Translations & Localisation

[mjakeman]

We've been getting a lot of translations lately, which is fantastic.

It would be good to:

• Create a guide for contributing to localising extension-manager
• Decide on a policy for translatable strings (reuse where possible to minimise the burden on translators)
• Document how to update the POT template and PO files via meson

If you would like to translate extension-manager into your language, contributions are very welcome.

[PaxtonGround]

I can translate the app in french
What should we do?

[mjakeman]

Hi @PaxtonGround, thanks for the interest!

Here's a rough overview of how to add a new translation. I'm not sure how familiar you are with translation tools, so I'll give a fairly beginner-focused guide (plus this will be good to write down for others looking to contribute translations). Some git experience is needed.

1. Firstly, you'll need a translation tool. I recommend Poedit, which you can get from Flathub.
2. The next step is to fork and clone the repository locally.
3. Inside Poedit, click the option that says "Create new...". You'll want to select the file po/extension-manager.pot. This creates a new translation in your chosen language. It's then a process of translating each English string into the corresponding French one.
4. Once you're done, save the file as fr.po and add the language code fr to the LINGUAS file, preferably in alphabetical order.
5. Then you need to add and commit the files using git. You'll want both po/fr.po and po/LINGUAS updates included.
6. For the commit message, I'd recommend something like po: Add French Translation.
7. Push your changes to your fork, and then open a Pull Request
8. I'll review and merge your changes :)

For updating an existing translation it's almost the exact same process as above:

1. Checkout the latest master branch
2. Instead of creating a new translation, open the existing .po file
3. In the menu, select Translation->Update from POT File... and open po/extension-manager.pot
4. Translate any new strings, push your changes, and open a PR

Let me know if you're not familiar with git and I can go into more detail.

[bordam]

Hey, I don't know if I should write this here or I should open a separate issue, but in the translation for my language I have a problem with a string.

The "Installed" string is used for both the header bar and the "Install" button, which becomes "Installed" if the extension is installed, as you know.

In the header bar, though, it's referring to a plural name ("installed [extensions]") while in the button it's a singular ("[the extension is] installed"), so in languages like Italian where you conjugate also adjectives in one of the two circumstances the string is wrong.

I don't know how to make localization, but would it maybe be possible to make a plural and singular form of the string for use in the header bar and in the button respectively?

[PaxtonGround]

can you tell me how to download the .poe file ?

[bordam]

@PaxtonGround if you mean the .pot file, you can use wget to download it directly:
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mjakeman/extension-manager/master/po/extension-manager.pot

[mjakeman]

@PaxtonGround: I did not understand how to integrate the .po file, is it possible to send me an email and I send you the fr.po file by email?

You can download the pot file here (Right Click->Save Link As). Once you've translated it and made fr.po, you can email it to me at mjakeman26@outlook.co.nz and I can commit it for you.

@musiclover382: In the header bar, though, it's referring to a plural name ("installed [extensions]") while in the button it's a singular ("[the extension is] installed"), so in languages like Italian where you conjugate also adjectives in one of the two circumstances the string is wrong. I don't know how to make localization, but would it maybe be possible to make a plural and singular form of the string for use in the header bar and in the button respectively?

That's a good question, I'm not too familiar with gettext either. Taking a look at the GLib documentation, we should be able to use the C_() macro to provide context to the string. So the header bar might be C_("Navigation", "Installed") and the button would be C_("State", "Installed") or something like that. I'll give it a try soon, it might need some changes to our gettext setup.

[PaxtonGround]

I have sent you the file is it good for you?

[mjakeman]

Hi @PaxtonGround, the file looks good for the most part. There is one issue with the translator-credits string - that's supposed to be your name (it will appear under 'Translators' in the about dialog).

How do you want to be credited? I can either use your GitHub username or a real name if you want to provide that. I will also need an email address you're comfortable with being public in order to commit the file.

[PaxtonGround]

you can use my github nickname and use the email address ***@***.*** thanks Le sam. 29 janv. 2022 à 22:18, Matt Jakeman ***@***.***> a écrit :

…

Hi @PaxtonGround <https://github.com/PaxtonGround>, the file looks good for the most part. There is one issue with the translator-credits string - that's supposed to be your name (it will appear under 'Translators' in the about dialog). How do you want to be credited? I can either use your GitHub username or a real name if you want to provide that. I will also need an email address you're comfortable with being public in order to commit the file. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#27 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AP3Q47OFQXSNFKCF2C2PDZ3UYRKQ5ANCNFSM5L3ABI4A> . Triage notifications on the go with GitHub Mobile for iOS <https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1477376905?ct=notification-email&mt=8&pt=524675> or Android <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.github.android&referrer=utm_campaign%3Dnotification-email%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Dgithub>. You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[mjakeman]

@PaxtonGround Not sure if you meant to send ***@***.*** or if GitHub has blanked out your email.

Anyhow, I've opened #90 with your changes. If it looks fine, I'll go ahead and merge