Welcome to the official blog of the translator team for the WordPress open sourceOpen SourceOpen Source denotes software for which the original source code is made freely available and may be redistributed and modified. Open Source **must be** delivered via a licensing model, see GPL. project. This is where we discuss all things related to translating WordPress. Follow our progress for general updates, status reports, and debates.
We’d love for you to help out!
Translate WordPress
You can help translate WordPress to your language by logging in to the translation platform with your WordPress.orgWordPress.orgThe community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. https://wordpress.org/ account and suggesting translations (more details).
We have meetings every week on SlackSlackSlack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. in polyglots (the schedule is on the sidebarSidebarA sidebar in WordPress is referred to a widget-ready area used by WordPress themes to display information that is not a part of the main content. It is not always a vertical column on the side. It can be a horizontal rectangle below or above the content area, footer, header, or any where in the theme. of this page). You are also welcome to ask questions on the same channel at any time!
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There are a number of tools you can use to translate WordPress projects. Each tool has different features and options that may help you to find your ideal translation workflow.
However, please remember that localeLocaleLocale = language version, often a combination of a language code and a region code, for instance es_MX denotes Spanish as it’s used in Mexico. A list of all locales supported by WordPress in https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/teams/ packages and language packs are always built from approved translations on translate.wordpress.org. Because of this, no matter which tool you use to translate stringsStringA string is a translatable part of the software. A translation consists of a multitude of localized strings., you will eventually need to import the strings or relevant format files (e.g. gettext files with a .po or .mo extension) to translate.wordpress.orgtranslate.wordpress.orgThe platform for contributing to the translation of WordPress core, themes and plugins..
translate.wordpress.org is our main translation management system powered by GlotPress, a pluginPluginA plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party for WordPress. This is a place where the WordPress polyglots teamPolyglots TeamPolyglots Team is a group of multilingual translators who work on translating plugins, themes, documentation, and front-facing marketing copy. https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/teams/. translates the coreCoreCore is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. software, plugins, themes, various metaMetaMeta is a term that refers to the inside workings of a group. For us, this is the team that works on internal WordPress sites like WordCamp Central and Make WordPress. projects, and mobile apps.
Translation Consistency Tool is a tool to help analyze if an original stringStringA string is a translatable part of the software. A translation consists of a multitude of localized strings. is translated consistently throughout projects in your locale. You can enter a term and you will see a list of its different uses in your language. Ideally, a term should be added to a locale’s Glossary and used consistently across the whole project.
Each team needs to have its own glossary to help new translators get started and keep the translations of WordPress, plugins, and themes consistent. GlotPressGlotPressGlotPress is the translation management software that powers Translate.WordPress.org. More information is available at glotpress.org. has a built-in glossary feature that allows translators to see the proper translation of an original term while translating. See the list of glossaries and style guides per locale and how to create one.
Translation Status Overview is a page that shows you an overview of the progress of each locale for WordPress, the WordPress meta projects (like the plugin and theme directories and the RosettaRosettaThe code name of the theme for the local WordPress sites (eg. bg.wordpress.org is a “Rosetta” site). All locale specific WordPress sites are referred to as “Rosetta sites.” The name was inspired from the ancient Rosetta Stone, which contained more or less the same text in three different languages. sites), and mobile apps.
WP Polyglots facilitator by Jesús Amiero makes it possible to use an existing translation of a plugin or theme in a different locale as a template for your own locale. As an example, you could import a translation for es_ES to es_AR and then just adjust for the differences in the new target locale. It’s described more in detail in a post made by the author.
Gutenberg String Comparator is a consistency checker specific to core and GutenbergGutenbergThe Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/ plugin. It lets you find out if there are any differences in those two projects.
The wp i18n command can help you generate a PO, MO, POT, or JSONJSONJSON, or JavaScript Object Notation, is a minimal, readable format for structuring data. It is used primarily to transmit data between a server and web application, as an alternative to XML. file,
Not a part of official WP-CLIWP-CLIWP-CLI is the Command Line Interface for WordPress, used to do administrative and development tasks in a programmatic way. The project page is http://wp-cli.org/https://make.wordpress.org/cli/ distribution, but there is a third-party add-on called PO Merger for merging PO filesPO filesPO files are human readable files which contain translations we use. These files are not used by WordPress itself. Each language will have its own PO file, for example, for French there would be a fr_FR.po file, for german there would be a de_DE.po, for British English there might be en_GB.po., created by the SatelliteWP team. It lets you bring in the translations of a similar locale when your locale’s translation is not complete.
Translation Tools is a plugin created by Pedro Mendonça, which allows you to change your site language to any locale that exists, even if a language pack has not yet been generated for that locale. This is particularly helpful for translators or developers who would like to use existing WordPress core, plugin, or theme translations, even if the projects haven’t met the related threshold for a language pack.
This tool also allows you to manually update, on-demand, any translations you want in WordPress core, plugins, or themes. With one click, you can download all the .po translation files and generate all the needed .moMO filesMO, or Machine Object is a binary data file that contains object data referenced by a program. It is typically used to translate program code, and may be loaded or imported into the GNU gettext program. This is the format used in a WordPress install. These files are normally located inside .../wp-content/languages/ and .json files, in just a few seconds. The plugin also adds some WP core translations tests and debug info to Site Health.
Force Update Translations plugin by Mayo Moriyama downloads theme/plugin translation files (note: JSON files are not supported yet) with existing Waiting and Current translations.
There are a number of other tools that can be useful in various ways for the translation of WordPress projects, some of them are listed below. Keep in mind that if you translate outside our main platform then after you finish your translation, you will need to go to translate.wordpress.org and import the relevant gettext files, as the language packages are built from there.
Also note: a translation editorTranslation EditorTranslation editors can approve translations for projects. The GTE (General Translation Editor) and LM (Locale Manager) roles can add new users with the "Project Translation Editor" role that can approve translations for specific projects. There are two different Translation Editor roles:
General Translation Editor and Project Translation Editormust perform translation review directly in translate.wordpress.org and never in external systems. The reason for this is in order to correctly preserve translation credit for the user who submitted the translation.
GNU gettext: The official gettext tools package contains command-line tools for creating POTs, manipulating POs, and generating MOs. This tool is for those comfortable with a command shell.
Poedit: An open sourceOpen SourceOpen Source denotes software for which the original source code is made freely available and may be redistributed and modified. Open Source **must be** delivered via a licensing model, see GPL. program for Windows, Mac OS X and UNIX/Linux which provides an easy-to-use GUI for editing PO files and generate MO filesMO filesMO, or Machine Object is a binary data file that contains object data referenced by a program. It is typically used to translate program code, and may be loaded or imported into the GNU gettext program. This is the format used in a WordPress install. These files are normally located inside .../wp-content/languages/.
Loco: A PO file editor that works directly in your browser.
Transifex: A localizationLocalizationLocalization (sometimes shortened to "l10n") is the process of adapting a product or service to a particular language, culture, and desired local "look-and-feel." platform which offers a free version for open source projects.
OmegaT: An open source translation memory desktop app.