Overview

This is the home page for Ubuntu English translations.

Our intention is to maintain a central communications channel for en-GB based languages. Generally, this includes the forms of English spoken in Commonwealth countries such as the United Kingdom, India, Australia, South Africa and Canada.

These variants are almost identical in their written forms, so it makes sense for some communication and co-operation to take place. We hope to eliminate the duplication of effort that is currently taking place in regards to translations.

Our translations are based on British English. That effort is headquartered here. Essentially, we are producing an internationalised form of en_GB.

We do not intend to restrict the activities of local translation groups, but rather to provide a common base for everyone to build upon. Through co-operation, we hope to strengthen rather than weaken localised versions of English.

How to Participate

Joining the Ubuntu English (United Kingdom) Translators team allows you to commit translations and vote on policies. If you are not a member, your contributions will need to be approved by a member. The procedure for joining is as follows.

1. Sign up for a Launchpad account.

2. Make your e-mail address visible on your Launchpad homepage so that we can get in touch with you. If we cannot contact you, you cannot join.

3. Apply to join the Ubuntu English (United Kingdom) Translators team

4. Sign up to the ubuntu-l10n-eng mailing list

5. An Administrator should e-mail you. Reply to their message.

The team is moderated, meaning that you need to be approved by an Administrator before you are allowed to join. Membership is dependent upon:

• adequate command of the written English language to qualify as a translator
• ability to contribute constructively and work as a team under the leadership of the Administrators
• following established guidelines and directions
• remaining contactable via the mailing list

Don't let these requirements scare you off, though. Provided you have decent written English language skills, you will likely be admitted.

Communication

Our primary communications channel is our mailing list.

Tools

Table of translations

The bulk of our translation effort is simple word substitution. To streamline this process and to maintain consistency, we are compiling a table of translations. Please help us by contributing to that table. As a quick guide, refer to our table of common translations, below.

For the Check Spelling function on the wiki to function correctly, we should also add our words to the Local Spelling Words list.

Rosetta

Our primary tool is Rosetta, Ubuntu's Web-based translation tool. To get started, consult the Translation Team portal and the FAQ list.

Although already an excellent tool, Rosetta suffers from a number of deficiencies that may be of hindrance to our project. These issues are currently being addressed:

• Similar Languages

• Language Glossary Links

• The English Language

Greasemonkey script

Team member Malcolm Parsons maintains a Greasemonkey script to ease the translation process in Rosetta. It is updated at irregular intervals, so you will need to update periodically. Be sure to remove any previously installed versions before installing a new version.

Note that the script merely makes suggestions for word substitutions (based on our table of translations). It does not check punctuation, grammar or style. It would be unfeasible for us (or evidently anyone else) to produce an automated corrector of these elements, so they must be assessed manually.

Requirements:

• Mozilla Firefox

• the Greasemonkey extension

or

• Epiphany

• Epiphany extensions

• The Greasemonkey extension from the above package enabled (Tools>Extensions).

Screenshots: One | Two

Translation Guidelines

Unless they conflict with the information given below, translations should be based on the following dictionaries:

• the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

• the Oxford English Dictionary

• the Collins Dictionary

• the Chambers 21st Century Dictionary

The GNOME and KDE projects have established guidelines for their own translation efforts. Pyxidium Limited has been doing some good work with OpenOffice.org and Mozilla localisations.

Table of common translations

Below is a table of common translations. Note that these rules do not always apply, so use with caution. For a more complete list, refer to the aforementioned table of translations.

