Localizing articles [modified]
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A recently posted thread in The Lounge[^] made me think about one of the main problems we non-native-English-speakers face daily: since English is the primary language on which every tech is developed, almost every documentation is in such language. It usually takes time to find docs in our own language, spanning even years, and more often than not it's not as accurate as the original (I for once prefer reading the MSDN docs in English rather than my native Spanish, for such reason, but then again I've been studying English since I can remember and not too many people have had the same chances I had). Since The Code Project is full of international members, I think it would be nice to have the possibility of localizing an article. Say, I publish an article in English and I could also provide a Spanish translation for it. Then a reader can choose to watch the article in either language (perhaps a little flag at the top or something). Furthermore, perhaps someone could contribute with a German translation, making it available in yet another language. I'm aware that such a thing would imply a great effort. But I think that there are many gains, since it would make Code Project available to a bigger audience, and thus opening the doors to many other markets. I know that you guys have been busy with the latest improvements on the site. But maybe in some time when you're asking yourselves: what could we include for our next milestone, this might be an interesting option to consider. Just a thought. Best regards.
modified on Friday, April 30, 2010 1:29 AM
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A recently posted thread in The Lounge[^] made me think about one of the main problems we non-native-English-speakers face daily: since English is the primary language on which every tech is developed, almost every documentation is in such language. It usually takes time to find docs in our own language, spanning even years, and more often than not it's not as accurate as the original (I for once prefer reading the MSDN docs in English rather than my native Spanish, for such reason, but then again I've been studying English since I can remember and not too many people have had the same chances I had). Since The Code Project is full of international members, I think it would be nice to have the possibility of localizing an article. Say, I publish an article in English and I could also provide a Spanish translation for it. Then a reader can choose to watch the article in either language (perhaps a little flag at the top or something). Furthermore, perhaps someone could contribute with a German translation, making it available in yet another language. I'm aware that such a thing would imply a great effort. But I think that there are many gains, since it would make Code Project available to a bigger audience, and thus opening the doors to many other markets. I know that you guys have been busy with the latest improvements on the site. But maybe in some time when you're asking yourselves: what could we include for our next milestone, this might be an interesting option to consider. Just a thought. Best regards.
modified on Friday, April 30, 2010 1:29 AM
I like it, as long as the 'main' version of the article is in English (or there is at lease a English translation present)
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A recently posted thread in The Lounge[^] made me think about one of the main problems we non-native-English-speakers face daily: since English is the primary language on which every tech is developed, almost every documentation is in such language. It usually takes time to find docs in our own language, spanning even years, and more often than not it's not as accurate as the original (I for once prefer reading the MSDN docs in English rather than my native Spanish, for such reason, but then again I've been studying English since I can remember and not too many people have had the same chances I had). Since The Code Project is full of international members, I think it would be nice to have the possibility of localizing an article. Say, I publish an article in English and I could also provide a Spanish translation for it. Then a reader can choose to watch the article in either language (perhaps a little flag at the top or something). Furthermore, perhaps someone could contribute with a German translation, making it available in yet another language. I'm aware that such a thing would imply a great effort. But I think that there are many gains, since it would make Code Project available to a bigger audience, and thus opening the doors to many other markets. I know that you guys have been busy with the latest improvements on the site. But maybe in some time when you're asking yourselves: what could we include for our next milestone, this might be an interesting option to consider. Just a thought. Best regards.
modified on Friday, April 30, 2010 1:29 AM
Maybe the article submission wizard can be modified to allow posting of alternative language versions of an article ONLY if the article has already been posted and approved in English. The problem I foresee is that the article text could change dramatically between the English and non-Enlish version, and people could take advantage of the fact that not so many people will speak their language. In the end, I think we should maintain our current English-only status.
.45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly
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"Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
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"The staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - J. Jystad, 2001 -
A recently posted thread in The Lounge[^] made me think about one of the main problems we non-native-English-speakers face daily: since English is the primary language on which every tech is developed, almost every documentation is in such language. It usually takes time to find docs in our own language, spanning even years, and more often than not it's not as accurate as the original (I for once prefer reading the MSDN docs in English rather than my native Spanish, for such reason, but then again I've been studying English since I can remember and not too many people have had the same chances I had). Since The Code Project is full of international members, I think it would be nice to have the possibility of localizing an article. Say, I publish an article in English and I could also provide a Spanish translation for it. Then a reader can choose to watch the article in either language (perhaps a little flag at the top or something). Furthermore, perhaps someone could contribute with a German translation, making it available in yet another language. I'm aware that such a thing would imply a great effort. But I think that there are many gains, since it would make Code Project available to a bigger audience, and thus opening the doors to many other markets. I know that you guys have been busy with the latest improvements on the site. But maybe in some time when you're asking yourselves: what could we include for our next milestone, this might be an interesting option to consider. Just a thought. Best regards.
modified on Friday, April 30, 2010 1:29 AM
We may actually be able to do that quite easily, actually. We've been thinking about this a lot over the years and it has it's pros and cons (as John has pointed out, so it'll need some thinking (and, obviously, time ;))
cheers, Chris Maunder The Code Project | Co-founder Microsoft C++ MVP
