1 # SOME DESCRIPTIVE TITLE
2 # Copyright (C) YEAR Free Software Foundation, Inc.
3 # This file is distributed under the same license as the PACKAGE package.
4 # FIRST AUTHOR <EMAIL@ADDRESS>, YEAR.
9 "Project-Id-Version: PACKAGE VERSION\n"
10 "POT-Creation-Date: 2010-06-03 21:58-0400\n"
11 "PO-Revision-Date: YEAR-MO-DA HO:MI+ZONE\n"
12 "Last-Translator: FULL NAME <EMAIL@ADDRESS>\n"
13 "Language-Team: LANGUAGE <LL@li.org>\n"
15 "Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8\n"
16 "Content-Transfer-Encoding: ENCODING"
18 #. type: Content of: <chapter><title>
20 msgid "Internationalization and Translations"
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=\"&url-i18n-intro;\">Introduction to i18n</ulink> "
38 "from Tomohiro KUBOTA, I18N (internationalization) means modification of a "
39 "software or related technologies so that a software can potentially handle "
40 "multiple languages, customs, and so on in the world, while L10N "
41 "(localization) means implementation of a specific language for an already "
42 "internationalized software."
45 #. type: Content of: <chapter><para>
48 "l10n and i18n are interconnected, but the difficulties related to each of "
49 "them are very different. It's not really difficult to allow a program to "
50 "change the language in which texts are displayed based on user settings, but "
51 "it is very time consuming to actually translate these messages. On the "
52 "other hand, setting the character encoding is trivial, but adapting the code "
53 "to use several character encodings is a really hard problem."
56 #. type: Content of: <chapter><para>
59 "Setting aside the i18n problems, where no general guideline can be given, "
60 "there is actually no central infrastructure for l10n within Debian which "
61 "could be compared to the buildd mechanism for porting. So most of the work "
62 "has to be done manually."
65 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
67 msgid "How translations are handled within Debian"
70 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
73 "Handling translation of the texts contained in a package is still a manual "
74 "task, and the process depends on the kind of text you want to see "
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=\"&url-l10n-tp;\">Free Translation Project</ulink>, the "
84 "<ulink url=\"&url-l10n-gnome;\">Gnome translation Project</ulink> or the "
85 "<ulink url=\"&url-l10n-kde;\">KDE one</ulink>. The only centralized "
86 "resource within Debian is the <ulink url=\"&url-l10n;\">Central Debian "
87 "translation statistics</ulink>, where you can find some statistics about the "
88 "translation files found in the actual packages, but no real infrastructure "
89 "to ease the translation process."
92 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
95 "An effort to translate the package descriptions started long ago, even if "
96 "very little support is offered by the tools to actually use them (i.e., only "
97 "APT can use them, when configured correctly). Maintainers don't need to do "
98 "anything special to support translated package descriptions; translators "
99 "should use the <ulink url=\"&url-ddtp;\">Debian Description Translation "
100 "Project (DDTP)</ulink>."
103 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
106 "For <systemitem role=\"package\">debconf</systemitem> templates, maintainers "
107 "should use the <systemitem role=\"package\">po-debconf</systemitem> package "
108 "to ease the work of translators, who could use the DDTP to do their work "
109 "(but the French and Brazilian teams don't). Some statistics can be found "
110 "both on the <ulink url=\"&url-ddtp;\">DDTP site</ulink> (about what is "
111 "actually translated), and on the <ulink url=\"&url-l10n;\">Central Debian "
112 "translation statistics</ulink> site (about what is integrated in the "
116 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
119 "For web pages, each l10n team has access to the relevant VCS, and the "
120 "statistics are available from the Central Debian translation statistics "
124 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
127 "For general documentation about Debian, the process is more or less the same "
128 "as for the web pages (the translators have access to the VCS), but there are "
129 "no statistics pages."
132 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
135 "For package-specific documentation (man pages, info documents, other "
136 "formats), almost everything remains to be done."
139 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
142 "Most notably, the KDE project handles translation of its documentation in "
143 "the same way as its program messages."
146 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
149 "There is an effort to handle Debian-specific man pages within a <ulink "
150 "url=\"&url-cvsweb;manpages/?cvsroot=debian-doc\">specific VCS "
151 "repository</ulink>."
154 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
156 msgid "I18N & L10N FAQ for maintainers"
159 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
162 "This is a list of problems that maintainers may face concerning i18n and "
163 "l10n. While reading this, keep in mind that there is no real consensus on "
164 "these points within Debian, and that this is only advice. If you have a "
165 "better idea for a given problem, or if you disagree on some points, feel "
166 "free to provide your feedback, so that this document can be enhanced."
