Re: [Gaim-i18n] Bad language in Gaim

[Clytie S. <cl...@ri...>]

On 25/04/2006, at 1:14 PM, Richard Laager wrote:

> On Tue, 2006-04-25 at 12:58 +0930, Clytie Siddall wrote:
>> You can't expect translators to know what you mean, especially if the
>> string is unusual in some way.
>
> If you encounter a string you don't understand, you should ask =20
> about it.
> In this particular case, I can see why people would argue we should
> change the string. But, what about the case of "Handshaking" not
> translating cleanly into PT_pt? Surely we shouldn't change our =20
> string to
> work around that. If we had to change strings to make them unambiguous
> for every language, we'd have a mess.

I think there is a sensible compromise. If a string is normal =20
language, which you would expect the average user to understand, then =20=

you can also expect us to understand it. If it is not normal =20
language, if it's more technical, more idiomatic or more obtuse, then =20=

you need to supply context.

If there is an issue with a string and a particular language, then =20
certainly that translator will try to deal with it. If there are =20
cultural difficulties, we will advise you of them. That is part of =20
our job. However, that part of our job is not actually useful unless =20
you pay attention to our advice. ;)
>
>> You also can't expect them to
>> understand social nuances of your culture. All you will get is
>> ignored strings and/or a lower quality of translation.
>
> Getting back to this case... If "lazy bum" is a strong insult in your
> language, then don't translate it literally. If there's no appropriate
> translation, you could translate that portion of the string to the =20
> empty
> string.

Again, you're expecting us to know what you mean. How do we know that =20=

you're not insulting this person seriously? The fact that you're =20
insulting him at all is confusing to us.
>
> If you take the approach of "I'll translate everything (often =20
> literally)
> without understanding it", you're going to end up with a bad =20
> translation
> that results in user complaints. It's entirely reasonable for us (and
> users) to expect that translators fully understand what they're
> translating.

Yes indeed. That's why you supply context with obtuse strings, so we =20
have enough information to understand fully what we're translating.

We all want to produce high-quality translations. However, our =20
translations can only reflect the quality of the original text.

from Clytie (vi-VN, Vietnamese free-software translation team / nh=C3=B3m =
=20
Vi=E1=BB=87t h=C3=B3a ph=E1=BA=A7n m=E1=BB=81m t=E1=BB=B1 do)
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/vi-VN