Fmfi - User contributions [en]

HTML Translation:Project Overview

2007-10-28T18:07:52Z

Dwayne: /* Pro's and Con's of the developed systems */

{{HTML_Translation nav bar}}

{| cellpadding="10px" cellspacing="0px" border="0px" width="75%" align="center"
|-
|align="center" width="75%" style="background-color:#EDDDB8; border:1px solid #D9D9D9"|
'''Vision'''

To allow anyone to translate existing web content into other languages, allowing non-technical people to deliver multilingual content and thus increasing the amount of non-English content on the Internet.

'''Mission'''

Create a tool to convert HTML content to a translation format that can be used in a web-based translation tool that would allow the content to be translated. Take various pieces of translatable content and expose this to various communities and with varying levels of intervention observe how much translation is achieved.

|}

The internet is dominated by English content in many ways because more content is produced in English then other language. People who want to create multilingual content discover that the task is simply too daunting.

This project looked at two aspects of online content translation: the technical side, making existing monolingual content localisable, and the human side, monitoring what happens when content in made available, do people translate it.

==Why is translated content needed?==

By providing web content a user has access to new information. Using technologies explored in the first mile component of the FMFI project this information can be accessed by many new Internet users. But once the content is displayed on a device we are confronted by the first of the first inch problems, language and literacy.

English content delivered to users who do not speak English is of no use. Thus in order for the delivery of content in the FMFI context to be relevant we should be able to deliver multilingual content.

The reality for most users who do not speak English is that they will never be able to increase there English literacy. But it is relatively easy to teach technology how to deliver multilingual content.

Content in a person's mother-tongue has many important consequences:

* Better understanding on the message in the content
* Higher levels of engagement
* Positive affirmation about language and culture

These cannot be underestimated in situations where content is being delivered in e-Health and e-Government situations.

==Current Situation==

Most creators of websites are moving towards CMS (Content Management Systems) and Wikis. There is a large amount of content that is created in static HTML or with some form of custom content management. While the former are only now (2007) developing methods to manage multilingual content, the later are definitely monolingual.

Thus the structure of content sites on the Internet are designed to effectively manage monolingual content. Unless custom built it is almost certain that sites cannot manage multilingual content. When they can they are usually designed from a programmers, not a translators, point of view. This results in systems that are suboptimal for translation; taking longer to translate and update, thus costing more then is required. This higher cost itself detracts from translation.

This systems cannot properly manage multilingual content, do not assist translators and when they are built they often are created in such a way that they have a long-term negative impact on translation.

== Partners ==

Three boundary partners where identified:

# Creative Commons
# Pootle User Community
# FMFI project partners

each of these allowed a slightly different configuration around the translations. These different configurations were tried to firstly test the tools, and secondly to examine the level at which people would spontaneously translate content.

===Creative Commons===

Creative Commons is an organisation that focuses on creating and environment that fosters the creation of open content, to support this they created a number of content licenses, these are accessible through their website in a number of languages. Creative Commons used its own web-based translation system to translate their licenses. However, its system did not actively help translators.

This partner was chosen as if the translation was successful it would result in a high profile success that would allow wider adoption of the concept of translation through good tools. It would be one in which Translate.org.za would manage the complete flow of data and allow us to limit outside issues.

This was critically successful in that Creative Commons has adopted the Pootle Translation Management Software thus enabling more effective translation.

===Pootle User Community===

Pootle is used as a Translation Management System (TMS) developed by Translate.org.za and used by a number of established localisation teams. The task addressed was to translate the Pootle User's Guide which is stored in a Wiki. The content would be hosted in the TMS and reintegrated into the wiki. With this partner their would be an element of Translate.org.za being in control of the management of the translations by virtue of the fact that Translate.org.za manages the development of the software. But there would be no control possible over the translators as these are all volunteers. The translators are volunteers and they could simply be encouraged to translate.

This engagement was also critically successful in that 6 new languages where translated. It also demonstrated that wiki content could be translated much more effectively them static HTML.

===FMFI project partners===

The last group was the highest risk. In this we were translating raw HTML content from the FMFI website. This made use of people who would not normally translate content. This in the long term would probably be the typical translation contributor. Being closely aligned to FMFI and also being a non-English group it was hoped that this group would rise to the challenge in that they could translate English content into other languages such as Portuguese.

This work was not successful and can be attributed to the lack of motivation to translate and the distance of the people from the concept of translation. In retrospect it is clear that non-translators need active motivation to move them from agreeing with the theory of multilingual content to actually actively participating in the creation of multilingual content.

==Proposed Solution==

The problem with most content management is that translation is brought in late in the party and squeezed to fit into the content creation workflow, ignoring all the needs of translators.

A Translation Management System is a system that manages the flow of translatable content through the translation workflow. It is designed specifically for translation and includes features such as glossary management (ensuring that terms are used consistently throughout a translation) and translation memory (reusing old translations). It allows management of rights for translators, sign-off, delegation, etc. In this project we used Pootle a TMS that is developed primarily for Open Source Software localisaton.

By allowing a content management system (CMS) or in fact static content to continue using the same processes and simply bringing a TMS alongside, we allow existing processes to continue and bring good translation processes alongside. Thus there is limited disruption on either side.

In order to achieve this parallel operation it is important to allow for the hand-over of content to be translated from the CMS to the TMS. And once it is translated to see that process in reverse. In order to achieve this the project adapted a number of tools from the Translate Toolkit. Pootle makes use of standard translation formats and thus the Translate Toolkit needed to be enhanced to allow HTML and later Wiki syntax to be converted to these standard formats. With the converters built any Wiki or static content can be converted to a translation format that can be handled by Pootle.

Thus the final solution works as follows:

# Convert from static to Gettext PO (by integrating and automating the tools developed earlier)
# Hand over to Pootle
# Manage the translation of the content and translate it into another language
# Take the translated content back from Pootle
# Convert the translated content into the static form understood by the website.

Thus now the content is available in another language.

==Technology explained==

Many people do not fully understand the translation process and how content is delivered in different languages. This section tries to address that and provide explanations of some of the concepts discussed.

===Websites===

A web server will present any content dynamic or static based on a request from a user. A little known feature that can be used to deliver various types of content is called content negotiation. Every web browser can be set to specify the users preferred language. A website that has multiple translations of the same content can then decide to present the appropriate version based on the user preferred choice. Unfortunately not many web sites do content negotiation properly.

===Translation Management Software===

A translation management system focusses on the management of the translation workflow and the translation assets.

Translators want to work quickly with high reuse of old translations but also consistently, that is ensuring that they translate with the same terminology throughout and that common errors are identified.

The needs of translators are not fully understood by programmers so unfortunately many systems designed around content also add the ability to translate without adding the systems that make translators effective.

A TMS allows a translators to leverage old translations. This means that any previous translation is stored in a translation memory. The translation memory is applied to any new text and if a 100% match is obtained the translator will usually not see the text.

Translators tools will also segment text preferably on the sentence level, this means that if a change occurs in the original text they will only need to translate the one sentence that changed. In most CMS systems the translator is presented with the complete text with no idea where and what changed and are thus left to review the whole text which is both time consuming and wasteful.

When a translator translates they also want to be able to see hints for terminology. This terminology lookup is drawn from a glossary of terms that they have built up for the work that they are translating. This term list ensures consistency between different human translators across the whole system.

===Translation Process===

The translation process in its simplest form operates as follows:

# A client supplies work (in our case an automated tool extracts text for translation)
# Translators examine the amount of work and plan the translation
# Work is assigned to a translator
# Any terms that need defining are extracted, defined, translated and added to the glossary
# The translation is performed
# A review of the translations are performed by another translator
# The translation are sent back to the client (again an automated process in this case)

==Social Challenges==

The hardest social challenge was to understand what motivates people to translate. And also to understand how to motivate people who do not usually translate to actually participate in translation.

==Technology Challenges==

The tools needed to operate smoothly so that users would regard this as an enabler and not as another process with complications.

With the Creative Commons work this has proved difficult as they have used the Gettext format in a non-standard way. This is frustrating as this does affect how Pootle can be used, many failures occurred because of thie non-standard approach.

The biggest hurdle, which was not fully overcome, was the difficulty of converting HTML to Gettext PO. This is caused by the fact that HTML is in many cases not correct. Modern browsers have spent years working around these problems to mask them from most users but in our tools we have not had the equivalent of time and usage to iron out all of those. The correct approach is most likely not to look at HTML but rather Wiki, XHMTL and integration with CMS technology.

==Intellectual Property==

All the tools created where already release under the GPL so all software created continues to be Open Source. The content produced was released under open content licenses.

==Pro's and Con's of the developed systems==

The system allows someone to add the ability to translate onto their existing content without the hassle of creating a translation system or converting their content to a CMS or other repository. Being a true TMS is embodies all the features needed for good translation.

The system developed worked very well for wiki content. It was not tested enough with pure static content but could be deployed safely by someone able to diagnose and work around problems.

The biggest problem would be the level of skill needed to deploy a Pootle server, although any system administrator can do this task it would be beyond the skill level of the occasional website admin. As each site is unique the integration of the site to Pootle needs to be automated using custom scripting so some level of shell scripting is required. That said once the system is operational the system administrators task is relatively painless.

HTML Translation:Project Overview

2007-10-28T18:03:02Z

Dwayne: /* Intellectual Property */

HTML Translation:Project Overview

2007-10-28T18:00:34Z

Dwayne: /* Technology Challengs */

HTML Translation:Project Overview

2007-10-28T17:56:30Z

Dwayne: /* Social Challenges */

{{HTML_Translation nav bar}}

{| cellpadding="10px" cellspacing="0px" border="0px" width="75%" align="center"
|-
|align="center" width="75%" style="background-color:#EDDDB8; border:1px solid #D9D9D9"|
'''Vision'''

To allow anyone to translate existing web content into other languages, allowing non-technical people to deliver multilingual content and thus increasing the amount of non-English content on the Internet.

'''Mission'''

Create a tool to convert HTML content to a translation format that can be used in a web-based translation tool that would allow the content to be translated. Take various pieces of translatable content and expose this to various communities and with varying levels of intervention observe how much translation is achieved.

|}

The internet is dominated by English content in many ways because more content is produced in English then other language. People who want to create multilingual content discover that the task is simply too daunting.

This project looked at two aspects of online content translation: the technical side, making existing monolingual content localisable, and the human side, monitoring what happens when content in made available, do people translate it.

==Why is translated content needed?==

By providing web content a user has access to new information. Using technologies explored in the first mile component of the FMFI project this information can be accessed by many new Internet users. But once the content is displayed on a device we are confronted by the first of the first inch problems, language and literacy.

English content delivered to users who do not speak English is of no use. Thus in order for the delivery of content in the FMFI context to be relevant we should be able to deliver multilingual content.

The reality for most users who do not speak English is that they will never be able to increase there English literacy. But it is relatively easy to teach technology how to deliver multilingual content.

Content in a person's mother-tongue has many important consequences:

* Better understanding on the message in the content
* Higher levels of engagement
* Positive affirmation about language and culture

These cannot be underestimated in situations where content is being delivered in e-Health and e-Government situations.

==Current Situation==

Most creators of websites are moving towards CMS (Content Management Systems) and Wikis. There is a large amount of content that is created in static HTML or with some form of custom content management. While the former are only now (2007) developing methods to manage multilingual content, the later are definitely monolingual.

Thus the structure of content sites on the Internet are designed to effectively manage monolingual content. Unless custom built it is almost certain that sites cannot manage multilingual content. When they can they are usually designed from a programmers, not a translators, point of view. This results in systems that are suboptimal for translation; taking longer to translate and update, thus costing more then is required. This higher cost itself detracts from translation.

This systems cannot properly manage multilingual content, do not assist translators and when they are built they often are created in such a way that they have a long-term negative impact on translation.

== Partners ==

Three boundary partners where identified:

# Creative Commons
# Pootle User Community
# FMFI project partners

each of these allowed a slightly different configuration around the translations. These different configurations were tried to firstly test the tools, and secondly to examine the level at which people would spontaneously translate content.

===Creative Commons===

Creative Commons is an organisation that focuses on creating and environment that fosters the creation of open content, to support this they created a number of content licenses, these are accessible through their website in a number of languages. Creative Commons used its own web-based translation system to translate their licenses. However, its system did not actively help translators.

This partner was chosen as if the translation was successful it would result in a high profile success that would allow wider adoption of the concept of translation through good tools. It would be one in which Translate.org.za would manage the complete flow of data and allow us to limit outside issues.

This was critically successful in that Creative Commons has adopted the Pootle Translation Management Software thus enabling more effective translation.

===Pootle User Community===

Pootle is used as a Translation Management System (TMS) developed by Translate.org.za and used by a number of established localisation teams. The task addressed was to translate the Pootle User's Guide which is stored in a Wiki. The content would be hosted in the TMS and reintegrated into the wiki. With this partner their would be an element of Translate.org.za being in control of the management of the translations by virtue of the fact that Translate.org.za manages the development of the software. But there would be no control possible over the translators as these are all volunteers. The translators are volunteers and they could simply be encouraged to translate.

This engagement was also critically successful in that 6 new languages where translated. It also demonstrated that wiki content could be translated much more effectively them static HTML.

===FMFI project partners===

The last group was the highest risk. In this we were translating raw HTML content from the FMFI website. This made use of people who would not normally translate content. This in the long term would probably be the typical translation contributor. Being closely aligned to FMFI and also being a non-English group it was hoped that this group would rise to the challenge in that they could translate English content into other languages such as Portuguese.

This work was not successful and can be attributed to the lack of motivation to translate and the distance of the people from the concept of translation. In retrospect it is clear that non-translators need active motivation to move them from agreeing with the theory of multilingual content to actually actively participating in the creation of multilingual content.

==Proposed Solution==

The problem with most content management is that translation is brought in late in the party and squeezed to fit into the content creation workflow, ignoring all the needs of translators.

A Translation Management System is a system that manages the flow of translatable content through the translation workflow. It is designed specifically for translation and includes features such as glossary management (ensuring that terms are used consistently throughout a translation) and translation memory (reusing old translations). It allows management of rights for translators, sign-off, delegation, etc. In this project we used Pootle a TMS that is developed primarily for Open Source Software localisaton.

By allowing a content management system (CMS) or in fact static content to continue using the same processes and simply bringing a TMS alongside, we allow existing processes to continue and bring good translation processes alongside. Thus there is limited disruption on either side.

In order to achieve this parallel operation it is important to allow for the hand-over of content to be translated from the CMS to the TMS. And once it is translated to see that process in reverse. In order to achieve this the project adapted a number of tools from the Translate Toolkit. Pootle makes use of standard translation formats and thus the Translate Toolkit needed to be enhanced to allow HTML and later Wiki syntax to be converted to these standard formats. With the converters built any Wiki or static content can be converted to a translation format that can be handled by Pootle.

Thus the final solution works as follows:

# Convert from static to Gettext PO (by integrating and automating the tools developed earlier)
# Hand over to Pootle
# Manage the translation of the content and translate it into another language
# Take the translated content back from Pootle
# Convert the translated content into the static form understood by the website.

Thus now the content is available in another language.

==Technology explained==

Many people do not fully understand the translation process and how content is delivered in different languages. This section tries to address that and provide explanations of some of the concepts discussed.

===Websites===

A web server will present any content dynamic or static based on a request from a user. A little known feature that can be used to deliver various types of content is called content negotiation. Every web browser can be set to specify the users preferred language. A website that has multiple translations of the same content can then decide to present the appropriate version based on the user preferred choice. Unfortunately not many web sites do content negotiation properly.

===Translation Management Software===

A translation management system focusses on the management of the translation workflow and the translation assets.

Translators want to work quickly with high reuse of old translations but also consistently, that is ensuring that they translate with the same terminology throughout and that common errors are identified.

The needs of translators are not fully understood by programmers so unfortunately many systems designed around content also add the ability to translate without adding the systems that make translators effective.

A TMS allows a translators to leverage old translations. This means that any previous translation is stored in a translation memory. The translation memory is applied to any new text and if a 100% match is obtained the translator will usually not see the text.

Translators tools will also segment text preferably on the sentence level, this means that if a change occurs in the original text they will only need to translate the one sentence that changed. In most CMS systems the translator is presented with the complete text with no idea where and what changed and are thus left to review the whole text which is both time consuming and wasteful.

When a translator translates they also want to be able to see hints for terminology. This terminology lookup is drawn from a glossary of terms that they have built up for the work that they are translating. This term list ensures consistency between different human translators across the whole system.

===Translation Process===

The translation process in its simplest form operates as follows:

# A client supplies work (in our case an automated tool extracts text for translation)
# Translators examine the amount of work and plan the translation
# Work is assigned to a translator
# Any terms that need defining are extracted, defined, translated and added to the glossary
# The translation is performed
# A review of the translations are performed by another translator
# The translation are sent back to the client (again an automated process in this case)

==Social Challenges==

The hardest social challenge was to understand what motivates people to translate. And also to understand how to motivate people who do not usually translate to actually participate in translation.

==Technology Challengs==

==Intellectual Property==

==Pro's and Con's of the developed systems==

HTML Translation:Project Overview

2007-10-28T17:53:54Z

Dwayne: /* Technology explained */

{{HTML_Translation nav bar}}

{| cellpadding="10px" cellspacing="0px" border="0px" width="75%" align="center"
|-
|align="center" width="75%" style="background-color:#EDDDB8; border:1px solid #D9D9D9"|
'''Vision'''

To allow anyone to translate existing web content into other languages, allowing non-technical people to deliver multilingual content and thus increasing the amount of non-English content on the Internet.

'''Mission'''

Create a tool to convert HTML content to a translation format that can be used in a web-based translation tool that would allow the content to be translated. Take various pieces of translatable content and expose this to various communities and with varying levels of intervention observe how much translation is achieved.

|}

The internet is dominated by English content in many ways because more content is produced in English then other language. People who want to create multilingual content discover that the task is simply too daunting.

This project looked at two aspects of online content translation: the technical side, making existing monolingual content localisable, and the human side, monitoring what happens when content in made available, do people translate it.

==Why is translated content needed?==

By providing web content a user has access to new information. Using technologies explored in the first mile component of the FMFI project this information can be accessed by many new Internet users. But once the content is displayed on a device we are confronted by the first of the first inch problems, language and literacy.

English content delivered to users who do not speak English is of no use. Thus in order for the delivery of content in the FMFI context to be relevant we should be able to deliver multilingual content.

The reality for most users who do not speak English is that they will never be able to increase there English literacy. But it is relatively easy to teach technology how to deliver multilingual content.

Content in a person's mother-tongue has many important consequences:

* Better understanding on the message in the content
* Higher levels of engagement
* Positive affirmation about language and culture

These cannot be underestimated in situations where content is being delivered in e-Health and e-Government situations.

==Current Situation==

Most creators of websites are moving towards CMS (Content Management Systems) and Wikis. There is a large amount of content that is created in static HTML or with some form of custom content management. While the former are only now (2007) developing methods to manage multilingual content, the later are definitely monolingual.

Thus the structure of content sites on the Internet are designed to effectively manage monolingual content. Unless custom built it is almost certain that sites cannot manage multilingual content. When they can they are usually designed from a programmers, not a translators, point of view. This results in systems that are suboptimal for translation; taking longer to translate and update, thus costing more then is required. This higher cost itself detracts from translation.

This systems cannot properly manage multilingual content, do not assist translators and when they are built they often are created in such a way that they have a long-term negative impact on translation.

== Partners ==

Three boundary partners where identified:

# Creative Commons
# Pootle User Community
# FMFI project partners

each of these allowed a slightly different configuration around the translations. These different configurations were tried to firstly test the tools, and secondly to examine the level at which people would spontaneously translate content.

===Creative Commons===

Creative Commons is an organisation that focuses on creating and environment that fosters the creation of open content, to support this they created a number of content licenses, these are accessible through their website in a number of languages. Creative Commons used its own web-based translation system to translate their licenses. However, its system did not actively help translators.

This partner was chosen as if the translation was successful it would result in a high profile success that would allow wider adoption of the concept of translation through good tools. It would be one in which Translate.org.za would manage the complete flow of data and allow us to limit outside issues.

This was critically successful in that Creative Commons has adopted the Pootle Translation Management Software thus enabling more effective translation.

===Pootle User Community===

Pootle is used as a Translation Management System (TMS) developed by Translate.org.za and used by a number of established localisation teams. The task addressed was to translate the Pootle User's Guide which is stored in a Wiki. The content would be hosted in the TMS and reintegrated into the wiki. With this partner their would be an element of Translate.org.za being in control of the management of the translations by virtue of the fact that Translate.org.za manages the development of the software. But there would be no control possible over the translators as these are all volunteers. The translators are volunteers and they could simply be encouraged to translate.

This engagement was also critically successful in that 6 new languages where translated. It also demonstrated that wiki content could be translated much more effectively them static HTML.

===FMFI project partners===

The last group was the highest risk. In this we were translating raw HTML content from the FMFI website. This made use of people who would not normally translate content. This in the long term would probably be the typical translation contributor. Being closely aligned to FMFI and also being a non-English group it was hoped that this group would rise to the challenge in that they could translate English content into other languages such as Portuguese.

This work was not successful and can be attributed to the lack of motivation to translate and the distance of the people from the concept of translation. In retrospect it is clear that non-translators need active motivation to move them from agreeing with the theory of multilingual content to actually actively participating in the creation of multilingual content.

==Proposed Solution==

The problem with most content management is that translation is brought in late in the party and squeezed to fit into the content creation workflow, ignoring all the needs of translators.

A Translation Management System is a system that manages the flow of translatable content through the translation workflow. It is designed specifically for translation and includes features such as glossary management (ensuring that terms are used consistently throughout a translation) and translation memory (reusing old translations). It allows management of rights for translators, sign-off, delegation, etc. In this project we used Pootle a TMS that is developed primarily for Open Source Software localisaton.

By allowing a content management system (CMS) or in fact static content to continue using the same processes and simply bringing a TMS alongside, we allow existing processes to continue and bring good translation processes alongside. Thus there is limited disruption on either side.

In order to achieve this parallel operation it is important to allow for the hand-over of content to be translated from the CMS to the TMS. And once it is translated to see that process in reverse. In order to achieve this the project adapted a number of tools from the Translate Toolkit. Pootle makes use of standard translation formats and thus the Translate Toolkit needed to be enhanced to allow HTML and later Wiki syntax to be converted to these standard formats. With the converters built any Wiki or static content can be converted to a translation format that can be handled by Pootle.

Thus the final solution works as follows:

# Convert from static to Gettext PO (by integrating and automating the tools developed earlier)
# Hand over to Pootle
# Manage the translation of the content and translate it into another language
# Take the translated content back from Pootle
# Convert the translated content into the static form understood by the website.

Thus now the content is available in another language.

==Technology explained==

Many people do not fully understand the translation process and how content is delivered in different languages. This section tries to address that and provide explanations of some of the concepts discussed.

===Websites===

A web server will present any content dynamic or static based on a request from a user. A little known feature that can be used to deliver various types of content is called content negotiation. Every web browser can be set to specify the users preferred language. A website that has multiple translations of the same content can then decide to present the appropriate version based on the user preferred choice. Unfortunately not many web sites do content negotiation properly.

===Translation Management Software===

A translation management system focusses on the management of the translation workflow and the translation assets.

Translators want to work quickly with high reuse of old translations but also consistently, that is ensuring that they translate with the same terminology throughout and that common errors are identified.

The needs of translators are not fully understood by programmers so unfortunately many systems designed around content also add the ability to translate without adding the systems that make translators effective.

A TMS allows a translators to leverage old translations. This means that any previous translation is stored in a translation memory. The translation memory is applied to any new text and if a 100% match is obtained the translator will usually not see the text.

