Collaborative Translation

Hi everyone,

     Has Elgg ever considered installing a collaborative translation tool (e.g., pootle or JasperBabylon) on Elgg.org?  The reason I'm asking is because many people find it difficult to help with translations when each language file is a PHP script that needs to be edited inside of each plug-in's folder.  The problem with that approach is that without a centralized repository, it is difficult for two or more people to translate and review translations of the same language.  It is also frustrating to translate files for a plug-in jus to find the author making a new version available the next day with a changed language file.

     Having a centralaized and open repository for translation files would encourage plug-in developers to upload their language files anytime, while allowing volunteers translate them right away.  Moreover, existing translations could be reviewed by many translators to ensure their accuracy.  When the automagic_translation plug-in was gaining momentum, the community started to point out and express concern on the accuracy of individual language packs.  Therefore, making it easy for users to review and revise translations is very important, and would be easy to do with a collaborative translation tool.  As an added benefit, a centralized repository would mean that plug-in developers would be able to find and re-use standard strings (e.g., option:no and option:yes) instead of creating a whole new one with the exact same text.  Yet, the greatest benefit would be for the end user community, since the newest translation files could be downloaded at any time, instead of having to wait for an individual language pack.

     With that in mind, I was thinking of starting an Elgg translation community with a server-based, collaborative translation memory tool.  However, I do not want create any duplicate efforts nor lure users away from the Elgg Community.  Would you be interested in setting up such a platform on Elgg.org?

     What are your thoughs?

Regards,

 

Gabriel Monge-Franco

http://gabriel.mongefranco.com

 

  • hi ,

    my point of vue  about translation :

    first of all I have to say that i'm not a translator nore a good coder and also that i'm not a native english speaker

    I was looking for translation , I found some in plugins , but having to download 100 zip to have the  translation for only one language is not usable 

    search languages in plugin and you'll see what i mean 

    why not making a plugin for translation ( there is allready some ) 

    a plugin that communicate with a SVN  ?  :)  ( is it possible  ? )

    with one directory per language

    so if someone translate something it is posted on the repository and everyone can use it 

    no need to have things done than one time 

    if someone make such a system it will be more easy for everyone

  • is there any convention for filenames when posting  translation ??

  • Hello,

    I'm new to Elgg and would like to contribute with translation and localization process.

    Currently I was able to extract elgg's php files to XLIFF objects and merge the translations again. Just have to adjust a few extraction errors but this is (imho) usable. I'm working on local by creating a xliff based project with all language files in the tree structure needed (e.g. for 'mod' dir).

    A set of xliff files should be a good starting point for maintaining Elgg translations in a platform like Pootle (new versions have good xliff support). What do you think?

    Here are the questions:

    Where can I post any problems related to original format?

    How to upload a new 1.7 language translation? (I've translated main language.php file and mod's language files too to Galician).