FOSS localisation in minorised languages

FOSS localisation in minorised languages Toni Hermoso Pulido Softcatalà member Mozilla Europe member Mozilla l10n-ca

FOSS Free and Open Source Software Free ( gratuit ) vs Free ( liber ) Freedoms ( FSF definition ) :

0: The freedom to run the program for any purpose.
1: The freedom to study and modify the program.
2: The freedom to copy the program so you can help your neighbor.
3: The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits.

Localisation

Internationalisation (i18n) vs localisation (l10n)
Localise: Translate + Adapt to local culture or needs
What to localise?
Program interface
Documentation ( http://support.mozilla.com )
Other user support (forums, chats, etc., http://mozilla.ro )

Minorised and minority languages Minority language: Language spoken by a minor(ity) group in the whole world, in a country or in a region. It may or may not minorised. It may or may not be official.

Magyar and German in Romania
Aranese Occitan in Catalonia
Irish in Ireland

Minorised language: Language which is not fully developed in all the possible situations it might develop, usually formal or even common life ones. It's common among minor languages, but not exclusively. It may occur both in official and not official languages.

Catalan language Romance language – around 9 milion speakers Mainly spoken:

Andorra (official)
France (protected status in Roussillon region)
Italy (little protection in Alghero city – Sardinia)
Spain

Aragon (barely protected)
Balearic Islands (coofficial with Spanish)
Catalonia (coofficial with Spanish)
Valencia (coofficial with Spanish, known as Valencian)

First kwnon written document: Homilíes d'Organyà (s. XI – latin script) Source: Wikipedia, CIEMEN

Romanian language Romance language – around 26 milion speakers Mainly spoken:

Bulgaria (barely protected)
Republic of Moldava (official, known as Moldovan)
Romania (official)
Serbia

Vojdovina (coofficial with Serbian)
Rest of Serbia (barely protected)

Ukraine (barely protected)

First known written document: Neacșu's letter. (around 1521 – cyrillic script) Source: Wikipedia

Other languages Source: Eurominority

Is Romanian a minority language? Is Romanian a minorised language? Please, comment.

Is Romanian a minority language? Is Romanian a minorised language?

Language presence in FOSS projects https://translations.launchpad.net/ubuntu/intrepid/+translations http://l10n.gnome.org/releases/gnome-2-24 Hard to measure, some rough estimations can be drawn from:

Softcatalà

Recently 10 years
No software localised into Catalan before – only available in Spanish, French or English
A group of friends, some who worked in computer l10n in Dublin, decided to translate Netscape Communicator into Catalan.
Almost from scratch, a terminolgy compendium and a style guide were created. Based upon references from journalism and other fields and adapted to computer's world.
Now Softcatalà collaborates with official terminological academies and several administrations.
Translation guidelines are a reference for professional translators.

Softcatalà

Wiki
Mailing lists
IRC chats and IM
Translation tools and references
Specific software. Ex. PoEdit for Gettext translations or web interfaces
Translation memories from our projects

Web based one: http://www.open-tran.eu

Reference documents (terminology and style guide)

Narro project Help Romanian presence in FOSS http://narro-project.blogspot.com/ Ease translation through a web interface Romanian based project used by other localisations as well

mozilla.ro http://www.mozilla.ro Any doubt about Mozilla applications? You can be answered in your own language… You can help other Romanians to spread FOSS in your city. You can share knowledge and know many new things about Mozilla pioneering web technology

support.mozilla.com Do you think you are proficient enough in English and Romanian? Do you want to practise your language skills? Do you want to help your family and friends to use Internet? Do it by translating Firefox documentation into Romanian.