Translators tools will also segment text preferably on the sentence level, this means that if a change occurs in the original text they will only need to translate the one sentence that changed. In most CMS systems the translator is presented with the complete text with no idea where and what changed and are thus left to review the whole text which is both time consuming and wasteful.

When a translator translates they also want to be able to see hints for terminology. This terminology lookup is drawn from a glossary of terms that they have built up for the work that they are translating. This term list ensures consistency between different human translators across the whole system.

===Translation Process===

The translation process in its simplest form operates as follows:

# A client supplies work (in our case an automated tool extracts text for translation)
# Translators examine the amount of work and plan the translation
# Work is assigned to a translator
# Any terms that need defining are extracted, defined, translated and added to the glossary
# The translation is performed
# A review of the translations are performed by another translator
# The translation are sent back to the client (again an automated process in this case)

==Social Challenges==

==Technology Challengs==

==Intellectual Property==

==Pro's and Con's of the developed systems==

HTML Translation:Project Overview

2007-10-28T17:40:31Z

Dwayne: /* What problem is being address? */

HTML Translation:Project Overview

2007-10-28T17:40:11Z

Dwayne: /* Proposed Solution */

HTML Translation:Project Overview

2007-10-28T17:29:52Z

Dwayne: /* Partners */

HTML Translation:Project Overview

2007-10-28T17:15:31Z

Dwayne: /* Partners */

HTML Translation:Project Overview

2007-10-28T17:14:14Z

Dwayne: Rework background

HTML Translation:Project Overview

2007-10-28T16:44:06Z

Dwayne: Add section on translated content

HTML Translation:Project Overview

2007-10-28T16:43:32Z

Dwayne: /* Current Situation */ add section

HTML Translation:Project Overview

2007-10-28T16:38:27Z

Dwayne: Flesh out headings

HTML Translation:Technology

2007-10-28T16:29:34Z

Dwayne: Fix all

{{HTML_Translation nav bar}}

Various pieces of technology where used and enhanced in this project, all of the work being around format manipulation and translation management tools.

== Translation Toolkit ==

The [http://translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/toolkit/index Translate Toolkit] allows us to convert various source texts (HTML, wiki, etc) into standard file formats such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gettext Gettext PO] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xliff XLIFF] (a translation interchange format).

The key to good translation is to divorce translators from the layout, just as content is divorced from layout in the HTML and CSS paradigm. Thus the toolkit allows us to take raw HTML and extract the textual content. This content is then translated and managed using Pootle and finally the translations plus the original English are combined to create the translated content.

===Enhancements===

During the project a number of enhancements occurred. The first work was with HTML thus we enhanced the <tt>html2po</tt> tool to be more robust, adding [http://tidy.sourceforge.net/ htmltidy] to the process to clean up badly formed HTML.

During the course of the project we added support for wiki formats, which was essential for the translation of Pootle documentation. This was based on the <tt>txt2po</tt> converter, since wiki syntax is usually just a simple text layout. The initial format used was [http://wiki.splitbrain.org/wiki:dokuwiki DokuWiki] but [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/MediaWiki MediaWiki] syntax was added quite quickly as it was relatively easy to add new flavours.

== Translation Management System ==

The [http://translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/pootle/index Pootle] Translation Management System (TMS) was used extensively through the project. A TMS allows a translation manager to manage the process and rights of the translators. Pootle was developed by [http://translate.org.za Translate.org.za] to facilitate distributed translation.

===Adaptations===

Pootle itself was monitored and bug fixed. In cases such as creative commons a number of scripts needed to be created to allow their content to be transformed to and from PO for work on the Pootle server.

Mpumalanga Mesh:Picture Gallery

2007-10-28T15:10:33Z

Dwayne: /* 3 May - Sikele installation */

{{Mpumalanga_Mesh nav bar}}

== 01 - 02 July 2007: LinkNet from Macha, Zambia visit to Peebles Valley ==

== 13 October 2006: Visit ==

== 26 May 2006: Visit ==
<gallery>
Image:ACTS_Clinc_Roof.jpg|Acts Clinic roof before antenna installtion
Image:David_Dwayne_Annemijn.jpg|David, Dwayne and Annemijn
Image:Installation.jpg|Installing an antenna at the Acts clinic
Image:Nana.jpg|Nana installaling an antenna at the Acts hospice Legogote
Image:Peebles1.jpg|Peebles Valley
Image:Peebles2.jpg|Peebles Valley
Image:Granite_Outcrop.jpg|Granite outcrop
Image:RustyCan.jpg|Rusty can pointing the wrong way, but still working!!!
</gallery>

== 05-06 July 2005: Visit and APTN film crew visit ==
<gallery>
Image:Dwayne_Lassy.jpg|Dwayne and Lassy installing a mesh node
Image:Node_open.jpg|Mesh node waterproof box open, showing wireless router
Image:Lassy_Cantenna.jpg|Lassy installing cantenna
Image:Agnus' House.jpg|Surfing the web at Agnus' house
Image:David_APTN film crew.jpg|David with the APTN film crew
Image:APTN_film crew.jpg|APTN film crew
Image:Dwayne_Lassy_David.jpg|Dwayne, Lassy and David
</gallery>

==3 May - Sikele installation==

<gallery>
Image:Sikele_mounting1.jpg|Beginning the installation of the mounting bracket
Image:Sikele_mounting2.jpg|Drilling mounting points
Image:Sikele_mounting3.jpg|Bolting on bracket
Image:Sikele_mast_preperation1.jpg|Fastening omni bracket to top of mast
Image:Sikele_mast_preperation2.jpg|Attaching the Linksys outdoor housing
Image:Sikele_mast_up.jpg|Attaching mast to bracket
Image:Sikele_power_over_ethernet.jpg|Connecting the power of ethernet
</gallery>

==29 April 2005 - walkabout==

These are various pictures taken on a drive-about to inspect various highsites and get signal readings from the clinic.

<gallery>
Image:Lassy_first_day.jpg|Probably Lassy's first day, here holding a Yaggi
</gallery>

===Ideal highsite===
We identified an ideal highsite, the owner worked in Johannesburg and was not at all interested in us mounting an antenna on his roof. The house itself sat exactly on the ridge and could see the clinic as well as the hospice.

<gallery>
Image:View_ideal_highsite1.jpg|Looking back towards the clinic
Image:View_ideal_highsite2.jpg|Looking towards Sikele High
Image:View_ideal_highsite3.jpg|Looking across the road towards the hospice
Image:Ideal_highsite.jpg|A view of the house, we would have mounted the antenna on the leftmost part of the building
</gallery>

===Teachers' training centre===
The teachers' training centre would have been ideal but due to problems with equipment we never used this site. Know that we use OLSR this could probably be easily connected.

<gallery>
Image:Teachers_training_centre.jpg|Lassy outside Hazyview teachers centre, holding omni for signal testing
Image:View_teachers_training_centre.jpg|Looking back towards the clinic, Legogote mountain to the left is very close to the clinic
Image:Supervisor_teachers_training_centre1.jpg|The teachers centre supervisor
Image:Supervisor_teachers_training_centre2.jpg|Supervisor on the steps of the Hazyview teachers centre
</gallery>

===ACTS clinic flats===

Last stop the clinic flats where we eventually installed a node.

<gallery>
Image:ACTS_flats.jpg|Looking up at the clinic flats from the clinic
</gallery>

Mpumalanga Mesh:Picture Gallery

2007-10-28T15:07:30Z

Dwayne: 3 May 2005 - Sikele installation

{{Mpumalanga_Mesh nav bar}}

== 01 - 02 July 2007: LinkNet from Macha, Zambia visit to Peebles Valley ==

== 13 October 2006: Visit ==

== 26 May 2006: Visit ==
<gallery>
Image:ACTS_Clinc_Roof.jpg|Acts Clinic roof before antenna installtion
Image:David_Dwayne_Annemijn.jpg|David, Dwayne and Annemijn
Image:Installation.jpg|Installing an antenna at the Acts clinic
Image:Nana.jpg|Nana installaling an antenna at the Acts hospice Legogote
Image:Peebles1.jpg|Peebles Valley
Image:Peebles2.jpg|Peebles Valley
Image:Granite_Outcrop.jpg|Granite outcrop
Image:RustyCan.jpg|Rusty can pointing the wrong way, but still working!!!
</gallery>

== 05-06 July 2005: Visit and APTN film crew visit ==
<gallery>
Image:Dwayne_Lassy.jpg|Dwayne and Lassy installing a mesh node
Image:Node_open.jpg|Mesh node waterproof box open, showing wireless router
Image:Lassy_Cantenna.jpg|Lassy installing cantenna
Image:Agnus' House.jpg|Surfing the web at Agnus' house
Image:David_APTN film crew.jpg|David with the APTN film crew
Image:APTN_film crew.jpg|APTN film crew
Image:Dwayne_Lassy_David.jpg|Dwayne, Lassy and David
</gallery>

==3 May - Sikele installation==

<gallery>
Image:Sikele_mounting1.jpg
Image:Sikele_mounting2.jpg
Image:Sikele_mounting3.jpg
Image:Sikele_mast_preperation1.jpg
Image:Sikele_mast_preperation2.jpg
Image:Sikele_mast_up.jpg
Image:Sikele_power_over_ethernet.jpg
</gallery>

==29 April 2005 - walkabout==

These are various pictures taken on a drive-about to inspect various highsites and get signal readings from the clinic.

<gallery>
Image:Lassy_first_day.jpg|Probably Lassy's first day, here holding a Yaggi
</gallery>

===Ideal highsite===
We identified an ideal highsite, the owner worked in Johannesburg and was not at all interested in us mounting an antenna on his roof. The house itself sat exactly on the ridge and could see the clinic as well as the hospice.

<gallery>
Image:View_ideal_highsite1.jpg|Looking back towards the clinic
Image:View_ideal_highsite2.jpg|Looking towards Sikele High
Image:View_ideal_highsite3.jpg|Looking across the road towards the hospice
Image:Ideal_highsite.jpg|A view of the house, we would have mounted the antenna on the leftmost part of the building
</gallery>

===Teachers' training centre===
The teachers' training centre would have been ideal but due to problems with equipment we never used this site. Know that we use OLSR this could probably be easily connected.

<gallery>
Image:Teachers_training_centre.jpg|Lassy outside Hazyview teachers centre, holding omni for signal testing
Image:View_teachers_training_centre.jpg|Looking back towards the clinic, Legogote mountain to the left is very close to the clinic
Image:Supervisor_teachers_training_centre1.jpg|The teachers centre supervisor
Image:Supervisor_teachers_training_centre2.jpg|Supervisor on the steps of the Hazyview teachers centre
</gallery>

===ACTS clinic flats===

Last stop the clinic flats where we eventually installed a node.

<gallery>
Image:ACTS_flats.jpg|Looking up at the clinic flats from the clinic
</gallery>

File:Sikele power over ethernet.jpg

2007-10-28T15:06:52Z

Dwayne:

File:Sikele mast up.jpg

2007-10-28T15:05:48Z

Dwayne:

File:Sikele mast preperation2.jpg

2007-10-28T15:05:15Z

Dwayne:

File:Sikele mast preperation1.jpg

2007-10-28T15:04:31Z

Dwayne:

File:Sikele mounting3.jpg

2007-10-28T15:03:47Z

Dwayne:

File:Sikele mounting2.jpg

2007-10-28T15:03:18Z

Dwayne:

File:Sikele mounting1.jpg

2007-10-28T15:02:53Z

Dwayne:

Mpumalanga Mesh:Picture Gallery

2007-10-28T15:00:13Z

Dwayne: Clinic flats

{{Mpumalanga_Mesh nav bar}}

== 01 - 02 July 2007: LinkNet from Macha, Zambia visit to Peebles Valley ==

== 13 October 2006: Visit ==

== 26 May 2006: Visit ==
<gallery>
Image:ACTS_Clinc_Roof.jpg|Acts Clinic roof before antenna installtion
Image:David_Dwayne_Annemijn.jpg|David, Dwayne and Annemijn
Image:Installation.jpg|Installing an antenna at the Acts clinic
Image:Nana.jpg|Nana installaling an antenna at the Acts hospice Legogote
Image:Peebles1.jpg|Peebles Valley
Image:Peebles2.jpg|Peebles Valley
Image:Granite_Outcrop.jpg|Granite outcrop
Image:RustyCan.jpg|Rusty can pointing the wrong way, but still working!!!
</gallery>

== 05-06 July 2005: Visit and APTN film crew visit ==
<gallery>
Image:Dwayne_Lassy.jpg|Dwayne and Lassy installing a mesh node
Image:Node_open.jpg|Mesh node waterproof box open, showing wireless router
Image:Lassy_Cantenna.jpg|Lassy installing cantenna
Image:Agnus' House.jpg|Surfing the web at Agnus' house
Image:David_APTN film crew.jpg|David with the APTN film crew
Image:APTN_film crew.jpg|APTN film crew
Image:Dwayne_Lassy_David.jpg|Dwayne, Lassy and David
</gallery>

==29 April 2005 - walkabout==

These are various pictures taken on a drive-about to inspect various highsites and get signal readings from the clinic.

<gallery>
Image:Lassy_first_day.jpg|Probably Lassy's first day, here holding a Yaggi
</gallery>

===Ideal highsite===
We identified an ideal highsite, the owner worked in Johannesburg and was not at all interested in us mounting an antenna on his roof. The house itself sat exactly on the ridge and could see the clinic as well as the hospice.

<gallery>
Image:View_ideal_highsite1.jpg|Looking back towards the clinic
Image:View_ideal_highsite2.jpg|Looking towards Sikele High
Image:View_ideal_highsite3.jpg|Looking across the road towards the hospice
Image:Ideal_highsite.jpg|A view of the house, we would have mounted the antenna on the leftmost part of the building
</gallery>

===Teachers' training centre===
The teachers' training centre would have been ideal but due to problems with equipment we never used this site. Know that we use OLSR this could probably be easily connected.

<gallery>
Image:Teachers_training_centre.jpg|Lassy outside Hazyview teachers centre, holding omni for signal testing
Image:View_teachers_training_centre.jpg|Looking back towards the clinic, Legogote mountain to the left is very close to the clinic
Image:Supervisor_teachers_training_centre1.jpg|The teachers centre supervisor
Image:Supervisor_teachers_training_centre2.jpg|Supervisor on the steps of the Hazyview teachers centre
</gallery>

===ACTS clinic flats===

Last stop the clinic flats where we eventually installed a node.

<gallery>
Image:ACTS_flats.jpg|Looking up at the clinic flats from the clinic
</gallery>

File:ACTS flats.jpg

2007-10-28T14:59:42Z

Dwayne:

Mpumalanga Mesh:Picture Gallery

2007-10-28T14:57:44Z

Dwayne: /* 29 April 2005 - walkabout */ techers centre

{{Mpumalanga_Mesh nav bar}}

== 01 - 02 July 2007: LinkNet from Macha, Zambia visit to Peebles Valley ==

== 13 October 2006: Visit ==

== 26 May 2006: Visit ==
<gallery>
Image:ACTS_Clinc_Roof.jpg|Acts Clinic roof before antenna installtion
Image:David_Dwayne_Annemijn.jpg|David, Dwayne and Annemijn
Image:Installation.jpg|Installing an antenna at the Acts clinic
Image:Nana.jpg|Nana installaling an antenna at the Acts hospice Legogote
Image:Peebles1.jpg|Peebles Valley
Image:Peebles2.jpg|Peebles Valley
Image:Granite_Outcrop.jpg|Granite outcrop
Image:RustyCan.jpg|Rusty can pointing the wrong way, but still working!!!
</gallery>

== 05-06 July 2005: Visit and APTN film crew visit ==
<gallery>
Image:Dwayne_Lassy.jpg|Dwayne and Lassy installing a mesh node
Image:Node_open.jpg|Mesh node waterproof box open, showing wireless router
Image:Lassy_Cantenna.jpg|Lassy installing cantenna
Image:Agnus' House.jpg|Surfing the web at Agnus' house
Image:David_APTN film crew.jpg|David with the APTN film crew
Image:APTN_film crew.jpg|APTN film crew
Image:Dwayne_Lassy_David.jpg|Dwayne, Lassy and David
</gallery>

==29 April 2005 - walkabout==

These are various pictures taken on a drive-about to inspect various highsites and get signal readings from the clinic.

<gallery>
Image:Lassy_first_day.jpg|Probably Lassy's first day, here holding a Yaggi
</gallery>

===Ideal highsite===
We identified an ideal highsite, the owner worked in Johannesburg and was not at all interested in us mounting an antenna on his roof. The house itself sat exactly on the ridge and could see the clinic as well as the hospice.

<gallery>
Image:View_ideal_highsite1.jpg|Looking back towards the clinic
Image:View_ideal_highsite2.jpg|Looking towards Sikele High
Image:View_ideal_highsite3.jpg|Looking across the road towards the hospice
Image:Ideal_highsite.jpg|A view of the house, we would have mounted the antenna on the leftmost part of the building
</gallery>

===Teachers' training centre===
The teachers' training centre would have been ideal but due to problems with equipment we never used this site. Know that we use OLSR this could probably be easily connected.

<gallery>
Image:Teachers_training_centre.jpg|Lassy outside Hazyview teachers centre, holding omni for signal testing
Image:View_teachers_training_centre.jpg|Looking back towards the clinic, Legogote mountain to the left is very close to the clinic
Image:Supervisor_teachers_training_centre1.jpg|The teachers centre supervisor
Image:Supervisor_teachers_training_centre2.jpg|Supervisor on the steps of the Hazyview teachers centre
</gallery>

File:Supervisor teachers training centre2.jpg

2007-10-28T14:55:49Z

Dwayne:

File:Supervisor teachers training centre1.jpg

2007-10-28T14:55:11Z

Dwayne:

File:View teachers training centre.jpg

2007-10-28T14:52:44Z

Dwayne:

File:Teachers training centre.jpg

2007-10-28T14:52:07Z

Dwayne:

Mpumalanga Mesh:Picture Gallery

2007-10-28T14:50:04Z

Dwayne: /* 29 April 2005 - walkabout */

File:Ideal highsite.jpg

2007-10-28T14:45:13Z

Dwayne:

File:View ideal highsite3.jpg

2007-10-28T14:43:46Z

Dwayne:

File:View ideal highsite2.jpg

2007-10-28T14:43:12Z

Dwayne:

Mpumalanga Mesh:Picture Gallery

2007-10-28T14:43:09Z

Dwayne: 29 April 2005 photos

File:View ideal highsite1.jpg

2007-10-28T14:42:03Z

Dwayne:

File:Lassy first day.jpg

2007-10-28T14:35:16Z

Dwayne:

HTML Translation:Project Chapter

2007-10-28T11:07:45Z

Dwayne: /* Background */

{{HTML_Translation nav bar}}

Most projects within the FMFI project focus on connectivity, the first mile (innovative ways to connect A to B). This project falls within the first inch, the ability to access content. To many people this is often seen as access to a device that allows the user access to content. Or in some cases technology that allows people with disabilities to access data; screen readers, text-to-speech, etc. But not many people consider that with content not available in someone's own language that first-inch and first-mile solutions are bring information to a person but they are unable to access it simply because of a language barrier.

[[Image:CC-nso.png|thumb|450px|Creative Commons license selection page translated into Northern Sotho]]

All the e-Government systems in the world, delivered efficiently to all the rural areas in South Africa will still not bring access to people if all the content is in English.

English content is a barrier to many people wanting to access information. By focusing on making it possible for a website to be easily translated the project's aim is not to eliminate the barrier posed by English but to eliminate the technological issues that prevent web content from being translated. Actual translation still needs to be done by a translator and the project looks at the social issues that enable or prevent this translation from happening.

The majority of content on the internet in created in English, this is indeed also a reflection on the fact that many of the first Internet users where English speaking. With the growth of the Internet there is a growing community that does not speak English and are creating content in their own languages. However, the fact remains that much English content if available in their mother-tongue would be very useful to many non-English speakers. This problem of monolingual content means that content is not widely accessible.

If this content could be translated then it would be accessible to a greater audience bringing with it all sorts of possibilities. The bridging of divides between linguistic communities, the sharing of information and the stimulation of new content.

Although there is a movement to Content Management Systems (CMS) and Wikis, there is still a large amount of content that is stored in static HTML pages. And the problem with static content is that it is hard to process and translate. But with tools it would be possible to transform static HTML content into a standard translatable form.

With a process set in place to transforms static content into a translatable form, then makes it easy for someone to translate and lastly converts the translated content back into static HTML then it would be possible to unlock monolingual content easily.

== Research Question ==
Does the ability to easily translate websites content stimulate the actual translation of the content.

== Implementation ==
The first major technical challenge was the adaptation of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translate_Toolkit Translate Toolkit] to be able to process HTML, and later wiki pages, in a standard translation format known as Gettext PO. This proved difficult as although HTML is a standard its implementation varies. Wiki syntax proved much easier to manage.

The project did set out to automate the roundtrip process of static content to Gettext PO and back but this was not completed as the translations of static content through the FMFI partners never materialised. The roundtrip for Wiki content happened but was not automated. The automation of these would be simple to implement.

The project used the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pootle Pootle] Translation Management System (TMS) to enable on-line web-based translation to take place. This was done to lower the barrier to entry for translators. They would not need to install any software and the process of translation is as simple as using a web browser.

== Translation process explained ==
The following diagram shows simply the content creation process in contrast to the localisation process:
[[Image:Translation-process.png|thumb|none|400px|Content creation and translation compared]]

In both their is the creator who either creates new content or translates existing content info another language. While the content creator creates and output that benefits users who can speak his or her language, the translator allows other speakers of other languages to benefit from the same content.

The following diagram allows us to understand the actual translation process:
[[Image:Translation-process-technical.png|thumb|none|400px|The translation process for static content]]

From the HTML content we extract translatable text. This is given to a translator who produced translated text. By combining the original HTML and the translated text we can create a translated HTML page.

The same process applies to other content such as Wiki pages. In the context of this project tools where created to transform the HTML into a translatable format. And the tool used by translators to create the translated text was the Pootle TMS.

= Boundary Partners =
Three boundary partners were identified:

[[Image:Boundary-partners.png|thumb|400px|Boundary partners]]

# [http://creativecommons.org/ Creative Commons]
# [http://pootle.wordforge.org Pootle Translation Community]
# FMFI partners

Each has a different level of translation experience and each was given a different level of support.

Creative Commons is an organisation as well as a movement centred around copyright reform. Central to the movement are a set of licenses that allow content creators to define how people may user their content. These licenses are translated into a number of languages and our efforts where to translate them into a number of South African languages.

The Pootle software, that was also used in this project, was developed to allow anyone to translate online. The community that has sprung up around the software is part of the broader software localisation community. During this project we exposed the Pootle user guide for translation into a number of languages.

Lastly, the FMFI project partners themselves where asked to translate the FMFI website content into local languages. As FMFI covers Angola and Mozambique as project partners this introduced Portuguese as a language that would be helpful for research dissemination.

== Levels of translation experience ==
[[Image:Boundary-partner-skills.png|thumb|300px|Levels of translation experience]]The various boundary partners had varying levels of experience in localisation. This varied from no localisation experience to a high level of localisation experience.

We assumed that all FMFI partners had no localisation experience and thus where the ideal representation of the average user of content. Creative Commons had some level of exposure to localisation in that many of the licenses are translated and their community is multilingual and multicultural. The highest level of experience was that of the Pootle Community, since this community is centred around localisation it would be expected that they are very aware of the need for localisation and the experience of localisation.

== Levels of support ==
The Creative Commons translation were performed in Pootle using professional translators and given full support. The Pootle community was was not given any support but they are part of an existing translation community. Lastly, the FMFI partners where given the translations but were not given any level of support, in most cases this would represent a real content community.

