[Foundation-l] Language Review Committee

[Jesse Martin (Pathoschild)]

Hello,

I think you are overstating the complexity of localization. Although I
originally opposed the requirement, I've changed my mind after I
discussed with various other users and watched the great work done by
the Kabyle community.

Mark has pointed out the difficulties of editing language files, such
as the necessity to escape conflicting characters, but this is not
relevant to modern localization. Users need only register an account
on the BetaWiki, get translator access, and edit wiki pages through a
Special:Allmessages-link interface (see links). No unusual technical
knowledge is needed, particularly since the language subcommittee
offers guidance and answers to all communities currently localizing.

A good example of the process is the Kabyle Wikipedia community, which
is testing the prototypical localization process. In just four days,
with a relatively small community having (I assume) no unusual
technical knowledge, with only *one* user assigned translator access
(by decision of the Kabyle community), they have translated nearly the
*entire* MediaWiki interface.

Consider: just a few normal users, nearly done after four days. Their
Wikipedia will benefit from complete readiness, with no localization
difficulties in the future. The proposed Kabyle Wiktionary will be
completely localized from the start. The MediaWiki software will be
available in Kabyle for the whole world.

So, this is why I no longer agree with your arguments that it is a
cruel and unusual requirement.

* Kabyle discussion:
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Requests_for_new_languages/Wikipedia_Kabyle#Localization
* Kabyle localization interface:
http://nike.users.idler.fi/betawiki/Toiminnot:Translate?x=1&msgclass=core&sort=normal&uselang=kab

Yours cordially,
Jesse Martin (Pathoschild)