Online translation with Crowdin 

Getting started 

If you want to participate, it only takes a few steps to get started:

1. Create an account at Crowdin or connect with online developer communities: Sign Up.
2. Either find a TYPO3 project or go straight to TYPO3 Core (Crowdin TYPO3 CMS). There is also a list of extensions available for translation on the Crowdin TYPO3 Status page.
3. Join the project.
4. Select your preferred language.
5. Start translating.

Using Crowdin is free for Open Source projects. For private projects, Crowdin's pricing model is based on projects and not on individual users.

To help you get started, Tom Warwick has created a short tutorial video for you:

Teams and roles 

When you sign up for an account at Crowdin for the first time, you will be awarded with the role "Translator" and you can start translating.

Find the project via the search and click on the Join button. Click on the language/flag you want to translate. Go ahead and translate!

All translated strings are considered translated, but not proofread. When the strings have been proofread by team members with the "Proofreader" role, the translation will be available for all TYPO3 instances via the "Managing Language Packs" section in the TYPO3 backend.

The language files in Core 

In Crowdin, the TYPO3 Core is divided into system extensions and their underlying language files. Each system extension contains one or more XLIFF language files.

While you are translating an XLIFF file, Crowdin supports you with valuable information:

• You get a clear overview on the progress. A grey bar means that work needs to be done. The blue bar shows how many words have been translated, and the green bar shows how many words have been approved.
• The system offers you suggestions on terms and translations from the Translation Memory (TM) and Machine Translation (MT).

• You can sort and order the labels in different ways:

  • show only untranslated,
  • unresolved,
  • commented
  • and so on.
• You can start discussions about a specific string.
• You can search the Translation Memory.
• You can improve the Translation Memory by adding new terms.
• You can easily get in contact with the language manager and team members.

Preconditions 

You need a detailed understanding of how TYPO3 works. You have preferably worked with TYPO3 for some years as developer, administrator, integrator or senior editor. You know your way around in the backend and you are familiar with most of the functionality and features. If you are more focused on translating extensions, you might need to understand some parts of the extension before you start translating.

What skills are needed 

You need to be bilingual: fluent in both English and the language you are translating into. It is insufficient to have only casual knowledge of the target language or English. We would most probably end up with a confusing localization.

A good understanding of how a language is constructed in terms of nouns, verbs, punctuation and grammar in general will be necessary.

How to create (good) translations 

1. Stay true to the source labels you work with. Given that the developer of the code who wrote the English text understands the functionality best, please try to translate the meaning of the sentences.
2. Translate organically, not literally. The structure of your target language is important. English often has a different structure and tone so look for the equivalent meaning in your language.
3. Use the same level of formality. The cultural context can be very different from language to language. What works in English may be far too informal in your language and vice versa. Try to find a good level of (in)formality and stick to it. And be open to discuss it with your fellow team translators.
4. Look into other localized projects in your language. There are tons of Open Source projects being translated, also into your language. Be curious and look at how the localization is done – there might be things to learn and adapt.
5. Be consistent. Localization of high quality is characterised by the consistency. Make extensive use of the terms and glossary.
6. Use machine translation carefully. It is tempting but dangerous to do a quick translation with one of the common machine translation tools and sometimes it can help you to get a deeper understanding of the meaning of a text. But very often a machine-translated text breaks all the above rules unless you rework the text carefully afterwards.
7. Work together. As in all other aspects of Open Source, things get so much better when we work together. So, reach out for help when you get stuck. Or offer help if someone asks for it. Crowdin provides a good platform for collaborating with your team translators, and please join the Translation Slack channel #typo3-translations.

Translation styles 

In general, and where it makes sense, we follow the Writing Style Guide from the Content Team.

In the future (when translation teams start getting bigger), it might be a good idea to develop local style guides.

Become a proofreader 

Community-driven translations form the backbone of the translation of TYPO3. Huge thanks to all translators and proofreaders for their invaluable contributions!

Please contact the Localization Team via email at localization@typo3.org to request the role of a proofreader.

Or join the Slack channel of the Localization Team: #typo3-localization-team

Links 

There are many good resources when it comes to translation, language, dictionaries, etc. Feel free to suggest your favorite websites, when you work with language.

• https://iate.europa.eu/home
• https://gengo.com/translators/resources/
• https://docs.microsoft.com/style-guide

FAQ