= Outcome challenges and progress markers =
The following are the outcome challenges and progress markers for the three boundary partners.

== Creative Commons ==
''Creative Commons adopts and actively uses the Pootle translation management system''

{| class="prettytable" border="1" cellspacing="0"
! <center>'''Expect to see'''</center>
! <center>'''Like to see'''</center>
! <center>'''Love to see'''</center>

|-
| Creative Commons wants to have their licenses translated in South African languages
| Translations are hosted by creative commons on their own version of Pootle
| All licenses are translated on the Pootle server

|-
| The translated licenses are made available on the Creative Commons website
| New language teams start translating on the Pootle server
| Other content and software on their website is examined to see if it can be translated

|-
|
|
| Other teams outside of Creative Commons begin adopting the tools

|}

== Pootle Community ==
''The community actively translates the Pootle documentation''

{| class="prettytable" border="1" cellspacing="0"
! <center>Expect to see</center>
! <center>Like to see</center>
! <center>Love to see</center>

|-
| People are able to translate the wiki using Pootle
| The dokuwiki community supports this translation method
| Dokuwiki translated its own content using the wiki extractor and Pootle

|-
| Wiki content is translated into at least one other language
| Other dokuwiki sites use this approach to translations
| Dokuwiki enhances the extractor when they change their internal syntax

|-
|
| At least one major world language is actively translating: e.g. French
| Other wiki creators, specifically MediaWiki adopt the tools

|-
|
|
| Wiki designers add their flavour to the wiki extractor

|-
|
|
| The tools receive media attention.

|}

== FMFI partners ==
''Partners see localisation as an integral component of dissemination of their work''

{| class="prettytable" border="1" cellspacing="0"
! <center>Expect to see</center>
! <center>Like to see</center>
! <center>Love to see</center>

|-
| The software is installed on the FMFI website
| Key content is translated
| Participate actively in the development/enhancement of the software

|-
| FMFI partners in Mozambique and Angola localise some of the content
| Rapid turnaround between publication and translation
| Contribute monetarily to the software's enhancement

|-
|
| Translators excited about the software and its potential application in other areas.
| Promote and advocate the software in other departments

|-
|
|
| Brag about meeting their multilingual mandate.

|}

= Strategy Map =

{| class="prettytable" cellspacing="0" border="1"
! <center>'''Causal'''</center>
! <center>'''Persuasive'''</center>
! <center>'''Supportive'''</center>

|-
! '''I-1'''
! '''I-2'''
! '''I-3'''

|-
| Enable key languages on Pootle
| Discuss the issue of dissemination and local languages
| Provide email and online support to translators

|-
|
| Approach individuals to translate
| Update help documentation as needed

|-
! '''E-1'''
! '''E-2'''
! '''E-3'''

|-
| Install a Pootle server
| Send emails requesting help and praising progress
| Demonstrate Pootle translation

|-
| Upload translatable content
| Help set translation as an FMFI priority
|

|}

= Technical =
This is the view of the project from a technical perspective. In this we focused on 3 aspects:

# Translation of creative commons licenses. This is an existing body of translations with a poor process. It allowed us to validate our tools and create a better process.
# Localisation of static web pages. We chose the FMFI website and processed the pages to allow them to be localised.
# Localisation of wiki content. Although wiki content is not static it is hard to localise, we looked at making it easy to localise the Pootle manuals.

== Outcomes ==
From a technical point of view the following positive outcomes where achieved:
[[Image:Cc-pootle.png|thumb|Creative Commons Pootle server]]

=== Creative Commons Server ===
Creative Commons installed a [http://translate.creativecommons.org/ Pootle server] onto which they migrated their licenses (48 languages) and all of their software. This replaced an old system that was not ideal for translation.

=== Tools enhanced ===
The tools that convert HTML to a translatable format where enhanced, but as explained below this will probably never be fully completed.

The tools where enhanced to manage various Wiki formats so that the Pootle documentation could be translated.

== Issues ==
=== Web pages are messy, very messy ===
A lot of time was spent looking at web pages and fixing the tools so that they extracted only the core content. Since the HTML standard is very loose and many web browsers have over time evolved to handle the idiosyncrasies of bad HTML we discovered that no matter how hard we worked we often ended up with extracted text which was difficult for a translator to use. With more time we could have refined the quality of the output.

However, we did see that it is possible to divorce the content from much of the raw HTML. So this still holds good potential in recovering static web content for translation.

A focus on XHTML which is better structured could also lead to more consistent extraction.

=== Slow translation server ===
The Translate.org.za translation server hosted at Rhodes University experienced a general slowdown for anyone outside Rhodes campus. This was initially assumed to relate to either students using the Internet or throttling policies within the University, however subsequently it was discovered that it related simply to an incorrect IP allocation. Unfortunately this was only discovered after the completion of the project. It is uncertain what influence this would have had on the project but it did affect the FMFI translations, Pootle community translation where unaffected as these are hosted on another server.

It was not possible to find a suitable host within South Africa that could give the same level of access that the Pootle server required.

== Observations ==
=== Wiki's hold potential ===
When building the tools to help make it easy to translate wiki pagesit was realised that Wiki pages, no matter that they are stored in a database, are simple text pages. Even though they follow an informal structure they are more regular then HTML. Thus it was quite easy to create a way to change the wiki page into a translatable format and back.

With much content now being generated in Wiki's, we think of Wikipedia and other resource, one realises that much of this content can be made available for translation. Thus future translation should become much easier as wiki and other content management systems become more pervasive.

= Community =
This is a view of the project from a community or participatory view. In this we looked at:

# How the skill level influenced the work to be done
# How the level of support influenced the outcome of a translation
# How the familiarity with the need for translation impacted on the volume of work completed

== Results ==
The following are the results that where observed:

The Creative Commons translations where conducted with professional translators, who worked on Pootle and where given a high level of support. As would be expected all translations where completed a the Creative Commons licenses where translated into [http://creativecommons.org/license/?lang=zu Zulu], [http://creativecommons.org/license/?lang=nso Northern Sotho] and [http://creativecommons.org/license/?lang=af Afrikaans].

The Pootle user guide was translated into [[http://pootle.wordforge.org/doc/en/index.html six languages] by the community that translates the Pootle user interface and is involved in many other software translation projects.

The [http://pootle.translate.org.za/projects/fmfi/ FMFI content] was made available on Translate.org.za's South African Pootle server, the data was announced twice to the FMFI partners, the need and opportunities available by translating the content where highlighted at various FMFI gatherings but no translations where made.

== Observations ==
=== Partnership works ===
In translating of the Creative Commons license we were able to engage Creative Commons directly which allowed us to bring translators, customer and end-result together. This was an amazing experience and mirrors what should be happening. The translators could work well especially since all the technical details were hidden from them.

=== Making it available is not enough, a connection to the need must exist ===
We made an announcement on the FMFI group list, appealed at various gathering and yet still this did not lead to localisation. With a number of the project partners from Portuguese speaking countries it was assumed that they would see the connection with translation, that by translating the English FMFI content into Portuguese that they would expose their work to others allowing future collaboration.

Therefore it is clear that simply making it easier to translate is not enough. The potential translators will only translate if they see a need to translate. These could be seen as external; the need for others to have access to the information, or internal: by making this data accessible I can get more exposure for my work. The motivation is interesting but what is the most important is that the translator must have made that connection, without that the translations will not happen as they are not prioritised by the translator.

But as we show below if the motivation is present then sometimes the action of making the content available can be a catalyst for further translation.

=== Existing techs are adopters ===
From all of the projects that we worked with we found that when we have technical people involved they are quick adopters of the translations or of the tools and that often this spreads to others. This was noticed in the translation of the Pootle guides; an existing highly technical group translated the content. Also in the Creative Commons scenario a group of highly technical system administrators quickly adopted the tools.

=== Making it more accessible can get more done ===
People had put some effort into localising the Pootle tools documentation, but nothing quite succeeded. The English documentation is stored in a Wiki, previous translators had simply created translated pages in the wiki based on the English, but these are very hard to keep up-to-date and where often abandoned. By simply making it easier to translate and keep translation up-tp-date we saw more translations. Within days we had a full Persian translation and people has started translating Afrikaans, French and Basque (a minority language of France and Spain).

With the Creative Commons Licenses we found that by using our tools people were able to give higher quality translation, something that they had been unable to do till then. Volunteers also emerged with someone wanting to translate the licenses into Xhosa. They approached Translate.org.za simply because the licenses were made available for easy translation. Thus easy access to translation can make more happen, once again as long as their is the motivation to translate.

= Conclusion =
Although we saw little change within the FMFI participants we were very encouraged by the adoption within the two other communities. The fact that the documentation for the tools has been localised into Persian and Afrikaans within days of announcing their availability is very encouraging, indicating that where their is a will to create local content making it easier to translate results in more local language content.

The creative commons localisation was also very encouraging, since we hosted the translation on our translation server we were approached by students at Rhodes University to localise the licenses into Xhosa.

The most important observations are these:
# Lowering the technical barrier results in increasing levels of translation.
# A connection with the need for translated content results in people participating in content translation. Without this connection lowering the technical barriers shows no increase in translation activity.

=External Links=

* [http://translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/toolkit/index Translate Toolkit] - online documentation
* [http://translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/pootle/index Pootle] - online documentation

HTML Translation:Project Chapter

2007-10-28T11:07:14Z

Dwayne: /* Conclusion */

{{HTML_Translation nav bar}}

= Background =
Most projects within the FMFI project focus on connectivity, the first mile (innovative ways to connect A to B). This project falls within the first inch, the ability to access content. To many people this is often seen as access to a device that allows the user access to content. Or in some cases technology that allows people with disabilities to access data; screen readers, text-to-speech, etc. But not many people consider that with content not available in someone's own language that first-inch and first-mile solutions are bring information to a person but they are unable to access it simply because of a language barrier.

[[Image:CC-nso.png|thumb|450px|Creative Commons license selection page translated into Northern Sotho]]

All the e-Government systems in the world, delivered efficiently to all the rural areas in South Africa will still not bring access to people if all the content is in English.

English content is a barrier to many people wanting to access information. By focusing on making it possible for a website to be easily translated the project's aim is not to eliminate the barrier posed by English but to eliminate the technological issues that prevent web content from being translated. Actual translation still needs to be done by a translator and the project looks at the social issues that enable or prevent this translation from happening.

The majority of content on the internet in created in English, this is indeed also a reflection on the fact that many of the first Internet users where English speaking. With the growth of the Internet there is a growing community that does not speak English and are creating content in their own languages. However, the fact remains that much English content if available in their mother-tongue would be very useful to many non-English speakers. This problem of monolingual content means that content is not widely accessible.

If this content could be translated then it would be accessible to a greater audience bringing with it all sorts of possibilities. The bridging of divides between linguistic communities, the sharing of information and the stimulation of new content.

Although there is a movement to Content Management Systems (CMS) and Wikis, there is still a large amount of content that is stored in static HTML pages. And the problem with static content is that it is hard to process and translate. But with tools it would be possible to transform static HTML content into a standard translatable form.

With a process set in place to transforms static content into a translatable form, then makes it easy for someone to translate and lastly converts the translated content back into static HTML then it would be possible to unlock monolingual content easily.

== Research Question ==
Does the ability to easily translate websites content stimulate the actual translation of the content.

== Implementation ==
The first major technical challenge was the adaptation of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translate_Toolkit Translate Toolkit] to be able to process HTML, and later wiki pages, in a standard translation format known as Gettext PO. This proved difficult as although HTML is a standard its implementation varies. Wiki syntax proved much easier to manage.

The project did set out to automate the roundtrip process of static content to Gettext PO and back but this was not completed as the translations of static content through the FMFI partners never materialised. The roundtrip for Wiki content happened but was not automated. The automation of these would be simple to implement.

The project used the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pootle Pootle] Translation Management System (TMS) to enable on-line web-based translation to take place. This was done to lower the barrier to entry for translators. They would not need to install any software and the process of translation is as simple as using a web browser.

== Translation process explained ==
The following diagram shows simply the content creation process in contrast to the localisation process:
[[Image:Translation-process.png|thumb|none|400px|Content creation and translation compared]]

In both their is the creator who either creates new content or translates existing content info another language. While the content creator creates and output that benefits users who can speak his or her language, the translator allows other speakers of other languages to benefit from the same content.

The following diagram allows us to understand the actual translation process:
[[Image:Translation-process-technical.png|thumb|none|400px|The translation process for static content]]

From the HTML content we extract translatable text. This is given to a translator who produced translated text. By combining the original HTML and the translated text we can create a translated HTML page.

The same process applies to other content such as Wiki pages. In the context of this project tools where created to transform the HTML into a translatable format. And the tool used by translators to create the translated text was the Pootle TMS.

= Boundary Partners =
Three boundary partners were identified:

[[Image:Boundary-partners.png|thumb|400px|Boundary partners]]

# [http://creativecommons.org/ Creative Commons]
# [http://pootle.wordforge.org Pootle Translation Community]
# FMFI partners

Each has a different level of translation experience and each was given a different level of support.

Creative Commons is an organisation as well as a movement centred around copyright reform. Central to the movement are a set of licenses that allow content creators to define how people may user their content. These licenses are translated into a number of languages and our efforts where to translate them into a number of South African languages.

The Pootle software, that was also used in this project, was developed to allow anyone to translate online. The community that has sprung up around the software is part of the broader software localisation community. During this project we exposed the Pootle user guide for translation into a number of languages.

Lastly, the FMFI project partners themselves where asked to translate the FMFI website content into local languages. As FMFI covers Angola and Mozambique as project partners this introduced Portuguese as a language that would be helpful for research dissemination.

== Levels of translation experience ==
[[Image:Boundary-partner-skills.png|thumb|300px|Levels of translation experience]]The various boundary partners had varying levels of experience in localisation. This varied from no localisation experience to a high level of localisation experience.

We assumed that all FMFI partners had no localisation experience and thus where the ideal representation of the average user of content. Creative Commons had some level of exposure to localisation in that many of the licenses are translated and their community is multilingual and multicultural. The highest level of experience was that of the Pootle Community, since this community is centred around localisation it would be expected that they are very aware of the need for localisation and the experience of localisation.

== Levels of support ==
The Creative Commons translation were performed in Pootle using professional translators and given full support. The Pootle community was was not given any support but they are part of an existing translation community. Lastly, the FMFI partners where given the translations but were not given any level of support, in most cases this would represent a real content community.

= Outcome challenges and progress markers =
The following are the outcome challenges and progress markers for the three boundary partners.

== Creative Commons ==
''Creative Commons adopts and actively uses the Pootle translation management system''

{| class="prettytable" border="1" cellspacing="0"
! <center>'''Expect to see'''</center>
! <center>'''Like to see'''</center>
! <center>'''Love to see'''</center>

|-
| Creative Commons wants to have their licenses translated in South African languages
| Translations are hosted by creative commons on their own version of Pootle
| All licenses are translated on the Pootle server

|-
| The translated licenses are made available on the Creative Commons website
| New language teams start translating on the Pootle server
| Other content and software on their website is examined to see if it can be translated

|-
|
|
| Other teams outside of Creative Commons begin adopting the tools

|}

== Pootle Community ==
''The community actively translates the Pootle documentation''

{| class="prettytable" border="1" cellspacing="0"
! <center>Expect to see</center>
! <center>Like to see</center>
! <center>Love to see</center>

|-
| People are able to translate the wiki using Pootle
| The dokuwiki community supports this translation method
| Dokuwiki translated its own content using the wiki extractor and Pootle

|-
| Wiki content is translated into at least one other language
| Other dokuwiki sites use this approach to translations
| Dokuwiki enhances the extractor when they change their internal syntax

|-
|
| At least one major world language is actively translating: e.g. French
| Other wiki creators, specifically MediaWiki adopt the tools

|-
|
|
| Wiki designers add their flavour to the wiki extractor

|-
|
|
| The tools receive media attention.

|}

== FMFI partners ==
''Partners see localisation as an integral component of dissemination of their work''

{| class="prettytable" border="1" cellspacing="0"
! <center>Expect to see</center>
! <center>Like to see</center>
! <center>Love to see</center>

|-
| The software is installed on the FMFI website
| Key content is translated
| Participate actively in the development/enhancement of the software

|-
| FMFI partners in Mozambique and Angola localise some of the content
| Rapid turnaround between publication and translation
| Contribute monetarily to the software's enhancement

|-
|
| Translators excited about the software and its potential application in other areas.
| Promote and advocate the software in other departments

|-
|
|
| Brag about meeting their multilingual mandate.

|}

= Strategy Map =

{| class="prettytable" cellspacing="0" border="1"
! <center>'''Causal'''</center>
! <center>'''Persuasive'''</center>
! <center>'''Supportive'''</center>

|-
! '''I-1'''
! '''I-2'''
! '''I-3'''

|-
| Enable key languages on Pootle
| Discuss the issue of dissemination and local languages
| Provide email and online support to translators

|-
|
| Approach individuals to translate
| Update help documentation as needed

|-
! '''E-1'''
! '''E-2'''
! '''E-3'''

|-
| Install a Pootle server
| Send emails requesting help and praising progress
| Demonstrate Pootle translation

|-
| Upload translatable content
| Help set translation as an FMFI priority
|

|}

= Technical =
This is the view of the project from a technical perspective. In this we focused on 3 aspects:

# Translation of creative commons licenses. This is an existing body of translations with a poor process. It allowed us to validate our tools and create a better process.
# Localisation of static web pages. We chose the FMFI website and processed the pages to allow them to be localised.
# Localisation of wiki content. Although wiki content is not static it is hard to localise, we looked at making it easy to localise the Pootle manuals.

== Outcomes ==
From a technical point of view the following positive outcomes where achieved:
[[Image:Cc-pootle.png|thumb|Creative Commons Pootle server]]

=== Creative Commons Server ===
Creative Commons installed a [http://translate.creativecommons.org/ Pootle server] onto which they migrated their licenses (48 languages) and all of their software. This replaced an old system that was not ideal for translation.

=== Tools enhanced ===
The tools that convert HTML to a translatable format where enhanced, but as explained below this will probably never be fully completed.

The tools where enhanced to manage various Wiki formats so that the Pootle documentation could be translated.

== Issues ==
=== Web pages are messy, very messy ===
A lot of time was spent looking at web pages and fixing the tools so that they extracted only the core content. Since the HTML standard is very loose and many web browsers have over time evolved to handle the idiosyncrasies of bad HTML we discovered that no matter how hard we worked we often ended up with extracted text which was difficult for a translator to use. With more time we could have refined the quality of the output.

However, we did see that it is possible to divorce the content from much of the raw HTML. So this still holds good potential in recovering static web content for translation.

A focus on XHTML which is better structured could also lead to more consistent extraction.

=== Slow translation server ===
The Translate.org.za translation server hosted at Rhodes University experienced a general slowdown for anyone outside Rhodes campus. This was initially assumed to relate to either students using the Internet or throttling policies within the University, however subsequently it was discovered that it related simply to an incorrect IP allocation. Unfortunately this was only discovered after the completion of the project. It is uncertain what influence this would have had on the project but it did affect the FMFI translations, Pootle community translation where unaffected as these are hosted on another server.

It was not possible to find a suitable host within South Africa that could give the same level of access that the Pootle server required.

== Observations ==
=== Wiki's hold potential ===
When building the tools to help make it easy to translate wiki pagesit was realised that Wiki pages, no matter that they are stored in a database, are simple text pages. Even though they follow an informal structure they are more regular then HTML. Thus it was quite easy to create a way to change the wiki page into a translatable format and back.

With much content now being generated in Wiki's, we think of Wikipedia and other resource, one realises that much of this content can be made available for translation. Thus future translation should become much easier as wiki and other content management systems become more pervasive.

= Community =
This is a view of the project from a community or participatory view. In this we looked at:

# How the skill level influenced the work to be done
# How the level of support influenced the outcome of a translation
# How the familiarity with the need for translation impacted on the volume of work completed

== Results ==
The following are the results that where observed:

The Creative Commons translations where conducted with professional translators, who worked on Pootle and where given a high level of support. As would be expected all translations where completed a the Creative Commons licenses where translated into [http://creativecommons.org/license/?lang=zu Zulu], [http://creativecommons.org/license/?lang=nso Northern Sotho] and [http://creativecommons.org/license/?lang=af Afrikaans].

The Pootle user guide was translated into [[http://pootle.wordforge.org/doc/en/index.html six languages] by the community that translates the Pootle user interface and is involved in many other software translation projects.

The [http://pootle.translate.org.za/projects/fmfi/ FMFI content] was made available on Translate.org.za's South African Pootle server, the data was announced twice to the FMFI partners, the need and opportunities available by translating the content where highlighted at various FMFI gatherings but no translations where made.

== Observations ==
=== Partnership works ===
In translating of the Creative Commons license we were able to engage Creative Commons directly which allowed us to bring translators, customer and end-result together. This was an amazing experience and mirrors what should be happening. The translators could work well especially since all the technical details were hidden from them.

=== Making it available is not enough, a connection to the need must exist ===
We made an announcement on the FMFI group list, appealed at various gathering and yet still this did not lead to localisation. With a number of the project partners from Portuguese speaking countries it was assumed that they would see the connection with translation, that by translating the English FMFI content into Portuguese that they would expose their work to others allowing future collaboration.

Therefore it is clear that simply making it easier to translate is not enough. The potential translators will only translate if they see a need to translate. These could be seen as external; the need for others to have access to the information, or internal: by making this data accessible I can get more exposure for my work. The motivation is interesting but what is the most important is that the translator must have made that connection, without that the translations will not happen as they are not prioritised by the translator.

But as we show below if the motivation is present then sometimes the action of making the content available can be a catalyst for further translation.

=== Existing techs are adopters ===
From all of the projects that we worked with we found that when we have technical people involved they are quick adopters of the translations or of the tools and that often this spreads to others. This was noticed in the translation of the Pootle guides; an existing highly technical group translated the content. Also in the Creative Commons scenario a group of highly technical system administrators quickly adopted the tools.

=== Making it more accessible can get more done ===
People had put some effort into localising the Pootle tools documentation, but nothing quite succeeded. The English documentation is stored in a Wiki, previous translators had simply created translated pages in the wiki based on the English, but these are very hard to keep up-to-date and where often abandoned. By simply making it easier to translate and keep translation up-tp-date we saw more translations. Within days we had a full Persian translation and people has started translating Afrikaans, French and Basque (a minority language of France and Spain).

With the Creative Commons Licenses we found that by using our tools people were able to give higher quality translation, something that they had been unable to do till then. Volunteers also emerged with someone wanting to translate the licenses into Xhosa. They approached Translate.org.za simply because the licenses were made available for easy translation. Thus easy access to translation can make more happen, once again as long as their is the motivation to translate.

= Conclusion =
Although we saw little change within the FMFI participants we were very encouraged by the adoption within the two other communities. The fact that the documentation for the tools has been localised into Persian and Afrikaans within days of announcing their availability is very encouraging, indicating that where their is a will to create local content making it easier to translate results in more local language content.

The creative commons localisation was also very encouraging, since we hosted the translation on our translation server we were approached by students at Rhodes University to localise the licenses into Xhosa.

The most important observations are these:
# Lowering the technical barrier results in increasing levels of translation.
# A connection with the need for translated content results in people participating in content translation. Without this connection lowering the technical barriers shows no increase in translation activity.

