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Created 06.Jan.2004, Alberto Diaz
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Updated 03.May.2004, Henrique Cesar Ulbrich (Hatredman)
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File name: msn/lang/LANG-HOWTO
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This document and its contents are licenced under the
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GNU-FDL licence version 1.2 or up.
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http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html
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If you modify this file, please update the version and add
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your name to the credits at the end.
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This little document is a guide to translator and translation
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managers that works or wants to work in aMSN.
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This document deals only with the langXX files (that is, the
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language files that translates aMSN's messages, menus and dialog
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boxes). We are preparing another document for the docs/ folder,
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dealing with the translation of the HELP, FAQ and README files. In
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the mean time, read the present file completely and ask what to do
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managers that works or wants to work in aMSN. It is indeed a
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little document, but has a lot of information. We suggest you
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to print it and leave it within the reach of your hands if you
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are serious in this translation business.
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Another word of warning: if you are in doubt, please ask!
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We will be pleased to help you. The right place to ask
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questions is our discussion list: amsn-lang@lists.sourceforge.net
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You must subscribe to post there. Instructions on how to subscribe
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can be found here: http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/amsn-lang
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One of our goals is to be the most internationalized
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free software / open source project of the world.
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And to achieve that we need you!
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Thanks for the interest on the aMSN project!
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What is this aMSN translation stuff all about?
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0. The most important thing
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Explains why and how to subscribe to the amsn-lang forum.
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For those who want to translate aMSN for their own language,
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or help improve/extend the existing translation. Must read.
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-- Rules that must be followed
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-- How to add a new language
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2. For translation managers
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For those who are in charge of coordination of local or global
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translation efforts and commiting the langfiles to the CVS server.
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If you want to start a local translation effort please read this.
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3. For both - useful tools
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Some of the tools you *must* use before sending your files. These
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tools are included with aMSN.
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There are many ways you can help the aMSN project. One of them is
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by translating the software to other languages. This can be easily
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done. Another way is proofreading the current translations in search
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of typos and errors and missing (untranslated) messages. There is
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plenty of work for everyone who wants to be involved, and this seems
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to be your case as you are reading this file ;-)
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The aMSN Messenger can be translated into any language you want.
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It is easy to do so because all of the translated messages for every
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new language are stored in a special file called langfile. The name
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of each and every langfile indicates clearly the language it contains.
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The format is langXX, where XX is the two-caracter ISO code of your
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language. For instance, for the italian language, whose ISO code is IT,
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the langfile is called langit. A few examples:
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The ISO codes for the english, spanish, german and french languages are,
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respectively, en, es, de and fr. Later in this document we will see how
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to determine the country code for new languages. For the languages already
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present in aMSN (some completely translated, some not) please refer to our
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translation effort page:
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http://amsn.sourceforge.net/modules.php?name=Translation
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You can help us enormously by checking periodicaly the webpage above
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and, if your language has any missing key (a key is one of the many
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messages shown on the various aMSN windows, menus ans dialog boxes),
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translate it and send us the file. Even if your language has zero
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missing keys, it is important to scan the file for possible errors
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or bad writting styles introduced by other translators.
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This document (msn/lang/LANG-HOWTO) deals ONLY with the langXX files
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(that is, the language files that translates aMSN's messages, menus
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and dialog boxes). Please read the present document completely, make sure
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you understand everything and ask what to do
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(at amsn-lang@lists.sourceforge.net) when in doubt.
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There are other files that need translation and proofreading, like the
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HELP, FAQ and README files. There is another document called DOCS-HOWTO,
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located at msn/docs/DOCS-HOWTO. *PLEASE READ THAT DOCUMENT TOO*
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Tip: this LANG-HOWTO file surely contains many errors. If you are a
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native english speaker, please help us by proofreading it.
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===========================
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0. The most important thing
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---------------------------
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===========================
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You MUST subscribe to the amsn-lang@lists.sourceforge.net mailing
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list. There you can discuss various issues with the members of the
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- Best translation practices;
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- Issues and questions about this HOWTO;
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- Coordination of local efforts;
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- Stabilishment of local language translation managers.
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- Stablishment of local language translation managers.
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One important thing you MUST ask at the amsn-lang list is if there
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is somebody already doing what you intend to.
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For instance, if you want to translate the HELP file in greek
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(HELPgr) you shoud ask first. This way, if there is another person
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already translating the same HELPgr you won't waste your time.
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For instance, if you want to translate the langfile file into greek
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(langel) you shoud ask first. This way, if there is another person
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already translating the same langel you won't waste your time.
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You can join the list by visiting this page:
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You can subscribe to the list by visiting this page:
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http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/amsn-lang
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Remember, joining or not is not a choice. You MUST joint.
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Remember, joining or not is not an option. You MUST subscribe.
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1. For Translators
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When you add new keys, you should send the entire updated langXX
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file to the translator managers, who can be reached at
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Keys sent in the body of the email will be ignored, due to character
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coding and line break issues.
