Translations

Revision 63 as of 2009-04-19 03:29:54

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General information

Welcome to the Ubuntu Translation, Localization and Internationalization start page.

Here you should find links to useful resources, frequently asked questions, guidelines and a way to get in touch with people.

The goal of the Ubuntu translation team is to make Ubuntu available in as many languages as possible at the highest quality. The most important packages are those from the main repository, prioritizing on the applications which the user is likely to see in the first few hours of usage.

We also coordinate with the following teams

  • DocumentationTeam - translating documentation

  • Website team - translating Ubuntu Start page and other web pages

You may also check the relation of Ubuntu translators with the upstream localization projects

Translation of Ubuntu is done through its web-based translation system: Launchpad Translations.

Translators

Ubuntu is welcoming everyone to start suggesting translations for all applications from Ubuntu main repository.

To start translations Ubuntu you will only need an Launchpad account, good knowledge of english and your language and a quick look at the translations guidelines for your language.

You don't need to join a team to translate Ubuntu into your language. Everyone can suggest translations.

Before you start translating please check the localization guidelines for your language (you should see a link on top of each translation page). If the localization team for your language has not defined a guide yet, please consult the general guidelines here: https://help.launchpad.net/Translations/Guide

Note: Launchpad Translations can be used for translating lots of different software. Ubuntu is just one part of that. If you wish to translate Ubuntu, choose the relevant release from the Ubuntu Launchpad Translations homepage.

Resources for translators

Localization Teams

While Ubuntu translations are open to everyone to contribute, Ubuntu localization teams act as quality assurance team. There is one Ubuntu localization team appointed to each language.

Below is a list of activities associated to Ubuntu localization teams:

  • Check and review the work of translators
  • Help new translators with feedback and guidance
  • Check the translation inclusion into Ubuntu and report problems to Ubuntu or upstream developers. Translations from lang-packs and non-language-packs.
  • Keep in touch with people from other translation projects (upstream project) and syncronize the translation work, assure same translations is not made twice
  • Keep in touch with other Ubuntu localization teams and help establish new Ubuntu localization team, exchange best practices with other teams

You can see the translation team list here: https://translations.launchpad.net/+groups/ubuntu-translators

Join the team if you are interested in helping, but please note that Ubuntu localization teams are QA team dedicated to check, review and approve translations.

You don't need to join a team to translate Ubuntu. Everyone can suggest translations.

If you don't see your team in the list, please open a ticket at https://answers.launchpad.net/rosetta with all information about the language you want to translate into and we will create it for you. Also please check the guide for starting the translation of a new language in Ubuntu.

In helping you with your work please consult Ubuntu Translation Resources, a list of all resources available to localization teams.

Package maintainers

All UI translations for packages from Ubuntu main repository are made available for translations using Launchpad Translations.

Whenewer a package from main is uploaded to Ubuntu, a script will check all it's .po and .pot files and will consider them for inclusion in Launchpad Translation and the language packs.

Because a source package can contain obsolete or testing .po or .pot files, the first time a .pot file is uploaded it must be manualy approved by one of the Ubuntu Translation Coordinators. You can check the import queue here.

Also only .po and .pot files that generate .mo files are considered for being included into the language pack.

Translations for the packages from main repository are updated using the language packs and not by updating the source package.

Please tag related bug using "i18n" or "l10n".

Resources for maintainers


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