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1Notes on the Free Translation Project
2*************************************
3
4 Free software is going international! The Free Translation Project
5is a way to get maintainers of free software, translators, and users all
6together, so that will gradually become able to speak many languages.
7A few packages already provide translations for their messages.
8
9 If you found this `ABOUT-NLS' file inside a distribution, you may
10assume that the distributed package does use GNU `gettext' internally,
11itself available at your nearest GNU archive site. But you do _not_
12need to install GNU `gettext' prior to configuring, installing or using
13this package with messages translated.
14
15 Installers will find here some useful hints. These notes also
16explain how users should proceed for getting the programs to use the
17available translations. They tell how people wanting to contribute and
18work at translations should contact the appropriate team.
19
20 When reporting bugs in the `intl/' directory or bugs which may be
21related to internationalization, you should tell about the version of
22`gettext' which is used. The information can be found in the
23`intl/VERSION' file, in internationalized packages.
24
25Quick configuration advice
26==========================
27
28 If you want to exploit the full power of internationalization, you
29should configure it using
30
31 ./configure --with-included-gettext
32
33to force usage of internationalizing routines provided within this
34package, despite the existence of internationalizing capabilities in the
35operating system where this package is being installed. So far, only
36the `gettext' implementation in the GNU C library version 2 provides as
37many features (such as locale alias, message inheritance, automatic
38charset conversion or plural form handling) as the implementation here.
39It is also not possible to offer this additional functionality on top
40of a `catgets' implementation. Future versions of GNU `gettext' will
41very likely convey even more functionality. So it might be a good idea
42to change to GNU `gettext' as soon as possible.
43
44 So you need _not_ provide this option if you are using GNU libc 2 or
45you have installed a recent copy of the GNU gettext package with the
46included `libintl'.
47
48INSTALL Matters
49===============
50
51 Some packages are "localizable" when properly installed; the
52programs they contain can be made to speak your own native language.
53Most such packages use GNU `gettext'. Other packages have their own
54ways to internationalization, predating GNU `gettext'.
55
56 By default, this package will be installed to allow translation of
57messages. It will automatically detect whether the system already
58provides the GNU `gettext' functions. If not, the GNU `gettext' own
59library will be used. This library is wholly contained within this
60package, usually in the `intl/' subdirectory, so prior installation of
61the GNU `gettext' package is _not_ required. Installers may use
62special options at configuration time for changing the default
63behaviour. The commands:
64
65 ./configure --with-included-gettext
66 ./configure --disable-nls
67
68will respectively bypass any pre-existing `gettext' to use the
69internationalizing routines provided within this package, or else,
70_totally_ disable translation of messages.
71
72 When you already have GNU `gettext' installed on your system and run
73configure without an option for your new package, `configure' will
74probably detect the previously built and installed `libintl.a' file and
75will decide to use this. This might be not what is desirable. You
76should use the more recent version of the GNU `gettext' library. I.e.
77if the file `intl/VERSION' shows that the library which comes with this
78package is more recent, you should use
79
80 ./configure --with-included-gettext
81
82to prevent auto-detection.
83
84 The configuration process will not test for the `catgets' function
85and therefore it will not be used. The reason is that even an
86emulation of `gettext' on top of `catgets' could not provide all the
87extensions of the GNU `gettext' library.
88
89 Internationalized packages have usually many `po/LL.po' files, where
90LL gives an ISO 639 two-letter code identifying the language. Unless
91translations have been forbidden at `configure' time by using the
92`--disable-nls' switch, all available translations are installed
93together with the package. However, the environment variable `LINGUAS'
94may be set, prior to configuration, to limit the installed set.
95`LINGUAS' should then contain a space separated list of two-letter
96codes, stating which languages are allowed.
97
98Using This Package
99==================
100
101 As a user, if your language has been installed for this package, you
102only have to set the `LANG' environment variable to the appropriate
103`LL_CC' combination. Here `LL' is an ISO 639 two-letter language code,
104and `CC' is an ISO 3166 two-letter country code. For example, let's
105suppose that you speak German and live in Germany. At the shell
106prompt, merely execute `setenv LANG de_DE' (in `csh'),
107`export LANG; LANG=de_DE' (in `sh') or `export LANG=de_DE' (in `bash').
