Hello Rudy :) Welcome to Debian! On 21/02/2006, at 12:53 AM, Rudy Godoy wrote (in part):
Once we've discussed here in the community about making a Quechua translation, but as far as this project got is near to none. So maybe it's the initial step to resume such initiatives. This language has a particular characteristic since it's mostly spoken but people is not used to write nor read on this language, there are not much produced material for the later.
I think you'll find that the more barriers to translation you can remove (get the locale set up, help with software, make sure you have people available to help with problems and encourage new people, monitor and support the process), the more translation will actually get done.
It would also help to have a homepage/site for the translation effort, and get members of the community to contribute: photos, cultural material, help topics for people starting computing: have a focus area and make it useful, fun and user-friendly. (In particular, for cultural groups like the Quechua, who have such a strong visual and tactile tradition, there should be a lot of visual material, and (if you can afford them) touch-screen type controls.)
You can use Pootle (http://pootle-wordforge.org, http:// translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/pootle) which simplifies the translation process so all a translator needs to do is sit down in front of a computer and type or speak to input translations. (You can even run your own Pootle, if you don't have a reliable Net connection. Pootle is free software.)
It has been my experience that by simplifying the process, removing as many barriers as possible, and keying the project into the cultural life and attitudes of the people concerned, you not only achieve a very worthwhile task (in this case, translation of the software) but also empower those people, and give them experience which they can use in other areas. After all, it is their project.
I hope this is useful. Good luck with your effort, and please give my respects to the elders of the Quechua community.
from Clytie (vi-VN, Vietnamese free-software translation team / nhóm Việt hóa phần mềm tự do)
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/vi-VN
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