Frank Peters a écrit :
Hi Frank,
> - Switching languages in the wiki should be an easy thing
> provided we agree on one common schema:
> o the localized pages sit in a defined hierarchy so URLs
> to switch languages are easily generated automatically
> o the localized pages need to have the same names. With the
> new MW version (which we currently test and hopefully
> implement soon) it will be possible to still use localized
> *titles* to show up. Just the URL is the same (except for
> the language identifier).
> That's about all we need. If we implement a language bar
> as template a user would be able to
> o switch to another language with one click
> o instantly see if a localization is available or not, and if
> not, start localizing right away
> o add languages easily by just adding them to the template
>
I personally agree with this approach. It makes for something very
systematic, simple and user friendly. If I want to see something in EN,
FR, DE, or ES or JP or ZH all I'd have to do is switch those letters
in the URL to get the corresponding (or not yet translated) document.
> I'll see to draft something and send it out to NLC for
> discussion after I returned (I guess I promised that
> several times before, bear with me...)
Well there's a discussion ongoing in the French NLC doc project, because
as you can imagine, following a schema that you have outlined here would
require us to change a lot. Unfortunately, there appears to be no
general consensus as yet.
One of the fears is that a French lambda user, who couldn't care less
about docs in other languages, would find themselves faced with lots of
links leading nowhere, or to a document in English only, and thus would
lose interest in the doc site as a valuable source of information. While
I don't share this fear, I can understand it. I imagine that it could
be very frustrating indeed.
Another point made was that such a schema would automatically make all
our docs redundant overnight, since we would be forced to rewrite
everything to conform to a given baseline documentation, no doubt
written in English. I tend to disagree here too. I think that the whole
point of setting up a system like the wiki for the doc project is to
allow for creativity from the various language groups to become visible
in a single place, thereby furthering exchanges with other groups and
stimulating people to translate the work of others. It recognizes that
each language culture has its specificities, including the way in which
computer software is used. For example, in Europe, we have different
constraints for billing and invoicing (European Directives) than those
used in the US (and no doubt elsewhere). This means that any
documentation about say, the report generator, or Base module, that
expounds on a billing system, would have to be adapted to suit each
country's or region's own requirements. The French NLC doc project has
created some general user documentation, of course, but some of it also
reflects the way French people think in general, or are taught to think
in school ("cartesian" thinking). This tends to display itself more in
the way the documentation is written, than in actual content. I remember
one of my former French bosses telling me that he couldn't understand
how my thought processes worked because I wasn't "cartesian" enough, yet
I came to much the same conclusions in my writings as he did :-) It also
makes for a bit of a nightmare when you have to translate things from
French to English, and I've been doing this now for nearly 20 years !!!
Anway, enough of my prattling, I'm sure Sophie can fill you in with more
details should you require them.
Alex
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