[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread] 

List:       kde-i18n-doc
Subject:    Re: usage of &kappname; in documentation
From:       Burkhard =?utf-8?q?L=C3=BCck?= <lueck () hube-lueck ! de>
Date:       2009-03-03 20:25:15
Message-ID: 200903032125.15906.lueck () hube-lueck ! de
[Download RAW message or body]

Am Mittwoch 25 Februar 2009 01:18:45 schrieb Chusslove Illich:
> > [: Frederik Schwarzer :]
> > Yesterday I changed some application entiries to &kappname; in kdegames
> > and received feedback from Marek Laane, the Estonian translator. He said
> > that using &kappname; makes translation for some languages more
> > difficult. So I reverted the change for that moment. Since I have some
> > difficulties following his argument, I want to ask a more broader
> > audience (yes, you) about possible pitfalls.
>
> (I'm afraid I'm just going to reiterate what Marek might have said,
> nevertheless...)
>
> The problem for declination-heavy languages is the following. When I see
> "...of Okular..." I will translate it in my language as "...Okulara...",
> where the "of" preposition is replaced with masculine genitive ending -a.
> Or, "...with Okular..." becomes "...Okularom...", etc. Furthermore, when
> the name is feminine-like, the root and endings change, so e.g. "...of
> Okteta..." becomes "...Oktete..." (-a stripped, -e added).
>
> For this reason in my language we completely do away with entities when
> translating documentation; when I see "...of &okteta;..." I replace it with
> "...Oktete...", no entity there. If, however, the the proper name is masked
> as "...&kappname;..." then I have to check what it actually is, in order to
> know what to replace it with. This check should waste little time overall,
> but there's a much more serious issue: if the name changes, I don't get a
> fuzzy in PO file, and thus don't get signalled that I should modify the
> translation.
>
> This is basically the same problem as "word puzzles" in UI messages.

opinions from other teams?

-- 
Burkhard Lück

[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread]