Adi was right, according to http://packages.ubuntu.com/precise/all/gitk/filelist this package ships translations in a custom format, this is not supported.
** Changed in: ubuntu-translations Status: Triaged => Invalid ** Changed in: git-core (Ubuntu) Status: New => Invalid -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/409770 Title: Translations: gitk-git .pot template is missing, existing .po files useless To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu-translations/+bug/409770/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs