Firefox Aurora L10n Report — Aurora 28

Jeff Beatty

0

Hello localizers!

Thank you all for your great work with Firefox 27 and 28. Here’s an outline of what is currently in Aurora this cycle (29) and what we accomplished together last cycle:

This cycle (3 February – 17 March)

Key dates include:
- Beta sign offs must be completed before 10 March.
- Aurora sign offs must be completed before 17 March.
- Firefox 28 releases 18 March.

Features:
- Approximately 389 new string changes were added to Aurora desktop, 200 for Aurora mobile.
- Many of the new desktop strings are in devtools and metro. They cover the implementation of Australis, devtools, and first run in Metro (see https://wiki.mozilla.org/Features/Release_Tracking#Desktop_.28Win.2C_Mac.2C_Linux.2C_Metro.29_2).
- Many of the mobile strings include preferences and renaming of all Sync strings for Firefox Accounts (see https://wiki.mozilla.org/Mobile/Roadmap#Firefox_29:_.28Aurora.29 ).

Notes:
Please remember that sign offs are a critical piece to the cycle and mean that you approve and can vouch for the work you’re submitting for shipment.

Last cycle (9 December – 3 February)

Noteworthy accomplishments:
- 70% of all locales shipped Firefox 26 on desktop updates on time. Congratulations to everyone who signed off and shipped this last cycle! This is an 8% increase in locale coverage between Firefox 26 and Firefox 27!
- Aragonese and Xhosa had their first official release on Firefox desktop today with Firefox 27! Please join me in congratulating the teams!
- South African English, Thai, Lithuanian, and Slovenian were launched in Firefox for Android with Firefox 27. If your locale is ready for shipping and part of Android’s list of supported locales, please reach out to me to add you to the roadmap. Please join me in congratulating the teams!

Thank you to everyone for all of your dedication and hard work this last cycle.

Coining new terms for Firefox localization

Jeff Beatty

0

Every translator faces an important dilemna when translating text, whether it be a document, multimedia project, or strings in a piece of software: if a term in the source does not exist in my language, do I foreignize my translation (leave the term in the source language) or do I domesticate my translation (coin a new term or provide additional info in the target language). For some cultures, using source terms in the target language is common. In Mexico, for instance, the term computadora is a clear adaptation of the English source word computer. For other cultures, there is a high priority on coining new terms in the target language. In Iceland, for instance, there is a governmental institute whose entire role is to create new terms in Icelandic for technical terms originating in English. Neither way is more suitable than the other, it’s all simply a matter of cultural preference.

For Ibrahima, leader of the Mozilla Fulah l10n team, the choice is clear: coin new terminology. This approach presents some significant challenges. Ibrahima must decide how to best identify terms in Fulah that capture the general meaning of their English equivalents. He also must determine how to ensure that the terms are adopted within the Fulah-speaking world. While at the 2013 Silicon Valley Localization World conference, Ibrahima and I were able to chat about some specific examples of new terms he’s created while localizing Firefox into Fulah. Listen to the discussion on SoundCloud.

End of year Bugzilla housekeeping

Jeff Beatty

0

During last week. Flod had a glimpse of how messy the Mozilla Localizations product is in terms of pending bugs: 3 years old open bugs with no activity, fixed bugs still marked as NEW, etc.

Imagine a component in Bugzilla as a garden: right now Mozilla Localizations resembles an abandoned garden. With wandering zombies in it :-)

How can we improve this situation? I’m not sure if some of these features are available to all users, if not please let me know.
Follow your locale
If you’re not doing it already, start following your own locale on Bugzilla and try to keep it as clean as possible. Every time someone opens a bug in this component, you’ll receive a bugmail.

  1. Login to BugZilla with your account and go to Preferences->Component watching (https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/userprefs.cgi?tab=component_watch).
  2. Select Product “Mozilla Localizations”.
  3. Click on your locale in the “Component” section.
  4. Click Add.
Resolve bugs
If a bug is resolved, it should be marked as RESOLVED FIXED, then verified on the next build and marked as VERIFIED FIXED. Don’t leave open bugs around (remember zombies?).

Check pending bugs
You can also perform a search for open bugs in your locales and save it:

  1. Do an Advanced search on Mozilla Localizations -> Your locale  for bugs with Resolution “—”.
  2. When results are displayed you’ll see a “Remember search” button at the bottom of the page, give it a name (e.g. “Italian bugs”).
  3. From now on you’ll see a link in the footer of all Bugzilla pages to perform the same search.

Clear review and needinfo requests
If someone falgs you for a review, or set a NEEDINFO for you, you should try to clear these requests.