• en-US Spelling	English Translation	Example/Explanation
  *alog	*alogue	catalogue, dialogue (except dialog in computing)
  *e*	*ae*	encyclopaedia, anaesthetic, archaeology
  *ed	*t	spelt, spilt, spoilt, dreamt, knelt, burnt
  *er	*re	centre, theatre, fibre, litre, metre, millimetre
  *in	*ine	adrenaline, glycerine
  *iza*	*isa*	civilisation, organisational
  *ize	*ise	colourise, organise, maximise, minimise, but not size
  *led	*lled	labelled
  *or	*our	colour, favour, honour
  *rrhea	*rrhoea	diarrhoea, gonorrhoea
  *se	*ce	only when a noun: licence, practice, advice, defence
  *yze	*yse	analyse
  e*	oe*	oestrogen
  multi*	multi-*	'multi-storey', but not 'multiple'
  Dr., Mr., Mrs.	Dr, Mr, Mrs	Only use a full stop if the final letter of the abbreviation is not the final letter of the word it is abbreviating.
  St, St.	St, St.	St = Saint ; St. = Street
  aluminum	aluminium
  check	tick	the tick box
  check	cheque	a bank cheque
  checker	chequer	a game of chequers, a chequered floor
  counter-clockwise	anti-clockwise	rotate anti-clockwise
  delete	Permanently Delete	make this change if a Delete action will bypass the Rubbish Bin (Trash)
  disk	disc, disk	Contextual: If describing a round object (e.g. a CD or DVD), use 'disc'. Otherwise, use 'disk' (e.g. a hard disk drive).
  gasoline	petrol
  gray	grey
  hood	bonnet	The lid covering the engine compartment of a car.
  mom	mum / mam	mother
  parentheses	brackets
  period	full stop
  program	programme, program	Contextual: use 'program' in computing contexts, and 'programme' everywhere else (e.g. a computer program, a television programme)
  pound sign	hash
  sulfur	sulphur
  trunk	boot	The luggage compartment of a car.
  trash	rubbish, the Rubbish Bin	When referring to generic waste, use 'rubbish'. When referring to the place where deleted files go, use 'the Rubbish Bin' (note the capitalisation).
  zee	zed	pronunciation of the final letter of the English alphabet
  ZIP code	postcode	Be careful with this one. A correct English translation may be referring to the American postal system, in which case "ZIP code" is correct.

Dialectical/Contextual Differences

Since our goal is to provide a common base for English, one must be mindful of the use of English internationally, and the differences between dialects and contexts (nouns/verbs, computing/non-computing, etc.). Below is a list of differences that should be reconciled. We will use the mailing list to discuss such matters.

• en-US Spelling	Current en-GB Translation	Explanation/Alternatives
  login	log-in	This may be dependent upon context
  plugin	plug-in	This may be dependent upon context
  setup	set-up	This may be dependent upon context

Other Resources

Highly recommended:

• American Spelling, by AskOxford

• AskOxford's FAQ page addresses some of the more ambiguous points of the English language.

• The Collins Word Helpdesk: Usage Notes, Grammar Glossary, Punctuation Glossary and lists of prefixes and suffixes

• Paul Brian's Common Errors in English is based on en_US, but is nevertheless an excellent resource.

• Spelling differences between American and British English

• Common Words in American and British English

• The English-to-American Dictionary

• The American-British British-American Dictionary (for English Speaking People)

• Tips - British English vs American English

• The Best of British

• Notes on American English

• United Kingdom English for the American Novice

• American-British/British-American Dictionaries

• British, Canadian and American Vocabulary

• Differences between British, Canadian and American Spelling

Wikipedia hosts a number of informative pages on the subject:

• Manual of Style - Spelling

• British English

• Commonwealth English

• International English

• Category: English Language

• Category: English Dialects

• Category: Forms of English

• Category: American and British English differences

• American and British English spelling differences

• List of words having different meanings in British and American English

• List of British words not widely used in the United States

• List of American words not widely used in the United Kingdom

Other useful resources:

• American Versus British English: Why Translators need to Know the Difference

• Transatlantic Translation

• English slang and colloquialisms used in the United Kingdom

• FAST-US-1 (TRENPK2) Introduction to American English

• Online Slang Dictionaries and Language Links

• English to English

• British car terms

• NZ English to US English Dictionary

• Common Mistakes and Confusing Words in English

Similar Groups

Below is a list of groups that share some of our values. For our translation effort to be successful, we should be communicating and co-operating with them as much as possible.

Horizontal:

• other English translation groups within Ubuntu

• other English translation groups in other distributions

• WordForge

• translate.sourceforge.net

Vertical:

• the GNOME British English Translation group

• the KDE British English Translation group

• Pyxidium Limited - OpenOffice.org and Mozilla localisations

• Firefox British English translation

• other upstream translation groups

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