=External Links=

* [http://translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/toolkit/index Translate Toolkit] - online documentation
* [http://translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/pootle/index Pootle] - online documentation

HTML Translation:Project Chapter

2007-10-28T11:06:53Z

Dwayne: /* Results */

{{HTML_Translation nav bar}}

= Background =
Most projects within the FMFI project focus on connectivity, the first mile (innovative ways to connect A to B). This project falls within the first inch, the ability to access content. To many people this is often seen as access to a device that allows the user access to content. Or in some cases technology that allows people with disabilities to access data; screen readers, text-to-speech, etc. But not many people consider that with content not available in someone's own language that first-inch and first-mile solutions are bring information to a person but they are unable to access it simply because of a language barrier.

[[Image:CC-nso.png|thumb|450px|Creative Commons license selection page translated into Northern Sotho]]

All the e-Government systems in the world, delivered efficiently to all the rural areas in South Africa will still not bring access to people if all the content is in English.

English content is a barrier to many people wanting to access information. By focusing on making it possible for a website to be easily translated the project's aim is not to eliminate the barrier posed by English but to eliminate the technological issues that prevent web content from being translated. Actual translation still needs to be done by a translator and the project looks at the social issues that enable or prevent this translation from happening.

The majority of content on the internet in created in English, this is indeed also a reflection on the fact that many of the first Internet users where English speaking. With the growth of the Internet there is a growing community that does not speak English and are creating content in their own languages. However, the fact remains that much English content if available in their mother-tongue would be very useful to many non-English speakers. This problem of monolingual content means that content is not widely accessible.

If this content could be translated then it would be accessible to a greater audience bringing with it all sorts of possibilities. The bridging of divides between linguistic communities, the sharing of information and the stimulation of new content.

Although there is a movement to Content Management Systems (CMS) and Wikis, there is still a large amount of content that is stored in static HTML pages. And the problem with static content is that it is hard to process and translate. But with tools it would be possible to transform static HTML content into a standard translatable form.

With a process set in place to transforms static content into a translatable form, then makes it easy for someone to translate and lastly converts the translated content back into static HTML then it would be possible to unlock monolingual content easily.

== Research Question ==
Does the ability to easily translate websites content stimulate the actual translation of the content.

== Implementation ==
The first major technical challenge was the adaptation of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translate_Toolkit Translate Toolkit] to be able to process HTML, and later wiki pages, in a standard translation format known as Gettext PO. This proved difficult as although HTML is a standard its implementation varies. Wiki syntax proved much easier to manage.

The project did set out to automate the roundtrip process of static content to Gettext PO and back but this was not completed as the translations of static content through the FMFI partners never materialised. The roundtrip for Wiki content happened but was not automated. The automation of these would be simple to implement.

The project used the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pootle Pootle] Translation Management System (TMS) to enable on-line web-based translation to take place. This was done to lower the barrier to entry for translators. They would not need to install any software and the process of translation is as simple as using a web browser.

== Translation process explained ==
The following diagram shows simply the content creation process in contrast to the localisation process:
[[Image:Translation-process.png|thumb|none|400px|Content creation and translation compared]]

In both their is the creator who either creates new content or translates existing content info another language. While the content creator creates and output that benefits users who can speak his or her language, the translator allows other speakers of other languages to benefit from the same content.

The following diagram allows us to understand the actual translation process:
[[Image:Translation-process-technical.png|thumb|none|400px|The translation process for static content]]

From the HTML content we extract translatable text. This is given to a translator who produced translated text. By combining the original HTML and the translated text we can create a translated HTML page.

The same process applies to other content such as Wiki pages. In the context of this project tools where created to transform the HTML into a translatable format. And the tool used by translators to create the translated text was the Pootle TMS.

= Boundary Partners =
Three boundary partners were identified:

[[Image:Boundary-partners.png|thumb|400px|Boundary partners]]

# [http://creativecommons.org/ Creative Commons]
# [http://pootle.wordforge.org Pootle Translation Community]
# FMFI partners

Each has a different level of translation experience and each was given a different level of support.

Creative Commons is an organisation as well as a movement centred around copyright reform. Central to the movement are a set of licenses that allow content creators to define how people may user their content. These licenses are translated into a number of languages and our efforts where to translate them into a number of South African languages.

The Pootle software, that was also used in this project, was developed to allow anyone to translate online. The community that has sprung up around the software is part of the broader software localisation community. During this project we exposed the Pootle user guide for translation into a number of languages.

Lastly, the FMFI project partners themselves where asked to translate the FMFI website content into local languages. As FMFI covers Angola and Mozambique as project partners this introduced Portuguese as a language that would be helpful for research dissemination.

== Levels of translation experience ==
[[Image:Boundary-partner-skills.png|thumb|300px|Levels of translation experience]]The various boundary partners had varying levels of experience in localisation. This varied from no localisation experience to a high level of localisation experience.

We assumed that all FMFI partners had no localisation experience and thus where the ideal representation of the average user of content. Creative Commons had some level of exposure to localisation in that many of the licenses are translated and their community is multilingual and multicultural. The highest level of experience was that of the Pootle Community, since this community is centred around localisation it would be expected that they are very aware of the need for localisation and the experience of localisation.

== Levels of support ==
The Creative Commons translation were performed in Pootle using professional translators and given full support. The Pootle community was was not given any support but they are part of an existing translation community. Lastly, the FMFI partners where given the translations but were not given any level of support, in most cases this would represent a real content community.

= Outcome challenges and progress markers =
The following are the outcome challenges and progress markers for the three boundary partners.

== Creative Commons ==
''Creative Commons adopts and actively uses the Pootle translation management system''

{| class="prettytable" border="1" cellspacing="0"
! <center>'''Expect to see'''</center>
! <center>'''Like to see'''</center>
! <center>'''Love to see'''</center>

|-
| Creative Commons wants to have their licenses translated in South African languages
| Translations are hosted by creative commons on their own version of Pootle
| All licenses are translated on the Pootle server

|-
| The translated licenses are made available on the Creative Commons website
| New language teams start translating on the Pootle server
| Other content and software on their website is examined to see if it can be translated

|-
|
|
| Other teams outside of Creative Commons begin adopting the tools

|}

== Pootle Community ==
''The community actively translates the Pootle documentation''

{| class="prettytable" border="1" cellspacing="0"
! <center>Expect to see</center>
! <center>Like to see</center>
! <center>Love to see</center>

|-
| People are able to translate the wiki using Pootle
| The dokuwiki community supports this translation method
| Dokuwiki translated its own content using the wiki extractor and Pootle

|-
| Wiki content is translated into at least one other language
| Other dokuwiki sites use this approach to translations
| Dokuwiki enhances the extractor when they change their internal syntax

|-
|
| At least one major world language is actively translating: e.g. French
| Other wiki creators, specifically MediaWiki adopt the tools

|-
|
|
| Wiki designers add their flavour to the wiki extractor

|-
|
|
| The tools receive media attention.

|}

== FMFI partners ==
''Partners see localisation as an integral component of dissemination of their work''

{| class="prettytable" border="1" cellspacing="0"
! <center>Expect to see</center>
! <center>Like to see</center>
! <center>Love to see</center>

|-
| The software is installed on the FMFI website
| Key content is translated
| Participate actively in the development/enhancement of the software

|-
| FMFI partners in Mozambique and Angola localise some of the content
| Rapid turnaround between publication and translation
| Contribute monetarily to the software's enhancement

|-
|
| Translators excited about the software and its potential application in other areas.
| Promote and advocate the software in other departments

|-
|
|
| Brag about meeting their multilingual mandate.

|}

= Strategy Map =

{| class="prettytable" cellspacing="0" border="1"
! <center>'''Causal'''</center>
! <center>'''Persuasive'''</center>
! <center>'''Supportive'''</center>

|-
! '''I-1'''
! '''I-2'''
! '''I-3'''

|-
| Enable key languages on Pootle
| Discuss the issue of dissemination and local languages
| Provide email and online support to translators

|-
|
| Approach individuals to translate
| Update help documentation as needed

|-
! '''E-1'''
! '''E-2'''
! '''E-3'''

|-
| Install a Pootle server
| Send emails requesting help and praising progress
| Demonstrate Pootle translation

|-
| Upload translatable content
| Help set translation as an FMFI priority
|

|}

= Technical =
This is the view of the project from a technical perspective. In this we focused on 3 aspects:

# Translation of creative commons licenses. This is an existing body of translations with a poor process. It allowed us to validate our tools and create a better process.
# Localisation of static web pages. We chose the FMFI website and processed the pages to allow them to be localised.
# Localisation of wiki content. Although wiki content is not static it is hard to localise, we looked at making it easy to localise the Pootle manuals.

== Outcomes ==
From a technical point of view the following positive outcomes where achieved:
[[Image:Cc-pootle.png|thumb|Creative Commons Pootle server]]

=== Creative Commons Server ===
Creative Commons installed a [http://translate.creativecommons.org/ Pootle server] onto which they migrated their licenses (48 languages) and all of their software. This replaced an old system that was not ideal for translation.

=== Tools enhanced ===
The tools that convert HTML to a translatable format where enhanced, but as explained below this will probably never be fully completed.

The tools where enhanced to manage various Wiki formats so that the Pootle documentation could be translated.

== Issues ==
=== Web pages are messy, very messy ===
A lot of time was spent looking at web pages and fixing the tools so that they extracted only the core content. Since the HTML standard is very loose and many web browsers have over time evolved to handle the idiosyncrasies of bad HTML we discovered that no matter how hard we worked we often ended up with extracted text which was difficult for a translator to use. With more time we could have refined the quality of the output.

However, we did see that it is possible to divorce the content from much of the raw HTML. So this still holds good potential in recovering static web content for translation.

A focus on XHTML which is better structured could also lead to more consistent extraction.

=== Slow translation server ===
The Translate.org.za translation server hosted at Rhodes University experienced a general slowdown for anyone outside Rhodes campus. This was initially assumed to relate to either students using the Internet or throttling policies within the University, however subsequently it was discovered that it related simply to an incorrect IP allocation. Unfortunately this was only discovered after the completion of the project. It is uncertain what influence this would have had on the project but it did affect the FMFI translations, Pootle community translation where unaffected as these are hosted on another server.

It was not possible to find a suitable host within South Africa that could give the same level of access that the Pootle server required.

== Observations ==
=== Wiki's hold potential ===
When building the tools to help make it easy to translate wiki pagesit was realised that Wiki pages, no matter that they are stored in a database, are simple text pages. Even though they follow an informal structure they are more regular then HTML. Thus it was quite easy to create a way to change the wiki page into a translatable format and back.

With much content now being generated in Wiki's, we think of Wikipedia and other resource, one realises that much of this content can be made available for translation. Thus future translation should become much easier as wiki and other content management systems become more pervasive.

= Community =
This is a view of the project from a community or participatory view. In this we looked at:

# How the skill level influenced the work to be done
# How the level of support influenced the outcome of a translation
# How the familiarity with the need for translation impacted on the volume of work completed

== Results ==
The following are the results that where observed:

The Creative Commons translations where conducted with professional translators, who worked on Pootle and where given a high level of support. As would be expected all translations where completed a the Creative Commons licenses where translated into [http://creativecommons.org/license/?lang=zu Zulu], [http://creativecommons.org/license/?lang=nso Northern Sotho] and [http://creativecommons.org/license/?lang=af Afrikaans].

The Pootle user guide was translated into [[http://pootle.wordforge.org/doc/en/index.html six languages] by the community that translates the Pootle user interface and is involved in many other software translation projects.

The [http://pootle.translate.org.za/projects/fmfi/ FMFI content] was made available on Translate.org.za's South African Pootle server, the data was announced twice to the FMFI partners, the need and opportunities available by translating the content where highlighted at various FMFI gatherings but no translations where made.

== Observations ==
=== Partnership works ===
In translating of the Creative Commons license we were able to engage Creative Commons directly which allowed us to bring translators, customer and end-result together. This was an amazing experience and mirrors what should be happening. The translators could work well especially since all the technical details were hidden from them.

=== Making it available is not enough, a connection to the need must exist ===
We made an announcement on the FMFI group list, appealed at various gathering and yet still this did not lead to localisation. With a number of the project partners from Portuguese speaking countries it was assumed that they would see the connection with translation, that by translating the English FMFI content into Portuguese that they would expose their work to others allowing future collaboration.

Therefore it is clear that simply making it easier to translate is not enough. The potential translators will only translate if they see a need to translate. These could be seen as external; the need for others to have access to the information, or internal: by making this data accessible I can get more exposure for my work. The motivation is interesting but what is the most important is that the translator must have made that connection, without that the translations will not happen as they are not prioritised by the translator.

But as we show below if the motivation is present then sometimes the action of making the content available can be a catalyst for further translation.

=== Existing techs are adopters ===
From all of the projects that we worked with we found that when we have technical people involved they are quick adopters of the translations or of the tools and that often this spreads to others. This was noticed in the translation of the Pootle guides; an existing highly technical group translated the content. Also in the Creative Commons scenario a group of highly technical system administrators quickly adopted the tools.

=== Making it more accessible can get more done ===
People had put some effort into localising the Pootle tools documentation, but nothing quite succeeded. The English documentation is stored in a Wiki, previous translators had simply created translated pages in the wiki based on the English, but these are very hard to keep up-to-date and where often abandoned. By simply making it easier to translate and keep translation up-tp-date we saw more translations. Within days we had a full Persian translation and people has started translating Afrikaans, French and Basque (a minority language of France and Spain).

With the Creative Commons Licenses we found that by using our tools people were able to give higher quality translation, something that they had been unable to do till then. Volunteers also emerged with someone wanting to translate the licenses into Xhosa. They approached Translate.org.za simply because the licenses were made available for easy translation. Thus easy access to translation can make more happen, once again as long as their is the motivation to translate.

= Conclusion =
Although we saw little change within the FMFI participants we were very encouraged by the adoption within the two other communities. The fact that the documentation for the tools has been localised into Persian and Afrikaans within days of announcing their availability is very encouraging, indicating that where their is a will to create local content making it easier to translate results in more local language content.

The creative commons localisation was also very encouraging, since we hosted the translation on our translation server we were approached by students at Rhodes University to localise the licenses into Xhosa.

The most important observations are these:# Lowering the technical barrier results in increasing levels of translation.
# A connection with the need for translated content results in people participating in content translation. Without this connection lowering the technical barriers shows no increase in translation activity.

=External Links=

* [http://translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/toolkit/index Translate Toolkit] - online documentation
* [http://translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/pootle/index Pootle] - online documentation

HTML Translation:Project Chapter

2007-10-28T11:04:18Z

Dwayne: /* Outcomes */

{{HTML_Translation nav bar}}

= Background =
Most projects within the FMFI project focus on connectivity, the first mile (innovative ways to connect A to B). This project falls within the first inch, the ability to access content. To many people this is often seen as access to a device that allows the user access to content. Or in some cases technology that allows people with disabilities to access data; screen readers, text-to-speech, etc. But not many people consider that with content not available in someone's own language that first-inch and first-mile solutions are bring information to a person but they are unable to access it simply because of a language barrier.

[[Image:CC-nso.png|thumb|450px|Creative Commons license selection page translated into Northern Sotho]]

All the e-Government systems in the world, delivered efficiently to all the rural areas in South Africa will still not bring access to people if all the content is in English.

English content is a barrier to many people wanting to access information. By focusing on making it possible for a website to be easily translated the project's aim is not to eliminate the barrier posed by English but to eliminate the technological issues that prevent web content from being translated. Actual translation still needs to be done by a translator and the project looks at the social issues that enable or prevent this translation from happening.

The majority of content on the internet in created in English, this is indeed also a reflection on the fact that many of the first Internet users where English speaking. With the growth of the Internet there is a growing community that does not speak English and are creating content in their own languages. However, the fact remains that much English content if available in their mother-tongue would be very useful to many non-English speakers. This problem of monolingual content means that content is not widely accessible.

If this content could be translated then it would be accessible to a greater audience bringing with it all sorts of possibilities. The bridging of divides between linguistic communities, the sharing of information and the stimulation of new content.

Although there is a movement to Content Management Systems (CMS) and Wikis, there is still a large amount of content that is stored in static HTML pages. And the problem with static content is that it is hard to process and translate. But with tools it would be possible to transform static HTML content into a standard translatable form.

With a process set in place to transforms static content into a translatable form, then makes it easy for someone to translate and lastly converts the translated content back into static HTML then it would be possible to unlock monolingual content easily.

== Research Question ==
Does the ability to easily translate websites content stimulate the actual translation of the content.

== Implementation ==
The first major technical challenge was the adaptation of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translate_Toolkit Translate Toolkit] to be able to process HTML, and later wiki pages, in a standard translation format known as Gettext PO. This proved difficult as although HTML is a standard its implementation varies. Wiki syntax proved much easier to manage.

The project did set out to automate the roundtrip process of static content to Gettext PO and back but this was not completed as the translations of static content through the FMFI partners never materialised. The roundtrip for Wiki content happened but was not automated. The automation of these would be simple to implement.

The project used the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pootle Pootle] Translation Management System (TMS) to enable on-line web-based translation to take place. This was done to lower the barrier to entry for translators. They would not need to install any software and the process of translation is as simple as using a web browser.

== Translation process explained ==
The following diagram shows simply the content creation process in contrast to the localisation process:
[[Image:Translation-process.png|thumb|none|400px|Content creation and translation compared]]

In both their is the creator who either creates new content or translates existing content info another language. While the content creator creates and output that benefits users who can speak his or her language, the translator allows other speakers of other languages to benefit from the same content.

The following diagram allows us to understand the actual translation process:
[[Image:Translation-process-technical.png|thumb|none|400px|The translation process for static content]]

From the HTML content we extract translatable text. This is given to a translator who produced translated text. By combining the original HTML and the translated text we can create a translated HTML page.

The same process applies to other content such as Wiki pages. In the context of this project tools where created to transform the HTML into a translatable format. And the tool used by translators to create the translated text was the Pootle TMS.

= Boundary Partners =
Three boundary partners were identified:

[[Image:Boundary-partners.png|thumb|400px|Boundary partners]]

# [http://creativecommons.org/ Creative Commons]
# [http://pootle.wordforge.org Pootle Translation Community]
# FMFI partners

Each has a different level of translation experience and each was given a different level of support.

Creative Commons is an organisation as well as a movement centred around copyright reform. Central to the movement are a set of licenses that allow content creators to define how people may user their content. These licenses are translated into a number of languages and our efforts where to translate them into a number of South African languages.

The Pootle software, that was also used in this project, was developed to allow anyone to translate online. The community that has sprung up around the software is part of the broader software localisation community. During this project we exposed the Pootle user guide for translation into a number of languages.

Lastly, the FMFI project partners themselves where asked to translate the FMFI website content into local languages. As FMFI covers Angola and Mozambique as project partners this introduced Portuguese as a language that would be helpful for research dissemination.

== Levels of translation experience ==
[[Image:Boundary-partner-skills.png|thumb|300px|Levels of translation experience]]The various boundary partners had varying levels of experience in localisation. This varied from no localisation experience to a high level of localisation experience.

We assumed that all FMFI partners had no localisation experience and thus where the ideal representation of the average user of content. Creative Commons had some level of exposure to localisation in that many of the licenses are translated and their community is multilingual and multicultural. The highest level of experience was that of the Pootle Community, since this community is centred around localisation it would be expected that they are very aware of the need for localisation and the experience of localisation.

== Levels of support ==
The Creative Commons translation were performed in Pootle using professional translators and given full support. The Pootle community was was not given any support but they are part of an existing translation community. Lastly, the FMFI partners where given the translations but were not given any level of support, in most cases this would represent a real content community.

= Outcome challenges and progress markers =
The following are the outcome challenges and progress markers for the three boundary partners.

== Creative Commons ==
''Creative Commons adopts and actively uses the Pootle translation management system''

{| class="prettytable" border="1" cellspacing="0"
! <center>'''Expect to see'''</center>
! <center>'''Like to see'''</center>
! <center>'''Love to see'''</center>

|-
| Creative Commons wants to have their licenses translated in South African languages
| Translations are hosted by creative commons on their own version of Pootle
| All licenses are translated on the Pootle server

|-
| The translated licenses are made available on the Creative Commons website
| New language teams start translating on the Pootle server
| Other content and software on their website is examined to see if it can be translated

|-
|
|
| Other teams outside of Creative Commons begin adopting the tools

|}

== Pootle Community ==
''The community actively translates the Pootle documentation''

{| class="prettytable" border="1" cellspacing="0"
! <center>Expect to see</center>
! <center>Like to see</center>
! <center>Love to see</center>

|-
| People are able to translate the wiki using Pootle
| The dokuwiki community supports this translation method
| Dokuwiki translated its own content using the wiki extractor and Pootle

|-
| Wiki content is translated into at least one other language
| Other dokuwiki sites use this approach to translations
| Dokuwiki enhances the extractor when they change their internal syntax

|-
|
| At least one major world language is actively translating: e.g. French
| Other wiki creators, specifically MediaWiki adopt the tools

|-
|
|
| Wiki designers add their flavour to the wiki extractor

|-
|
|
| The tools receive media attention.

|}

== FMFI partners ==
''Partners see localisation as an integral component of dissemination of their work''

{| class="prettytable" border="1" cellspacing="0"
! <center>Expect to see</center>
! <center>Like to see</center>
! <center>Love to see</center>

|-
| The software is installed on the FMFI website
| Key content is translated
| Participate actively in the development/enhancement of the software

|-
| FMFI partners in Mozambique and Angola localise some of the content
| Rapid turnaround between publication and translation
| Contribute monetarily to the software's enhancement

|-
|
| Translators excited about the software and its potential application in other areas.
| Promote and advocate the software in other departments

|-
|
|
| Brag about meeting their multilingual mandate.

|}

= Strategy Map =

{| class="prettytable" cellspacing="0" border="1"
! <center>'''Causal'''</center>
! <center>'''Persuasive'''</center>
! <center>'''Supportive'''</center>

|-
! '''I-1'''
! '''I-2'''
! '''I-3'''

|-
| Enable key languages on Pootle
| Discuss the issue of dissemination and local languages
| Provide email and online support to translators

|-
|
| Approach individuals to translate
| Update help documentation as needed

|-
! '''E-1'''
! '''E-2'''
! '''E-3'''

|-
| Install a Pootle server
| Send emails requesting help and praising progress
| Demonstrate Pootle translation

|-
| Upload translatable content
| Help set translation as an FMFI priority
|

|}

= Technical =
This is the view of the project from a technical perspective. In this we focused on 3 aspects:

# Translation of creative commons licenses. This is an existing body of translations with a poor process. It allowed us to validate our tools and create a better process.
# Localisation of static web pages. We chose the FMFI website and processed the pages to allow them to be localised.
# Localisation of wiki content. Although wiki content is not static it is hard to localise, we looked at making it easy to localise the Pootle manuals.

== Outcomes ==
From a technical point of view the following positive outcomes where achieved:
[[Image:Cc-pootle.png|thumb|Creative Commons Pootle server]]

=== Creative Commons Server ===
Creative Commons installed a [http://translate.creativecommons.org/ Pootle server] onto which they migrated their licenses (48 languages) and all of their software. This replaced an old system that was not ideal for translation.

=== Tools enhanced ===
The tools that convert HTML to a translatable format where enhanced, but as explained below this will probably never be fully completed.

The tools where enhanced to manage various Wiki formats so that the Pootle documentation could be translated.

== Issues ==
=== Web pages are messy, very messy ===
A lot of time was spent looking at web pages and fixing the tools so that they extracted only the core content. Since the HTML standard is very loose and many web browsers have over time evolved to handle the idiosyncrasies of bad HTML we discovered that no matter how hard we worked we often ended up with extracted text which was difficult for a translator to use. With more time we could have refined the quality of the output.

However, we did see that it is possible to divorce the content from much of the raw HTML. So this still holds good potential in recovering static web content for translation.

