MEpedia talk:User interface translation

Pages in need -- Njt (talk) 06:44, September 20, 2019 (EDT)
Pages in need still needs work - the other system messages eg en, fr, de, es need renaming and I don't want to lose track of this. Norwegian no would be helpful to add. Njt (talk) 06:44, September 20, 2019 (EDT)
 * Yes, there is an outstanding Admin Task to fix this. Thanks.
 * Pyrrhus (talk) 17:03, September 20, 2019 (EDT)

Source of translations
For ones that we can't find in translatewiki, what's the source of the translations you use? I have found some horrible translations generated by Google translate, with obvious grammar issues or the wrong meaning. Do you have a way of checking use in sentences or back translating? I find it very time consuming but would rather avoid adding translations we can't confirm. Njt (talk) 06:44, September 20, 2019 (EDT)
 * Very good points. I have also found problems with Google Translate, and have seen some hilarious translations from Chinese and Japanese.  It is indeed time-consuming, but a little human work is usually needed with translations.  Back-translating is an essential technique here.  Equally important is to start with the simplest possible English phrasing, avoiding any words with multiple meanings.  Personally, I work with my father on translations, as he is a linguist and translator.  I'll make a list here of tips one can follow when translating:


 * 1) Start with the simplest possible English phrasing. (Subject-verb-object)
 * 2) Don't use any English words that have multiple meanings.
 * 3) Don't use any English idioms, slang, or metaphors.
 * 4) Avoid technical terms, such as "Myalgic Encephalomyelitis", unless you are sure of the translation.
 * 5) After translating, translate it back into English to make sure the translation actually says what you think it says!
 * Pyrrhus (talk) 17:08, September 20, 2019 (EDT)

Cleanup templates
Please don't add translations with LangSwitch since I'm using the Pagetriage system messages. Once custom xml imports are working they can be done as system messages in bulk. See Template_talk:Cleanup. Njt (talk) 06:44, September 20, 2019 (EDT)
 * Okay, that makes sense. I only used LangSwitch once, on the Template:AllPagesFooterTemplate page.
 * Pyrrhus (talk) 17:09, September 20, 2019 (EDT)