Translating an article
THIS IS JUST A DRAFT / WORK IN PROGRESS. ACTUAL DOCUMENTATION CAN BE FOUND AT SUPPORT.MOZILLA.ORG.
Who do I talk to if I have questions?
At some point we were all new to localizing in SUMO, so having questions is welcome and encouraged. The more you ask, the more you know! To get answers, you should find the right people to talk to. You can find us at the following places:
irc.mozilla.org
- #sumo-l10ns channel
- #sumo channel
You should also stay in touch with your Locale Leaders. You can find them by going to the locale list and clicking your language in the list. Your Locale Leaders are the best people to ask for advice and most up-to-date information regarding the localization of SUMO into your language.
Translating an article
IMPORTANT: The information below is universal to all locales. To get detailed information about localizing into your language, please get in touch with your Locale Leaders.
- Go to [/localization your localization dashboard].
SCREENSHOT GOES HERE
- At the very top there is a list of the most visited articles. Pick and click the first article you see marked with a red triangle, expand {menu Editing Tools} on the left, and then click {menu Translate Article}.
SCREENSHOT GOES HERE
- On the next page the English version is displayed on the left hand side, the translation goes into the right hand side. Start from the top. Give the article a name, and make sure the slug looks correct.
- What is the slug? The slug is part of the url of the article, like: http://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/this-is-the-slug. It shouldn't exceed 50 characters. From the auto-generated slug, you can remove stop words and other unnecessary words. Make sure it stays human-readable and has the most important information.
- Translate the keywords for the article.
- Why should I translate the keywords? An article must be easily findable. That's the role of keywords. All words in the title that are not English stop words such as "the" and "is" are already considered as keywords, so don't add them as keywords. Depending on your locale, translate some or all the keywords and eventually add synonyms, related terms, regional versions, usual typos, and usual anglicisms. DO NOT add too many keywords because each one of them will have less weight. For more info, see When and how to use keywords to improve an article's search ranking.
- Then, translate the search results summary. Try to find a compromise between an accurate translation and the 160-character limit.
- What is the search summary? The text paragraph that is listed on the search results page. Make sure it gives people who search for help a clear idea of what they can find when they click the article.
- Finally, move on to the full article text. Translate everything that is not within brackets. Be careful about the product UI label translation.
- Why should I be careful? The product UI is usually not translated by you. In order to know what is the chosen label, use the Transvision glossary.
If you are unsure what something means, you should read about How to use For and How to use Templates to learn more about those elements. Also, remember to ask your Locale Leaders or other localizers for help.
- When you are done, submit the article for review, and make sure you add a meaningful comment, as it will be displayed on the article history page. Remember that the review may take some time, so be patient and move on to another article, if you have the time.
That's it! You translated your first article - thank you! We hope you find it easy enough to translate more than one :-).
If you want to learn more about localization and SUMO, here are some links with further reading:
- How do I update articles after their first translation?
- How can I keep track of all the changes going on?
- How to be a Reviewer
- How to be a SUMO Locale Leader
Remember that you should always ask your Locale Leaders or other localizers for help if you don't know or understand something. We all learn from one another and make each other greater - that's the essence of open source!