108This can be done from your `.login' or `.profile' file, once and for
109all.
110
111 You might think that the country code specification is redundant.
112But in fact, some languages have dialects in different countries. For
113example, `de_AT' is used for Austria, and `pt_BR' for Brazil. The
114country code serves to distinguish the dialects.
115
116 The locale naming convention of `LL_CC', with `LL' denoting the
117language and `CC' denoting the country, is the one use on systems based
118on GNU libc. On other systems, some variations of this scheme are
119used, such as `LL' or `LL_CC.ENCODING'. You can get the list of
120locales supported by your system for your country by running the command
121`locale -a | grep '^LL''.
122
123 Not all programs have translations for all languages. By default, an
124English message is shown in place of a nonexistent translation. If you
125understand other languages, you can set up a priority list of languages.
126This is done through a different environment variable, called
127`LANGUAGE'. GNU `gettext' gives preference to `LANGUAGE' over `LANG'
128for the purpose of message handling, but you still need to have `LANG'
129set to the primary language; this is required by other parts of the
130system libraries. For example, some Swedish users who would rather
131read translations in German than English for when Swedish is not
132available, set `LANGUAGE' to `sv:de' while leaving `LANG' to `sv_SE'.
133
134 In the `LANGUAGE' environment variable, but not in the `LANG'
135environment variable, `LL_CC' combinations can be abbreviated as `LL'
136to denote the language's main dialect. For example, `de' is equivalent
137to `de_DE' (German as spoken in Germany), and `pt' to `pt_PT'
138(Portuguese as spoken in Portugal) in this context.
139
140Translating Teams
141=================
142
143 For the Free Translation Project to be a success, we need interested
144people who like their own language and write it well, and who are also
145able to synergize with other translators speaking the same language.
146Each translation team has its own mailing list. The up-to-date list of
147teams can be found at the Free Translation Project's homepage,
148`http://www.iro.umontreal.ca/contrib/po/HTML/', in the "National teams"
149area.
150
151 If you'd like to volunteer to _work_ at translating messages, you
152should become a member of the translating team for your own language.
153The subscribing address is _not_ the same as the list itself, it has
154`-request' appended. For example, speakers of Swedish can send a
155message to `sv-request@li.org', having this message body:
156
157 subscribe
158
159 Keep in mind that team members are expected to participate
160_actively_ in translations, or at solving translational difficulties,
161rather than merely lurking around. If your team does not exist yet and
162you want to start one, or if you are unsure about what to do or how to
163get started, please write to `translation@iro.umontreal.ca' to reach the
164coordinator for all translator teams.
165
166 The English team is special. It works at improving and uniformizing
167the terminology in use. Proven linguistic skill are praised more than
168programming skill, here.
169
170Available Packages
171==================
172
173 Languages are not equally supported in all packages. The following
174matrix shows the current state of internationalization, as of July
1752002. The matrix shows, in regard of each package, for which languages
176PO files have been submitted to translation coordination, with a
177translation percentage of at least 50%.