A focus on XHTML which is better structured could also lead to more consistent extraction.

=== Slow translation server ===
The Translate.org.za translation server hosted at Rhodes University experienced a general slowdown for anyone outside Rhodes campus. This was initially assumed to relate to either students using the Internet or throttling policies within the University, however subsequently it was discovered that it related simply to an incorrect IP allocation. Unfortunately this was only discovered after the completion of the project. It is uncertain what influence this would have had on the project but it did affect the FMFI translations, Pootle community translation where unaffected as these are hosted on another server.

It was not possible to find a suitable host within South Africa that could give the same level of access that the Pootle server required.

== Observations ==
=== Wiki's hold potential ===
When building the tools to help make it easy to translate wiki pagesit was realised that Wiki pages, no matter that they are stored in a database, are simple text pages. Even though they follow an informal structure they are more regular then HTML. Thus it was quite easy to create a way to change the wiki page into a translatable format and back.

With much content now being generated in Wiki's, we think of Wikipedia and other resource, one realises that much of this content can be made available for translation. Thus future translation should become much easier as wiki and other content management systems become more pervasive.

= Community =
This is a view of the project from a community or participatory view. In this we looked at:

# How the skill level influenced the work to be done
# How the level of support influenced the outcome of a translation
# How the familiarity with the need for translation impacted on the volume of work completed

== Results ==
The following are the results that where observed:

The Creative Commons translations where conducted with professional translators, who worked on Pootle and where given a high level of support. As would be expected all translations where completed a the Creative Commons licenses where translated into Zulu, Northern Sotho and Afrikaans<ref name="ftn5">Creative Commons license selection form in Zulu: [http://creativecommons.org/license/?lang=zu http://creativecommons.org/license/?lang=zu]</ref>.

The Pootle user guide was translated into six languages by the community that translates the Pootle user interface and is involved in many other software translation projects<ref name="ftn6">List of Pootle user guide translations: [http://pootle.wordforge.org/doc/en/index.html http://pootle.wordforge.org/doc/en/index.html]</ref>.

The FMFI content was made available on Translate.org.za's South African Pootle server<ref name="ftn7">FMFI website content for translation: [http://pootle.translate.org.za/projects/fmfi/ http://pootle.translate.org.za/projects/fmfi/]</ref>, the data was announced twice to the FMFI partners, the need and opportunities available by translating the content where highlighted at various FMFI gatherings but no translations where made.

== Observations ==
=== Partnership works ===
In translating of the Creative Commons license we were able to engage Creative Commons directly which allowed us to bring translators, customer and end-result together. This was an amazing experience and mirrors what should be happening. The translators could work well especially since all the technical details were hidden from them.

=== Making it available is not enough, a connection to the need must exist ===
We made an announcement on the FMFI group list, appealed at various gathering and yet still this did not lead to localisation. With a number of the project partners from Portuguese speaking countries it was assumed that they would see the connection with translation, that by translating the English FMFI content into Portuguese that they would expose their work to others allowing future collaboration.

Therefore it is clear that simply making it easier to translate is not enough. The potential translators will only translate if they see a need to translate. These could be seen as external; the need for others to have access to the information, or internal: by making this data accessible I can get more exposure for my work. The motivation is interesting but what is the most important is that the translator must have made that connection, without that the translations will not happen as they are not prioritised by the translator.

But as we show below if the motivation is present then sometimes the action of making the content available can be a catalyst for further translation.

=== Existing techs are adopters ===
From all of the projects that we worked with we found that when we have technical people involved they are quick adopters of the translations or of the tools and that often this spreads to others. This was noticed in the translation of the Pootle guides; an existing highly technical group translated the content. Also in the Creative Commons scenario a group of highly technical system administrators quickly adopted the tools.

=== Making it more accessible can get more done ===
People had put some effort into localising the Pootle tools documentation, but nothing quite succeeded. The English documentation is stored in a Wiki, previous translators had simply created translated pages in the wiki based on the English, but these are very hard to keep up-to-date and where often abandoned. By simply making it easier to translate and keep translation up-tp-date we saw more translations. Within days we had a full Persian translation and people has started translating Afrikaans, French and Basque (a minority language of France and Spain).

With the Creative Commons Licenses we found that by using our tools people were able to give higher quality translation, something that they had been unable to do till then. Volunteers also emerged with someone wanting to translate the licenses into Xhosa. They approached Translate.org.za simply because the licenses were made available for easy translation. Thus easy access to translation can make more happen, once again as long as their is the motivation to translate.

= Conclusion =
Although we saw little change within the FMFI participants we were very encouraged by the adoption within the two other communities. The fact that the documentation for the tools has been localised into Persian and Afrikaans within days of announcing their availability is very encouraging, indicating that where their is a will to create local content making it easier to translate results in more local language content.

The creative commons localisation was also very encouraging, since we hosted the translation on our translation server we were approached by students at Rhodes University to localise the licenses into Xhosa.

The most important observations are these:# Lowering the technical barrier results in increasing levels of translation.
# A connection with the need for translated content results in people participating in content translation. Without this connection lowering the technical barriers shows no increase in translation activity.

=External Links=

* [http://translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/toolkit/index Translate Toolkit] - online documentation
* [http://translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/pootle/index Pootle] - online documentation

HTML Translation:Project Chapter

2007-10-28T11:01:28Z

Dwayne: /* Strategy Map */

{{HTML_Translation nav bar}}

= Background =
Most projects within the FMFI project focus on connectivity, the first mile (innovative ways to connect A to B). This project falls within the first inch, the ability to access content. To many people this is often seen as access to a device that allows the user access to content. Or in some cases technology that allows people with disabilities to access data; screen readers, text-to-speech, etc. But not many people consider that with content not available in someone's own language that first-inch and first-mile solutions are bring information to a person but they are unable to access it simply because of a language barrier.

[[Image:CC-nso.png|thumb|450px|Creative Commons license selection page translated into Northern Sotho]]

All the e-Government systems in the world, delivered efficiently to all the rural areas in South Africa will still not bring access to people if all the content is in English.

English content is a barrier to many people wanting to access information. By focusing on making it possible for a website to be easily translated the project's aim is not to eliminate the barrier posed by English but to eliminate the technological issues that prevent web content from being translated. Actual translation still needs to be done by a translator and the project looks at the social issues that enable or prevent this translation from happening.

The majority of content on the internet in created in English, this is indeed also a reflection on the fact that many of the first Internet users where English speaking. With the growth of the Internet there is a growing community that does not speak English and are creating content in their own languages. However, the fact remains that much English content if available in their mother-tongue would be very useful to many non-English speakers. This problem of monolingual content means that content is not widely accessible.

If this content could be translated then it would be accessible to a greater audience bringing with it all sorts of possibilities. The bridging of divides between linguistic communities, the sharing of information and the stimulation of new content.

Although there is a movement to Content Management Systems (CMS) and Wikis, there is still a large amount of content that is stored in static HTML pages. And the problem with static content is that it is hard to process and translate. But with tools it would be possible to transform static HTML content into a standard translatable form.

With a process set in place to transforms static content into a translatable form, then makes it easy for someone to translate and lastly converts the translated content back into static HTML then it would be possible to unlock monolingual content easily.

== Research Question ==
Does the ability to easily translate websites content stimulate the actual translation of the content.

== Implementation ==
The first major technical challenge was the adaptation of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translate_Toolkit Translate Toolkit] to be able to process HTML, and later wiki pages, in a standard translation format known as Gettext PO. This proved difficult as although HTML is a standard its implementation varies. Wiki syntax proved much easier to manage.

The project did set out to automate the roundtrip process of static content to Gettext PO and back but this was not completed as the translations of static content through the FMFI partners never materialised. The roundtrip for Wiki content happened but was not automated. The automation of these would be simple to implement.

The project used the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pootle Pootle] Translation Management System (TMS) to enable on-line web-based translation to take place. This was done to lower the barrier to entry for translators. They would not need to install any software and the process of translation is as simple as using a web browser.

== Translation process explained ==
The following diagram shows simply the content creation process in contrast to the localisation process:
[[Image:Translation-process.png|thumb|none|400px|Content creation and translation compared]]

In both their is the creator who either creates new content or translates existing content info another language. While the content creator creates and output that benefits users who can speak his or her language, the translator allows other speakers of other languages to benefit from the same content.

The following diagram allows us to understand the actual translation process:
[[Image:Translation-process-technical.png|thumb|none|400px|The translation process for static content]]

From the HTML content we extract translatable text. This is given to a translator who produced translated text. By combining the original HTML and the translated text we can create a translated HTML page.

The same process applies to other content such as Wiki pages. In the context of this project tools where created to transform the HTML into a translatable format. And the tool used by translators to create the translated text was the Pootle TMS.

= Boundary Partners =
Three boundary partners were identified:

[[Image:Boundary-partners.png|thumb|400px|Boundary partners]]

# [http://creativecommons.org/ Creative Commons]
# [http://pootle.wordforge.org Pootle Translation Community]
# FMFI partners

Each has a different level of translation experience and each was given a different level of support.

Creative Commons is an organisation as well as a movement centred around copyright reform. Central to the movement are a set of licenses that allow content creators to define how people may user their content. These licenses are translated into a number of languages and our efforts where to translate them into a number of South African languages.

The Pootle software, that was also used in this project, was developed to allow anyone to translate online. The community that has sprung up around the software is part of the broader software localisation community. During this project we exposed the Pootle user guide for translation into a number of languages.

Lastly, the FMFI project partners themselves where asked to translate the FMFI website content into local languages. As FMFI covers Angola and Mozambique as project partners this introduced Portuguese as a language that would be helpful for research dissemination.

== Levels of translation experience ==
[[Image:Boundary-partner-skills.png|thumb|300px|Levels of translation experience]]The various boundary partners had varying levels of experience in localisation. This varied from no localisation experience to a high level of localisation experience.

We assumed that all FMFI partners had no localisation experience and thus where the ideal representation of the average user of content. Creative Commons had some level of exposure to localisation in that many of the licenses are translated and their community is multilingual and multicultural. The highest level of experience was that of the Pootle Community, since this community is centred around localisation it would be expected that they are very aware of the need for localisation and the experience of localisation.

== Levels of support ==
The Creative Commons translation were performed in Pootle using professional translators and given full support. The Pootle community was was not given any support but they are part of an existing translation community. Lastly, the FMFI partners where given the translations but were not given any level of support, in most cases this would represent a real content community.

= Outcome challenges and progress markers =
The following are the outcome challenges and progress markers for the three boundary partners.

== Creative Commons ==
''Creative Commons adopts and actively uses the Pootle translation management system''

{| class="prettytable" border="1" cellspacing="0"
! <center>'''Expect to see'''</center>
! <center>'''Like to see'''</center>
! <center>'''Love to see'''</center>

|-
| Creative Commons wants to have their licenses translated in South African languages
| Translations are hosted by creative commons on their own version of Pootle
| All licenses are translated on the Pootle server

|-
| The translated licenses are made available on the Creative Commons website
| New language teams start translating on the Pootle server
| Other content and software on their website is examined to see if it can be translated

|-
|
|
| Other teams outside of Creative Commons begin adopting the tools

|}

== Pootle Community ==
''The community actively translates the Pootle documentation''

{| class="prettytable" border="1" cellspacing="0"
! <center>Expect to see</center>
! <center>Like to see</center>
! <center>Love to see</center>

|-
| People are able to translate the wiki using Pootle
| The dokuwiki community supports this translation method
| Dokuwiki translated its own content using the wiki extractor and Pootle

|-
| Wiki content is translated into at least one other language
| Other dokuwiki sites use this approach to translations
| Dokuwiki enhances the extractor when they change their internal syntax

|-
|
| At least one major world language is actively translating: e.g. French
| Other wiki creators, specifically MediaWiki adopt the tools

|-
|
|
| Wiki designers add their flavour to the wiki extractor

|-
|
|
| The tools receive media attention.

|}

== FMFI partners ==
''Partners see localisation as an integral component of dissemination of their work''

{| class="prettytable" border="1" cellspacing="0"
! <center>Expect to see</center>
! <center>Like to see</center>
! <center>Love to see</center>

|-
| The software is installed on the FMFI website
| Key content is translated
| Participate actively in the development/enhancement of the software

|-
| FMFI partners in Mozambique and Angola localise some of the content
| Rapid turnaround between publication and translation
| Contribute monetarily to the software's enhancement

|-
|
| Translators excited about the software and its potential application in other areas.
| Promote and advocate the software in other departments

|-
|
|
| Brag about meeting their multilingual mandate.

|}

= Strategy Map =

{| class="prettytable" cellspacing="0" border="1"
! <center>'''Causal'''</center>
! <center>'''Persuasive'''</center>
! <center>'''Supportive'''</center>

|-
! '''I-1'''
! '''I-2'''
! '''I-3'''

|-
| Enable key languages on Pootle
| Discuss the issue of dissemination and local languages
| Provide email and online support to translators

|-
|
| Approach individuals to translate
| Update help documentation as needed

|-
! '''E-1'''
! '''E-2'''
! '''E-3'''

|-
| Install a Pootle server
| Send emails requesting help and praising progress
| Demonstrate Pootle translation

|-
| Upload translatable content
| Help set translation as an FMFI priority
|

|}

= Technical =
This is the view of the project from a technical perspective. In this we focused on 3 aspects:

# Translation of creative commons licenses. This is an existing body of translations with a poor process. It allowed us to validate our tools and create a better process.
# Localisation of static web pages. We chose the FMFI website and processed the pages to allow them to be localised.
# Localisation of wiki content. Although wiki content is not static it is hard to localise, we looked at making it easy to localise the Pootle manuals.

== Outcomes ==
From a technical point of view the following positive outcomes where achieved:

=== Creative Commons Server ===
[[Image:|thumb|''Illustration 6: Creative Commons Pootle server'']]Creative Commons installed a Pootle server at [http://translate.creativecommons.org/ http://translate.creativecommons.org/] onto which they migrated their licenses (48 languages) and all of their software. This replaced an old system that was not ideal for translation.

=== Tools enhanced ===
The tools that convert HTML to a translatable format where enhanced, but as explained below this will probably never be fully completed.

The tools where enhanced to manage various Wiki formats so that the Pootle documentation could be translated.

== Issues ==
=== Web pages are messy, very messy ===
A lot of time was spent looking at web pages and fixing the tools so that they extracted only the core content. Since the HTML standard is very loose and many web browsers have over time evolved to handle the idiosyncrasies of bad HTML we discovered that no matter how hard we worked we often ended up with extracted text which was difficult for a translator to use. With more time we could have refined the quality of the output.

However, we did see that it is possible to divorce the content from much of the raw HTML. So this still holds good potential in recovering static web content for translation.

A focus on XHTML which is better structured could also lead to more consistent extraction.

=== Slow translation server ===
The Translate.org.za translation server hosted at Rhodes University experienced a general slowdown for anyone outside Rhodes campus. This was initially assumed to relate to either students using the Internet or throttling policies within the University, however subsequently it was discovered that it related simply to an incorrect IP allocation. Unfortunately this was only discovered after the completion of the project. It is uncertain what influence this would have had on the project but it did affect the FMFI translations, Pootle community translation where unaffected as these are hosted on another server.

It was not possible to find a suitable host within South Africa that could give the same level of access that the Pootle server required.

== Observations ==
=== Wiki's hold potential ===
When building the tools to help make it easy to translate wiki pagesit was realised that Wiki pages, no matter that they are stored in a database, are simple text pages. Even though they follow an informal structure they are more regular then HTML. Thus it was quite easy to create a way to change the wiki page into a translatable format and back.

With much content now being generated in Wiki's, we think of Wikipedia and other resource, one realises that much of this content can be made available for translation. Thus future translation should become much easier as wiki and other content management systems become more pervasive.

= Community =
This is a view of the project from a community or participatory view. In this we looked at:

# How the skill level influenced the work to be done
# How the level of support influenced the outcome of a translation
# How the familiarity with the need for translation impacted on the volume of work completed

== Results ==
The following are the results that where observed:

The Creative Commons translations where conducted with professional translators, who worked on Pootle and where given a high level of support. As would be expected all translations where completed a the Creative Commons licenses where translated into Zulu, Northern Sotho and Afrikaans<ref name="ftn5">Creative Commons license selection form in Zulu: [http://creativecommons.org/license/?lang=zu http://creativecommons.org/license/?lang=zu]</ref>.

The Pootle user guide was translated into six languages by the community that translates the Pootle user interface and is involved in many other software translation projects<ref name="ftn6">List of Pootle user guide translations: [http://pootle.wordforge.org/doc/en/index.html http://pootle.wordforge.org/doc/en/index.html]</ref>.

The FMFI content was made available on Translate.org.za's South African Pootle server<ref name="ftn7">FMFI website content for translation: [http://pootle.translate.org.za/projects/fmfi/ http://pootle.translate.org.za/projects/fmfi/]</ref>, the data was announced twice to the FMFI partners, the need and opportunities available by translating the content where highlighted at various FMFI gatherings but no translations where made.

== Observations ==
=== Partnership works ===
In translating of the Creative Commons license we were able to engage Creative Commons directly which allowed us to bring translators, customer and end-result together. This was an amazing experience and mirrors what should be happening. The translators could work well especially since all the technical details were hidden from them.

=== Making it available is not enough, a connection to the need must exist ===
We made an announcement on the FMFI group list, appealed at various gathering and yet still this did not lead to localisation. With a number of the project partners from Portuguese speaking countries it was assumed that they would see the connection with translation, that by translating the English FMFI content into Portuguese that they would expose their work to others allowing future collaboration.

Therefore it is clear that simply making it easier to translate is not enough. The potential translators will only translate if they see a need to translate. These could be seen as external; the need for others to have access to the information, or internal: by making this data accessible I can get more exposure for my work. The motivation is interesting but what is the most important is that the translator must have made that connection, without that the translations will not happen as they are not prioritised by the translator.

But as we show below if the motivation is present then sometimes the action of making the content available can be a catalyst for further translation.

=== Existing techs are adopters ===
From all of the projects that we worked with we found that when we have technical people involved they are quick adopters of the translations or of the tools and that often this spreads to others. This was noticed in the translation of the Pootle guides; an existing highly technical group translated the content. Also in the Creative Commons scenario a group of highly technical system administrators quickly adopted the tools.

=== Making it more accessible can get more done ===
People had put some effort into localising the Pootle tools documentation, but nothing quite succeeded. The English documentation is stored in a Wiki, previous translators had simply created translated pages in the wiki based on the English, but these are very hard to keep up-to-date and where often abandoned. By simply making it easier to translate and keep translation up-tp-date we saw more translations. Within days we had a full Persian translation and people has started translating Afrikaans, French and Basque (a minority language of France and Spain).

With the Creative Commons Licenses we found that by using our tools people were able to give higher quality translation, something that they had been unable to do till then. Volunteers also emerged with someone wanting to translate the licenses into Xhosa. They approached Translate.org.za simply because the licenses were made available for easy translation. Thus easy access to translation can make more happen, once again as long as their is the motivation to translate.

= Conclusion =
Although we saw little change within the FMFI participants we were very encouraged by the adoption within the two other communities. The fact that the documentation for the tools has been localised into Persian and Afrikaans within days of announcing their availability is very encouraging, indicating that where their is a will to create local content making it easier to translate results in more local language content.

The creative commons localisation was also very encouraging, since we hosted the translation on our translation server we were approached by students at Rhodes University to localise the licenses into Xhosa.

The most important observations are these:# Lowering the technical barrier results in increasing levels of translation.
# A connection with the need for translated content results in people participating in content translation. Without this connection lowering the technical barriers shows no increase in translation activity.

=External Links=

* [http://translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/toolkit/index Translate Toolkit] - online documentation
* [http://translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/pootle/index Pootle] - online documentation

HTML Translation:Project Chapter

2007-10-28T11:00:46Z

Dwayne: /* FMFI partners */

{{HTML_Translation nav bar}}

= Background =
Most projects within the FMFI project focus on connectivity, the first mile (innovative ways to connect A to B). This project falls within the first inch, the ability to access content. To many people this is often seen as access to a device that allows the user access to content. Or in some cases technology that allows people with disabilities to access data; screen readers, text-to-speech, etc. But not many people consider that with content not available in someone's own language that first-inch and first-mile solutions are bring information to a person but they are unable to access it simply because of a language barrier.

[[Image:CC-nso.png|thumb|450px|Creative Commons license selection page translated into Northern Sotho]]

All the e-Government systems in the world, delivered efficiently to all the rural areas in South Africa will still not bring access to people if all the content is in English.

English content is a barrier to many people wanting to access information. By focusing on making it possible for a website to be easily translated the project's aim is not to eliminate the barrier posed by English but to eliminate the technological issues that prevent web content from being translated. Actual translation still needs to be done by a translator and the project looks at the social issues that enable or prevent this translation from happening.

The majority of content on the internet in created in English, this is indeed also a reflection on the fact that many of the first Internet users where English speaking. With the growth of the Internet there is a growing community that does not speak English and are creating content in their own languages. However, the fact remains that much English content if available in their mother-tongue would be very useful to many non-English speakers. This problem of monolingual content means that content is not widely accessible.

If this content could be translated then it would be accessible to a greater audience bringing with it all sorts of possibilities. The bridging of divides between linguistic communities, the sharing of information and the stimulation of new content.

Although there is a movement to Content Management Systems (CMS) and Wikis, there is still a large amount of content that is stored in static HTML pages. And the problem with static content is that it is hard to process and translate. But with tools it would be possible to transform static HTML content into a standard translatable form.

With a process set in place to transforms static content into a translatable form, then makes it easy for someone to translate and lastly converts the translated content back into static HTML then it would be possible to unlock monolingual content easily.

== Research Question ==
Does the ability to easily translate websites content stimulate the actual translation of the content.

== Implementation ==
The first major technical challenge was the adaptation of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translate_Toolkit Translate Toolkit] to be able to process HTML, and later wiki pages, in a standard translation format known as Gettext PO. This proved difficult as although HTML is a standard its implementation varies. Wiki syntax proved much easier to manage.

The project did set out to automate the roundtrip process of static content to Gettext PO and back but this was not completed as the translations of static content through the FMFI partners never materialised. The roundtrip for Wiki content happened but was not automated. The automation of these would be simple to implement.

The project used the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pootle Pootle] Translation Management System (TMS) to enable on-line web-based translation to take place. This was done to lower the barrier to entry for translators. They would not need to install any software and the process of translation is as simple as using a web browser.

== Translation process explained ==
The following diagram shows simply the content creation process in contrast to the localisation process:
[[Image:Translation-process.png|thumb|none|400px|Content creation and translation compared]]

In both their is the creator who either creates new content or translates existing content info another language. While the content creator creates and output that benefits users who can speak his or her language, the translator allows other speakers of other languages to benefit from the same content.

The following diagram allows us to understand the actual translation process:
[[Image:Translation-process-technical.png|thumb|none|400px|The translation process for static content]]

From the HTML content we extract translatable text. This is given to a translator who produced translated text. By combining the original HTML and the translated text we can create a translated HTML page.

The same process applies to other content such as Wiki pages. In the context of this project tools where created to transform the HTML into a translatable format. And the tool used by translators to create the translated text was the Pootle TMS.

= Boundary Partners =
Three boundary partners were identified:

[[Image:Boundary-partners.png|thumb|400px|Boundary partners]]

# [http://creativecommons.org/ Creative Commons]
# [http://pootle.wordforge.org Pootle Translation Community]
# FMFI partners

Each has a different level of translation experience and each was given a different level of support.

Creative Commons is an organisation as well as a movement centred around copyright reform. Central to the movement are a set of licenses that allow content creators to define how people may user their content. These licenses are translated into a number of languages and our efforts where to translate them into a number of South African languages.

