Re: french translation of ConTeXt interface - progress (v3)

[Hans Hagen <j.hagen@xs4all.nl>]

On 7/18/2020 8:56 PM, Garulfo wrote:
>  > @Garulfo: Do you have a special use case in mind, or do you do this
>  > for fun?
> 
> "for fun" isn't quite right, although there's probably some truth to it.
> Actually, translating 6,300 keywords isn't fun, and it's even worst when 
> you don't really master the material behind...

but i guess you learn a lot in the process

> The point is that I am sad to not be able to offer the use of ConTeXt 
> (such a great piece of software) to friends and childrens.
> And ConTeXt complexity or ConTeXt documentation are not the first hurdles.

indeed (which is why for instance we use the dutch for e.g. family members)

most users actually can do with a limited set of commands to start with 
... and writing a tutorial for that is doable ... it's still on my 
agenda to come up with something for kids and translated interfaces are 
needed for that (unless we ditch all languages for english .. but if 
that happens, we can actually do without tex because a large portion, at 
least in context, is dedicated to dealing with scripts and languages)

> When you start with a new software, a new methodology, having first to 
> struggle with vocabulary in a foreign language is definitively a (BIG) 
> thorn in your side (in fact, usually you just don't start).
> 
> Many popular softwares offer multi-language early in their development 
> (netscape / firefox, scratch, wordpress, krita...).
> ConTeXt did it, the infrastructure is ready, the translations exist, at 
> least partially or at an early stage.

indeed, it was there right from the start ... as a historic note: the 
reason what that we had a subsystem for chemistry which could be 
configured usinng key values (we're talking early nineties) and in order 
to be used in german we made the multi lingual interface (after that the 
english and others lists were added) .. the german was done with Tobias 
Burnus who also helped with the early multi language support)

context goes along way back ...

> And when I started to use it, I thought that it could easily be improved 
> and updated without requiring any Tex / Lua skills.
> 
> One remark : I was wrong, I spend hours to put all the content (from 
> mult-def and context-en.xml) in a simple csv table and building 
> quick&dirty scripts to put it back in mult-def.

(normally i then put up some music or a movies i already saw before in 
the background or some podcast or ...)

>  > With our small developer and user base we struggle enough with keeping
>  > documentation current.
> 
> Struggle likely appears about not-so-trivial needs.
> 
> It's a shame not to use it in Italian / Russian / Chinese / French 
> etc... for a letter, for a 10 to 20 pages report, for an internal note.

exactly ... (btw, tex promotion is often tight to scientific publishing 
but the interesting fact there is that as soon as you drop the formulas 
it often doesn't look that pretty any more .. another property of 
context is that users should be able to make a nice layout)

> All the more so as the software allows it. The point is that the 
> interface just deserves a minimal update and documentation, and that, as 
> you point it, the small developer and user base doesn't have time to do it.
indeed, and sorry for not keeping it up to date

Hans

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                                           Hans Hagen | PRAGMA ADE
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