178
179 Ready PO files be bg ca cs da de el en eo es et fi fr
180 +----------------------------------------+
181 a2ps | [] [] [] [] |
182 bash | [] [] [] [] |
183 bfd | [] [] |
184 binutils | [] [] |
185 bison | [] [] [] [] |
186 clisp | [] [] [] [] |
187 clisp | |
188 clisplow | |
189 cpio | [] [] [] [] |
190 darkstat | () |
191 diffutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
192 enscript | [] [] |
193 error | [] [] [] |
194 fetchmail | [] () [] [] [] () |
195 fileutils | [] [] [] [] [] |
196 findutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
197 flex | [] [] [] [] [] |
198 gas | [] [] |
199 gawk | [] [] [] |
200 gcal | [] [] |
201 gcc | [] [] |
202 gettext | [] [] [] [] [] |
203 gnupg | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
204 gprof | [] [] |
205 gpsdrive | () () () () () |
206 grep | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
207 gretl | [] |
208 gthumb | () () () |
209 hello | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
210 id-utils | [] [] [] |
211 indent | [] [] [] [] [] |
212 jpilot | () [] [] [] |
213 jwhois | [] [] |
214 kbd | [] [] [] |
215 ld | [] [] |
216 libc | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
217 libiconv | [] [] [] [] |
218 lifelines | () () |
219 lilypond | [] [] [] |
220 lingoteach | [] [] |
221 lingoteach_lessons| () () |
222 lynx | [] [] [] [] [] |
223 m4 | [] [] [] [] [] |
224 make | [] [] [] [] |
225 man-db | [] () () [] () () |
226 mysecretdiary | [] [] [] |
227 nano | [] () [] [] [] [] |
228 nano_1_0 | [] () [] [] [] [] |
229 opcodes | [] [] [] |
230 parted | [] [] [] [] [] |
231 ptx | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
232 python | |
233 recode | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
234 sed | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
235 sh-utils | [] [] [] [] |
236 sharutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
237 sketch | () [] () |
238 soundtracker | [] [] [] |
239 sp | [] |
240 tar | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
241 texinfo | [] [] [] [] [] |
242 textutils | [] [] [] [] [] |
243 util-linux | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
244 vorbis-tools | [] |
245 wastesedge | |
246 wdiff | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
247 wget | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
248 +----------------------------------------+
249 be bg ca cs da de el en eo es et fi fr
250 0 2 19 10 30 44 9 1 12 45 16 3 53
251
252 gl he hr hu id it ja ko lv nb nl nn
253 +-------------------------------------+
254 a2ps | () () [] |
255 bash | [] |
256 bfd | [] |
257 binutils | [] |
258 bison | [] [] [] [] |
259 clisp | [] |
260 clisp | |
261 clisplow | |
262 cpio | [] [] [] [] |
263 darkstat | () |
264 diffutils | [] [] [] [] [] |
265 enscript | [] [] |
266 error | [] |
267 fetchmail | [] |
268 fileutils | [] [] [] |
269 findutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
270 flex | [] |
271 gas | |
272 gawk | [] |
273 gcal | |
274 gcc | [] |
275 gettext | [] [] |
276 gnupg | [] [] [] [] |
277 gprof | |
278 gpsdrive | [] () () |
279 grep | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
280 gretl | |
281 gthumb | () () |
282 hello | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
283 id-utils | [] [] |
284 indent | [] [] [] [] |
285 jpilot | () () |
286 jwhois | [] [] |
287 kbd | |
288 ld | |
289 libc | [] [] [] [] |
290 libiconv | [] [] [] |
291 lifelines | |
292 lilypond | [] [] |
293 lingoteach | [] |
294 lingoteach_lessons| |
295 lynx | [] [] [] [] |
296 m4 | [] [] [] [] |
297 make | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
298 man-db | () () |
299 mysecretdiary | [] |
300 nano | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
301 nano_1_0 | [] [] [] [] [] |
302 opcodes | [] [] |
303 parted | [] [] [] |
304 ptx | [] [] [] [] [] |
305 python | |
306 recode | [] [] [] |
307 sed | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] |
308 sh-utils | [] [] [] |
309 sharutils | [] [] [] |
310 sketch | () |
311 soundtracker | [] [] |
312 sp | |
313 tar | [] [] [] [] [] |
314 texinfo | [] [] [] |
315 textutils | [] [] [] |
316 util-linux | () [] |
317 vorbis-tools | |
318 wastesedge | |
319 wdiff | [] [] [] |
320 wget | [] [] [] [] [] [] |