169 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
171 msgid "How to get a given text translated"
174 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
177 "To translate package descriptions or <systemitem "
178 "role=\"package\">debconf</systemitem> templates, you have nothing to do; the "
179 "DDTP infrastructure will dispatch the material to translate to volunteers "
180 "with no need for interaction from your part."
183 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
186 "For all other material (gettext files, man pages, or other documentation), "
187 "the best solution is to put your text somewhere on the Internet, and ask on "
188 "debian-i18n for a translation in different languages. Some translation team "
189 "members are subscribed to this list, and they will take care of the "
190 "translation and of the reviewing process. Once they are done, you will get "
191 "your translated document from them in your mailbox."
194 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
196 msgid "How to get a given translation reviewed"
199 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
202 "From time to time, individuals translate some texts in your package and will "
203 "ask you for inclusion of the translation in the package. This can become "
204 "problematic if you are not fluent in the given language. It is a good idea "
205 "to send the document to the corresponding l10n mailing list, asking for a "
206 "review. Once it has been done, you should feel more confident in the "
207 "quality of the translation, and feel safe to include it in your package."
210 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
212 msgid "How to get a given translation updated"
215 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
218 "If you have some translations of a given text lying around, each time you "
219 "update the original, you should ask the previous translator to update the "
220 "translation with your new changes. Keep in mind that this task takes time; "
221 "at least one week to get the update reviewed and all."
224 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
227 "If the translator is unresponsive, you may ask for help on the corresponding "
228 "l10n mailing list. If everything fails, don't forget to put a warning in "
229 "the translated document, stating that the translation is somehow outdated, "
230 "and that the reader should refer to the original document if possible."
233 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
236 "Avoid removing a translation completely because it is outdated. Old "
237 "documentation is often better than no documentation at all for non-English "
241 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
243 msgid "How to handle a bug report concerning a translation"
246 #. TODO: add the i18n tag to the bug?
247 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
250 "The best solution may be to mark the bug as forwarded to upstream, and "
251 "forward it to both the previous translator and his/her team (using the "
252 "corresponding debian-l10n-XXX mailing list)."
255 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
257 msgid "I18N & L10N FAQ for translators"
260 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><para>
263 "While reading this, please keep in mind that there is no general procedure "
264 "within Debian concerning these points, and that in any case, you should "
265 "collaborate with your team and the package maintainer."
268 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
270 msgid "How to help the translation effort"
273 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
276 "Choose what you want to translate, make sure that nobody is already working "
277 "on it (using your debian-l10n-XXX mailing list), translate it, get it "
278 "reviewed by other native speakers on your l10n mailing list, and provide it "
279 "to the maintainer of the package (see next point)."
282 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><title>
284 msgid "How to provide a translation for inclusion in a package"
287 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
290 "Make sure your translation is correct (asking for review on your l10n "
291 "mailing list) before providing it for inclusion. It will save time for "
292 "everyone, and avoid the chaos resulting in having several versions of the "
293 "same document in bug reports."
296 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><section><para>
299 "The best solution is to file a regular bug containing the translation "
300 "against the package. Make sure to use the 'PATCH' tag, and to not use a "
301 "severity higher than 'wishlist', since the lack of translation never "
302 "prevented a program from running."
305 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><title>
307 msgid "Best current practice concerning l10n"
310 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
313 "As a maintainer, never edit the translations in any way (even to reformat "
314 "the layout) without asking on the corresponding l10n mailing list. You risk "
315 "for example breaking the encoding of the file by doing so. Moreover, what "
316 "you consider an error can be right (or even needed) in the given language."
319 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
322 "As a translator, if you find an error in the original text, make sure to "
323 "report it. Translators are often the most attentive readers of a given "
324 "text, and if they don't report the errors they find, nobody will."
327 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
330 "In any case, remember that the major issue with l10n is that it requires "
331 "several people to cooperate, and that it is very easy to start a flamewar "
332 "about small problems because of misunderstandings. So if you have problems "
333 "with your interlocutor, ask for help on the corresponding l10n mailing list, "
334 "on debian-i18n, or even on debian-devel (but beware, l10n discussions very "
335 "often become flamewars on that list :)"
338 #. type: Content of: <chapter><section><itemizedlist><listitem><para>
341 "In any case, cooperation can only be achieved with <emphasis "
342 "role=\"strong\">mutual respect</emphasis>."