The Pootle software, that was also used in this project, was developed to allow anyone to translate online. The community that has sprung up around the software is part of the broader software localisation community. During this project we exposed the Pootle user guide for translation into a number of languages.

Lastly, the FMFI project partners themselves where asked to translate the FMFI website content into local languages. As FMFI covers Angola and Mozambique as project partners this introduced Portuguese as a language that would be helpful for research dissemination.

== Levels of translation experience ==
[[Image:Boundary-partner-skills.png|thumb|300px|Levels of translation experience]]The various boundary partners had varying levels of experience in localisation. This varied from no localisation experience to a high level of localisation experience.

We assumed that all FMFI partners had no localisation experience and thus where the ideal representation of the average user of content. Creative Commons had some level of exposure to localisation in that many of the licenses are translated and their community is multilingual and multicultural. The highest level of experience was that of the Pootle Community, since this community is centred around localisation it would be expected that they are very aware of the need for localisation and the experience of localisation.

== Levels of support ==
The Creative Commons translation were performed in Pootle using professional translators and given full support. The Pootle community was was not given any support but they are part of an existing translation community. Lastly, the FMFI partners where given the translations but were not given any level of support, in most cases this would represent a real content community.

= Outcome challenges and progress markers =
The following are the outcome challenges and progress markers for the three boundary partners.

== Creative Commons ==
''Creative Commons adopts and actively uses the Pootle translation management system''

{| class="prettytable" border="1" cellspacing="0"
! <center>'''Expect to see'''</center>
! <center>'''Like to see'''</center>
! <center>'''Love to see'''</center>

|-
| Creative Commons wants to have their licenses translated in South African languages
| Translations are hosted by creative commons on their own version of Pootle
| All licenses are translated on the Pootle server

|-
| The translated licenses are made available on the Creative Commons website
| New language teams start translating on the Pootle server
| Other content and software on their website is examined to see if it can be translated

|-
|
|
| Other teams outside of Creative Commons begin adopting the tools

|}

== Pootle Community ==
''The community actively translates the Pootle documentation''

{| class="prettytable" border="1" cellspacing="0"
! <center>Expect to see</center>
! <center>Like to see</center>
! <center>Love to see</center>

|-
| People are able to translate the wiki using Pootle
| The dokuwiki community supports this translation method
| Dokuwiki translated its own content using the wiki extractor and Pootle

|-
| Wiki content is translated into at least one other language
| Other dokuwiki sites use this approach to translations
| Dokuwiki enhances the extractor when they change their internal syntax

|-
|
| At least one major world language is actively translating: e.g. French
| Other wiki creators, specifically MediaWiki adopt the tools

|-
|
|
| Wiki designers add their flavour to the wiki extractor

|-
|
|
| The tools receive media attention.

|}

== FMFI partners ==
''Partners see localisation as an integral component of dissemination of their work''

{| class="prettytable" border="1" cellspacing="0"
! <center>Expect to see</center>
! <center>Like to see</center>
! <center>Love to see</center>

|-
| The software is installed on the FMFI website
| Key content is translated
| Participate actively in the development/enhancement of the software

|-
| FMFI partners in Mozambique and Angola localise some of the content
| Rapid turnaround between publication and translation
| Contribute monetarily to the software's enhancement

|-
|
| Translators excited about the software and its potential application in other areas.
| Promote and advocate the software in other departments

|-
|
|
| Brag about meeting their multilingual mandate.

|}

= Strategy Map =

{| class="prettytable"
| <center>'''Causal'''</center>
| <center>'''Persuasive'''</center>
| <center>'''Supportive'''</center>

|-
| '''I-1'''
| '''I-2'''
| '''I-3'''

|-
| Enable key languages on Pootle
| Discuss the issue of dissemination and local languages
| Provide email and online support to translators

|-
|
| Approach individuals to translate
| Update help documentation as needed

|-
| '''E-1'''
| '''E-2'''
| '''E-3'''

|-
| Install a Pootle server
| Send emails requesting help and praising progress
| Demonstrate Pootle translation

|-
| Upload translatable content
| Help set translation as an FMFI priority
|

|}

= Technical =
This is the view of the project from a technical perspective. In this we focused on 3 aspects:

# Translation of creative commons licenses. This is an existing body of translations with a poor process. It allowed us to validate our tools and create a better process.
# Localisation of static web pages. We chose the FMFI website and processed the pages to allow them to be localised.
# Localisation of wiki content. Although wiki content is not static it is hard to localise, we looked at making it easy to localise the Pootle manuals.

== Outcomes ==
From a technical point of view the following positive outcomes where achieved:

=== Creative Commons Server ===
[[Image:|thumb|''Illustration 6: Creative Commons Pootle server'']]Creative Commons installed a Pootle server at [http://translate.creativecommons.org/ http://translate.creativecommons.org/] onto which they migrated their licenses (48 languages) and all of their software. This replaced an old system that was not ideal for translation.

=== Tools enhanced ===
The tools that convert HTML to a translatable format where enhanced, but as explained below this will probably never be fully completed.

The tools where enhanced to manage various Wiki formats so that the Pootle documentation could be translated.

== Issues ==
=== Web pages are messy, very messy ===
A lot of time was spent looking at web pages and fixing the tools so that they extracted only the core content. Since the HTML standard is very loose and many web browsers have over time evolved to handle the idiosyncrasies of bad HTML we discovered that no matter how hard we worked we often ended up with extracted text which was difficult for a translator to use. With more time we could have refined the quality of the output.

However, we did see that it is possible to divorce the content from much of the raw HTML. So this still holds good potential in recovering static web content for translation.

A focus on XHTML which is better structured could also lead to more consistent extraction.

=== Slow translation server ===
The Translate.org.za translation server hosted at Rhodes University experienced a general slowdown for anyone outside Rhodes campus. This was initially assumed to relate to either students using the Internet or throttling policies within the University, however subsequently it was discovered that it related simply to an incorrect IP allocation. Unfortunately this was only discovered after the completion of the project. It is uncertain what influence this would have had on the project but it did affect the FMFI translations, Pootle community translation where unaffected as these are hosted on another server.

It was not possible to find a suitable host within South Africa that could give the same level of access that the Pootle server required.

== Observations ==
=== Wiki's hold potential ===
When building the tools to help make it easy to translate wiki pagesit was realised that Wiki pages, no matter that they are stored in a database, are simple text pages. Even though they follow an informal structure they are more regular then HTML. Thus it was quite easy to create a way to change the wiki page into a translatable format and back.

With much content now being generated in Wiki's, we think of Wikipedia and other resource, one realises that much of this content can be made available for translation. Thus future translation should become much easier as wiki and other content management systems become more pervasive.

= Community =
This is a view of the project from a community or participatory view. In this we looked at:

# How the skill level influenced the work to be done
# How the level of support influenced the outcome of a translation
# How the familiarity with the need for translation impacted on the volume of work completed

== Results ==
The following are the results that where observed:

The Creative Commons translations where conducted with professional translators, who worked on Pootle and where given a high level of support. As would be expected all translations where completed a the Creative Commons licenses where translated into Zulu, Northern Sotho and Afrikaans<ref name="ftn5">Creative Commons license selection form in Zulu: [http://creativecommons.org/license/?lang=zu http://creativecommons.org/license/?lang=zu]</ref>.

The Pootle user guide was translated into six languages by the community that translates the Pootle user interface and is involved in many other software translation projects<ref name="ftn6">List of Pootle user guide translations: [http://pootle.wordforge.org/doc/en/index.html http://pootle.wordforge.org/doc/en/index.html]</ref>.

The FMFI content was made available on Translate.org.za's South African Pootle server<ref name="ftn7">FMFI website content for translation: [http://pootle.translate.org.za/projects/fmfi/ http://pootle.translate.org.za/projects/fmfi/]</ref>, the data was announced twice to the FMFI partners, the need and opportunities available by translating the content where highlighted at various FMFI gatherings but no translations where made.

== Observations ==
=== Partnership works ===
In translating of the Creative Commons license we were able to engage Creative Commons directly which allowed us to bring translators, customer and end-result together. This was an amazing experience and mirrors what should be happening. The translators could work well especially since all the technical details were hidden from them.

=== Making it available is not enough, a connection to the need must exist ===
We made an announcement on the FMFI group list, appealed at various gathering and yet still this did not lead to localisation. With a number of the project partners from Portuguese speaking countries it was assumed that they would see the connection with translation, that by translating the English FMFI content into Portuguese that they would expose their work to others allowing future collaboration.

Therefore it is clear that simply making it easier to translate is not enough. The potential translators will only translate if they see a need to translate. These could be seen as external; the need for others to have access to the information, or internal: by making this data accessible I can get more exposure for my work. The motivation is interesting but what is the most important is that the translator must have made that connection, without that the translations will not happen as they are not prioritised by the translator.

But as we show below if the motivation is present then sometimes the action of making the content available can be a catalyst for further translation.

=== Existing techs are adopters ===
From all of the projects that we worked with we found that when we have technical people involved they are quick adopters of the translations or of the tools and that often this spreads to others. This was noticed in the translation of the Pootle guides; an existing highly technical group translated the content. Also in the Creative Commons scenario a group of highly technical system administrators quickly adopted the tools.

=== Making it more accessible can get more done ===
People had put some effort into localising the Pootle tools documentation, but nothing quite succeeded. The English documentation is stored in a Wiki, previous translators had simply created translated pages in the wiki based on the English, but these are very hard to keep up-to-date and where often abandoned. By simply making it easier to translate and keep translation up-tp-date we saw more translations. Within days we had a full Persian translation and people has started translating Afrikaans, French and Basque (a minority language of France and Spain).

With the Creative Commons Licenses we found that by using our tools people were able to give higher quality translation, something that they had been unable to do till then. Volunteers also emerged with someone wanting to translate the licenses into Xhosa. They approached Translate.org.za simply because the licenses were made available for easy translation. Thus easy access to translation can make more happen, once again as long as their is the motivation to translate.

= Conclusion =
Although we saw little change within the FMFI participants we were very encouraged by the adoption within the two other communities. The fact that the documentation for the tools has been localised into Persian and Afrikaans within days of announcing their availability is very encouraging, indicating that where their is a will to create local content making it easier to translate results in more local language content.

The creative commons localisation was also very encouraging, since we hosted the translation on our translation server we were approached by students at Rhodes University to localise the licenses into Xhosa.

The most important observations are these:# Lowering the technical barrier results in increasing levels of translation.
# A connection with the need for translated content results in people participating in content translation. Without this connection lowering the technical barriers shows no increase in translation activity.

=External Links=

* [http://translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/toolkit/index Translate Toolkit] - online documentation
* [http://translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/pootle/index Pootle] - online documentation

HTML Translation:Project Chapter

2007-10-28T11:00:27Z

Dwayne: /* Pootle Community */

{{HTML_Translation nav bar}}

= Background =
Most projects within the FMFI project focus on connectivity, the first mile (innovative ways to connect A to B). This project falls within the first inch, the ability to access content. To many people this is often seen as access to a device that allows the user access to content. Or in some cases technology that allows people with disabilities to access data; screen readers, text-to-speech, etc. But not many people consider that with content not available in someone's own language that first-inch and first-mile solutions are bring information to a person but they are unable to access it simply because of a language barrier.

[[Image:CC-nso.png|thumb|450px|Creative Commons license selection page translated into Northern Sotho]]

All the e-Government systems in the world, delivered efficiently to all the rural areas in South Africa will still not bring access to people if all the content is in English.

English content is a barrier to many people wanting to access information. By focusing on making it possible for a website to be easily translated the project's aim is not to eliminate the barrier posed by English but to eliminate the technological issues that prevent web content from being translated. Actual translation still needs to be done by a translator and the project looks at the social issues that enable or prevent this translation from happening.

The majority of content on the internet in created in English, this is indeed also a reflection on the fact that many of the first Internet users where English speaking. With the growth of the Internet there is a growing community that does not speak English and are creating content in their own languages. However, the fact remains that much English content if available in their mother-tongue would be very useful to many non-English speakers. This problem of monolingual content means that content is not widely accessible.

If this content could be translated then it would be accessible to a greater audience bringing with it all sorts of possibilities. The bridging of divides between linguistic communities, the sharing of information and the stimulation of new content.

Although there is a movement to Content Management Systems (CMS) and Wikis, there is still a large amount of content that is stored in static HTML pages. And the problem with static content is that it is hard to process and translate. But with tools it would be possible to transform static HTML content into a standard translatable form.

With a process set in place to transforms static content into a translatable form, then makes it easy for someone to translate and lastly converts the translated content back into static HTML then it would be possible to unlock monolingual content easily.

== Research Question ==
Does the ability to easily translate websites content stimulate the actual translation of the content.

== Implementation ==
The first major technical challenge was the adaptation of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translate_Toolkit Translate Toolkit] to be able to process HTML, and later wiki pages, in a standard translation format known as Gettext PO. This proved difficult as although HTML is a standard its implementation varies. Wiki syntax proved much easier to manage.

The project did set out to automate the roundtrip process of static content to Gettext PO and back but this was not completed as the translations of static content through the FMFI partners never materialised. The roundtrip for Wiki content happened but was not automated. The automation of these would be simple to implement.

The project used the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pootle Pootle] Translation Management System (TMS) to enable on-line web-based translation to take place. This was done to lower the barrier to entry for translators. They would not need to install any software and the process of translation is as simple as using a web browser.

== Translation process explained ==
The following diagram shows simply the content creation process in contrast to the localisation process:
[[Image:Translation-process.png|thumb|none|400px|Content creation and translation compared]]

In both their is the creator who either creates new content or translates existing content info another language. While the content creator creates and output that benefits users who can speak his or her language, the translator allows other speakers of other languages to benefit from the same content.

The following diagram allows us to understand the actual translation process:
[[Image:Translation-process-technical.png|thumb|none|400px|The translation process for static content]]

From the HTML content we extract translatable text. This is given to a translator who produced translated text. By combining the original HTML and the translated text we can create a translated HTML page.

The same process applies to other content such as Wiki pages. In the context of this project tools where created to transform the HTML into a translatable format. And the tool used by translators to create the translated text was the Pootle TMS.

= Boundary Partners =
Three boundary partners were identified:

[[Image:Boundary-partners.png|thumb|400px|Boundary partners]]

# [http://creativecommons.org/ Creative Commons]
# [http://pootle.wordforge.org Pootle Translation Community]
# FMFI partners

Each has a different level of translation experience and each was given a different level of support.

Creative Commons is an organisation as well as a movement centred around copyright reform. Central to the movement are a set of licenses that allow content creators to define how people may user their content. These licenses are translated into a number of languages and our efforts where to translate them into a number of South African languages.

The Pootle software, that was also used in this project, was developed to allow anyone to translate online. The community that has sprung up around the software is part of the broader software localisation community. During this project we exposed the Pootle user guide for translation into a number of languages.

Lastly, the FMFI project partners themselves where asked to translate the FMFI website content into local languages. As FMFI covers Angola and Mozambique as project partners this introduced Portuguese as a language that would be helpful for research dissemination.

== Levels of translation experience ==
[[Image:Boundary-partner-skills.png|thumb|300px|Levels of translation experience]]The various boundary partners had varying levels of experience in localisation. This varied from no localisation experience to a high level of localisation experience.

We assumed that all FMFI partners had no localisation experience and thus where the ideal representation of the average user of content. Creative Commons had some level of exposure to localisation in that many of the licenses are translated and their community is multilingual and multicultural. The highest level of experience was that of the Pootle Community, since this community is centred around localisation it would be expected that they are very aware of the need for localisation and the experience of localisation.

== Levels of support ==
The Creative Commons translation were performed in Pootle using professional translators and given full support. The Pootle community was was not given any support but they are part of an existing translation community. Lastly, the FMFI partners where given the translations but were not given any level of support, in most cases this would represent a real content community.

= Outcome challenges and progress markers =
The following are the outcome challenges and progress markers for the three boundary partners.

== Creative Commons ==
''Creative Commons adopts and actively uses the Pootle translation management system''

{| class="prettytable" border="1" cellspacing="0"
! <center>'''Expect to see'''</center>
! <center>'''Like to see'''</center>
! <center>'''Love to see'''</center>

|-
| Creative Commons wants to have their licenses translated in South African languages
| Translations are hosted by creative commons on their own version of Pootle
| All licenses are translated on the Pootle server

|-
| The translated licenses are made available on the Creative Commons website
| New language teams start translating on the Pootle server
| Other content and software on their website is examined to see if it can be translated

|-
|
|
| Other teams outside of Creative Commons begin adopting the tools

|}

== Pootle Community ==
''The community actively translates the Pootle documentation''

{| class="prettytable" border="1" cellspacing="0"
! <center>Expect to see</center>
! <center>Like to see</center>
! <center>Love to see</center>

|-
| People are able to translate the wiki using Pootle
| The dokuwiki community supports this translation method
| Dokuwiki translated its own content using the wiki extractor and Pootle

|-
| Wiki content is translated into at least one other language
| Other dokuwiki sites use this approach to translations
| Dokuwiki enhances the extractor when they change their internal syntax

|-
|
| At least one major world language is actively translating: e.g. French
| Other wiki creators, specifically MediaWiki adopt the tools

|-
|
|
| Wiki designers add their flavour to the wiki extractor

|-
|
|
| The tools receive media attention.

|}

== FMFI partners ==
''Partners see localisation as an integral component of dissemination of their work''

{| class="prettytable"
! <center>Expect to see</center>
! <center>Like to see</center>
! <center>Love to see</center>

|-
| The software is installed on the FMFI website
| Key content is translated
| Participate actively in the development/enhancement of the software

|-
| FMFI partners in Mozambique and Angola localise some of the content
| Rapid turnaround between publication and translation
| Contribute monetarily to the software's enhancement

|-
|
| Translators excited about the software and its potential application in other areas.
| Promote and advocate the software in other departments

|-
|
|
| Brag about meeting their multilingual mandate.

|}

= Strategy Map =

{| class="prettytable"
| <center>'''Causal'''</center>
| <center>'''Persuasive'''</center>
| <center>'''Supportive'''</center>

|-
| '''I-1'''
| '''I-2'''
| '''I-3'''

|-
| Enable key languages on Pootle
| Discuss the issue of dissemination and local languages
| Provide email and online support to translators

|-
|
| Approach individuals to translate
| Update help documentation as needed

|-
| '''E-1'''
| '''E-2'''
| '''E-3'''

|-
| Install a Pootle server
| Send emails requesting help and praising progress
| Demonstrate Pootle translation

|-
| Upload translatable content
| Help set translation as an FMFI priority
|

|}

= Technical =
This is the view of the project from a technical perspective. In this we focused on 3 aspects:

# Translation of creative commons licenses. This is an existing body of translations with a poor process. It allowed us to validate our tools and create a better process.
# Localisation of static web pages. We chose the FMFI website and processed the pages to allow them to be localised.
# Localisation of wiki content. Although wiki content is not static it is hard to localise, we looked at making it easy to localise the Pootle manuals.

== Outcomes ==
From a technical point of view the following positive outcomes where achieved:

=== Creative Commons Server ===
[[Image:|thumb|''Illustration 6: Creative Commons Pootle server'']]Creative Commons installed a Pootle server at [http://translate.creativecommons.org/ http://translate.creativecommons.org/] onto which they migrated their licenses (48 languages) and all of their software. This replaced an old system that was not ideal for translation.

=== Tools enhanced ===
The tools that convert HTML to a translatable format where enhanced, but as explained below this will probably never be fully completed.

The tools where enhanced to manage various Wiki formats so that the Pootle documentation could be translated.

== Issues ==
=== Web pages are messy, very messy ===
A lot of time was spent looking at web pages and fixing the tools so that they extracted only the core content. Since the HTML standard is very loose and many web browsers have over time evolved to handle the idiosyncrasies of bad HTML we discovered that no matter how hard we worked we often ended up with extracted text which was difficult for a translator to use. With more time we could have refined the quality of the output.

However, we did see that it is possible to divorce the content from much of the raw HTML. So this still holds good potential in recovering static web content for translation.

A focus on XHTML which is better structured could also lead to more consistent extraction.

=== Slow translation server ===
The Translate.org.za translation server hosted at Rhodes University experienced a general slowdown for anyone outside Rhodes campus. This was initially assumed to relate to either students using the Internet or throttling policies within the University, however subsequently it was discovered that it related simply to an incorrect IP allocation. Unfortunately this was only discovered after the completion of the project. It is uncertain what influence this would have had on the project but it did affect the FMFI translations, Pootle community translation where unaffected as these are hosted on another server.

It was not possible to find a suitable host within South Africa that could give the same level of access that the Pootle server required.

== Observations ==
=== Wiki's hold potential ===
When building the tools to help make it easy to translate wiki pagesit was realised that Wiki pages, no matter that they are stored in a database, are simple text pages. Even though they follow an informal structure they are more regular then HTML. Thus it was quite easy to create a way to change the wiki page into a translatable format and back.

With much content now being generated in Wiki's, we think of Wikipedia and other resource, one realises that much of this content can be made available for translation. Thus future translation should become much easier as wiki and other content management systems become more pervasive.

= Community =
This is a view of the project from a community or participatory view. In this we looked at:

# How the skill level influenced the work to be done
# How the level of support influenced the outcome of a translation
# How the familiarity with the need for translation impacted on the volume of work completed

== Results ==
The following are the results that where observed:

The Creative Commons translations where conducted with professional translators, who worked on Pootle and where given a high level of support. As would be expected all translations where completed a the Creative Commons licenses where translated into Zulu, Northern Sotho and Afrikaans<ref name="ftn5">Creative Commons license selection form in Zulu: [http://creativecommons.org/license/?lang=zu http://creativecommons.org/license/?lang=zu]</ref>.

The Pootle user guide was translated into six languages by the community that translates the Pootle user interface and is involved in many other software translation projects<ref name="ftn6">List of Pootle user guide translations: [http://pootle.wordforge.org/doc/en/index.html http://pootle.wordforge.org/doc/en/index.html]</ref>.

The FMFI content was made available on Translate.org.za's South African Pootle server<ref name="ftn7">FMFI website content for translation: [http://pootle.translate.org.za/projects/fmfi/ http://pootle.translate.org.za/projects/fmfi/]</ref>, the data was announced twice to the FMFI partners, the need and opportunities available by translating the content where highlighted at various FMFI gatherings but no translations where made.

== Observations ==
=== Partnership works ===
In translating of the Creative Commons license we were able to engage Creative Commons directly which allowed us to bring translators, customer and end-result together. This was an amazing experience and mirrors what should be happening. The translators could work well especially since all the technical details were hidden from them.

=== Making it available is not enough, a connection to the need must exist ===
We made an announcement on the FMFI group list, appealed at various gathering and yet still this did not lead to localisation. With a number of the project partners from Portuguese speaking countries it was assumed that they would see the connection with translation, that by translating the English FMFI content into Portuguese that they would expose their work to others allowing future collaboration.

Therefore it is clear that simply making it easier to translate is not enough. The potential translators will only translate if they see a need to translate. These could be seen as external; the need for others to have access to the information, or internal: by making this data accessible I can get more exposure for my work. The motivation is interesting but what is the most important is that the translator must have made that connection, without that the translations will not happen as they are not prioritised by the translator.

But as we show below if the motivation is present then sometimes the action of making the content available can be a catalyst for further translation.

=== Existing techs are adopters ===
From all of the projects that we worked with we found that when we have technical people involved they are quick adopters of the translations or of the tools and that often this spreads to others. This was noticed in the translation of the Pootle guides; an existing highly technical group translated the content. Also in the Creative Commons scenario a group of highly technical system administrators quickly adopted the tools.

