Translating:MediaWiki/Basic glossary: Preface/gcf
This page includes some detailed background information about the Basic MediaWiki Glossary.
Why is this list needed?
- To help volunteer translators have a convenient localization experience.
- To help end users of MediaWiki have a consistent and easy to learn reading and editing experience.
- To do these things both in languages that have an established tradition of MediaWiki localization, and in new languages that want to join the MediaWiki users community.
Kijan sa ké rédé moun ka mofwazé lang adan lang nèf
Wikipedia, the project for which MediaWiki was created, is over twenty years old. It is enormously successful in many languages. Accordingly, the MediaWiki software is one of the most massively localized pieces of software ever.
More and more languages want to join this success, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to translate the terminology to the new languages that want to join. Seeing a long list of whole sentences with difficult terms is intimidating for new volunteer localizers.
This creates inefficiency: the localizers, who are not necessarily computer experts, have to jump between translating user interface strings and looking for good translations of more and more terms that pop up in them. Instead, it may be more convenient to translate the most basic terms at once, before starting the translation of the actual MediaWiki messages.
This also has a social community-building aspect. When community members have a complete and consistent terminology to discuss wiki editing in their own language, they can have full conversations about it without being dependent on external wikis and communities.
Kimannyè sa ké rédé mofwazè a lang ka chalviré lang oti MediaWiki ja mofwazé dépi onpakèt tan
Ni onpil moun ka bat asi mofwazaj, i bon toujou pou diraj-la, éfikasité-la épi moun ka kontwolé kò a-yo ant yo. Adan désèwten lang, Menm ti krèy a mofwazè érisi fè onlo travay akokanny a mofwazaj évè adaptasyon dépi nanni-nannan. Travay a-yo olendeng, men idèmdito sa dwèt fasil ba moun i sòti rivé pou jwenn-yo.
New volunteer translators may know the language well and have good intentions, but because of lack of experience, they may use inconsistent terminology. Finally, even for well-established languages, it may be useful to consider refreshing the terminology occasionally.
Why does this list include basic and common computer terms, such as "file" and "upload"?
Sa pé mèyè sa pa ka sèvi hak, piplis adan lang byen chantyé men adan, MediaWiki délè yo pé ni on sitiyasyon ispésyal.
Anplisdisa, MediaWiki sé souvantfwa poumyé oben yonn poumyé biten asi entènèt i mofwazé adan on lang, kifè avan mofwazé MediaWiki, Sé lang-lasa pa menm ka kyenn tèminoloji bazik-lasa.
It's useful for the more established languages, too: some of these terms may have several correct translations into a certain language, but only particular translations are used in the wiki editors community of that language.