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You can help us by translating some sentences to your language,
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or modifying wrongly translated sentences (proofreading).
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RULES THAT MUST BE FOLLOWED:
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1. Download the langfile you want to work on from the website or via
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CVS. ( you will find the link at the translation page )
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----------------------------
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1. Download the latest langfile you want to work on from the website
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or via CVS. You will find the link at the translation page:
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http://amsn.sourceforge.net/modules.php?name=Translation
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-NEVER use files from a stable AMSN package, as they are probably out
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of date, and you'll find yourself translating many keys that are
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already translated in the latest language file version.
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When in doubt, ask! (amsn-lang@lists.sourceforge.net)
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2. Add the missing keywords from the list at the bottom of the page
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to the language file.
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3. Translate the english explanations
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4. Send the updated file to amsn-translations@lists.sourceforge.net
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5. We will ONLY accept langfiles. We will NOT accept, in ANY way,
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-Alternatively, you can also download "langen" file (the master file),
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and use the script "missing.py" in the lang/ folder to check what are
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the missing keys. When in doubt, ask! (amsn-lang@lists.sourceforge.net)
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3. Translate the english sentences.
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-BE CAREFUL with $1, $2... parameters that appear in some
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sentences. You can change their position, but they must appear on
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the sentence, they 'll be substituted during execution with some
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-Every key must be in a single line. There should be no line breaks.
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The key name (first word on the line), and the translation must be
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separated by a single blank. Don't use Tabs.
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When in doubt, ask! (amsn-lang@lists.sourceforge.net)
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4. Check the translated file with one of the scripts provided
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in the lang/ folder. For example:
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$ ./missing.py langXX
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It will tell you if there are any errors or missing keys to translate.
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You'll need the "langen" file in the same folder in order to check the
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missing keys. It can be downloaded from the translations web page too.
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-It's not necessary that the keys in the file are sorted, but it is
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better to have them sorted, in order to find keys more easily. You can
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sort them automatically using the "sortlang" script in the lang/ folder.
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Please MAKE SURE there are no errors in the file before sorting, or the
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file can be messed up.
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When in doubt, ask! (amsn-lang@lists.sourceforge.net)
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5. When all errors are fixed, send the updated file to
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amsn-translations@lists.sourceforge.net
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-We will ONLY accept langfiles. We will NOT accept, in ANY way,
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individual keys received in the body of the email. You MUST send
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the COMPLETE langfile (for instance, langit if you are italian)
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ATTACHED to de email message. Only in special cases we will accept
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diff files or incumplete translation files with a few keys.
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6. As stated above, keys sent in the body of the email will be
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-As stated above, keys sent in the body of the email will be
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IGNORED and DISCARDED.
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7. Langfiles sent to other email addresses than
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-Langfiles sent to other email addresses than
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amsn-translations@lists.sourceforge.net will also be IGNORED and
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8. You can help us by translating some sentences to your language,
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or modifying wrongly translated sentences (proofreading).
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9. Be careful with $1, $2... parameters that appear in some
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sentences. You can change their position, but they must appear on
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the sentence, they 'll be substituted during execution with some
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DISCARDED. When in doubt, ask!
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If not possible, or you're just translation a few keys, you can just
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send (although it is not the ideal) a text file attached to the
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text is a bad idea, as mail clients usually split long lines and
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change the character encodings, which leads to mistakes.
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Other kinds of contribution will be rejected, in order to make the
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job easier to the manager.
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OTHER KINDS OF CONTRIBUTION WILL BE REJECTED, IN ORDER TO MAKE THE
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JOB EASIER TO THE MANAGER.
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I hope you understand, there's usually one person in charge of
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updating the translations, and there are more than 40 languages, so
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updating the translations, and there are more than 50 languages, so
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there are many translations and submission. Don't make it more
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When in doubt, ask! (amsn-lang@lists.sourceforge.net)
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HOW TO ADD A NEW LANGUAGE
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-------------------------
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1. Choose a short identifier for your language (for example english
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- en). It is better that you use the correct ISO code for your
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Country ISO codes:
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http://www.bcpl.net/~jspath/isocodes.html
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Some codes have been mistakenly taken (for example, langbr currently
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refers to brazilian portuguese, but the correct code would be
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Some codes have been mistakenly taken (for example, langbr once was
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taken for the brazilian portuguese, but the correct code would be
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pt_BR, br alone refers to the breton language). If you find that
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the ISO code for your language has been taken by mistake for
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another language, scream your lungs out at the amsn-lang list and
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we will fix things up ;-)
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When in doubt, ask! (amsn-lang@lists.sourceforge.net)
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2. Download the english language (langen) file from
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http://amsn.sourceforge.net
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http://amsn.sourceforge.net/modules.php?name=Translation
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3. Rename the file to langXX, where XX the ISO language code you've
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chosen. Remember that, for some languages, the ISO code has three
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Send to this email only! Submissions to other emails will be ignored
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7. When in doubt, ask! (amsn-lang@lists.sourceforge.net)
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===========================
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2. For Translation Managers
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----------------------------
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===========================
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When a new translation arrives to you, you should only accept it if
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is a diff file or a complete langXX file. Do not accept other kinds
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of submissions, 'cause our users can always send sparse translated
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keys by mail, and it's a big job :)
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Be sure of using a multilanguage editor and use de correct codepage
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for each language or you can corrup them. Encodings are in langlist
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of submissions, 'cause our users have the sad habit of sending sparse
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translated keys by mail, and it's a big job :)
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*TEST THE FILE WITH THE missing.py SCRIPT!*
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*YOU, AS A TRANSLATION MANAGER, ***MUST*** DO THIS TO ENSURE THE FILE IS OK!*
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Do this before commiting the file and only commit it if it's ok!
