Site Translation
The DP website is translatable into other languages besides English. This page discusses the overall process of how to help make that happen.
Scope
The Distributed Proofreaders site is made up of several components. The site translation applies only to the Distributed Proofreaders code that is maintained by the DP developers. The forums are based on phpBB software, and the wiki on mediawiki software; DP developers do not maintain these.
Getting started
The Translation FAQ is the best place to start. It includes information for end-users (how to set your language and how to become a translator), translators (how to use the Translation Center and best practices working with formatted strings), and system administrators -- what is shown in the FAQ depends on your permissions.
Translators
Ideally, translators would be native speakers in the destination language and have English as a second language. Volunteers fluent in the destination language are likely to be considered. This isn't for the faint of heart: The site has over 3000 strings to translate varying from simple strings like "Project ID" to long, complex paragraphs.
Translations are worked on in a unit of a whole language, not individual strings. For this reason, if multiple volunteers are working to translate one language, they should work in series not in parallel to ensure no work is lost. In these cases it is recommended that one volunteer be the coordinator for that language's translation.
Locale selection
Because languages are regional, we translate into locales, not just languages. For instance, we might have a Portugal Portuguese translation (pt_PT) and a separate Brazil Portuguese translation (pt_BR). Translators should be clear which locale/language they want to assist with. Translation coordinators needs to provide clear direction on which one their team is working on.
Similarly some languages have formal and informal variations. It is important that translations are consistent across all the string translations.
Maintenance
The initial translation/localization is only the first step. Many of the translated strings are quite stable, but, over time, there are generally significant changes to at least some strings that ordinary users see. If the strings change in the code, the old translation will be invalidated, and someone will have to update them before they will show as being translated again.
Other translation efforts
Several volunteers have helped with the efforts to translate Proofreading and Formatting guidelines, and a few other selected important pages into multiple languages. If you are interested in translating the guidelines into a language that does not already have a translation in place, please contact the General Manager.
Incomplete translations
As of 27 December 2015, German, French, Italian, and Portuguese translations are incomplete. Since they were last worked on in 2012, many strings have been added and changed, including the addition of the (relatively) new quizzes. So despite some of them being ~60% complete, all existing translations need a review, not just adding new translations. Except for French, all of the other partial translations are available only on the test server.
An updated French translation was rolled out on 27 April 2017. It included as much as possible that might be viewable by proofers and formatters except for the quizzes. Quiz translations were added 31 May 2019.