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1 Notes on the Free Translation Project
2 *************************************
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.
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.
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.
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.
25 Quick configuration advice
26 ==========================
28 If you want to exploit the full power of internationalization, you
29 should configure it using
31 ./configure --with-included-gettext
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.
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'.
48 INSTALL Matters
49 ===============
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'.
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:
65 ./configure --with-included-gettext
66 ./configure --disable-nls
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.
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
80 ./configure --with-included-gettext
82 to prevent auto-detection.
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.
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.
98 Using This Package
99 ==================
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.
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.
116 The locale naming convention of `LL_CC', with `LL' denoting the
117 language and `CC' denoting the country, is the one use on systems based
118 on GNU libc. On other systems, some variations of this scheme are
119 used, such as `LL' or `LL_CC.ENCODING'. You can get the list of
120 locales supported by your system for your country by running the command
121 `locale -a | grep '^LL''.
123 Not all programs have translations for all languages. By default, an
124 English message is shown in place of a nonexistent translation. If you
125 understand other languages, you can set up a priority list of languages.
126 This is done through a different environment variable, called
127 `LANGUAGE'. GNU `gettext' gives preference to `LANGUAGE' over `LANG'
128 for the purpose of message handling, but you still need to have `LANG'
129 set to the primary language; this is required by other parts of the
130 system libraries. For example, some Swedish users who would rather
131 read translations in German than English for when Swedish is not
132 available, set `LANGUAGE' to `sv:de' while leaving `LANG' to `sv_SE'.
134 In the `LANGUAGE' environment variable, but not in the `LANG'
135 environment variable, `LL_CC' combinations can be abbreviated as `LL'
136 to denote the language's main dialect. For example, `de' is equivalent
137 to `de_DE' (German as spoken in Germany), and `pt' to `pt_PT'
138 (Portuguese as spoken in Portugal) in this context.
140 Translating Teams
141 =================
143 For the Free Translation Project to be a success, we need interested
144 people who like their own language and write it well, and who are also
145 able to synergize with other translators speaking the same language.
146 Each translation team has its own mailing list. The up-to-date list of
147 teams can be found at the Free Translation Project's homepage,
148 `http://www.iro.umontreal.ca/contrib/po/HTML/', in the "National teams"
149 area.
151 If you'd like to volunteer to _work_ at translating messages, you
152 should become a member of the translating team for your own language.
153 The subscribing address is _not_ the same as the list itself, it has
154 `-request' appended. For example, speakers of Swedish can send a
155 message to `sv-request@li.org', having this message body:
157 subscribe
159 Keep in mind that team members are expected to participate
160 _actively_ in translations, or at solving translational difficulties,
161 rather than merely lurking around. If your team does not exist yet and
162 you want to start one, or if you are unsure about what to do or how to
163 get started, please write to `translation@iro.umontreal.ca' to reach the
164 coordinator for all translator teams.
166 The English team is special. It works at improving and uniformizing
167 the terminology in use. Proven linguistic skill are praised more than
168 programming skill, here.
170 Available Packages
171 ==================
173 Languages are not equally supported in all packages. The following
174 matrix shows the current state of internationalization, as of February
175 2003. The matrix shows, in regard of each package, for which languages
176 PO files have been submitted to translation coordination, with a
177 translation percentage of at least 50%.
