| 1 | Notes on the Free Translation Project |
|---|
| 2 | ************************************* |
|---|
| 3 | |
|---|
| 4 | Free software is going international! The Free Translation Project |
|---|
| 5 | is a way to get maintainers of free software, translators, and users all |
|---|
| 6 | together, so that will gradually become able to speak many languages. |
|---|
| 7 | A few packages already provide translations for their messages. |
|---|
| 8 | |
|---|
| 9 | If you found this `ABOUT-NLS' file inside a distribution, you may |
|---|
| 10 | assume that the distributed package does use GNU `gettext' internally, |
|---|
| 11 | itself available at your nearest GNU archive site. But you do _not_ |
|---|
| 12 | need to install GNU `gettext' prior to configuring, installing or using |
|---|
| 13 | this package with messages translated. |
|---|
| 14 | |
|---|
| 15 | Installers will find here some useful hints. These notes also |
|---|
| 16 | explain how users should proceed for getting the programs to use the |
|---|
| 17 | available translations. They tell how people wanting to contribute and |
|---|
| 18 | work at translations should contact the appropriate team. |
|---|
| 19 | |
|---|
| 20 | When reporting bugs in the `intl/' directory or bugs which may be |
|---|
| 21 | related to internationalization, you should tell about the version of |
|---|
| 22 | `gettext' which is used. The information can be found in the |
|---|
| 23 | `intl/VERSION' file, in internationalized packages. |
|---|
| 24 | |
|---|
| 25 | Quick configuration advice |
|---|
| 26 | ========================== |
|---|
| 27 | |
|---|
| 28 | If you want to exploit the full power of internationalization, you |
|---|
| 29 | should configure it using |
|---|
| 30 | |
|---|
| 31 | ./configure --with-included-gettext |
|---|
| 32 | |
|---|
| 33 | to force usage of internationalizing routines provided within this |
|---|
| 34 | package, despite the existence of internationalizing capabilities in the |
|---|
| 35 | operating system where this package is being installed. So far, only |
|---|
| 36 | the `gettext' implementation in the GNU C library version 2 provides as |
|---|
| 37 | many features (such as locale alias, message inheritance, automatic |
|---|
| 38 | charset conversion or plural form handling) as the implementation here. |
|---|
| 39 | It is also not possible to offer this additional functionality on top |
|---|
| 40 | of a `catgets' implementation. Future versions of GNU `gettext' will |
|---|
| 41 | very likely convey even more functionality. So it might be a good idea |
|---|
| 42 | to change to GNU `gettext' as soon as possible. |
|---|
| 43 | |
|---|
| 44 | So you need _not_ provide this option if you are using GNU libc 2 or |
|---|
| 45 | you have installed a recent copy of the GNU gettext package with the |
|---|
| 46 | included `libintl'. |
|---|
| 47 | |
|---|
| 48 | INSTALL Matters |
|---|
| 49 | =============== |
|---|
| 50 | |
|---|
| 51 | Some packages are "localizable" when properly installed; the |
|---|
| 52 | programs they contain can be made to speak your own native language. |
|---|
| 53 | Most such packages use GNU `gettext'. Other packages have their own |
|---|
| 54 | ways to internationalization, predating GNU `gettext'. |
|---|
| 55 | |
|---|
| 56 | By default, this package will be installed to allow translation of |
|---|
| 57 | messages. It will automatically detect whether the system already |
|---|
| 58 | provides the GNU `gettext' functions. If not, the GNU `gettext' own |
|---|
| 59 | library will be used. This library is wholly contained within this |
|---|
| 60 | package, usually in the `intl/' subdirectory, so prior installation of |
|---|
| 61 | the GNU `gettext' package is _not_ required. Installers may use |
|---|
| 62 | special options at configuration time for changing the default |
|---|
| 63 | behaviour. The commands: |
|---|
| 64 | |
|---|
| 65 | ./configure --with-included-gettext |
|---|
| 66 | ./configure --disable-nls |
|---|
| 67 | |
|---|
| 68 | will respectively bypass any pre-existing `gettext' to use the |
|---|
| 69 | internationalizing routines provided within this package, or else, |
|---|
| 70 | _totally_ disable translation of messages. |
|---|
| 71 | |
|---|
| 72 | When you already have GNU `gettext' installed on your system and run |
|---|
| 73 | configure without an option for your new package, `configure' will |
|---|
| 74 | probably detect the previously built and installed `libintl.a' file and |
|---|
| 75 | will decide to use this. This might be not what is desirable. You |
|---|
