Re: Danish translators look here!!!

[Birger Langkjer <sslug@sslug>]

Den fre, 10 sep 1999 skrev Kenneth lléphaane Christiansen:
> > 
> > Kenneth lléphaane Christiansen wrote:
> > > 
> > [SNIP - A verrrrrryyy long text]
> > 
> > If you haven't noticed, we have started a translation projekt where we
> > translate all kinds of Linux programs into Danish (especially Gnome
> > programs). You can finde more info about the projekt on this URL:
> > http://linux.wiktor.dk where you also will find information about the
> > CVS server we use for this project.
> 
> 
> > You're right about the bad translations in the Danish versions of
> > programs (both Linux and M$), but I can see that you are not any better!
> > (eg: server != tjener, Server = server; WWW != Verdensvævet, WWW=
> > WWW/internettet).

I think we should probably continue this discussion in english since it
is an internationel forum.

First of all I think the purpose of translating Gnome is to help those
users who do not master the english language very well, not to aid
in some patriotic agenda. If I'm uncomfortable with other peoples's
nationalism, because it excludes me from their community (the select
circle of people they care about), it wouldn't be right of me to do the
same to them. But this is not 'gtk-politics-list' so I digress...

If we come up with translations of all english words no matter how bad
or unusable (uncool!) this translation is, many people will just turn
it of (by setting LANG=en) and then we have achieved the opposite
effect: Turned people away from using some good translations, like
email=epost, because of a few horrible ones. 

A language is a living, changing entity (like opensource), not something
designed and decided by a commitee. If you come up with a good word,
others will use it and eventually someone on a commitee might decide to
put it in the dictionary. This is the way it appears to work in Denmark
atleast, words are added on an ad hoc basis because someone needs to
use them in an official document. An example of this is 'ludomani'
(gambling addiction), which leads to the question: Why is latin ok, but
english is cultural imperialism? 


--
Med venlig hilsen/Best regards
Birger Langkjer
http://members.xoom.com/langkjer