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Translation FAQ

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Translations: ±

How can I help make a requested translation? (in short)

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Recently updated

Visit Translation requests and click on the link for a request you would like to help with; this will lead to a request page with a color-separated tagged list (called a status table), like this page (see the right top). The status table indicates the status of your language version. If your language version is not marked as done or as published, it needs your help. Just go to the page and start editing. If no page exists for your language yet, then edit the status table and add your language. You have only to click your language at the table and save the link to your language version to start it. For further information of status table, see also Template:Translation2/doc.

How do I translate? (a step-by-step guide)

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This guide is for use when translating pages which already have a translation status box on the right hand side of the screen on the translation request page (for example Fundraising_2011/Core_messages or this page). The translation status box has the heading "Translations:" and consists of a list of languages which are also links to the translations in those languages.

  1. If your language is not on the list of languages in the translation status box then add it as follows:
    1. Click on the ( /-) symbol to the right of the title of the translation status box. This takes you to the translation status box itself in edit mode.
    2. Add a row to the table of languages, written in alphabetical order of the language code.
    3. Write the code: |code |status on the line, where ‘code’ is the language code (for example, eo for Esperanto) and ‘status’ records the different stages of the work. If you aren’t going to start translating straight away, put ‘missing’ as the status. If you are going to start translating straight away put ‘progress’ as the status.
    4. Save the changes
  2. Go back to the translation request page.
  3. To start translating click on the link ‘progress’ (or ‘missing’) next to your language in the translation status box. This takes you to the edit box of the page with the original text already filled in and also some guidance on how to translate. (Do not click on the name of the language if the translation has not yet been started, because you will go to an empty page.)
    1. Replace the original text with your translated text. You can choose to keep the original text visible in edit mode only by putting the wikitext <!-- original text --> around it. This is convenient for the people doing the proofreading.
    2. If there are any wikilinks in the original text then please leave the link information (including any namespace names and page titles) on the left of the link as in the original. The text after the pipe or space can be translated: for example [[Help:Example|translation of example]] and [http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Home translation of title] . If any of the wikilinks link to other pages which have been translated then you can change the wikilink to link to the translated page instead of the original. For most translations, the links will be "red". This is not a problem, although the pages do not exist on Meta-Wiki, they do at the destination (usually the Foundationwiki).
  4. When you have finished translating go to the translation status box again and change the status from ‘progress’ to ‘proofreading’.
    1. If you are waiting to find a proofreader you could put ‘needs proofreading’ instead of ‘proofreading’ to encourage other translators in your language to join in the proofreading. It is best to get someone else to check your work, usually by leaving a message on the wikis in your language, if you are the only translator for your language who is active on meta. If no-one is available to proofread, then you may need to do the proofreading yourself.
    2. When the status of the language has changed from ‘progress’ to the later stages of the translation then the ‘status’ description next to the language in the translation status box is no longer a wikilink to the edit box of the page. Instead you go to the page by clicking on the name of the language. To make changes to the page click on the edit tab in the normal way.
  5. When the proofreading is finished, go to the translation status box again and change the status to ‘ready’ or ‘done’. If your translation is part of an ‘open translation request’ and there is lots of translation activity happening, then you can just wait for an administrator to publish the translation. The administrator will change the status to ‘published’ when this is done.
    1. If nothing happens within a day or two please leave a message requesting that your translation be published on the talk page of the translation request page, for example Talk:Fundraising_2011, or on Meta talk:Babylon.
    2. If there is not much activity at present on the page that you have translated then please put a message on Meta talk:Babylon to alert an administrator that there is a page to be published. Ideally, pages should be published within a day or two. However, if there is a Fundraising drive going on and there are many pages to publish, it may take longer.
  6. If you have any questions or problems during the translation please put them either on the talk page of the translation request page, on Meta talk:Babylon, to translators-l, or on IRC.

When and how are changes made to a published translation?

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Updates to original text

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Sometimes there are changes made to the original text of a page. In order to tell translators that the original has changed an administrator changes the status of the translation from ‘published’ to ‘needs updating’. Sometimes the new text is added to each translation which has already been published. When a translator works on translating the status can be changed by the translator to ‘updating’. When ready the translator can change the status to ‘ready’ and an administrator will see that it needs publishing from the status template. The administrator will change the status to ‘published’ when done.

To keep track of changes to original texts, you can subscribe to translators-l; all new requests and major changes are announced there. You could also add the English page and the status template to your watchlist, so that it will show when the page is updated.

Amendments to a translation after publishing

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Sometimes an error or improvement to a translation is discovered after it is published. A translator can edit the translation and then request that the amended translation be republished by changing the status to ‘ready’ again. The translator can also put a hidden message next to "ready" (for example: <!-- page name was incorrect, please fix! -->).

Where should I make a translation?

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You can make your translation wherever you prefer. You may like to work on meta or on the Wikimedia project where you are active, if you are familiar with how to edit a wiki. You may work outside of wiki locally — on your PC, for example.

I have no idea how to deal with wiki markup. Help!

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Just leave them. Later, more experienced wiki-editors may willingly help you. It may even be okay if you remove wiki markups, if you find them too annoying to make progress in your translation.

How can I make a translation outside of wiki?

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Follow the procedure as follows:

  1. If your language workspace doesn't exist, create it. (See also #How can I help make a requested translation? (in short))
  2. Save the source.
  3. Put the template {{coming soon|user=your signature|date=your delivery date}} in your language workspace. It will help other translators to be aware of your ongoing work.
  4. You may make the translation locally, on your PC for example.
  5. After you finish the task, copy your version and paste it to your language workspace.
  6. Remove {{coming soon}} and update the status page.

Where may I ask a question about translating?

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I have translated the fundraiser pages but they are not appearing (and I am in an area covered by a Wikimedia chapter). Why?

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Fundraiser and donation pages localised on meta are published on Wikimedia Foundation. The donation and fundraiser links on all Wikimedia Foundation wikis lead to these localised pages on Wikimedia Foundation, except for users who are physically within a region where a Wikimedia chapter operates. As at February 2011 Wikimedia Foundation has annual agreements with local chapters that users accessing the donation link who are physically within a chapter region are directed to donation pages on the regional chapter wiki, and not to the Wikimedia Foundation wiki.

If you want to localise these chapter pages, then in addition to translating the fundraiser pages here on meta, you will need to contact the chapter to request that they create localised donation pages for your language, based on the pages translated here at Meta. There will be additional text to translate, applicable to that chapter only. If you encounter problems in this matter then you can try raising the matter on the translators-l list.

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