| 76 | should use the more recent version of the GNU `gettext' library. I.e. |
|---|
| 77 | if the file `intl/VERSION' shows that the library which comes with this |
|---|
| 78 | package is more recent, you should use |
|---|
| 79 | |
|---|
| 80 | ./configure --with-included-gettext |
|---|
| 81 | |
|---|
| 82 | to prevent auto-detection. |
|---|
| 83 | |
|---|
| 84 | The configuration process will not test for the `catgets' function |
|---|
| 85 | and therefore it will not be used. The reason is that even an |
|---|
| 86 | emulation of `gettext' on top of `catgets' could not provide all the |
|---|
| 87 | extensions of the GNU `gettext' library. |
|---|
| 88 | |
|---|
| 89 | Internationalized packages have usually many `po/LL.po' files, where |
|---|
| 90 | LL gives an ISO 639 two-letter code identifying the language. Unless |
|---|
| 91 | translations have been forbidden at `configure' time by using the |
|---|
| 92 | `--disable-nls' switch, all available translations are installed |
|---|
| 93 | together with the package. However, the environment variable `LINGUAS' |
|---|
| 94 | may be set, prior to configuration, to limit the installed set. |
|---|
| 95 | `LINGUAS' should then contain a space separated list of two-letter |
|---|
| 96 | codes, stating which languages are allowed. |
|---|
| 97 | |
|---|
| 98 | Using This Package |
|---|
| 99 | ================== |
|---|
| 100 | |
|---|
| 101 | As a user, if your language has been installed for this package, you |
|---|
| 102 | only have to set the `LANG' environment variable to the appropriate |
|---|
| 103 | `LL_CC' combination. Here `LL' is an ISO 639 two-letter language code, |
|---|
| 104 | and `CC' is an ISO 3166 two-letter country code. For example, let's |
|---|
| 105 | suppose that you speak German and live in Germany. At the shell |
|---|
| 106 | prompt, merely execute `setenv LANG de_DE' (in `csh'), |
|---|
| 107 | `export LANG; LANG=de_DE' (in `sh') or `export LANG=de_DE' (in `bash'). |
|---|
| 108 | This can be done from your `.login' or `.profile' file, once and for |
|---|
| 109 | all. |
|---|
| 110 | |
|---|
| 111 | You might think that the country code specification is redundant. |
|---|
| 112 | But in fact, some languages have dialects in different countries. For |
|---|
| 113 | example, `de_AT' is used for Austria, and `pt_BR' for Brazil. The |
|---|
| 114 | country code serves to distinguish the dialects. |
|---|
| 115 | |
|---|
| 116 | Not all programs have translations for all languages. By default, an |
|---|
| 117 | English message is shown in place of a nonexistent translation. If you |
|---|
| 118 | understand other languages, you can set up a priority list of languages. |
|---|
| 119 | This is done through a different environment variable, called |
|---|
| 120 | `LANGUAGE'. GNU `gettext' gives preference to `LANGUAGE' over `LANG' |
|---|
| 121 | for the purpose of message handling, but you still need to have `LANG' |
|---|
| 122 | set to the primary language; this is required by other parts of the |
|---|
| 123 | system libraries. For example, some Swedish users who would rather |
|---|
| 124 | read translations in German than English for when Swedish is not |
|---|
| 125 | available, set `LANGUAGE' to `sv:de' while leaving `LANG' to `sv_SE'. |
|---|
| 126 | |
|---|
| 127 | In the `LANGUAGE' environment variable, but not in the `LANG' |
|---|
| 128 | environment variable, `LL_CC' combinations can be abbreviated as `LL' |
|---|
| 129 | to denote the language's main dialect. For example, `de' is equivalent |
|---|
| 130 | to `de_DE' (German as spoken in Germany), and `pt' to `pt_PT' |
|---|
| 131 | (Portuguese as spoken in Portugal) in this context. |
|---|
| 132 | |
|---|
| 133 | Translating Teams |
|---|
| 134 | ================= |
|---|
| 135 | |
|---|
| 136 | For the Free Translation Project to be a success, we need interested |
|---|
| 137 | people who like their own language and write it well, and who are also |
|---|
| 138 | able to synergize with other translators speaking the same language. |
|---|
| 139 | Each translation team has its own mailing list. The up-to-date list of |
|---|
| 140 | teams can be found at the Free Translation Project's homepage, |
|---|
| 141 | `http://www.iro.umontreal.ca/contrib/po/HTML/', in the "National teams" |
|---|
| 142 | area. |
|---|
| 143 | |
|---|
| 144 | If you'd like to volunteer to _work_ at translating messages, you |
|---|
| 145 | should become a member of the translating team for your own language. |
|---|
| 146 | The subscribing address is _not_ the same as the list itself, it has |
|---|
| 147 | `-request' appended. For example, speakers of Swedish can send a |
