The localization guide made by volunteers localizers for volunteer localizers!
Table of contents
- Welcome!
- What are we doing?
- What does it take to become a volunteer localizer?
- Contributing
- Acknowledgments
- Glossary
Thank you for stopping by the Guide of the Mozilla Italia l10n (localization) team.
We are a group of volunteers passionate about localization and Open Software, our goal is to make Mozilla’s products, events and core values accessible for Italian users.
The guide is conceived as a sort of manual for volunteers joining the Mozilla Italia l10n team (a group of volunteers translating Mozilla’s products and activities for Italian users).
However we believe in the Open philosophy, therefore we welcome fellow localizers from other communities and languages to participate, discuss, give their input and remix or adapt the guide for their own needs.
Mozilla Italia has a renowned tradition of providing high quality and comprehensive localization just by resorting to the good will of volunteer translators. We always need the talent and passion of new volunteers to keep this project alive.
With this collaborative guide we are trying to achieve the following goals:
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open a dialogue between senior localizers and new volunteers on the localization workflow, resources and instruments
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use feedback obtained by volunteers to write a comprehensive and localizer-friendly manual
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have the volunteers apply this guide on real localization projects for Mozilla Italia
We also hope that our work will be read, reused and re-mixed by other l10n communities in the world to develop their very own localization workflow.
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good command of the English language, very good command of the Italian language.
Alternatively, if you belong to a different country, you still can (and are very welcome to!) join the discussions in English and adapt the guide to your native language. -
an interest in the world of Open Source (you don’t necessarily have to be a technologist or some kind of engineer, many of our finest translators started as simple satisfied users of Firefox and other Mozilla products!).
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commitment to follow the translation project assigned to you through time, to make an effort and comply with localization standards and guidelines.
Please read CONTRIBUTING.md to know what roles and duties are required in this project.
Don’t forget to go through our CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md to learn about a few golden rules that will make coexistence in the team easier.
Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us for any question!
- Sara Todaro - Senior volunteer translator
GitHub, Mozillians - Sandro Della Giustina - Senior volunteer translator
GitHub, Mozillians - Elio Giugliano - Volunteer translator
GitHub, Mozillians
See also the list of contributors who participated in this project.
- Most of the material used in this guide comes from the years-long efforts and steady commitment of the Mozilla Italia community volunteers (see guide credits for details). Thank you, guys! ❤️
This are a few recurring terms you’ll find reading the guide:
Open source definition of source code that can be inspected, modified and upgraded by anyone.
l10n abbr. of localization (L-(ocalizatio=10 letters)-N, in case you were wondering).
Locale a set of parameters including not just language but also currency, dates and number formatting and other local uses of a certain geographic region.
Localization a translation process with emphasis on making the context familiar for the readers of a given geographic region.
Localization guidelines a set of linguistic and stylistic rules that help making documentation of the same project/community look more uniform and coherent.
QA quality assurance, a review process to ensure the localization meets certain quality standards.
Senior translator veteran member of a localization community (such as Mozilla Italia), with experience of coordinating with others in a long-term project.
Source language the original language of the content that undergoes localization
String the smallest translation unit (may be a single word or an entire paragraph). Most translation tools break down a text in strings to make it more manageable.
Target language the language in which a content is to be localized.
Volunteer translator a person, proficient in at least two languages, offering their free time and commitment to help non-profit organizations (such as Mozilla) make their contents available for users of different languages.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