=== Making it more accessible can get more done ===
People had put some effort into localising the Pootle tools documentation, but nothing quite succeeded. The English documentation is stored in a Wiki, previous translators had simply created translated pages in the wiki based on the English, but these are very hard to keep up-to-date and where often abandoned. By simply making it easier to translate and keep translation up-tp-date we saw more translations. Within days we had a full Persian translation and people has started translating Afrikaans, French and Basque (a minority language of France and Spain).

With the Creative Commons Licenses we found that by using our tools people were able to give higher quality translation, something that they had been unable to do till then. Volunteers also emerged with someone wanting to translate the licenses into Xhosa. They approached Translate.org.za simply because the licenses were made available for easy translation. Thus easy access to translation can make more happen, once again as long as their is the motivation to translate.

= Conclusion =
Although we saw little change within the FMFI participants we were very encouraged by the adoption within the two other communities. The fact that the documentation for the tools has been localised into Persian and Afrikaans within days of announcing their availability is very encouraging, indicating that where their is a will to create local content making it easier to translate results in more local language content.

The creative commons localisation was also very encouraging, since we hosted the translation on our translation server we were approached by students at Rhodes University to localise the licenses into Xhosa.

The most important observations are these:# Lowering the technical barrier results in increasing levels of translation.
# A connection with the need for translated content results in people participating in content translation. Without this connection lowering the technical barriers shows no increase in translation activity.

=External Links=

* [http://translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/toolkit/index Translate Toolkit] - online documentation
* [http://translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/pootle/index Pootle] - online documentation

HTML Translation:Project Chapter

2007-10-28T10:59:47Z

Dwayne: /* Creative Commons */

{{HTML_Translation nav bar}}

= Background =
Most projects within the FMFI project focus on connectivity, the first mile (innovative ways to connect A to B). This project falls within the first inch, the ability to access content. To many people this is often seen as access to a device that allows the user access to content. Or in some cases technology that allows people with disabilities to access data; screen readers, text-to-speech, etc. But not many people consider that with content not available in someone's own language that first-inch and first-mile solutions are bring information to a person but they are unable to access it simply because of a language barrier.

[[Image:CC-nso.png|thumb|450px|Creative Commons license selection page translated into Northern Sotho]]

All the e-Government systems in the world, delivered efficiently to all the rural areas in South Africa will still not bring access to people if all the content is in English.

English content is a barrier to many people wanting to access information. By focusing on making it possible for a website to be easily translated the project's aim is not to eliminate the barrier posed by English but to eliminate the technological issues that prevent web content from being translated. Actual translation still needs to be done by a translator and the project looks at the social issues that enable or prevent this translation from happening.

The majority of content on the internet in created in English, this is indeed also a reflection on the fact that many of the first Internet users where English speaking. With the growth of the Internet there is a growing community that does not speak English and are creating content in their own languages. However, the fact remains that much English content if available in their mother-tongue would be very useful to many non-English speakers. This problem of monolingual content means that content is not widely accessible.

If this content could be translated then it would be accessible to a greater audience bringing with it all sorts of possibilities. The bridging of divides between linguistic communities, the sharing of information and the stimulation of new content.

Although there is a movement to Content Management Systems (CMS) and Wikis, there is still a large amount of content that is stored in static HTML pages. And the problem with static content is that it is hard to process and translate. But with tools it would be possible to transform static HTML content into a standard translatable form.

With a process set in place to transforms static content into a translatable form, then makes it easy for someone to translate and lastly converts the translated content back into static HTML then it would be possible to unlock monolingual content easily.

== Research Question ==
Does the ability to easily translate websites content stimulate the actual translation of the content.

== Implementation ==
The first major technical challenge was the adaptation of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translate_Toolkit Translate Toolkit] to be able to process HTML, and later wiki pages, in a standard translation format known as Gettext PO. This proved difficult as although HTML is a standard its implementation varies. Wiki syntax proved much easier to manage.

The project did set out to automate the roundtrip process of static content to Gettext PO and back but this was not completed as the translations of static content through the FMFI partners never materialised. The roundtrip for Wiki content happened but was not automated. The automation of these would be simple to implement.

The project used the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pootle Pootle] Translation Management System (TMS) to enable on-line web-based translation to take place. This was done to lower the barrier to entry for translators. They would not need to install any software and the process of translation is as simple as using a web browser.

== Translation process explained ==
The following diagram shows simply the content creation process in contrast to the localisation process:
[[Image:Translation-process.png|thumb|none|400px|Content creation and translation compared]]

In both their is the creator who either creates new content or translates existing content info another language. While the content creator creates and output that benefits users who can speak his or her language, the translator allows other speakers of other languages to benefit from the same content.

The following diagram allows us to understand the actual translation process:
[[Image:Translation-process-technical.png|thumb|none|400px|The translation process for static content]]

From the HTML content we extract translatable text. This is given to a translator who produced translated text. By combining the original HTML and the translated text we can create a translated HTML page.

The same process applies to other content such as Wiki pages. In the context of this project tools where created to transform the HTML into a translatable format. And the tool used by translators to create the translated text was the Pootle TMS.

= Boundary Partners =
Three boundary partners were identified:

[[Image:Boundary-partners.png|thumb|400px|Boundary partners]]

# [http://creativecommons.org/ Creative Commons]
# [http://pootle.wordforge.org Pootle Translation Community]
# FMFI partners

Each has a different level of translation experience and each was given a different level of support.

Creative Commons is an organisation as well as a movement centred around copyright reform. Central to the movement are a set of licenses that allow content creators to define how people may user their content. These licenses are translated into a number of languages and our efforts where to translate them into a number of South African languages.

The Pootle software, that was also used in this project, was developed to allow anyone to translate online. The community that has sprung up around the software is part of the broader software localisation community. During this project we exposed the Pootle user guide for translation into a number of languages.

Lastly, the FMFI project partners themselves where asked to translate the FMFI website content into local languages. As FMFI covers Angola and Mozambique as project partners this introduced Portuguese as a language that would be helpful for research dissemination.

== Levels of translation experience ==
[[Image:Boundary-partner-skills.png|thumb|300px|Levels of translation experience]]The various boundary partners had varying levels of experience in localisation. This varied from no localisation experience to a high level of localisation experience.

We assumed that all FMFI partners had no localisation experience and thus where the ideal representation of the average user of content. Creative Commons had some level of exposure to localisation in that many of the licenses are translated and their community is multilingual and multicultural. The highest level of experience was that of the Pootle Community, since this community is centred around localisation it would be expected that they are very aware of the need for localisation and the experience of localisation.

== Levels of support ==
The Creative Commons translation were performed in Pootle using professional translators and given full support. The Pootle community was was not given any support but they are part of an existing translation community. Lastly, the FMFI partners where given the translations but were not given any level of support, in most cases this would represent a real content community.

= Outcome challenges and progress markers =
The following are the outcome challenges and progress markers for the three boundary partners.

== Creative Commons ==
''Creative Commons adopts and actively uses the Pootle translation management system''

{| class="prettytable" border="1" cellspacing="0"
! <center>'''Expect to see'''</center>
! <center>'''Like to see'''</center>
! <center>'''Love to see'''</center>

|-
| Creative Commons wants to have their licenses translated in South African languages
| Translations are hosted by creative commons on their own version of Pootle
| All licenses are translated on the Pootle server

|-
| The translated licenses are made available on the Creative Commons website
| New language teams start translating on the Pootle server
| Other content and software on their website is examined to see if it can be translated

|-
|
|
| Other teams outside of Creative Commons begin adopting the tools

|}

== Pootle Community ==
''The community actively translates the Pootle documentation''

{| class="prettytable"
! <center>Expect to see</center>
! <center>Like to see</center>
! <center>Love to see</center>

|-
| People are able to translate the wiki using Pootle
| The dokuwiki community supports this translation method
| Dokuwiki translated its own content using the wiki extractor and Pootle

|-
| Wiki content is translated into at least one other language
| Other dokuwiki sites use this approach to translations
| Dokuwiki enhances the extractor when they change their internal syntax

|-
|
| At least one major world language is actively translating: e.g. French
| Other wiki creators, specifically MediaWiki adopt the tools

|-
|
|
| Wiki designers add their flavour to the wiki extractor

|-
|
|
| The tools receive media attention.

|}
== FMFI partners ==
''Partners see localisation as an integral component of dissemination of their work''

{| class="prettytable"
! <center>Expect to see</center>
! <center>Like to see</center>
! <center>Love to see</center>

|-
| The software is installed on the FMFI website
| Key content is translated
| Participate actively in the development/enhancement of the software

|-
| FMFI partners in Mozambique and Angola localise some of the content
| Rapid turnaround between publication and translation
| Contribute monetarily to the software's enhancement

|-
|
| Translators excited about the software and its potential application in other areas.
| Promote and advocate the software in other departments

|-
|
|
| Brag about meeting their multilingual mandate.

|}

= Strategy Map =

{| class="prettytable"
| <center>'''Causal'''</center>
| <center>'''Persuasive'''</center>
| <center>'''Supportive'''</center>

|-
| '''I-1'''
| '''I-2'''
| '''I-3'''

|-
| Enable key languages on Pootle
| Discuss the issue of dissemination and local languages
| Provide email and online support to translators

|-
|
| Approach individuals to translate
| Update help documentation as needed

|-
| '''E-1'''
| '''E-2'''
| '''E-3'''

|-
| Install a Pootle server
| Send emails requesting help and praising progress
| Demonstrate Pootle translation

|-
| Upload translatable content
| Help set translation as an FMFI priority
|

|}

= Technical =
This is the view of the project from a technical perspective. In this we focused on 3 aspects:

# Translation of creative commons licenses. This is an existing body of translations with a poor process. It allowed us to validate our tools and create a better process.
# Localisation of static web pages. We chose the FMFI website and processed the pages to allow them to be localised.
# Localisation of wiki content. Although wiki content is not static it is hard to localise, we looked at making it easy to localise the Pootle manuals.

== Outcomes ==
From a technical point of view the following positive outcomes where achieved:

=== Creative Commons Server ===
[[Image:|thumb|''Illustration 6: Creative Commons Pootle server'']]Creative Commons installed a Pootle server at [http://translate.creativecommons.org/ http://translate.creativecommons.org/] onto which they migrated their licenses (48 languages) and all of their software. This replaced an old system that was not ideal for translation.

=== Tools enhanced ===
The tools that convert HTML to a translatable format where enhanced, but as explained below this will probably never be fully completed.

The tools where enhanced to manage various Wiki formats so that the Pootle documentation could be translated.

== Issues ==
=== Web pages are messy, very messy ===
A lot of time was spent looking at web pages and fixing the tools so that they extracted only the core content. Since the HTML standard is very loose and many web browsers have over time evolved to handle the idiosyncrasies of bad HTML we discovered that no matter how hard we worked we often ended up with extracted text which was difficult for a translator to use. With more time we could have refined the quality of the output.

However, we did see that it is possible to divorce the content from much of the raw HTML. So this still holds good potential in recovering static web content for translation.

A focus on XHTML which is better structured could also lead to more consistent extraction.

=== Slow translation server ===
The Translate.org.za translation server hosted at Rhodes University experienced a general slowdown for anyone outside Rhodes campus. This was initially assumed to relate to either students using the Internet or throttling policies within the University, however subsequently it was discovered that it related simply to an incorrect IP allocation. Unfortunately this was only discovered after the completion of the project. It is uncertain what influence this would have had on the project but it did affect the FMFI translations, Pootle community translation where unaffected as these are hosted on another server.

It was not possible to find a suitable host within South Africa that could give the same level of access that the Pootle server required.

== Observations ==
=== Wiki's hold potential ===
When building the tools to help make it easy to translate wiki pagesit was realised that Wiki pages, no matter that they are stored in a database, are simple text pages. Even though they follow an informal structure they are more regular then HTML. Thus it was quite easy to create a way to change the wiki page into a translatable format and back.

With much content now being generated in Wiki's, we think of Wikipedia and other resource, one realises that much of this content can be made available for translation. Thus future translation should become much easier as wiki and other content management systems become more pervasive.

= Community =
This is a view of the project from a community or participatory view. In this we looked at:

# How the skill level influenced the work to be done
# How the level of support influenced the outcome of a translation
# How the familiarity with the need for translation impacted on the volume of work completed

== Results ==
The following are the results that where observed:

The Creative Commons translations where conducted with professional translators, who worked on Pootle and where given a high level of support. As would be expected all translations where completed a the Creative Commons licenses where translated into Zulu, Northern Sotho and Afrikaans<ref name="ftn5">Creative Commons license selection form in Zulu: [http://creativecommons.org/license/?lang=zu http://creativecommons.org/license/?lang=zu]</ref>.

The Pootle user guide was translated into six languages by the community that translates the Pootle user interface and is involved in many other software translation projects<ref name="ftn6">List of Pootle user guide translations: [http://pootle.wordforge.org/doc/en/index.html http://pootle.wordforge.org/doc/en/index.html]</ref>.

The FMFI content was made available on Translate.org.za's South African Pootle server<ref name="ftn7">FMFI website content for translation: [http://pootle.translate.org.za/projects/fmfi/ http://pootle.translate.org.za/projects/fmfi/]</ref>, the data was announced twice to the FMFI partners, the need and opportunities available by translating the content where highlighted at various FMFI gatherings but no translations where made.

== Observations ==
=== Partnership works ===
In translating of the Creative Commons license we were able to engage Creative Commons directly which allowed us to bring translators, customer and end-result together. This was an amazing experience and mirrors what should be happening. The translators could work well especially since all the technical details were hidden from them.

=== Making it available is not enough, a connection to the need must exist ===
We made an announcement on the FMFI group list, appealed at various gathering and yet still this did not lead to localisation. With a number of the project partners from Portuguese speaking countries it was assumed that they would see the connection with translation, that by translating the English FMFI content into Portuguese that they would expose their work to others allowing future collaboration.

Therefore it is clear that simply making it easier to translate is not enough. The potential translators will only translate if they see a need to translate. These could be seen as external; the need for others to have access to the information, or internal: by making this data accessible I can get more exposure for my work. The motivation is interesting but what is the most important is that the translator must have made that connection, without that the translations will not happen as they are not prioritised by the translator.

But as we show below if the motivation is present then sometimes the action of making the content available can be a catalyst for further translation.

=== Existing techs are adopters ===
From all of the projects that we worked with we found that when we have technical people involved they are quick adopters of the translations or of the tools and that often this spreads to others. This was noticed in the translation of the Pootle guides; an existing highly technical group translated the content. Also in the Creative Commons scenario a group of highly technical system administrators quickly adopted the tools.

=== Making it more accessible can get more done ===
People had put some effort into localising the Pootle tools documentation, but nothing quite succeeded. The English documentation is stored in a Wiki, previous translators had simply created translated pages in the wiki based on the English, but these are very hard to keep up-to-date and where often abandoned. By simply making it easier to translate and keep translation up-tp-date we saw more translations. Within days we had a full Persian translation and people has started translating Afrikaans, French and Basque (a minority language of France and Spain).

With the Creative Commons Licenses we found that by using our tools people were able to give higher quality translation, something that they had been unable to do till then. Volunteers also emerged with someone wanting to translate the licenses into Xhosa. They approached Translate.org.za simply because the licenses were made available for easy translation. Thus easy access to translation can make more happen, once again as long as their is the motivation to translate.

= Conclusion =
Although we saw little change within the FMFI participants we were very encouraged by the adoption within the two other communities. The fact that the documentation for the tools has been localised into Persian and Afrikaans within days of announcing their availability is very encouraging, indicating that where their is a will to create local content making it easier to translate results in more local language content.

The creative commons localisation was also very encouraging, since we hosted the translation on our translation server we were approached by students at Rhodes University to localise the licenses into Xhosa.

The most important observations are these:# Lowering the technical barrier results in increasing levels of translation.
# A connection with the need for translated content results in people participating in content translation. Without this connection lowering the technical barriers shows no increase in translation activity.

=External Links=

* [http://translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/toolkit/index Translate Toolkit] - online documentation
* [http://translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/pootle/index Pootle] - online documentation

HTML Translation:Project Chapter

2007-10-28T10:54:42Z

Dwayne: /* Outcome challenges and progress markers */ Align outcome challenge

{{HTML_Translation nav bar}}

= Background =
Most projects within the FMFI project focus on connectivity, the first mile (innovative ways to connect A to B). This project falls within the first inch, the ability to access content. To many people this is often seen as access to a device that allows the user access to content. Or in some cases technology that allows people with disabilities to access data; screen readers, text-to-speech, etc. But not many people consider that with content not available in someone's own language that first-inch and first-mile solutions are bring information to a person but they are unable to access it simply because of a language barrier.

[[Image:CC-nso.png|thumb|450px|Creative Commons license selection page translated into Northern Sotho]]

All the e-Government systems in the world, delivered efficiently to all the rural areas in South Africa will still not bring access to people if all the content is in English.

English content is a barrier to many people wanting to access information. By focusing on making it possible for a website to be easily translated the project's aim is not to eliminate the barrier posed by English but to eliminate the technological issues that prevent web content from being translated. Actual translation still needs to be done by a translator and the project looks at the social issues that enable or prevent this translation from happening.

The majority of content on the internet in created in English, this is indeed also a reflection on the fact that many of the first Internet users where English speaking. With the growth of the Internet there is a growing community that does not speak English and are creating content in their own languages. However, the fact remains that much English content if available in their mother-tongue would be very useful to many non-English speakers. This problem of monolingual content means that content is not widely accessible.

If this content could be translated then it would be accessible to a greater audience bringing with it all sorts of possibilities. The bridging of divides between linguistic communities, the sharing of information and the stimulation of new content.

Although there is a movement to Content Management Systems (CMS) and Wikis, there is still a large amount of content that is stored in static HTML pages. And the problem with static content is that it is hard to process and translate. But with tools it would be possible to transform static HTML content into a standard translatable form.

With a process set in place to transforms static content into a translatable form, then makes it easy for someone to translate and lastly converts the translated content back into static HTML then it would be possible to unlock monolingual content easily.

== Research Question ==
Does the ability to easily translate websites content stimulate the actual translation of the content.

== Implementation ==
The first major technical challenge was the adaptation of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translate_Toolkit Translate Toolkit] to be able to process HTML, and later wiki pages, in a standard translation format known as Gettext PO. This proved difficult as although HTML is a standard its implementation varies. Wiki syntax proved much easier to manage.

The project did set out to automate the roundtrip process of static content to Gettext PO and back but this was not completed as the translations of static content through the FMFI partners never materialised. The roundtrip for Wiki content happened but was not automated. The automation of these would be simple to implement.

The project used the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pootle Pootle] Translation Management System (TMS) to enable on-line web-based translation to take place. This was done to lower the barrier to entry for translators. They would not need to install any software and the process of translation is as simple as using a web browser.

== Translation process explained ==
The following diagram shows simply the content creation process in contrast to the localisation process:
[[Image:Translation-process.png|thumb|none|400px|Content creation and translation compared]]

In both their is the creator who either creates new content or translates existing content info another language. While the content creator creates and output that benefits users who can speak his or her language, the translator allows other speakers of other languages to benefit from the same content.

The following diagram allows us to understand the actual translation process:
[[Image:Translation-process-technical.png|thumb|none|400px|The translation process for static content]]

From the HTML content we extract translatable text. This is given to a translator who produced translated text. By combining the original HTML and the translated text we can create a translated HTML page.

The same process applies to other content such as Wiki pages. In the context of this project tools where created to transform the HTML into a translatable format. And the tool used by translators to create the translated text was the Pootle TMS.

= Boundary Partners =
Three boundary partners were identified:

[[Image:Boundary-partners.png|thumb|400px|Boundary partners]]

# [http://creativecommons.org/ Creative Commons]
# [http://pootle.wordforge.org Pootle Translation Community]
# FMFI partners

Each has a different level of translation experience and each was given a different level of support.

Creative Commons is an organisation as well as a movement centred around copyright reform. Central to the movement are a set of licenses that allow content creators to define how people may user their content. These licenses are translated into a number of languages and our efforts where to translate them into a number of South African languages.

The Pootle software, that was also used in this project, was developed to allow anyone to translate online. The community that has sprung up around the software is part of the broader software localisation community. During this project we exposed the Pootle user guide for translation into a number of languages.

Lastly, the FMFI project partners themselves where asked to translate the FMFI website content into local languages. As FMFI covers Angola and Mozambique as project partners this introduced Portuguese as a language that would be helpful for research dissemination.

== Levels of translation experience ==
[[Image:Boundary-partner-skills.png|thumb|300px|Levels of translation experience]]The various boundary partners had varying levels of experience in localisation. This varied from no localisation experience to a high level of localisation experience.

We assumed that all FMFI partners had no localisation experience and thus where the ideal representation of the average user of content. Creative Commons had some level of exposure to localisation in that many of the licenses are translated and their community is multilingual and multicultural. The highest level of experience was that of the Pootle Community, since this community is centred around localisation it would be expected that they are very aware of the need for localisation and the experience of localisation.

== Levels of support ==
The Creative Commons translation were performed in Pootle using professional translators and given full support. The Pootle community was was not given any support but they are part of an existing translation community. Lastly, the FMFI partners where given the translations but were not given any level of support, in most cases this would represent a real content community.

= Outcome challenges and progress markers =
The following are the outcome challenges and progress markers for the three boundary partners.

== Creative Commons ==
''Creative Commons adopts and actively uses the Pootle translation management system''

{| class="prettytable"
| <center>'''Expect to see'''</center>
| <center>'''Like to see'''</center>
| <center>'''Love to see'''</center>

|-
| Creative Commons wants to have their licenses translated in South African languages
| Translations are hosted by creative commons on their own version of Pootle
| All licenses are translated on the Pootle server

|-
| The translated licenses are made available on the Creative Commons website
| New language teams start translating on the Pootle server
| Other content and software on their website is examined to see if it can be translated

|-
|
|
| Other teams outside of Creative Commons begin adopting the tools

|}
== Pootle Community ==
''The community actively translates the Pootle documentation''

{| class="prettytable"
! <center>Expect to see</center>
! <center>Like to see</center>
! <center>Love to see</center>

|-
| People are able to translate the wiki using Pootle
| The dokuwiki community supports this translation method
| Dokuwiki translated its own content using the wiki extractor and Pootle

|-
| Wiki content is translated into at least one other language
| Other dokuwiki sites use this approach to translations
| Dokuwiki enhances the extractor when they change their internal syntax

|-
|
| At least one major world language is actively translating: e.g. French
| Other wiki creators, specifically MediaWiki adopt the tools

|-
|
|
| Wiki designers add their flavour to the wiki extractor

|-
|
|
| The tools receive media attention.

|}
== FMFI partners ==
''Partners see localisation as an integral component of dissemination of their work''

{| class="prettytable"
! <center>Expect to see</center>
! <center>Like to see</center>
! <center>Love to see</center>

|-
| The software is installed on the FMFI website
| Key content is translated
| Participate actively in the development/enhancement of the software

|-
| FMFI partners in Mozambique and Angola localise some of the content
| Rapid turnaround between publication and translation
| Contribute monetarily to the software's enhancement

|-
|
| Translators excited about the software and its potential application in other areas.
| Promote and advocate the software in other departments

|-
|
|
| Brag about meeting their multilingual mandate.

|}

= Strategy Map =

{| class="prettytable"
| <center>'''Causal'''</center>
| <center>'''Persuasive'''</center>
| <center>'''Supportive'''</center>

|-
| '''I-1'''
| '''I-2'''
| '''I-3'''

|-
| Enable key languages on Pootle
| Discuss the issue of dissemination and local languages
| Provide email and online support to translators

|-
|
| Approach individuals to translate
| Update help documentation as needed

|-
| '''E-1'''
| '''E-2'''
| '''E-3'''

|-
| Install a Pootle server
| Send emails requesting help and praising progress
| Demonstrate Pootle translation

|-
| Upload translatable content
| Help set translation as an FMFI priority
|

|}

= Technical =
This is the view of the project from a technical perspective. In this we focused on 3 aspects:

# Translation of creative commons licenses. This is an existing body of translations with a poor process. It allowed us to validate our tools and create a better process.
# Localisation of static web pages. We chose the FMFI website and processed the pages to allow them to be localised.
# Localisation of wiki content. Although wiki content is not static it is hard to localise, we looked at making it easy to localise the Pootle manuals.