|---|
| 148 | message to `sv-request@li.org', having this message body: |
|---|
| 149 | |
|---|
| 150 | subscribe |
|---|
| 151 | |
|---|
| 152 | Keep in mind that team members are expected to participate |
|---|
| 153 | _actively_ in translations, or at solving translational difficulties, |
|---|
| 154 | rather than merely lurking around. If your team does not exist yet and |
|---|
| 155 | you want to start one, or if you are unsure about what to do or how to |
|---|
| 156 | get started, please write to `translation@iro.umontreal.ca' to reach the |
|---|
| 157 | coordinator for all translator teams. |
|---|
| 158 | |
|---|
| 159 | The English team is special. It works at improving and uniformizing |
|---|
| 160 | the terminology in use. Proven linguistic skill are praised more than |
|---|
| 161 | programming skill, here. |
|---|
| 162 | |
|---|
| 163 | Available Packages |
|---|
| 164 | ================== |
|---|
| 165 | |
|---|
| 166 | Languages are not equally supported in all packages. The following |
|---|
| 167 | matrix shows the current state of internationalization, as of September |
|---|
| 168 | 2001. The matrix shows, in regard of each package, for which languages |
|---|
| 169 | PO files have been submitted to translation coordination, with a |
|---|
| 170 | translation percentage of at least 50%. |
|---|
| 171 | |
|---|
| 172 | Ready PO files bg cs da de el en eo es et fi fr gl he hr id it ja |
|---|
| 173 | +----------------------------------------------------+ |
|---|
| 174 | a2ps | [] [] [] | |
|---|
| 175 | bash | [] [] [] [] | |
|---|
| 176 | bfd | | |
|---|
| 177 | binutils | [] | |
|---|
| 178 | bison | [] [] [] [] [] | |
|---|
| 179 | clisp | [] [] [] [] | |
|---|
| 180 | cpio | [] [] [] [] [] | |
|---|
| 181 | diffutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
|---|
| 182 | enscript | [] [] | |
|---|
| 183 | error | [] [] | |
|---|
| 184 | fetchmail | | |
|---|
| 185 | fileutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
|---|
| 186 | findutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
|---|
| 187 | flex | [] [] [] | |
|---|
| 188 | freetype | | |
|---|
| 189 | gas | | |
|---|
| 190 | gawk | [] [] | |
|---|
| 191 | gcal | | |
|---|
| 192 | gcc | | |
|---|
| 193 | gettext | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
|---|
| 194 | gnupg | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
|---|
| 195 | gprof | | |
|---|
| 196 | grep | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
|---|
| 197 | hello | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
|---|
| 198 | id-utils | [] [] [] | |
|---|
| 199 | indent | [] [] [] [] [] | |
|---|
| 200 | jpilot | [] | |
|---|
| 201 | kbd | | |
|---|
| 202 | ld | [] | |
|---|
| 203 | libc | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
|---|
| 204 | lilypond | [] | |
|---|
| 205 | lynx | [] [] [] [] | |
|---|
| 206 | m4 | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
|---|
| 207 | make | [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
|---|
| 208 | mysecretdiary | [] | |
|---|
| 209 | nano | [] [] [] | |
|---|
| 210 | opcodes | | |
|---|
| 211 | parted | [] [] [] | |
|---|
| 212 | ptx | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
|---|
| 213 | python | | |
|---|
| 214 | recode | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
|---|
| 215 | sed | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
|---|
| 216 | sh-utils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
|---|
| 217 | sharutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
|---|
| 218 | sketch | | |
|---|
| 219 | soundtracker | [] [] [] | |
|---|
| 220 | sp | | |
|---|
| 221 | tar | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
|---|
| 222 | texinfo | [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
|---|
| 223 | textutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
|---|
| 224 | util-linux | [] [] | |
|---|
| 225 | wdiff | [] [] [] | |
|---|
| 226 | wget | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | |
|---|
| 227 | +----------------------------------------------------+ |
|---|
| 228 | bg cs da de el en eo es et fi fr gl he hr id it ja |
|---|
| 229 | 0 14 24 32 11 1 8 23 13 1 33 22 4 0 7 9 18 |
|---|
| 230 | |
|---|
| 231 | ko lv nb nl nn no pl pt pt_BR ru sk sl sv tr uk zh |
|---|
| 232 | +----------------------------------------------------+ |
|---|
| 233 | a2ps | [] [] [] | 6 |
|---|
| 234 | bash | | 4 |
|---|
| 235 | bfd | | 0 |
|---|
| 236 | binutils | | 1 |
|---|
| 237 | bison | [] | 6 |
|---|
| 238 | clisp | [] | 5 |
|---|
| 239 | cpio | [] [] [] [] [] | 10 |
