Older blog entries for pusakat (starting at number 34)

I was checking my email last night when I realized that there was a lot of activity on debian-i18n in the run-up to rc1 for etch d-i. Christian Perrier had sent me several email asking about the status of debian-tl and I had replied that nothing was wrong, just that I had been busy.

I should have posted about this on the mailing list in order that some of the work can be offloaded to others, but it may be a little too late for that.

Checking the status of d-i tl translations for levels 1-5, and considering what bubulle told me (he's not worried about tl since I replied in email), we're not in bad shape. However, we're not at the level of translation that I'd like TL to be in (i.e. 100% in all levels). It will need care and feeding, but maybe I can catch up before rc2. I need to put in some time on it after I take the LPI-1 cert exams on Saturday.

~~~

Somewhat related to TL, in discussions with Ariel, we are thinking of getting more involvement in localization work outside our current circle of influence. Rosetta is an excellent tool for doing collaborative translation that helps draw input from volunteers who are new to translating open source. As an introduction to l10n, it is okay. But for serious work, and for long term commitments, I feel that using l10n tools that are on the desktop are more efficient. I should look into the existing tools and see how they can be integrated with some form of network communication for coordination and revision control. Or are there methods that are already there, but not well documented? I should investigate this and write up something about it so that others who are interested in l10n can get into it.

I wasn't able to attend yesterday's training, which covered X primarily, which wraps up the topics covered in LPI 101. I should probably review my X again since it's been some time since I last configured X from scratch.

Kaeru had the class do a quiz this morning, which was pretty easy. I suppose it's hard to forget basic concepts if you use them constantly. There was also another quiz yesterday morning which experienced linux/unix users shouldn't have trouble with.

Today, the class will start going through LPI 102 objectives.

I'm at the IOSN-ASEAN+3 Training of Trainors in Manila assisting Khairil in the two week training. We are at the University of the Philippines Diliman campus, in their DILC laboratory. It's pretty cool, having two score or so people from various ASEAN countries, alongside Filipinos, participating in a review of LPI level 1 for certification.

Right now, the participants are working through the different text processing commands available in the *N*X environment. Standard fare for getting the most out of your *N*X system and invaluable tools for sysadmins everywhere.

If you are new to *N*X, an old but still very useful text on this is The UNIX Programming Environment by Kernighan and Pike. I found it a helpful introduction to many of the concepts that have made UNIX a powerful environment to work in.

Another book that made working in UNIX easy to understand was UNIX Shell Programming by Kochan and Wood.

I don't know if these books are easily available, but if you spot a copy of either, they are great finds and worth spending on.

It's 5AM and I'm packed, ready to go. Trix and the kids are upstairs asleep. Anxious and excited. This will be my second sponsored trip abroad for training. I expect to meet people who are into FOSS and maybe collaborate on work despite the distances between us. I already do that in Debian, but not with Asians.

~~

For those of you who are working on FOSS translation, do you have an English word that you have difficulty translating into Filipino? Join the Debian Tagalog/Filipino Translation Team and send email. There are a few of us actively translating software into Tagalog/Filipino and we may have suggestions, or discussions about how to translate certain terms.

~~

English-Filipino word for today:

File - Talaksan

When I was first doing translations for the Debian Installer (d-i), my initial translations used tipunan as a translation for file. It was a coined word, as far as I could tell, that has its root in tipon, meaning "to gather together". Some words that use this root word include katipunan, pagtitipon (no, I am not sure of this, but I should consult UPDF to be certain.) However, sometime last year, we got wind of Rio Alma's work, commissioned by Microsoft, a glossary of computer terms in Filipino. They had chosen to use talaksan to refer to file. Since then, I have been using talaksan instead. We shall see how things turn out.

It has been almost 9 years since I last visited Singapore. If all things come together, I will be there again on Sunday to attend CICC's Asia OSS Master Trainers Workshop as a representative of IOSN ASEAN+3.

I still have to meet with Dr. Marcelo this afternoon to tie up some loose ends, and drop by the office to check on some paperwork.

I checked yesterday if there were any Debian Developers in Singapore. To my dismay, there are none. I had hoped that it might be a chance to get my GPG/PGP key signed by a DD, but it seems that that won't happen on this trip. Unless someone in the workshop is a DD, that is.

--

d-i is a fast moving target. Every day, there are strings that are changed or added. So I can never really sit contentedly about the state of my translation.

There are a myriad other packages that need translator attention, but keeping the d-i Tagalog translation up-to-date is what I am focussing on right now. Having little time makes one reduce the amount of things one has to do.

--

Today's English-Filipino word for f/oss translators:

Install - Luklok
Installation - Pagkaluklok
Installer - Tagaluklok
Installed - Nakaluklok
Other forms: iniluklok, iluklok (imperative)

--

I really need to brush up on my Filipino grammar if I want to keep the translations correct. However, like I've said before, the immediate objective in translating to Tagalog (and as a consequence, Filipino) is to get the first step done. A rough translation that is understandable and workable is all that is needed. Fixing, fine-tuning, and reviewing the translation can all be done easily after. Since the translation is not fixed in stone, we have leeway to make mistakes initially. Subsequent releases of the software and the translation provide plenty of room to get it right eventually. Polish and nuances can be honed in over time. Of course, if you can get it right the first time, go ahead and do it.

Photo-finish nanaman ako bago makalipad patungong Singapore. Kahapon ko lamang nai-file ang passport renewal ko sa DFA courtesy lane. Sa Miyerkules ng hapon ko makukuha ang pasaporte ko at saka lamang ako makakapag-book ng flight ko.

Sabi sa akin ni Eloy Marcelo ng IOSN ASEAN+3 node, na grant ang ibibigay para sa pagpunta ko sa Asia OSS Master Trainers Workshop na gaganapin sa Singapore.

Sana ay matuloy ako, pero kung hindi...

... ay may ibang pagkakataon.

I've been invited to attend the Asia OSS Master Trainers Workshop in Singapore next month as a representative of IOSN ASEAN+3... well, it's more like in prep for training other trainers in Manila in October 2006, and to help network with other OSS trainers in the region. I have been emailing the CICC people, but I haven't gotten any replies!

In preparation for this, I also have to get my passport renewed. Oh dear...

I am slowly getting drawn into being involved in the International Open Source Network. It was something that I had known would happen sooner or later, that the UN or one of its agencies, in this case, the UNDP-APDP, would pick up on Free and Open Source Software and its benefits and champion it. And here and now, UP Manila wins the bid as IOSN ASEAN+3 regional node, placing it a bit closer to home.

If all goes well in the next couple of weeks and months, I may be travelling in and out of the country a few times this year to attend training, workshops, conferences and the like.

Eloy Marcelo will be tapping me as an LPI trainer for UPM, which works well with what I want to be able to do, to teach and mentor budding Linux Systems Administrators. Of course, as part of IOSN, it will mean a wider reach now.

There's also a lot of possible collaboration to work on with folk in the ASEAN+3 region, but that needs to be explored further in order to find out what I can be involved in. Since I am already working in translation, that might be my focus.

We'll see how it goes.

Mga kinakailangan sa pagsasalin:

1) Diksiyonaryo - mahalagang gamitin ito sa pagsasalin dahil hanggang sa maaari ay lahat ng ginagamit na mga salita sa pagsalin ay nasa diksiyonaryo. Kung mayroon man nagamit na salita sa salin na wala sa diksiyonaryo ay mainam na ipaalam sa nagsalin upang maiwasto ito.

2) Oras - ang pagsasalin ay gawain na nangangailangan ng oras para sa pagsalin, pag-aaral, pagbasa ng ibang mga teksto, pagwawasto ng mga maling salin, at iba pang mga gawain upang mapahusay ang salin. Ang pagsasalin ng F/OSS ay isang nagpapatuloy na gawain.

3) Computer - dahil ito rin ang kasangkapan na siyang ginagamit para makapaglimbag ng mga salin, napakahalaga na ang nagsasalin ay may magagamit na computer kung saan maaaring magsalin at masubukan ang naisalin na na mga programa.

4) Internet access - upang makalahok sa pagsasalin ng pangkat sa pamamagitan ng launchpad, kinakailangan ng akses sa Internet. Sa pamamagitan din nito ay naipapadala ang mga panibagong salin, mga pagsusuri, mga komento at ibang feedback tungkol sa mga naisalin na.

5) Kaalaman sa Ingles at Filipino - kinakailangan din ng kabihasnan sa wikang Ingles at Filipino upang maisalin ang mga mensahe mula sa Ingles patungong Filipino.

Hindi ito lubusang kumpleto, ngunit maaaring makatulong ito sa paglagom ko ng mga maaaring pag-usapan tungkol sa pagsasalin ng programang pang-computer.

