MEpedia talk:User interface translation
Pages in need -- Njt (talk) 06:44, September 20, 2019 (EDT)[edit source | reply | new]
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[edit source | reply | new]
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:
- Start with the simplest possible English phrasing. (Subject-verb-object)
- Don't use any English words that have multiple meanings.
- Don't use any English idioms, slang, or metaphors.
- Avoid technical terms, such as "Myalgic Encephalomyelitis", unless you are sure of the translation.
- After translating, translate it back into English to make sure the translation actually says what you think it says!
Cleanup templates[edit source | reply | new]
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)