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List:       kde-i18n-doc
Subject:    Re: Translating documentation and improving our trads
From:       Kevin Donnelly <kevin () dotmon ! com>
Date:       2004-08-12 9:31:15
Message-ID: 200408121031.15190.kevin () dotmon ! com
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On Wednesday 11 August 2004 10:06 pm, Gérard Delafond wrote:
> An idea could be demanding a significant rate of translation in docs to be
> part of KDE.

This would be bizarre.  As a user, I hardly ever look at the docs, because 
they are of uneven quality (where they exist) and often do not represent the 
latest iteration of the program.  For a translation team, being forced to do  
the docs would be an enormous additional burden, when keeping up with the 
interface is difficult enough - I think many of the translation teams for the 
smaller languages would simply give up.  

I also have a fundamental philosophical difficulty with the docs - they tell 
you what a program does, but not necessarily how to use it for a particular 
task.  I tend to think that a collection of tutorials would actually be more 
useful (cf http://www.cymrux.org.uk/docs/item.php?lg=en&item_id=20).

There is certainly the difficulty, as you say, of developers for whom English 
is not a first language writing messages which are then translated by 
translators for whom English is not a first language.  However, if users find 
enough mistakes, and dislike them enough, they may tell you about them.  If 
you do not get many such messages, then I think it is fair to say that users 
don't mind very much, and may be prepared to put up with a few errors in what 
they recognise is a work-in-progress. It is then up to the translators to 
tighten up the translations on an ongoing basis in whatever time they have 
between the main work of extending the translation to cover all the 
interface.

It has been said that there are two types of people - "lumpers" (who tend to 
aggregate groups into larger groups), and "splitters" (who tend to 
disaggregate groups into smaller groups).  I think (based on our own 
experience in Wales) that there are two types of translators too - "deepers" 
and "widers".  The former want whatever translation has been done to be 
word-perfect, because of concerns that a translation with mistakes in it will 
put people off, and mean that free software is not taken seriously.  The 
latter are content to put up with a few mistakes temporarily in order to 
ensure coverage of the language over as many apps as possible.  

Rightly or wrongly, I tend to be in the second group, mainly because I think 
it fits in better with the "release early, release often" philosophy of the 
community development model.  This will probably change as the apps mature, 
but at the minute, with only 40% of KDE translated, typos get fixed on an ad 
hoc basis, and docs are really not on my priority list.

-- 

Pob hwyl (Best wishes)

Kevin Donnelly

www.kyfieithu.co.uk - Meddalwedd Rhydd yn Gymraeg
www.cymrux.org.uk - Linux Cymraeg ar un CD!

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