~~~

Nag-usap kami ni Jerome kagabi at nabanggit ko sa kanya na balak kong magtanong sa IOSN ASEAN+3, na ang sentro ay nasa UPM ngayon, kung maaaring pondohan ang pagtitipon ng mga interesado sa pagsasalin ng F/OSS. Magaanyaya ako ng ilan sa mga kabilang sa debian-tl, at ilan sa mga kakilala kong nagsasalin ng Debian sa wikang ASEAN+3, katulad ni Clytie Sidall ng Australia para sa Vietnamese, upang mapag-usapan ang mga suliranin at mga maaaring hakbang na magagawa para maisulong ang pagsasalin ng F/OSS.

~~~

Mungkahing pagsalin: save = imbak

Jerome Gotangco wrote recently in his blog that he's translating Jokosher into Tagalog (and later Filipino) using Rosetta.

This is a good track to take if you are interested in getting more applications translated into your language of choice.

Choose an application that you like using, use often, and that you are familiar with.
Work on translating the interface of that application. It will involve some studying because a haphazard translation will indeed look funny.

Choose an application with a workable number of messages to translate. This will make your target of translating it more attainable. Otherwise, it will be a daunting task. Set aside time to work on translating a handful of messages everyday maybe.

Using Rosetta to leverage team translation is useful. The web-based interface makes it simple for anyone who is interested in contributing translation work to get involved. It helps make everyone else on the team aware of what others have contributed in the translations.

However, set some objectives for yourself before you start translating. This will help temper your self-criticism of your translation. Remember that translating free and open source programs is slightly different from translating a book or a poem in that f/oss programs usually get updated a lot, thus, you may have to work on updates of your translations from time to time. This means that your translation work is not set in stone. You are free to revise and improve your translation, in much the same way that the program itself is being developed. Your translation can also be the basis for other translators work.

Review the results of your translation if you can, by downloading the .po file and compiling it and then running the program with your locale set up properly. You will be able to see if your translation works only when you run the program in your language. Otherwise, you will be beset with strings that do not make sense because they were translated without understanding the context that they appear in.

By the way, our friends who helped translate Mandrake Linux to Tagalog/Filipino did a fairly good job translating XMMS. It wasn't a perfect 100% translation, but it is pretty close. Kudos to Arys and Renoir Deloso for their translation.