On Tue, Dec 7, 2010 at 12:25 PM, Rob Oakes <lyx-de...@oak-tree.us> wrote:
> Hi Leandro, > > Hi Rob! > Thanks for sharing some of your thoughts. This has been a very interesting > thread. > > Yes, indeed. :) > Yes, and some of us do. But the problem is when we want to 'push our work > upstream' to the global community. All the process, teams and tools are > English centric (maybe SU being one of the few exceptions). > > > While I empathize with your concerns, I'm not sure that this a solvable > problem. Contributor materials and instructions can be translated, but for > collaboration to happen, people have to share a common tongue. For > centuries, this was Latin. Now, it happens to be English. > > It makes sense that Ubuntu (and other open source projects) would use the > lingua franca of science, technology and business. It prevents > misunderstanding and disagreements. > > Yes, agreed. But if someone wants to express him/herself clearly and fails to do so in English, would you mind that he/she posted something in Spanish (or German, Croatian, French...) to the mailing list? > For the past year or so, I've led a project that creates a backup program. > I've received contributions from people in Italy, Russia, Poland, Sweden, > the Netherlands, and Mexico. That kind of international collaboration would > be impossible if we didn't all speak English. Google translate can only get > you so far. > > I'm admin of the ubuntu-l10n-es team and used to work as a translator and interpreter for many years... and trust me; having no translation is better that Google Translator. :) > > It's just not about translations. It's more about process and tools. > > > Perhaps there might be ways to mitigate the difficulties for those without > English speaking members? Maybe the translation team could help LOCOs > prepare their applications, for example. But language barriers aren't going > away. > Yes, I'm aware of that. I'm not sure if there's an easy way to solve this... I'm just being part of the problem here:) > There isn't any process or tool that can replace the need for people to > communicate. Nor is it realistic for upstream to master all of the > languages of downstream. > Well... they could if upstream were more diverse. A couple of months ago, someone posted to the Planet a list of all of the members of the community governance bodies (i.e. all the Councils) and only a few came from non-English speaking countries. My question is: Why are there so few contributors/vocal leaders from outside the US/UK/Australia? Is language a barrier for people to step up? Are we missing valuable contributors because of this? Edit: Found the post! :) http://sensehofstede.nl/realise-native-english-speakers-are-privileged > Like most downstream projects, upstream tends to be idea heavy, and > resource poor. > > I'd second Сергей's suggestion: > > Maybe we can make up lists of people who can be contacted in case Google > Translate is not enough to understand a message, or if one wants to post > something but doesn't know English. For example, I might be a contact for > Russian language. While I don't contribute in a really meaningful way, at > least I monitor all activity on this list, and [hopefully] know English > enough to understand others and be understood. > > > Having some sort of central resource would make the most sense. Is there a > way to contact the translation team leaders and inquire if they could > provide aid for downstream teams trying to prepare applications, patches, > artwork, and proposals for upstream? Are there entities outside of Ubuntu > who might be able to help with this challenge? > > Cheers, > > Rob Oakes > > -- > ubuntu-art mailing list > ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com > https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art > >
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