321 +-------------------------------------+
322 gl he hr hu id it ja ko lv nb nl nn
323 23 9 12 18 14 13 26 9 1 8 19 4
324
325 no pl pt pt_BR ru sk sl sv tr uk zh_TW
326 +----------------------------------------+
327 a2ps | () () () [] [] [] [] [] | 10
328 bash | [] | 6
329 bfd | [] [] | 5
330 binutils | [] [] | 5
331 bison | [] [] [] | 11
332 clisp | | 5
333 clisp | | 0
334 clisplow | | 0
335 cpio | [] [] [] [] | 12
336 darkstat | [] () | 1
337 diffutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 17
338 enscript | [] [] [] [] | 8
339 error | [] [] [] | 7
340 fetchmail | () () [] | 6
341 fileutils | [] [] [] [] [] | 13
342 findutils | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 21
343 flex | [] [] [] | 9
344 gas | [] | 3
345 gawk | [] [] | 6
346 gcal | [] [] | 4
347 gcc | [] | 4
348 gettext | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 13
349 gnupg | [] [] [] | 14
350 gprof | [] [] | 4
351 gpsdrive | [] [] () | 3
352 grep | [] [] [] [] | 18
353 gretl | | 1
354 gthumb | () () [] | 1
355 hello | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 28
356 id-utils | [] [] [] [] | 9
357 indent | [] [] [] [] [] | 14
358 jpilot | () () [] | 4
359 jwhois | [] () () [] [] | 7
360 kbd | [] [] | 5
361 ld | [] [] | 4
362 libc | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 17
363 libiconv | [] [] [] [] | 11
364 lifelines | [] | 1
365 lilypond | [] | 6
366 lingoteach | [] [] | 5
367 lingoteach_lessons| | 0
368 lynx | [] [] [] [] | 13
369 m4 | [] [] [] | 12
370 make | [] [] [] [] | 14
371 man-db | | 3
372 mysecretdiary | [] [] [] | 7
373 nano | [] [] [] [] | 15
374 nano_1_0 | [] [] [] [] | 14
375 opcodes | [] [] | 7
376 parted | [] [] [] | 11
377 ptx | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 19
378 python | | 0
379 recode | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 15
380 sed | [] [] [] [] [] [] | 23
381 sh-utils | [] | 8
382 sharutils | [] [] [] [] | 13
383 sketch | [] () [] | 4
384 soundtracker | [] | 6
385 sp | | 1
386 tar | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 18
387 texinfo | [] [] | 10
388 textutils | [] [] [] [] [] | 13
389 util-linux | [] [] [] | 10
390 vorbis-tools | [] | 2
391 wastesedge | | 0
392 wdiff | [] [] [] [] [] | 14
393 wget | [] [] [] [] [] [] [] [] | 24
394 +----------------------------------------+
395 36 teams no pl pt pt_BR ru sk sl sv tr uk zh_TW
396 67 domains 4 15 2 24 26 12 10 47 42 4 8 594
397
398 Some counters in the preceding matrix are higher than the number of
399visible blocks let us expect. This is because a few extra PO files are
400used for implementing regional variants of languages, or language
401dialects.
402
403 For a PO file in the matrix above to be effective, the package to
404which it applies should also have been internationalized and
405distributed as such by its maintainer. There might be an observable
406lag between the mere existence a PO file and its wide availability in a
407distribution.
408
409 If July 2002 seems to be old, you may fetch a more recent copy of
410this `ABOUT-NLS' file on most GNU archive sites. The most up-to-date
411matrix with full percentage details can be found at
412`http://www.iro.umontreal.ca/contrib/po/HTML/matrix.html'.
413
414Using `gettext' in new packages
415===============================
416
417 If you are writing a freely available program and want to
418internationalize it you are welcome to use GNU `gettext' in your
419package. Of course you have to respect the GNU Library General Public
420License which covers the use of the GNU `gettext' library. This means
421in particular that even non-free programs can use `libintl' as a shared
422library, whereas only free software can use `libintl' as a static
423library or use modified versions of `libintl'.
424
425 Once the sources are changed appropriately and the setup can handle
426to use of `gettext' the only thing missing are the translations. The
427Free Translation Project is also available for packages which are not
428developed inside the GNU project. Therefore the information given above
429applies also for every other Free Software Project. Contact
430`translation@iro.umontreal.ca' to make the `.pot' files available to
431the translation teams.
432