Linux Mint Forums

I am using LM in German, my native language. I am astounded by the degree it is translated - but sometimes I wonder if there is something like "too much translation"...

In German we use a lot of English words, especially in fields like technology or science, but LM seems to ignore that sometimes, what can be strange... Eg. it is very very common to use the word "Software" in German, instead of it's German equivalent "Anwendungen"... Special terms like "remote desktop" simply don't work if you translate them literally - if the translation does make sense at all, nobody would use a German expression in that case...

Some bad examples:

+ Start menu: When I want to install something, I start typing "softw..." in my intention to open the software center... Then I remember that I have to use the German "Anwendungsmanager" to find and start it...

+ Start menu 2: Typing "software" still finds the "Synaptic-Paketverwaltung" (Synaptic paket management, or whatever it is called in English), but it does not find the "Anwendungsmanager" (software center), nor the "Anwendungspaketquellen" (software sources) - so this seems to be at least inconsistent...

+ Example in the software center: If I don't know the name of a programme I want to install, I often have to guess German words, to find something... Sometimes I am almost unable to find a lot, because apparently I am not creative enough to come up with useful German search terms...

Some good examples:

+ Start menu: Typing "print", I do find the German "Drucker" for the all the printer settings, perfect!

+ Start menu: Typing "display", I find the display settings, typing the German equivalent "Bildschirm", I find it too! Wonderful! (Apart from the inconsistency that it is called "Display" in the German version too, wich is the only English term in the whole start menu, so one would have expected it to be called by it's German name...)


I don't know how it is in other languages...?
I guess, it would often help me to get English (search) results, too. Could this be a helpful option?

Best regards,
al

I agree. I can find the same examples in my language.

There is no need to translate "bitmap", for example.

Too much translation as you said.

I added it to the community site. We'll see if other people find it useful - please vote, if you do!

http://community.linuxmint.com/idea/view/5559

@ alLa

I live in The Netherlands and so my first language is Dutch, but when it comes to using software I always use English. Not that my knowledge of English is perfect, I can manage myself pretty well thank you, but just for the reasons you mentioned: not enough or too much translations. English technical terms are used here as well and it sounds just strange when they are translated into Dutch.
Therefore, and you really don't have to have a degree i English I would advice to use English. It makes working with the computer more consistent because everything is English, it's not half-half as you experience now.
Yes, it takes getting used to, but I bet you know much already and the rest of the terms you will pick up very easily.

DeMus wrote:I would advice to use English. It makes working with the computer more consistent because everything is English

Bummer.

I'm a Dutch translator for several projects, among which Linux Mint.... Want ik vind onze mooie taal de moeite waard. Ik zie het Nederlands niet graag ten onder gaan aan de "Engelse ziekte"....

Pjotr, you are right of course, but having used computers since the beginning of the PC I have pretty much always used English systems and to start using a Dutch one now seems so strange.
As I wrote, English words which are so normal in The Netherlands, like software, hardware, and now since using Linux a word like repository, and there are a million more are easy to use. Translating them gives me a Belgian feeling where it is quite normal to translate everything.
I once tried being a translator as well, not for Mint but for SolydXK and seeing the Dutch translations it made me remember why I use English software myself, so I stopped translating.
My wife uses a Dutch version of LinuxMint and also in her computer I still find a lot of English words, so not all is translated yet. Using the English OS you can be sure of one thing: everything is in English, it is one language and not a mix of 2 languages.
Sorry for you, I didn't know you also translate as well. Looks to me you are not without work for some time.

En ja, ook ik vind het Nederlands een mooie taal, begrijp me niet verkeerd alsjeblieft. Maar niet in de computer. Sorry. (is ook engels, btw)

DeMus wrote:My wife uses a Dutch version of LinuxMint and also in her computer I still find a lot of English words, so not all is translated yet.

That surprises me: the Mint packages at Launchpad, are 100 % translated into Dutch.... What other packages / applications are (partly) untranslated in her system?

Ubuntu translations for Dutch are only 60% done: https://translations.launchpad.net/ubuntu. It shows just 10 active translators on the team; a lot remains to do I guess. I'm not sure how translations are handled on Ubuntu side for the majority of packages they import from Debian; should translations be done upstream?

xenopeek wrote:Ubuntu translations for Dutch are only 60% done: https://translations.launchpad.net/ubuntu. It shows just 10 active translators on the team; a lot remains to do I guess.

Well, the common and frequently installed Ubuntu packages are (almost) completely translated.... I'm a member of the Ubuntu Dutch translators team as well, and we focus on those. So the statistic is not so bad as it looks.

I'm not sure how translations are handled on Ubuntu side for the majority of packages they import from Debian; should translations be done upstream?

Preferably, yes.... Some members of the Ubuntu Dutch translation team are upstream Dutch translators for Debian and Gnome as well, and we strive to do as much upstream as we can. For me personally, that means Xfce and LXDE. Because then it benefits more than Ubuntu (and its derivates) only.

Which brings it back to your question

Pjotr wrote:What other packages / applications are (partly) untranslated in her system?