179 Ready PO files az be bg ca cs da de el en en_GB eo es et fa fi
180 +-------------------------------------------------+
181 a2ps | [] [] [] [] [] |
182 aegis | () |
183 anubis | |
184 ap-utils | |
185 bash | [] [] [] |
186 batchelor | |
187 bfd | [] [] |
188 binutils | [] [] |
189 bison | [] [] [] [] |
190 clisp | [] [] [] |
191 clisp | |
192 coreutils | [] [] [] [] |
193 cpio | [] [] [] |
194 darkstat | () [] |
195 diffutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
196 enscript | [] [] [] |
197 error | [] [] [] [] |
198 fetchmail | [] () [] [] [] |
199 fileutils | [] [] [] [] |
200 findutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
201 flex | [] [] [] [] |
202 gas | [] |
203 gawk | [] [] [] |
204 gcal | [] |
205 gcc | [] [] |
206 gettext | [] [] [] [] [] |
207 gimp-print | |
208 gliv | |
209 gnucash | [] () |
210 gnucash-glossary| [] () [] |
211 gnupg | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
212 gpe-todo | |
213 gphoto2 | [] [] |
214 gprof | [] [] |
215 gpsdrive | () () () () |
216 grep | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
217 gretl | [] |
218 hello | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
219 id-utils | [] [] |
220 indent | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
221 jpilot | () [] [] [] |
222 jwhois | [] |
223 kbd | [] [] [] |
224 ld | [] [] |
225 libc | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
226 libgpewidget | |
227 libiconv | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
228 lifelines | [] () |
229 lilypond | [] |
230 lingoteach | [] |
231 lingoteach_lessons| () () |
232 lynx | [] [] [] [] [] |
233 m4 | [] [] [] [] |
234 mailutils | [] [] |
235 make | [] [] [] |
236 man-db | [] () [] () |
237 mysecretdiary | [] [] [] |
238 nano | [] () [] [] [] |
239 nano_1_0 | [] () [] [] [] |
240 opcodes | [] [] |
241 parted | [] [] [] [] |
242 ptx | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
243 python | |
244 radius | |
245 recode | [] [] [] [] [] |
246 sed | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
247 sh-utils | [] [] [] [] |
248 sharutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
249 sketch | [] () [] |
250 soundtracker | [] [] [] |
251 sp | [] |
252 tar | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
253 texinfo | [] [] [] [] |
254 textutils | [] [] [] [] |
255 tin | () () [] |
256 util-linux | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
257 vorbis-tools | [] [] |
258 wastesedge | () |
259 wdiff | [] [] [] [] [] |
260 wget | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
261 xchat | |
262 xpad | |
263 +-------------------------------------------------+
264 az be bg ca cs da de el en en_GB eo es et fa fi
265 0 1 2 26 9 49 46 9 1 1 11 52 19 1 15
267 fr gl he hr hu id it ja ko lg lv ms nb nl
268 +-------------------------------------------+
269 a2ps | [] () () [] [] |
270 aegis | () |
271 anubis | [] [] |
272 ap-utils | [] |
273 bash | [] [] |
274 batchelor | |
275 bfd | [] [] |
276 binutils | [] [] |
277 bison | [] [] [] [] |
278 clisp | [] [] |
279 clisp | |
280 coreutils | [] [] [] |
281 cpio | [] [] [] [] [] |
282 darkstat | () [] [] [] |
283 diffutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
284 enscript | [] [] [] |
285 error | [] [] [] |
286 fetchmail | [] |
287 fileutils | [] [] [] [] |
288 findutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
289 flex | [] [] |
290 gas | [] |
291 gawk | [] [] |
292 gcal | [] |
293 gcc | [] |
294 gettext | [] [] [] |
295 gimp-print | |
296 gliv | () |
297 gnucash | [] [] [] |
298 gnucash-glossary| [] [] |
299 gnupg | [] [] [] [] [] |
300 gpe-todo | |
301 gphoto2 | [] [] [] |
302 gprof | [] [] |
303 gpsdrive | () [] () () |
304 grep | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
305 gretl | [] |
306 hello | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
307 id-utils | [] [] [] |
308 indent | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
309 jpilot | [] () () |
310 jwhois | [] [] [] [] |
311 kbd | [] |
312 ld | [] |
313 libc | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
314 libgpewidget | |
315 libiconv | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
316 lifelines | () |
317 lilypond | [] [] |
318 lingoteach | [] |
319 lingoteach_lessons| |
320 lynx | [] [] [] [] |
321 m4 | [] [] [] [] [] |
322 mailutils | |
323 make | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
324 man-db | [] () () |
325 mysecretdiary | [] [] |
326 nano | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
327 nano_1_0 | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
328 opcodes | [] [] [] |
329 parted | [] [] [] |
330 ptx | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
331 python | |
332 radius | |
333 recode | [] [] [] [] [] |
334 sed | [] [] [] [] [] |
335 sh-utils | [] [] [] [] [] |
336 sharutils | [] [] [] [] [] |
337 sketch | [] |
338 soundtracker | [] [] [] |
339 sp | [] () |
340 tar | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
341 texinfo | [] [] [] [] |
342 textutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
