[Translation-i18n] Translating "yes" and "no" as answers to specific questions

[Thomas T. <tth...@gn...>]

(I brought this matter up on the gnome-i18n list and it was pointed out 
that this list would be a better forum.)

In both Welsh and Irish, there are generic forms of "yes" and "no", but 
using them with most questions sounds stilted.  A more natural form is 
to use the main verb of the question.  So, in English, it would look 
something like this?

       Do you want to quit without saving your work?

       [ I want. ]     [ I do not want. ]

It is sometimes, but not always, possible to rewrite the question so 
that the generic yes/no words can be used, but then the question sounds 
just as stilted, so there's hardly any point.

I have been pondering how this may be solved on a general level.  To 
head off some of the questions which were raised on gnome-i18n, I'm not 
approaching this from the point of view of a programmer looking to 
internationalise their program.  Rather, I have my translator hat on, 
and every program in the world which contains a yes/no question presents 
something of a problem.

I suppose we could solve this by extending the syntax of gettext files 
so that the yes/no words were given in the same way plurals now are.  
Something like this, perhaps:

  #, yes-no
  msgid "Do you already have an account set up on a server?"
  msgstr "A oes cyfrif ar weinydd Jabber gennych eisoes?"
  msgstr[y] "Oes"
  msgstr[n] "Nac oes"

On the other hand, this would require all the gettext handling software 
to be extended in order to handle it, which is a large burden to the 
rest of the world.

Another, less intrusive possibility might be a new format:

  #, yes-no-format
  msgid "Do you already have an account set up on a server?"
  msgstr ""
  "A oes cyfrif ar weinydd Jabber gennych eisoes? %Y Oes %N Nac oes"

Would this be useful outside the Celtic languages?

peace

T

-- 
Thomas Thurman, tthurman at gnome, http://blogs.gnome.org/tthurman
The shadowy figure waves back at you!