free software in basque markos
English is boss in the world of computers. That's about always been the way of it. Nevertheless, things might be about to change thanks to free software. Before we were at the mercy of software manufacturers. They decided what we could and couldn't do with their products. That applies to what we could and couldn't get in our language, but free software means we play by our own rules and, basically, we set our own limits.
Amongst those are what are known as the software's localisation (110n) and internationalisation (118n) (internationalisation words are placed between 18 at the start and the letter n at the end, localisation ones are located 110 and n)
Localisation: this is the system's ability to read and express the way we write data, numbers and money symbols.
Internationalisation: the process which enables programmes to appear in more than one language (in the same system at the same time).
What needs to be clearly understood is the following: Each user of the any one computer can have their programmes in the language they wish.
Lets imagine Miren and Hans live together and Miren, as a Basque, wants to have her programmes in her own language. Hans, on the other hand, wants his ones in German. Well, the above allows Miren to use her system in Basque because that’s what she wants. The same goes for Hans.
The GNU/Linux systems have already been well adopted in Basque as far as localisation is concerned and they are well able to show data, money symbols, etc... but the internationalisation process requires a broader process and even though great advances have been made, there's still quite a lot of work too be done in this field.
Localisation programmes need to be translated. This normally calls for a lot of burdensome, painstaking work and most of the work that has been done so far has been voluntary.
The exceptions to this are the OpenOffice.org suite, the Linux Mandrake distribution installation and several parts of the Gnome Windows Manager which have been translated by the Basque Regional Government in the last few years.
You can get information on all these projects at The EuskalGNU Elkartea (BasqueGNU Association) web page. You can also find information on all the projects they have planned, managed and developed as well as they ones they've never finished (The KDEBasque Project is an example of this).
KDE is a graphical desktop environment. What that basically means is that it's the windows you see as you work with your computer. The KDE project is distributed in 41 languages via internet all over the world. Almost every GNU/Linux distributor has it.
KDE has all the average user needs: a file manager, a web explorer, an e-mail programme, you can listen to music, view images, create html pages, burn CDs... it comes with its own office suite called KOffice.
The work of translating KDE into Basque started three years ago but it's a mammoth task. The meagre subsidies make it very hard to make any sort of decent progress. And just why will it never be finished? Well, like most software projects, KDE is a living thing and it is constantly growing and changing.
Despite the above negativity, the minimum amount of words necessary have been translated and Basque is now on the list of official languages in the KDE project. This means that any GNU/Linux distributor with KDE should be available in Basque and you should be able to communicate with your computer in Basque, even if you are in Japan or Brazil.
So, if you are a Basque speaker and you want your software in this language, you know where to go, don't you? Time to say goodbye to all your problems and get involved. The opportunity is there for you, you get to control the whole process.
A wee note to finish off: don't be overwhelmed by it all. The work involved is not too technological and you certainly don't need to be a technological wizard. All that's necessary is a bit of effort and the desire to do it. We'll get the rest of it done between the lot of us.
Amongst those are what are known as the software's localisation (110n) and internationalisation (118n) (internationalisation words are placed between 18 at the start and the letter n at the end, localisation ones are located 110 and n)
Localisation: this is the system's ability to read and express the way we write data, numbers and money symbols.
Internationalisation: the process which enables programmes to appear in more than one language (in the same system at the same time).
What needs to be clearly understood is the following: Each user of the any one computer can have their programmes in the language they wish.
Lets imagine Miren and Hans live together and Miren, as a Basque, wants to have her programmes in her own language. Hans, on the other hand, wants his ones in German. Well, the above allows Miren to use her system in Basque because that’s what she wants. The same goes for Hans.
The GNU/Linux systems have already been well adopted in Basque as far as localisation is concerned and they are well able to show data, money symbols, etc... but the internationalisation process requires a broader process and even though great advances have been made, there's still quite a lot of work too be done in this field.
Localisation programmes need to be translated. This normally calls for a lot of burdensome, painstaking work and most of the work that has been done so far has been voluntary.
The exceptions to this are the OpenOffice.org suite, the Linux Mandrake distribution installation and several parts of the Gnome Windows Manager which have been translated by the Basque Regional Government in the last few years.
You can get information on all these projects at The EuskalGNU Elkartea (BasqueGNU Association) web page. You can also find information on all the projects they have planned, managed and developed as well as they ones they've never finished (The KDEBasque Project is an example of this).
KDE is a graphical desktop environment. What that basically means is that it's the windows you see as you work with your computer. The KDE project is distributed in 41 languages via internet all over the world. Almost every GNU/Linux distributor has it.
KDE has all the average user needs: a file manager, a web explorer, an e-mail programme, you can listen to music, view images, create html pages, burn CDs... it comes with its own office suite called KOffice.
The work of translating KDE into Basque started three years ago but it's a mammoth task. The meagre subsidies make it very hard to make any sort of decent progress. And just why will it never be finished? Well, like most software projects, KDE is a living thing and it is constantly growing and changing.
Despite the above negativity, the minimum amount of words necessary have been translated and Basque is now on the list of official languages in the KDE project. This means that any GNU/Linux distributor with KDE should be available in Basque and you should be able to communicate with your computer in Basque, even if you are in Japan or Brazil.
So, if you are a Basque speaker and you want your software in this language, you know where to go, don't you? Time to say goodbye to all your problems and get involved. The opportunity is there for you, you get to control the whole process.
A wee note to finish off: don't be overwhelmed by it all. The work involved is not too technological and you certainly don't need to be a technological wizard. All that's necessary is a bit of effort and the desire to do it. We'll get the rest of it done between the lot of us.
