(gettext.info.gz) National Teams

(gettext.info.gz) Central Coordination
 
 12.4.2 National Teams
 ---------------------
 
 I suggest we look for volunteer coordinators/editors for individual
 languages.  These people will scan contributions of translation files
 for various programs, for their own languages, and will ensure high and
 uniform standards of diction.
 
    From my current experience with other people in these days, those who
 provide localizations are very enthusiastic about the process, and are
 more interested in the localization process than in the program they
 localize, and want to do many programs, not just one.  This seems to
 confirm that having a coordinator/editor for each language is a good
 idea.
 
    We need to choose someone who is good at writing clear and concise
 prose in the language in question.  That is hard--we can't check it
 ourselves.  So we need to ask a few people to judge each others'
 writing and select the one who is best.
 
    I announce my prerelease to a few dozen people, and you would not
 believe all the discussions it generated already.  I shudder to think
 what will happen when this will be launched, for true, officially,
 world wide.  Who am I to arbitrate between two Czekolsovak users
 contradicting each other, for example?
 
    I assume that your German is not much better than my French so that
 I would not be able to judge about these formulations.  What I would
 suggest is that for each language there is a group for people who
 maintain the PO files and judge about changes.  I suspect there will be
 cultural differences between how such groups of people will behave.
 Some will have relaxed ways, reach consensus easily, and have anyone of
 the group relate to the maintainers, while others will fight to death,
 organize heavy administrations up to national standards, and use strict
 channels.
 
    The German team is putting out a good example.  Right now, they are
 maybe half a dozen people revising translations of each other and
 discussing the linguistic issues.  I do not even have all the names.
 Ulrich Drepper is taking care of coordinating the German team.  He
 subscribed to all my pretest lists, so I do not even have to warn him
 specifically of incoming releases.
 
    I'm sure, that is a good idea to get teams for each language working
 on translations.  That will make the translations better and more
 consistent.
(gettext.info.gz) National Teams

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