Localization

Crowdsourced translation has opened up software and websites to whole new languages, regions, and uses. Making translating easier has brought in more contributors, and deploying those languages requires less work. A number of providers now offer “live”, integrated translation, speeding up the process of delivering translated websites. On the surface, this looks like a big win. Unfortunately, the way such services have been implemented opens up a big can of worms. [Read More]

Crowdsourced translation platforms like Weblate, Transifex, Crowdin, etc. have proven to be a hugely productive way to actively translate apps and desktop software. Long form texts like documentation and websites remain much more work to translate and keep translated. Many translation services currently support Markdown and HTML, but very basically, which means much more work for translators and webmasters. Translators can inadvertently break things, either with a typo or because of a lack of knowledge of a specific syntax. [Read More]

We are happy to announce the start of work on another step in improving crowdsourced localization, funded by the ISC Project. This is the second part of our ongoing “Linguine” collaboration to move crowdsourced translation to privacy-respecting free software. Crowdsourced translation has proven enormously successful getting apps and website software translated into many languages. Using tools like Weblate or Transifex, developers can quite easily incorporate translated app strings into their mobile apps and websites. [Read More]

All too often, translation of an app are treated as an afterthought. It is not something that the app developers see, since they create the software in languages that work best for them. So the software looks complete to the developers. But for anyone using the software in a different language, translation is essential in order for the app to be useful. If you can’t understand the words that you see in the app’s interface, it is going to be difficult or impossible to use that app. [Read More]