|---|
| 240 | diffutils | [] [] [] [] | 11 |
|---|
| 241 | enscript | [] [] [] | 5 |
|---|
| 242 | error | [] [] | 4 |
|---|
| 243 | fetchmail | | 0 |
|---|
| 244 | fileutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 17 |
|---|
| 245 | findutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 16 |
|---|
| 246 | flex | [] [] [] | 6 |
|---|
| 247 | freetype | | 0 |
|---|
| 248 | gas | | 0 |
|---|
| 249 | gawk | [] | 3 |
|---|
| 250 | gcal | | 0 |
|---|
| 251 | gcc | | 0 |
|---|
| 252 | gettext | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 18 |
|---|
| 253 | gnupg | [] [] [] | 10 |
|---|
| 254 | gprof | | 0 |
|---|
| 255 | grep | [] [] [] [] | 12 |
|---|
| 256 | hello | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 22 |
|---|
| 257 | id-utils | [] [] [] | 6 |
|---|
| 258 | indent | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 12 |
|---|
| 259 | jpilot | | 1 |
|---|
| 260 | kbd | [] | 1 |
|---|
| 261 | ld | | 1 |
|---|
| 262 | libc | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 16 |
|---|
| 263 | lilypond | [] [] | 3 |
|---|
| 264 | lynx | [] [] [] [] | 8 |
|---|
| 265 | m4 | [] [] [] [] | 12 |
|---|
| 266 | make | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 12 |
|---|
| 267 | mysecretdiary | | 1 |
|---|
| 268 | nano | [] | 4 |
|---|
| 269 | opcodes | [] | 1 |
|---|
| 270 | parted | [] [] | 5 |
|---|
| 271 | ptx | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 15 |
|---|
| 272 | python | | 0 |
|---|
| 273 | recode | [] [] [] [] | 13 |
|---|
| 274 | sed | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 19 |
|---|
| 275 | sh-utils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 21 |
|---|
| 276 | sharutils | [] [] [] | 11 |
|---|
| 277 | sketch | | 0 |
|---|
| 278 | soundtracker | | 3 |
|---|
| 279 | sp | | 0 |
|---|
| 280 | tar | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 15 |
|---|
| 281 | texinfo | [] | 7 |
|---|
| 282 | textutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 16 |
|---|
| 283 | util-linux | [] [] | 4 |
|---|
| 284 | wdiff | [] [] [] [] | 7 |
|---|
| 285 | wget | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 17 |
|---|
| 286 | +----------------------------------------------------+ |
|---|
| 287 | 33 teams ko lv nb nl nn no pl pt pt_BR ru sk sl sv tr uk zh |
|---|
| 288 | 53 domains 9 1 6 20 0 6 17 1 13 25 10 11 23 21 2 2 387 |
|---|
| 289 | |
|---|
| 290 | Some counters in the preceding matrix are higher than the number of |
|---|
| 291 | visible blocks let us expect. This is because a few extra PO files are |
|---|
| 292 | used for implementing regional variants of languages, or language |
|---|
| 293 | dialects. |
|---|
| 294 | |
|---|
| 295 | For a PO file in the matrix above to be effective, the package to |
|---|
| 296 | which it applies should also have been internationalized and |
|---|
| 297 | distributed as such by its maintainer. There might be an observable |
|---|
| 298 | lag between the mere existence a PO file and its wide availability in a |
|---|
| 299 | distribution. |
|---|
| 300 | |
|---|
| 301 | If September 2001 seems to be old, you may fetch a more recent copy |
|---|
| 302 | of this `ABOUT-NLS' file on most GNU archive sites. The most |
|---|
| 303 | up-to-date matrix with full percentage details can be found at |
|---|
| 304 | `http://www.iro.umontreal.ca/contrib/po/HTML/matrix.html'. |
|---|
| 305 | |
|---|
| 306 | Using `gettext' in new packages |
|---|
| 307 | =============================== |
|---|
| 308 | |
|---|
| 309 | If you are writing a freely available program and want to |
|---|
| 310 | internationalize it you are welcome to use GNU `gettext' in your |
|---|
| 311 | package. Of course you have to respect the GNU Library General Public |
|---|
| 312 | License which covers the use of the GNU `gettext' library. This means |
|---|
| 313 | in particular that even non-free programs can use `libintl' as a shared |
|---|
| 314 | library, whereas only free software can use `libintl' as a static |
|---|
| 315 | library or use modified versions of `libintl'. |
|---|
| 316 | |
|---|
| 317 | Once the sources are changed appropriately and the setup can handle |
|---|
| 318 | to use of `gettext' the only thing missing are the translations. The |
|---|
| 319 | Free Translation Project is also available for packages which are not |
|---|
| 320 | developed inside the GNU project. Therefore the information given above |
|---|
| 321 | applies also for every other Free Software Project. Contact |
|---|
| 322 | `translation@iro.umontreal.ca' to make the `.pot' files available to |
|---|
| 323 | the translation teams. |
|---|
