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!
Posting here
In order to post to this site, you will need to log in with your wordpress.org account. Your first post may take a while to show up, as it is moderated. Please follow our tag policy when posting.
The WordPress project has a near-infinite number of translation projects, thanks to the inclusion of plugins and themes in translate.wordpress.orgtranslate.wordpress.orgThe platform for contributing to the translation of WordPress core, themes and plugins.. For new 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/ teams, and even experienced locale teams, it can be difficult to know which projects to focus on to make the best use of your time.
This guide includes some suggested projects, which can also be aligned with your team’s size or experience.
The translation status for most (but not all) of the primary projects listed here can be seen on https://translate.wordpress.org/stats. That’s a good page to bookmark to quickly see when new stringsStringA string is a translatable part of the software. A translation consists of a multitude of localized strings. need attention.
In general, all teams begin by focusing on the WordPress coreCoreCore is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. project to ensure that the WordPress software is available in their language. Once WordPress core is complete, you may wish to review the suggestions below to help prioritize projects for your team. As a note, Polyglots also help translate content on other 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/ sites, such as HelpHub pages, forum documentation, and contributor handbooks.
Aside from translating the core WordPress software, it’s up to each locale team to determine what projects will best support their local communities. Having clear priorities can help new and active contributors know how best to use their time when contributing translations. Likewise, it can help translation editorsTranslation 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 Editor to have fewer projects to review by prioritizing just a few projects that the team has decided on together.
Some ways to figure out priorities might include:
An event in your local community, such as a weekly translation chat or even a local MeetupMeetupAll local/regional gatherings that are officially a part of the WordPress world but are not WordCamps are organized through https://www.meetup.com/. A meetup is typically a chance for local WordPress users to get together and share new ideas and seek help from one another. Searching for ‘WordPress’ on meetup.com will help you find options in your area..
A quarterly or yearly post on your team’s 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. site to brainstorm and vote on goals.
Suggesting “global” priorities in the Make/Polyglots blog to collaborate with and encourage other locale teams.
Through a Contributor Day at a local WordCampWordCampWordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more..
Most teams will generally focus on translating the WordPress core software to start. As of November 2022, the WordPress core project includes 9,846 strings. It’s a big project! This is why locale teams are strongly encouraged to recruit multiple translators to help divide this work.
To release a localized WordPress package, the latest WordPress core Development project needs to be translated at least 90% and Admin, at least 75%.
Translating the core WordPress software is typically the first project for locale teams to complete, as this is what makes WordPress itself accessible in your language. After translating the WordPress project, there are a handful of other projects for locale teams to consider when deciding on priorities.
Translating the Gutenberg (2,500 strings) 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 can also be highly helpful, as many site editing features are developed in 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/ before being included in the core WordPress software. As such, translating all the strings in Gutenberg can help when they are later imported into the development project for any upcoming WordPress release.
Default themes, like Twenty Twenty Three, are released alongside each major version and typically highlight new features in the latest release. As such, it is helpful to translate these themes as close to the release as possible, so WordPress users in your locale can fully benefit from the latest updates.
Rosetta sites are localized versions of WordPress.org and can also serve as a place to coordinate with your locale team through the blog or team page. Localizing WordPress.org for your locale can be a helpful way to increase WordPress’ presence in your language.
As a note, some of the pages in the Rosetta sites are also available for translation via the WordPress.org Meta project (1,163 strings). Teams who want to fully localize WordPress.org may wish to prioritize both of these projects.
It can be very helpful to create or translate a “Get Involved” page specific to your locale team. Previously, there was a Get Involved flyer that described each of the Make contributor teams. However, a handful of locale teams have published their own Get Involved pages in their local language. This is an excellent way to recruit and onboard new contributors to your translation project.
Once you’ve covered the basic projects above, you may want to work on the translation of WordPress themes and WordPress plugins. Some locale teams choose to translate the top plugins and themes, based on the stats shared in these two links:
For many locale teams, a better approach may be to focus on plugins that are specifically used by your community or community members. A community member translating a plugin that she uses for her clients’ sites, for example, may make an excellent candidate for the Project Translation EditorProject Translation EditorA Project Translation Editor (often referred to as PTE) is a person, who has access to validate strings on a specific project (for example BuddyPress, WooCommerce or Twenty Fourteen) for one specific locale. A project translation editor can approve strings that are added by translation contributors. Per project translation, editors are appointed by a general translation editor after a request by the project author or by the contributors themselves. role. Because she uses the plugin regularly, she may be more likely to check for any fuzzy or waiting strings from other contributors, too.
Ultimately, when it comes to prioritizing plugins or themes, chat with your community to decide on a process that works best for you!
Search the Plugin Directory by topic.
As an alternative, some teams have explored translating all plugins within a specific topic or purpose, such as accessibility-related plugins. This can be a great approach if your local community wants to support a specific feature or tool (e.g. eCommerce, custom CSSCSSCSS is an acronym for cascading style sheets. This is what controls the design or look and feel of a site., and so on) and make sure all related plugins are available in your language.
Patterns are pre-defined blockBlockBlock is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. layouts that you can copy and paste into your own site to customize further. Translating patterns allows WordPress users in your language to browse patterns in the Pattern Directory.
After translating the Rosetta site, it can be helpful to translate the related directories, so that other elements of WordPress.org are accessible in your language. This project allows you to translate all strings related to the WordPress Plugin Directory.
The Pattern Directory includes block patterns, which are ready-to-use, predefined block layouts that you can use with your site. Translating the Pattern Directory can help WordPress users in your language navigate the patterns included in this directory.
The Learn WordPress project includes all the strings on learn.wordpress.org, excluding content like workshops and lesson plans. Translating the site itself can be a great way to start a team project around launching more workshops or lesson plans in your language.
For more information on how to submit workshops and lesson plans in your language, review the Training team Handbook.
After translating your Rosetta site, you can help keep your local community up-to-date on the latest WordPress news by copying and translating posts that appear on WordPress.org/news. Note that the translation process for News posts happens outside translate.wordpress.org, e.g. in Google Docs or directly in the WordPress editor.
Meta projects refer to projects related to the WordPress.org infrastructure. This includes the Plugin and Theme directories, WordCamp sites, WordPress.org itself, and the forums. These projects are of varying sizes, but can be helpful to consider if your goal is to make WordPress.org completely available to your community.
If you have your “team” site active (such as fr.wordpress.org/team), you will want to translate the following 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 to localize to your language completely:
If you have a WordCamp coming up in your region, translating the WordPress.org websites is an excellent idea. The WordCamp.org project (Size: Medium, 2,363 strings) includes all the text you see when visiting a WordCamp website, such as 2020.spain.wordcamp.org. Translating this helps attendees find information, buy tickets, and navigate the site comfortably in their language.
HelpHub is a feature available on Rosetta sites for locale teams to translate WordPress.org support documentation into their language. While this is a much larger project than most – as it allows you to translate all the documents you see on WordPress.org/support – it can also be helpful for contributors who find it easier to translate larger bodies of text in context rather than short strings. It can also be helpful to set up a variety of collaboration tools so contributors to the HelpHub project can coordinate more easily and easily visualize their progress.
Some localesLocaleLocale = 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/ may also wish to translate documentation from other contributor teams. This Community team Tuesday Training post from Polyglots Global Mentor Naoko Takano provides an overview of how to approach this translation process and some ideas for what to translate.