  1. Reviews: click on the review link in the attachment section, chose “+” if the patch is good, “-” if is not, ” ” (blank) to reset the request if you shouldn’t be reviewing the patch.
  2. Needinfos: when you reply, below the comment you’ll see a checkbox, already checked, saying “I am providing the requested information for YOURACCOUNT (clears the needinfo request).”. If you’re providing the information requested, leave it checked and comment.
When you login to Bugzilla, you should see a red circle with a white number near the title Bugzilla@Mozilla. Behind these requests there are people, so be kind to them and reply ;-)

Open letter about adding new locales to Firefox desktop

Jeff Beatty

2

First and foremost, thank you all for your interest, hard work, and time dedicated to creating an official localization of Firefox desktop. We aim to help you create high quality localizations of Firefox, because we understand that the quality of your localization work has a direct impact on people’s perception of Firefox in your region. This being the case, we ask localization teams that are interested in creating official localizations of Firefox to follow a strict process, be vocal, and make a commitment to localize each new version of Firefox every six weeks.
In the last few months, we have hesitated to add new locales to the release cycle for several reasons.  In general, we’ve not clearly emphasized the importance of key things in the process. Each of these are important to get to high quality software releases and confirm to us a prolonged interest in participating in Mozilla localization. Here’s what we hope to change in order to better support your interest in becoming an official localization: .
1) we will reach out to you to set progress goals and key milestones for your l10n work.
2) we will follow up with you when we’re unable to clearly see consistent l10n progress or we can’t gain insight into the ongoing l10n work.
3) we will encourage you to be proactive in bugzilla. Especially in the area of filing bugs and following components to help your track l10n work progress and increase visabilty.  It’s critical to interact on the localization bugs that go beyond UI translation and cover “productization.”
4) we will use the mozilla.dev.l10n and mozilla.dev.l10n.new-locales mailing lists to communicate with you more openly.
5) we will work with you to strategically build a l10n team of high quality and high value contributors.
Once again, we thank you for all of your time and effort.

 

Firefox Aurora 26 Localization Report

Jeff Beatty

0

Hello localizers!

Thank you all for your great work with Firefox 25 and 26. Here’s an outline of what is currently in Aurora this cycle (27) and what we accomplished together last cycle:

This cycle (28 October – 10 December)

Key dates include:
- Beta sign offs must be completed before 02 December.
- Aurora sign offs must be completed before 10 December.
- Firefox 26 releases 10 December.

Features:
- Approximately 145 new strings were added to Aurora desktop, 37 for Aurora mobile.
- Many of the new desktop strings cover the addition of devtools, the addition of DNT to Firefox metro, as well as crash error messages in toolkit (see previous threads on the mailing list for more details on metro and https://wiki.mozilla.org/Features/Release_Tracking#Desktop_.28Win.2C_Mac.2C_Linux.2C_Metro.29_2).
- Many of the mobile strings include improvements to context menus on about:home as well as download alerts and helper apps (see https://wiki.mozilla.org/Features/Release_Tracking#Mobile_.28Android.29_2 ).

Notes:
Please remember that sign offs are a critical piece to the cycle and mean that you approve and can vouch for the work you’re submitting for shipment.

Last cycle (17 September – 28 October)

Noteworthy accomplishments:
- 65% of all locales shipped Firefox 25 on desktop updates on time. Congratulations to everyone who signed off and shipped this last cycle! This is a 7% decrease in locale coverage between Firefox 24 and Firefox 25!
- In Firefox 25, three new locales were added to Firefox for Android: Irish (ga-IE), Ukrainian (uk), and Romanian (ro)! Congratulations! We’re continuing to add Android supported locales to this list with each new cycle in a staged approach.

Thank you to everyone for all of your dedication and hard work this last cycle!

Localization Special Interest Group (SIG) in Mozilla Reps

Jeff Beatty

2

We’re excited to announce the launch of the Localization Special Interest Group in the Mozilla Reps program! The Mozilla Reps program is a fantastic program aimed at representing Mozilla publicly. The program also helps regional Mozilla communities gather together, recruit new mozillians, and attend events where a Mozilla presence is needed.

As stated in the Mozilla Reps wiki, “Special Interest Groups (SIGs) are groups of people within the Mozilla Reps program who have a particular interest (focus) in a specific area of the Mozilla project (eg. Marketing, localization, Support, QA, add-ons etc…).

These groups are created to enable Mozilla Reps to focus on developing specific skills and work more closely with Mozilla staff responsible for those projects. Also they act as key drivers to onboard and help new volunteers to contribute to those projects they are particularly interested in.”

The Localization Special Interest Group (SIG) will aim to train Mozilla Reps on the Mozilla localization program, how and where to find skilled localizers to recruit to the Mozilla project, and connect them with their regional localization team(s). The Localization SIG will help to bridge any existing gaps between regional localization teams and regional Mozilla Reps in an effort to create sustainable relationships, networks, and teams within Mozilla Localization.

If you are interested in joining the Localization SIG, please add your name and Mozilla Reps profile link to the Members section of the main Localization SIG wiki page. We will be organizing a mailing list as well as a training days event in the near future.

Mozilla at the Icelandic Language Institute

Jeff Beatty

0

In August, I had the priviledge to meet with the members of the Icelandic Language Institute (ILI) to discuss their efforts to preserve the Icelandic language in technology. Icelanders are very proud of their unique language and have spent decades working out the most effective ways of reappropriating antiquated terminology to modern uses. The ILI also gave some very valuable advice on how Mozilla could help other language communities seeking to preserve their language through the use of technology.

