Is Canonical against Kubuntu (1): the translation disaster

[Myriam Schweingruber]

Hi all,

On Mon, Apr 20, 2009 at 00:50, Matthew Flaschen
<matthew.flaschen at gatech.edu> wrote:
> Anton wrote:
>> which is in german sorry, here they tell that kde stuff is imported in
>> rosetta and then you can translate it ... but will this go back
>> to the kde source, if not there will be inconsistencies.
>
> Yes, of course it can go back.  It's just like any upstream patch.  KDE
> coordinates with Ubuntu, and KDE has the final say on what goes
> upstream.  But to say that Ubuntu is hoarding or something makes no
> sense.  It's all free and in standard format.
>
>>
>> Hmmm just went to:
>> https://launchpad.net/distros/
>>
>> looking how to translate ... but I do not find kubuntu here?
>
> You can start at
> https://translations.launchpad.net/ubuntu/jaunty/+lang/de .  Already on
> that first page, you see several key KDE applications.

Just a side note: there is a consensus, that only Ubuntu-specific
packages are translated on Launchpad, the KDE packages are translated
by upstream _only_, this is valid for most of the widespread languages
like for example German and French (which are those I know of) where
dedicated teams exist and do a great work. BTW, the same is valid for
Gnome packages, *nobody* should touch those translations on Launchpad.
This has been a problem since the existing of Launchpad/Rosetta and
has led to many language hiccups.

So unless upstream decides so, those packages should not be touched on
Launchpad _at_ _all_, Also, it should be avoided to start _any_
translation on Launchpad without getting in touch with the specific
language group on Launchpad. Else, it's close to impossible to
guarantee consistent and high quality translations.

And good news: AFAIK, Jonathan Riddell has uploaded the German
language packs for Kubuntu _by_ _hand_ this weekend, so I am pretty
confident that the German translation should make it into the final
Cd's.

Believe me, I am part of two translation groups (German and French),
and not everybody who wants to translate actually is qualified to
translate. I have seen many applications from volunteers which were
not acceptable, especially if there were like 4 -5 grammatical
mistakes or typos in the first two sentences of the application.

Remember, translation is an art, else it could be done by machines.
Machine translations are a good quick & dirty start and very useful to
maintain glossaries and translation memories, but will never replace
the Human who turns that rough construct into something readable and
pleasant.


Regards, Myriam, professional translator herself

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