Translating:How to start

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[edit] How to start

Follow these steps to translate on translatewiki.net:

• register or log in to translatewiki.net
  • remember that this will be the name which will be added to the software files ("@author YourUsername")
• create a user page with some information and links (what language you are going to translate in, a link to a home page or user pages on other wikis, a {{#babel:…}} box, …)
• set your user interface to the language you will be working on
  • if you read other languages and want to see existing translations as hints while you translate, go to the "Editing" tab in your settings, and add them to the list.
• find out if your language has already some maintainers on the language status page
  • if your language has maintainers, contact them and ask how you can help, especially if there are already many translators, or if the community is very active. You find the recent activity via the link "Translations in English" under "Recent changes" once you have your language set in your user interface. Contact with your fellow translators is possible on the talk pages of some language portals, on their user talk pages, per e-mail (via the link on their user pages or talk pages), per irc
  • if not, you can take over maintenance of your language. Read the documentation and add details to the status page, to your language portal, and add yourself to its "/translators" subpage.
• ask for translator privileges
  • if your knowledge of English is not that great, you can request for language(s) to be added above the edit form to assist you in making the best translation possible (example)
• start translating
• When in doubt, request support!

[edit] Offline translation

In Special:Translate you can export a message group to a gettext .po file, and work on that offline. Make sure you save the gettext .po file as UTF-8! Return it to "translatewiki AT xs4all DOT nl" and make sure to note what your translatewiki.net username is – all changes will be attributed to it. More information is available.

[edit] Recommended process for translating MediaWiki

Make sure you have set your language preference to the language you will be working on. Translators of other projects can ignore this list.

• first translate the most often used messages
• complete the core messages
• check if you should translate any optional messages
• do a consistency check (terminology, formal/informal) on your localisation
• translate special page names, magic words and namespaces on Special:Magic
• translate the extension messages used in Wikimedia wikis
• translate the remaining extension messages
• do a consistency check (terminology, formal/informal) on your localisation between core messages and extension messages
• start maintaining your language's localisation on a regular basis. At least once per month is recommended.

Read on if you want to know more. Reading on is not required, although advised for a proper understanding of more advanced localisation features. You could spend a few days translating, though, and come back when you think you need more information.

Remember: translate links, namespaces, and messages as they are and do not deviate from the source message more than needed!