343 tin | |
344 util-linux | [] [] () [] [] |
345 vorbis-tools | [] |
346 wastesedge | () |
347 wdiff | [] [] [] [] [] |
348 wget | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
349 xchat | |
350 xpad | |
351 +-------------------------------------------+
352 fr gl he hr hu id it ja ko lg lv ms nb nl
353 59 23 8 10 26 20 18 26 8 0 1 8 7 24
355 nn no pl pt pt_BR ro ru sk sl sv tr uk zh_CN zh_TW
356 +----------------------------------------------------+
357 a2ps | () () () [] [] [] [] [] [] | 14
358 aegis | () | 0
359 anubis | [] [] | 4
360 ap-utils | () () | 1
361 bash | [] [] | 7
362 batchelor | | 0
363 bfd | [] [] | 6
364 binutils | [] [] | 6
365 bison | [] [] [] | 11
366 clisp | | 5
367 clisp | | 0
368 coreutils | [] [] [] [] [] | 12
369 cpio | [] [] [] [] [] | 13
370 darkstat | [] [] () () | 6
371 diffutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 19
372 enscript | [] [] [] [] | 10
373 error | [] [] [] [] | 11
374 fetchmail | () () [] | 6
375 fileutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 14
376 findutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 24
377 flex | [] [] [] [] | 10
378 gas | [] | 3
379 gawk | [] [] | 7
380 gcal | [] [] | 4
381 gcc | [] | 4
382 gettext | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 14
383 gimp-print | | 0
384 gliv | [] | 1
385 gnucash | [] [] [] [] [] | 9
386 gnucash-glossary| [] [] [] [] | 8
387 gnupg | [] [] [] [] | 16
388 gpe-todo | | 0
389 gphoto2 | [] [] | 7
390 gprof | [] [] [] | 7
391 gpsdrive | [] [] | 3
392 grep | [] [] [] [] [] | 20
393 gretl | | 2
394 hello | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 31
395 id-utils | [] [] [] [] | 9
396 indent | [] [] [] [] [] | 17
397 jpilot | () [] [] [] [] | 8
398 jwhois | [] () () [] [] | 8
399 kbd | [] [] | 6
400 ld | [] [] | 5
401 libc | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 20
402 libgpewidget | | 0
403 libiconv | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 18
404 lifelines | [] | 2
405 lilypond | [] | 4
406 lingoteach | [] [] | 4
407 lingoteach_lessons| () | 0
408 lynx | [] [] [] [] | 13
409 m4 | [] [] [] [] | 13
410 mailutils | | 2
411 make | [] [] [] [] [] | 15
412 man-db | [] | 4
413 mysecretdiary | [] [] [] | 8
414 nano | [] [] [] | 13
415 nano_1_0 | [] [] [] [] [] | 15
416 opcodes | [] [] [] | 8
417 parted | [] [] [] [] [] | 12
418 ptx | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 20
419 python | | 0
420 radius | | 0
421 recode | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 16
422 sed | [] [] [] [] [] | 16
423 sh-utils | [] [] [] | 12
424 sharutils | [] [] [] [] | 16
425 sketch | [] [] | 5
426 soundtracker | [] | 7
427 sp | [] | 3
428 tar | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 24
429 texinfo | [] [] [] [] | 12
430 textutils | [] [] [] [] [] | 15
431 tin | | 1
432 util-linux | [] [] [] | 14
433 vorbis-tools | [] | 4
434 wastesedge | | 0
435 wdiff | [] [] [] [] [] | 15
436 wget | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 24
437 xchat | | 0
438 xpad | | 0
439 +----------------------------------------------------+
440 43 teams nn no pl pt pt_BR ro ru sk sl sv tr uk zh_CN zh_TW
441 82 domains 3 4 14 4 34 1 29 14 13 53 46 6 9 13 723
443 Some counters in the preceding matrix are higher than the number of
444 visible blocks let us expect. This is because a few extra PO files are
445 used for implementing regional variants of languages, or language
446 dialects.
448 For a PO file in the matrix above to be effective, the package to
449 which it applies should also have been internationalized and
450 distributed as such by its maintainer. There might be an observable
451 lag between the mere existence a PO file and its wide availability in a
452 distribution.
454 If February 2003 seems to be old, you may fetch a more recent copy
455 of this `ABOUT-NLS' file on most GNU archive sites. The most
456 up-to-date matrix with full percentage details can be found at
457 `http://www.iro.umontreal.ca/contrib/po/HTML/matrix.html'.
459 Using `gettext' in new packages
460 ===============================
462 If you are writing a freely available program and want to
463 internationalize it you are welcome to use GNU `gettext' in your
464 package. Of course you have to respect the GNU Library General Public
465 License which covers the use of the GNU `gettext' library. This means
466 in particular that even non-free programs can use `libintl' as a shared
467 library, whereas only free software can use `libintl' as a static
468 library or use modified versions of `libintl'.
470 Once the sources are changed appropriately and the setup can handle
471 the use of `gettext' the only thing missing are the translations. The
472 Free Translation Project is also available for packages which are not
473 developed inside the GNU project. Therefore the information given above
474 applies also for every other Free Software Project. Contact
475 `translation@iro.umontreal.ca' to make the `.pot' files available to
476 the translation teams.