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If the file has any problems, the best thing to do is to return it to
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the translator and ask him to correct it. If you really need to edit a
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file (for whatever reason) be sure you use a multilanguage editor and
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also use de correct codepage for each language --- or you can corrupt it.
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Encodings are in langlist file (msn/langlist). This file is XML-formatted
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so it must be easy to understand.
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If you reject a translation by any reason, do it politely.
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Explain the reasons of why you're rejecting it and always:
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When you get big contributions (not just 1 or 2 keys), or when you
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notice a person is very active (sending frequent translation
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updates for a language), you should add him to the credits in the
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README file. You should tell him about this, and ask him if he
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updates for a language), you should add him to the CREDITS file.
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You should tell him/her about this, and ask him/her if he or she
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wants to be removed (nobody wanted to be removed until now, but
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it's polite to ask :))
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When adding a new language, make sure to create an entry in the langlist file found in the top amsn directory. See the existing entries for the format.
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==========================
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3. For both - Useful tools
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--------------------------
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In the lang/ folder you have some useful scripts.
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untranslated.py langXX: will list the missing keys in langXX file. That
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==========================
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In the lang/ folder you have some useful scripts.
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Remember to replace XX in langXX for the two-letter
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code of your language. Example: Valenciano = langva.
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- missing.py: will list the missing keys in the langXX file, that
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is, the keys that exist in langen (the master language), but not in
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langXX file. This is an updated version of the old missing.py file,
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which is still necessary for the website automation.
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./untranslated.py langXX
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Usage in Windows (must have the Python interpreter installed):
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python unstranslated.py langXX
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errors.py langXX: will list the possible errors in langXX. That is,
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the apparent keys that are in langXX but not in langen. This
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usually happens when a key name is mistyped, or when there are
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spplited lines (a translation is spplited into multiple lines
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instead of being just one line), or when a key was removed from the
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langen file because it's no longer used.
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Usage in Windows (must have the Python interpreter installed):
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python errors.py langXX
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dups.sh langXX: will tell you the keys that are duplicated inside
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To use it in Windows you will have Cygwin installed. The syntax is
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sortlang langXX: will sort the language file. BE CAREFUL. Don't apply
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langXX. It will also warn about errors and count the number of
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untranslated keys. It's a very useful script, please use it!
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Usage in Windows (must have the Python interpreter installed):
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python missing.py langXX
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- sortlang: will sort the language file. BE CAREFUL. Don't apply
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sortlang if there are spplited translations, as sorting it will
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sort these spplited lines, and it will be quite difficult to join
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them again. So please fix any spplited lines before sorting.
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Sorting is not mandatory, but it's recommended to sort before
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commiting to the CVS.
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convert.tcl source_file source_encoding dest_file dest_encoding:
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Converts the given source, in the source encoding, to the given
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destination file using the given encoding.
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To use it in Windows you must have Cygwin installed.
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The syntax is identical. http://www.cygwin.com
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- convert.tcl: converts the given source, in the source encoding,
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to the given destination file using the given encoding.
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./convert.tcl source_file
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source_encoding dest_file dest_encoding
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wish convert.tcl source_file source_encoding dest_file dest_encoding
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If you are in Linux using bash, remember that the auto completion is your friend...
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File created by Alberto Diaz
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Version Created Author Obs
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1.0 06.Jan.2004 Alberto Diaz Initial file
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2.0 03.May.2004 Henrique Cesar Ulbrich (Hatredman) Total rewrite
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2.1 Unknown Alvaro Iradier Inclusion of new tools (section 3)
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2.2 29.Aug.2004 Henrique Cesar Ulbrich (Hatredman) Instructions for FAQ, README and HELP files
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Please be don't mess with the versioning system. It's quite simple to determine
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what version your mods should take. If you just add a few items or correct some,
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ad one to the MINOR version number (example, 1.1 to 1.2). If you totally rewrite the file (or rewrite
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large portions of it) add one to the MAJOR number and make the minor zero (example: 2.6 to 3.0).
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These credits are not a reward or reconition for you, but a way
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to hunt for a guilty person if something goes wrong he he he...
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We have the CVS versioning anyway.
added
removed
lang/LANG-HOWTO