Jeff Beatty with members of the Icelandic Language Institute

Jeff Beatty with members of the Icelandic Language Institute

Organize specialists

Specialists in your native language who understand the internet, software, and browsers specifically will be able to most accurately identify terms to use in localizing Firefox. Creating a gathering for them to collaborate, discuss, and make progress can help your efforts to establish standardized terminology within your language.

Involve the public

Your users will not only be using your localization, but they’ll be using your terminology too! It’s important to get their feedback on standardized terminology within the browser. The ILI gave the example of how difficult it has been for Icelandic users to adopt the ILI’s term for “app.” Terminology adoption is challenging and even standardization bodies struggle to increase its usage. Getting your users involved and creating a way for them to provide feedback will help your ability to increase terminology adoption.

Take your time

Creating the right term in your language for a modern, technological concept can be a long process. Since these terms will exist for a long time and be used by all speakers of your language, it’s important to be accurate and thorough. Be patient and push forward!

 

Localization sharing challenge for the upcoming summit

Jeff Beatty

2

The World Fair at Summit is a great opportunity to celebrate the unique elements of your culture and language within Mozilla. Being that all of us are passionate about sharing our language through localization, the World Fair provides a platform for sharing our language and the experiences we’ve had as we’ve incorporated it into the Mozilla project.

 

If you are participating in the World Fair, we would encourage you to feature in your World Fair booth your experience and challenges using your language in translation and localization at Mozilla. Sharing your language experiences will educate developers, project managers, marketing specialists, and many other about the challenges and rewards of localization in your region. Sharing your language experience here will help localizers that have encountered similar challenges in their own language experience at Mozilla. Sharing your language experience here will open minds, lift hearts, and allow you to connect to more Mozillians.

 

Unsure how to share your language experience? Here are some examples of experiences that we’ve seen and would be great to share:
  • Naming BrowserID “Persona” and the discussion from many localizers about the term’s meaning in their own language versus the meaning the branding team was intending.
  • Idiom equivalencies in marketing materials and how you arrived at selecting the right idiom (e.g., what challenges did you encounter when translating the term, “elevator pitch”?).
  • In Polish, the Firefox OS slogan “Blaze your own trail with Firefox OS” literally translated to “Burn down the road with firefoxOS” by a contractor. The Polish l10n team had to be creative to adjust and capture the correct meaning for their translation of the slogan.
  • Finding the right term for a new Firefox feature that didn’t exist before in your language (for many the English term, “Tab” was an example).
  • Users in Germany love Firefox for its security features.
Summit is a chance to share information and experiences with each other to improve the way we work together. We hope that by sharing language experiences, we can improve the way we localize the Mozilla project in all regions of the world. We’re very excited about seeing you at Mozilla Summit next week and having the chance to learn more about you, your culture, and your language!

Firefox Aurora 23 L10n Report

Jeff Beatty

0

Hello localizers!

Thank you all for your great work with Firefox 23 and 24. Here’s an outline of what is currently in Aurora this cycle and what we accomplished together last cycle:

This cycle (5 August – 16 September)

Key dates include:
- Beta sign offs are due before 9 September.
- Aurora sign offs are due before 16 September.
- Firefox 24 releases 17 September.

Features:
- 150 new strings were added to Aurora desktop, 95 for Aurora mobile
- Many of the new desktop strings cover additions to devtools.
- The mobile strings cover the new guest mode being added to Firefox for Android (see https://wiki.mozilla.org/Mobile/Projects/Guest_browsing ) for more details.

Notes:
Please remember that sign offs are a critical piece to the cycle and mean that you approve and can vouch for the work you’re submitting for shipment.

Last cycle (May 14th – June 24th)

Noteworthy accomplishments:
- 71% of all locales shipped Firefox 23 on desktop updates on time. Sadly, that is a 7% decrease from last cycle but the 71% shipped still has the potential to impact, literally, millions of users and deserves to be congratulated!
- Localizations of Firefox OS have begun shipping! Congratulations to all involved.
- Between 22 & 23, three new locales were added to Firefox for Android: Slovak (sk), Turkish (tr), and Hungarian (hu)! Congratulations!

As always, thank you all for your efforts! You’re fantastic and we certainly appreciate you very much!

Verbatim has landed!

Jeff Beatty

0

We’re very happy to announce that the web localization tool, Verbatim, has been updated to Pootle 2.5. Thanks to this upgrade, Mozilla localizers can look forward to the following new features:

  • restructured databases enabling faster performance,
  • the ability to commit directly from Verbatim to Git repositories,
  • a sleeker user interface,
  • and many more outlined in Translate House’s release notes.

We’d like to thank Milos Dinic, Peter Bengsston, Axel Hecht, Dwayne Bailey, Julen Ruiz Aizpuru, and many others for all of their help with this upgrade. Visit localize.mozilla.org to start translating!