translated."
78 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
81 "For program messages, the gettext infrastructure is used most of the time. "
82 "Most of the time, the translation is handled upstream within projects like "
83 "the <ulink url=\"http://www.iro.umontreal.ca/contrib/po/HTML/\">Free "
84 "Translation Project</ulink>, the <ulink url=\"http://developer.gnome.org/"
85 "projects/gtp/\">Gnome translation Project</ulink> or the <ulink url=\"http://"
86 "i18n.kde.org/\">KDE one</ulink>. The only centralized resource within "
87 "Debian is the <ulink url=\"http://&www-debian-org;/intl/l10n/\">Central "
88 "Debian translation statistics</ulink>, where you can find some statistics "
89 "about the translation files found in the actual packages, but no real "
90 "infrastructure to ease the translation process."
93 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
96 "An effort to translate the package descriptions started long ago, even if "
97 "very little support is offered by the tools to actually use them (i.e., only "
98 "APT can use them, when configured correctly). Maintainers don't need to do "
99 "anything special to support translated package descriptions; translators "
100 "should use the <ulink url=\"http://ddtp.debian.org/\">DDTP</ulink>."
103 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
106 "For debconf templates, maintainers should use the po-debconf package to ease "
107 "the work of translators, who could use the DDTP to do their work (but the "
108 "French and Brazilian teams don't). Some statistics can be found both on the "
109 "DDTP site (about what is actually translated), and on the <ulink url="
110 "\"http://&www-debian-org;/intl/l10n/\">Central Debian translation "
111 "statistics</ulink> site (about what is integrated in the packages)."
114 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
117 "For web pages, each l10n team has access to the relevant CVS, and the "
118 "statistics are available from the Central Debian translation statistics site."
121 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
124 "For general documentation about Debian, the process is more or less the same "
125 "as for the web pages (the translators have access to the CVS), but there are "
126 "no statistics pages."
129 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
132 "For package-specific documentation (man pages, info documents, other "
133 "formats), almost everything remains to be done."
136 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
139 "Most notably, the KDE project handles translation of its documentation in "
140 "the same way as its program messages."
143 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
146 "There is an effort to handle Debian-specific man pages within a <ulink url="
147 "\"&url-cvsweb;manpages/?cvsroot=debian-doc\">specific CVS repository</ulink>."
150 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
152 msgid "I18N & L10N FAQ for maintainers"
155 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
158 "This is a list of problems that maintainers may face concerning i18n and "
159 "l10n. While reading this, keep in mind that there is no real consensus on "
160 "these points within Debian, and that this is only advice. If you have a "
161 "better idea for a given problem, or if you disagree on some points, feel "
162 "free to provide your feedback, so that this document can be enhanced."
165 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
167 msgid "How to get a given text translated"
170 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
173 "To translate package descriptions or debconf templates, you have nothing to "
174 "do; the DDTP infrastructure will dispatch the material to translate to "
175 "volunteers with no need for interaction from your part."
178 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
181 "For all other material (gettext files, man pages, or other documentation), "
182 "the best solution is to put your text somewhere on the Internet, and ask on "
183 "debian-i18n for a translation in different languages. Some translation team "
184 "members are subscribed to this list, and they will take care of the "
185 "translation and of the reviewing process. Once they are done, you will get "
186 "your translated document from them in your mailbox."
189 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
191 msgid "How to get a given translation reviewed"
194 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
197 "From time to time, individuals translate some texts in your package and will "
198 "ask you for inclusion of the translation in the package. This can become "
199 "problematic if you are not fluent in the given language. It is a good idea "
200 "to send the document to the corresponding l10n mailing list, asking for a "
201 "review. Once it has been done, you should feel more confident in the "
202 "quality of the translation, and feel safe to include it in your package."
205 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
207 msgid "How to get a given translation updated"
210 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
213 "If you have some translations of a given text lying around, each time you "
214 "update the original, you should ask the previous translator to update the "
215 "translation with your new changes. Keep in mind that this task takes time; "
216 "at least one week to get the update reviewed and all."
219 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
222 "If the translator is unresponsive, you may ask for help on the corresponding "
223 "l10n mailing list. If everything fails, don't forget to put a warning in "
224 "the translated document, stating that the translation is somehow outdated, "
225 "and that the reader should refer to the original document if possible."
228 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
231 "Avoid removing a translation completely because it is outdated. Old "
232 "documentation is often better than no documentation at all for non-English "
236 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
238 msgid "How to handle a bug report concerning a translation"
241 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
242 #. TODO: add the i18n tag to the bug?
245 "The best solution may be to mark the bug as forwarded to upstream, and "
246 "forward it to both the previous translator and his/her team (using the "
247 "corresponding debian-l10n-XXX mailing list)."
250 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
252 msgid "I18N & L10N FAQ for translators"
255 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
258 "While reading this, please keep in mind that there is no general procedure "
259 "within Debian concerning these points, and that in any case, you should "
260 "collaborate with your team and the package maintainer."
263 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
265 msgid "How to help the translation effort"
268 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
271 "Choose what you want to translate, make sure that nobody is already working "
272 "on it (using your debian-l10n-XXX mailing list), translate it, get it "
273 "reviewed by other native speakers on your l10n mailing list, and provide it "
274 "to the maintainer of the package (see next point)."
277 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
279 msgid "How to provide a translation for inclusion in a package"
282 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
285 "Make sure your translation is correct (asking for review on your l10n "
286 "mailing list) before providing it for inclusion. It will save time for "
287 "everyone, and avoid the chaos resulting in having several versions of the "
288 "same document in bug reports."
291 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
294 "The best solution is to file a regular bug containing the translation "
295 "against the package. Make sure to use the 'PATCH' tag, and to not use a "
296 "severity higher than 'wishlist', since the lack of translation never "
297 "prevented a program from running."
300 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
302 msgid "Best current practice concerning l10n"
305 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
308 "As a maintainer, never edit the translations in any way (even to reformat "
309 "the layout) without asking on the corresponding l10n mailing list. You risk "
310 "for example breaksing the encoding of the file by doing so. Moreover, what "
311 "you consider an error can be right (or even needed) in the given language."
314 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
317 "As a translator, if you find an error in the original text, make sure to "
318 "report it. Translators are often the most attentive readers of a given "
319 "text, and if they don't report the errors they find, nobody will."
322 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
325 "In any case, remember that the major issue with l10n is that it requires "
326 "several people to cooperate, and that it is very easy to start a flamewar "
327 "about small problems because of misunderstandings. So if you have problems "
328 "with your interlocutor, ask for help on the corresponding l10n mailing list, "
329 "on debian-i18n, or even on debian-devel (but beware, l10n discussions very "
330 "often become flamewars on that list :)"
333 # type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
336 "In any case, cooperation can only be achieved with <emphasis role=\"strong"
337 "\">mutual respect</emphasis>."