== Outcomes ==
From a technical point of view the following positive outcomes where achieved:

=== Creative Commons Server ===
[[Image:|thumb|''Illustration 6: Creative Commons Pootle server'']]Creative Commons installed a Pootle server at [http://translate.creativecommons.org/ http://translate.creativecommons.org/] onto which they migrated their licenses (48 languages) and all of their software. This replaced an old system that was not ideal for translation.

=== Tools enhanced ===
The tools that convert HTML to a translatable format where enhanced, but as explained below this will probably never be fully completed.

The tools where enhanced to manage various Wiki formats so that the Pootle documentation could be translated.

== Issues ==
=== Web pages are messy, very messy ===
A lot of time was spent looking at web pages and fixing the tools so that they extracted only the core content. Since the HTML standard is very loose and many web browsers have over time evolved to handle the idiosyncrasies of bad HTML we discovered that no matter how hard we worked we often ended up with extracted text which was difficult for a translator to use. With more time we could have refined the quality of the output.

However, we did see that it is possible to divorce the content from much of the raw HTML. So this still holds good potential in recovering static web content for translation.

A focus on XHTML which is better structured could also lead to more consistent extraction.

=== Slow translation server ===
The Translate.org.za translation server hosted at Rhodes University experienced a general slowdown for anyone outside Rhodes campus. This was initially assumed to relate to either students using the Internet or throttling policies within the University, however subsequently it was discovered that it related simply to an incorrect IP allocation. Unfortunately this was only discovered after the completion of the project. It is uncertain what influence this would have had on the project but it did affect the FMFI translations, Pootle community translation where unaffected as these are hosted on another server.

It was not possible to find a suitable host within South Africa that could give the same level of access that the Pootle server required.

== Observations ==
=== Wiki's hold potential ===
When building the tools to help make it easy to translate wiki pagesit was realised that Wiki pages, no matter that they are stored in a database, are simple text pages. Even though they follow an informal structure they are more regular then HTML. Thus it was quite easy to create a way to change the wiki page into a translatable format and back.

With much content now being generated in Wiki's, we think of Wikipedia and other resource, one realises that much of this content can be made available for translation. Thus future translation should become much easier as wiki and other content management systems become more pervasive.

= Community =
This is a view of the project from a community or participatory view. In this we looked at:

# How the skill level influenced the work to be done
# How the level of support influenced the outcome of a translation
# How the familiarity with the need for translation impacted on the volume of work completed

== Results ==
The following are the results that where observed:

The Creative Commons translations where conducted with professional translators, who worked on Pootle and where given a high level of support. As would be expected all translations where completed a the Creative Commons licenses where translated into Zulu, Northern Sotho and Afrikaans<ref name="ftn5">Creative Commons license selection form in Zulu: [http://creativecommons.org/license/?lang=zu http://creativecommons.org/license/?lang=zu]</ref>.

The Pootle user guide was translated into six languages by the community that translates the Pootle user interface and is involved in many other software translation projects<ref name="ftn6">List of Pootle user guide translations: [http://pootle.wordforge.org/doc/en/index.html http://pootle.wordforge.org/doc/en/index.html]</ref>.

The FMFI content was made available on Translate.org.za's South African Pootle server<ref name="ftn7">FMFI website content for translation: [http://pootle.translate.org.za/projects/fmfi/ http://pootle.translate.org.za/projects/fmfi/]</ref>, the data was announced twice to the FMFI partners, the need and opportunities available by translating the content where highlighted at various FMFI gatherings but no translations where made.

== Observations ==
=== Partnership works ===
In translating of the Creative Commons license we were able to engage Creative Commons directly which allowed us to bring translators, customer and end-result together. This was an amazing experience and mirrors what should be happening. The translators could work well especially since all the technical details were hidden from them.

=== Making it available is not enough, a connection to the need must exist ===
We made an announcement on the FMFI group list, appealed at various gathering and yet still this did not lead to localisation. With a number of the project partners from Portuguese speaking countries it was assumed that they would see the connection with translation, that by translating the English FMFI content into Portuguese that they would expose their work to others allowing future collaboration.

Therefore it is clear that simply making it easier to translate is not enough. The potential translators will only translate if they see a need to translate. These could be seen as external; the need for others to have access to the information, or internal: by making this data accessible I can get more exposure for my work. The motivation is interesting but what is the most important is that the translator must have made that connection, without that the translations will not happen as they are not prioritised by the translator.

But as we show below if the motivation is present then sometimes the action of making the content available can be a catalyst for further translation.

=== Existing techs are adopters ===
From all of the projects that we worked with we found that when we have technical people involved they are quick adopters of the translations or of the tools and that often this spreads to others. This was noticed in the translation of the Pootle guides; an existing highly technical group translated the content. Also in the Creative Commons scenario a group of highly technical system administrators quickly adopted the tools.

=== Making it more accessible can get more done ===
People had put some effort into localising the Pootle tools documentation, but nothing quite succeeded. The English documentation is stored in a Wiki, previous translators had simply created translated pages in the wiki based on the English, but these are very hard to keep up-to-date and where often abandoned. By simply making it easier to translate and keep translation up-tp-date we saw more translations. Within days we had a full Persian translation and people has started translating Afrikaans, French and Basque (a minority language of France and Spain).

With the Creative Commons Licenses we found that by using our tools people were able to give higher quality translation, something that they had been unable to do till then. Volunteers also emerged with someone wanting to translate the licenses into Xhosa. They approached Translate.org.za simply because the licenses were made available for easy translation. Thus easy access to translation can make more happen, once again as long as their is the motivation to translate.

= Conclusion =
Although we saw little change within the FMFI participants we were very encouraged by the adoption within the two other communities. The fact that the documentation for the tools has been localised into Persian and Afrikaans within days of announcing their availability is very encouraging, indicating that where their is a will to create local content making it easier to translate results in more local language content.

The creative commons localisation was also very encouraging, since we hosted the translation on our translation server we were approached by students at Rhodes University to localise the licenses into Xhosa.

The most important observations are these:# Lowering the technical barrier results in increasing levels of translation.
# A connection with the need for translated content results in people participating in content translation. Without this connection lowering the technical barriers shows no increase in translation activity.

=External Links=

* [http://translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/toolkit/index Translate Toolkit] - online documentation
* [http://translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/pootle/index Pootle] - online documentation

HTML Translation:Project Chapter

2007-10-28T10:53:48Z

Dwayne: /* Outcome challenges and progress markers */

{{HTML_Translation nav bar}}

= Background =
Most projects within the FMFI project focus on connectivity, the first mile (innovative ways to connect A to B). This project falls within the first inch, the ability to access content. To many people this is often seen as access to a device that allows the user access to content. Or in some cases technology that allows people with disabilities to access data; screen readers, text-to-speech, etc. But not many people consider that with content not available in someone's own language that first-inch and first-mile solutions are bring information to a person but they are unable to access it simply because of a language barrier.

[[Image:CC-nso.png|thumb|450px|Creative Commons license selection page translated into Northern Sotho]]

All the e-Government systems in the world, delivered efficiently to all the rural areas in South Africa will still not bring access to people if all the content is in English.

English content is a barrier to many people wanting to access information. By focusing on making it possible for a website to be easily translated the project's aim is not to eliminate the barrier posed by English but to eliminate the technological issues that prevent web content from being translated. Actual translation still needs to be done by a translator and the project looks at the social issues that enable or prevent this translation from happening.

The majority of content on the internet in created in English, this is indeed also a reflection on the fact that many of the first Internet users where English speaking. With the growth of the Internet there is a growing community that does not speak English and are creating content in their own languages. However, the fact remains that much English content if available in their mother-tongue would be very useful to many non-English speakers. This problem of monolingual content means that content is not widely accessible.

If this content could be translated then it would be accessible to a greater audience bringing with it all sorts of possibilities. The bridging of divides between linguistic communities, the sharing of information and the stimulation of new content.

Although there is a movement to Content Management Systems (CMS) and Wikis, there is still a large amount of content that is stored in static HTML pages. And the problem with static content is that it is hard to process and translate. But with tools it would be possible to transform static HTML content into a standard translatable form.

With a process set in place to transforms static content into a translatable form, then makes it easy for someone to translate and lastly converts the translated content back into static HTML then it would be possible to unlock monolingual content easily.

== Research Question ==
Does the ability to easily translate websites content stimulate the actual translation of the content.

== Implementation ==
The first major technical challenge was the adaptation of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translate_Toolkit Translate Toolkit] to be able to process HTML, and later wiki pages, in a standard translation format known as Gettext PO. This proved difficult as although HTML is a standard its implementation varies. Wiki syntax proved much easier to manage.

The project did set out to automate the roundtrip process of static content to Gettext PO and back but this was not completed as the translations of static content through the FMFI partners never materialised. The roundtrip for Wiki content happened but was not automated. The automation of these would be simple to implement.

The project used the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pootle Pootle] Translation Management System (TMS) to enable on-line web-based translation to take place. This was done to lower the barrier to entry for translators. They would not need to install any software and the process of translation is as simple as using a web browser.

== Translation process explained ==
The following diagram shows simply the content creation process in contrast to the localisation process:
[[Image:Translation-process.png|thumb|none|400px|Content creation and translation compared]]

In both their is the creator who either creates new content or translates existing content info another language. While the content creator creates and output that benefits users who can speak his or her language, the translator allows other speakers of other languages to benefit from the same content.

The following diagram allows us to understand the actual translation process:
[[Image:Translation-process-technical.png|thumb|none|400px|The translation process for static content]]

From the HTML content we extract translatable text. This is given to a translator who produced translated text. By combining the original HTML and the translated text we can create a translated HTML page.

The same process applies to other content such as Wiki pages. In the context of this project tools where created to transform the HTML into a translatable format. And the tool used by translators to create the translated text was the Pootle TMS.

= Boundary Partners =
Three boundary partners were identified:

[[Image:Boundary-partners.png|thumb|400px|Boundary partners]]

# [http://creativecommons.org/ Creative Commons]
# [http://pootle.wordforge.org Pootle Translation Community]
# FMFI partners

Each has a different level of translation experience and each was given a different level of support.

Creative Commons is an organisation as well as a movement centred around copyright reform. Central to the movement are a set of licenses that allow content creators to define how people may user their content. These licenses are translated into a number of languages and our efforts where to translate them into a number of South African languages.

The Pootle software, that was also used in this project, was developed to allow anyone to translate online. The community that has sprung up around the software is part of the broader software localisation community. During this project we exposed the Pootle user guide for translation into a number of languages.

Lastly, the FMFI project partners themselves where asked to translate the FMFI website content into local languages. As FMFI covers Angola and Mozambique as project partners this introduced Portuguese as a language that would be helpful for research dissemination.

== Levels of translation experience ==
[[Image:Boundary-partner-skills.png|thumb|300px|Levels of translation experience]]The various boundary partners had varying levels of experience in localisation. This varied from no localisation experience to a high level of localisation experience.

We assumed that all FMFI partners had no localisation experience and thus where the ideal representation of the average user of content. Creative Commons had some level of exposure to localisation in that many of the licenses are translated and their community is multilingual and multicultural. The highest level of experience was that of the Pootle Community, since this community is centred around localisation it would be expected that they are very aware of the need for localisation and the experience of localisation.

== Levels of support ==
The Creative Commons translation were performed in Pootle using professional translators and given full support. The Pootle community was was not given any support but they are part of an existing translation community. Lastly, the FMFI partners where given the translations but were not given any level of support, in most cases this would represent a real content community.

= Outcome challenges and progress markers =
The following are the outcome challenges and progress markers for the three boundary partners.

== Creative Commons ==
''Creative Commons adopts and actively uses the Pootle translation management system''

{| class="prettytable"
| <center>'''Expect to see'''</center>
| <center>'''Like to see'''</center>
| <center>'''Love to see'''</center>

|-
| Creative Commons wants to have their licenses translated in South African languages
| Translations are hosted by creative commons on their own version of Pootle
| All licenses are translated on the Pootle server

|-
| The translated licenses are made available on the Creative Commons website
| New language teams start translating on the Pootle server
| Other content and software on their website is examined to see if it can be translated

|-
|
|
| Other teams outside of Creative Commons begin adopting the tools

|}
== Pootle Community ==
<center>''The community actively translates the Pootle documentation''</center>

{| class="prettytable"
! <center>Expect to see</center>
! <center>Like to see</center>
! <center>Love to see</center>

|-
| People are able to translate the wiki using Pootle
| The dokuwiki community supports this translation method
| Dokuwiki translated its own content using the wiki extractor and Pootle

|-
| Wiki content is translated into at least one other language
| Other dokuwiki sites use this approach to translations
| Dokuwiki enhances the extractor when they change their internal syntax

|-
|
| At least one major world language is actively translating: e.g. French
| Other wiki creators, specifically MediaWiki adopt the tools

|-
|
|
| Wiki designers add their flavour to the wiki extractor

|-
|
|
| The tools receive media attention.

|}
== FMFI partners ==
<center>''Partners see localisation as an integral component of dissemination of their work''</center>

{| class="prettytable"
! <center>Expect to see</center>
! <center>Like to see</center>
! <center>Love to see</center>

|-
| The software is installed on the FMFI website
| Key content is translated
| Participate actively in the development/enhancement of the software

|-
| FMFI partners in Mozambique and Angola localise some of the content
| Rapid turnaround between publication and translation
| Contribute monetarily to the software's enhancement

|-
|
| Translators excited about the software and its potential application in other areas.
| Promote and advocate the software in other departments

|-
|
|
| Brag about meeting their multilingual mandate.

|}

= Strategy Map =

{| class="prettytable"
| <center>'''Causal'''</center>
| <center>'''Persuasive'''</center>
| <center>'''Supportive'''</center>

|-
| '''I-1'''
| '''I-2'''
| '''I-3'''

|-
| Enable key languages on Pootle
| Discuss the issue of dissemination and local languages
| Provide email and online support to translators

|-
|
| Approach individuals to translate
| Update help documentation as needed

|-
| '''E-1'''
| '''E-2'''
| '''E-3'''

|-
| Install a Pootle server
| Send emails requesting help and praising progress
| Demonstrate Pootle translation

|-
| Upload translatable content
| Help set translation as an FMFI priority
|

|}

= Technical =
This is the view of the project from a technical perspective. In this we focused on 3 aspects:

# Translation of creative commons licenses. This is an existing body of translations with a poor process. It allowed us to validate our tools and create a better process.
# Localisation of static web pages. We chose the FMFI website and processed the pages to allow them to be localised.
# Localisation of wiki content. Although wiki content is not static it is hard to localise, we looked at making it easy to localise the Pootle manuals.

== Outcomes ==
From a technical point of view the following positive outcomes where achieved:

=== Creative Commons Server ===
[[Image:|thumb|''Illustration 6: Creative Commons Pootle server'']]Creative Commons installed a Pootle server at [http://translate.creativecommons.org/ http://translate.creativecommons.org/] onto which they migrated their licenses (48 languages) and all of their software. This replaced an old system that was not ideal for translation.

=== Tools enhanced ===
The tools that convert HTML to a translatable format where enhanced, but as explained below this will probably never be fully completed.

The tools where enhanced to manage various Wiki formats so that the Pootle documentation could be translated.

== Issues ==
=== Web pages are messy, very messy ===
A lot of time was spent looking at web pages and fixing the tools so that they extracted only the core content. Since the HTML standard is very loose and many web browsers have over time evolved to handle the idiosyncrasies of bad HTML we discovered that no matter how hard we worked we often ended up with extracted text which was difficult for a translator to use. With more time we could have refined the quality of the output.

However, we did see that it is possible to divorce the content from much of the raw HTML. So this still holds good potential in recovering static web content for translation.

A focus on XHTML which is better structured could also lead to more consistent extraction.

=== Slow translation server ===
The Translate.org.za translation server hosted at Rhodes University experienced a general slowdown for anyone outside Rhodes campus. This was initially assumed to relate to either students using the Internet or throttling policies within the University, however subsequently it was discovered that it related simply to an incorrect IP allocation. Unfortunately this was only discovered after the completion of the project. It is uncertain what influence this would have had on the project but it did affect the FMFI translations, Pootle community translation where unaffected as these are hosted on another server.

It was not possible to find a suitable host within South Africa that could give the same level of access that the Pootle server required.

== Observations ==
=== Wiki's hold potential ===
When building the tools to help make it easy to translate wiki pagesit was realised that Wiki pages, no matter that they are stored in a database, are simple text pages. Even though they follow an informal structure they are more regular then HTML. Thus it was quite easy to create a way to change the wiki page into a translatable format and back.

With much content now being generated in Wiki's, we think of Wikipedia and other resource, one realises that much of this content can be made available for translation. Thus future translation should become much easier as wiki and other content management systems become more pervasive.

= Community =
This is a view of the project from a community or participatory view. In this we looked at:

# How the skill level influenced the work to be done
# How the level of support influenced the outcome of a translation
# How the familiarity with the need for translation impacted on the volume of work completed

== Results ==
The following are the results that where observed:

The Creative Commons translations where conducted with professional translators, who worked on Pootle and where given a high level of support. As would be expected all translations where completed a the Creative Commons licenses where translated into Zulu, Northern Sotho and Afrikaans<ref name="ftn5">Creative Commons license selection form in Zulu: [http://creativecommons.org/license/?lang=zu http://creativecommons.org/license/?lang=zu]</ref>.

The Pootle user guide was translated into six languages by the community that translates the Pootle user interface and is involved in many other software translation projects<ref name="ftn6">List of Pootle user guide translations: [http://pootle.wordforge.org/doc/en/index.html http://pootle.wordforge.org/doc/en/index.html]</ref>.

The FMFI content was made available on Translate.org.za's South African Pootle server<ref name="ftn7">FMFI website content for translation: [http://pootle.translate.org.za/projects/fmfi/ http://pootle.translate.org.za/projects/fmfi/]</ref>, the data was announced twice to the FMFI partners, the need and opportunities available by translating the content where highlighted at various FMFI gatherings but no translations where made.

== Observations ==
=== Partnership works ===
In translating of the Creative Commons license we were able to engage Creative Commons directly which allowed us to bring translators, customer and end-result together. This was an amazing experience and mirrors what should be happening. The translators could work well especially since all the technical details were hidden from them.

=== Making it available is not enough, a connection to the need must exist ===
We made an announcement on the FMFI group list, appealed at various gathering and yet still this did not lead to localisation. With a number of the project partners from Portuguese speaking countries it was assumed that they would see the connection with translation, that by translating the English FMFI content into Portuguese that they would expose their work to others allowing future collaboration.

Therefore it is clear that simply making it easier to translate is not enough. The potential translators will only translate if they see a need to translate. These could be seen as external; the need for others to have access to the information, or internal: by making this data accessible I can get more exposure for my work. The motivation is interesting but what is the most important is that the translator must have made that connection, without that the translations will not happen as they are not prioritised by the translator.

But as we show below if the motivation is present then sometimes the action of making the content available can be a catalyst for further translation.

=== Existing techs are adopters ===
From all of the projects that we worked with we found that when we have technical people involved they are quick adopters of the translations or of the tools and that often this spreads to others. This was noticed in the translation of the Pootle guides; an existing highly technical group translated the content. Also in the Creative Commons scenario a group of highly technical system administrators quickly adopted the tools.

=== Making it more accessible can get more done ===
People had put some effort into localising the Pootle tools documentation, but nothing quite succeeded. The English documentation is stored in a Wiki, previous translators had simply created translated pages in the wiki based on the English, but these are very hard to keep up-to-date and where often abandoned. By simply making it easier to translate and keep translation up-tp-date we saw more translations. Within days we had a full Persian translation and people has started translating Afrikaans, French and Basque (a minority language of France and Spain).

With the Creative Commons Licenses we found that by using our tools people were able to give higher quality translation, something that they had been unable to do till then. Volunteers also emerged with someone wanting to translate the licenses into Xhosa. They approached Translate.org.za simply because the licenses were made available for easy translation. Thus easy access to translation can make more happen, once again as long as their is the motivation to translate.

= Conclusion =
Although we saw little change within the FMFI participants we were very encouraged by the adoption within the two other communities. The fact that the documentation for the tools has been localised into Persian and Afrikaans within days of announcing their availability is very encouraging, indicating that where their is a will to create local content making it easier to translate results in more local language content.

The creative commons localisation was also very encouraging, since we hosted the translation on our translation server we were approached by students at Rhodes University to localise the licenses into Xhosa.

The most important observations are these:# Lowering the technical barrier results in increasing levels of translation.
# A connection with the need for translated content results in people participating in content translation. Without this connection lowering the technical barriers shows no increase in translation activity.

=External Links=

* [http://translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/toolkit/index Translate Toolkit] - online documentation
* [http://translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/pootle/index Pootle] - online documentation

HTML Translation:Project Chapter

2007-10-28T10:53:13Z

Dwayne: /* Levels of translation experience */ Add image

{{HTML_Translation nav bar}}

= Background =
Most projects within the FMFI project focus on connectivity, the first mile (innovative ways to connect A to B). This project falls within the first inch, the ability to access content. To many people this is often seen as access to a device that allows the user access to content. Or in some cases technology that allows people with disabilities to access data; screen readers, text-to-speech, etc. But not many people consider that with content not available in someone's own language that first-inch and first-mile solutions are bring information to a person but they are unable to access it simply because of a language barrier.

[[Image:CC-nso.png|thumb|450px|Creative Commons license selection page translated into Northern Sotho]]

All the e-Government systems in the world, delivered efficiently to all the rural areas in South Africa will still not bring access to people if all the content is in English.

English content is a barrier to many people wanting to access information. By focusing on making it possible for a website to be easily translated the project's aim is not to eliminate the barrier posed by English but to eliminate the technological issues that prevent web content from being translated. Actual translation still needs to be done by a translator and the project looks at the social issues that enable or prevent this translation from happening.

The majority of content on the internet in created in English, this is indeed also a reflection on the fact that many of the first Internet users where English speaking. With the growth of the Internet there is a growing community that does not speak English and are creating content in their own languages. However, the fact remains that much English content if available in their mother-tongue would be very useful to many non-English speakers. This problem of monolingual content means that content is not widely accessible.

If this content could be translated then it would be accessible to a greater audience bringing with it all sorts of possibilities. The bridging of divides between linguistic communities, the sharing of information and the stimulation of new content.

Although there is a movement to Content Management Systems (CMS) and Wikis, there is still a large amount of content that is stored in static HTML pages. And the problem with static content is that it is hard to process and translate. But with tools it would be possible to transform static HTML content into a standard translatable form.

With a process set in place to transforms static content into a translatable form, then makes it easy for someone to translate and lastly converts the translated content back into static HTML then it would be possible to unlock monolingual content easily.

== Research Question ==
Does the ability to easily translate websites content stimulate the actual translation of the content.

== Implementation ==
The first major technical challenge was the adaptation of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translate_Toolkit Translate Toolkit] to be able to process HTML, and later wiki pages, in a standard translation format known as Gettext PO. This proved difficult as although HTML is a standard its implementation varies. Wiki syntax proved much easier to manage.

The project did set out to automate the roundtrip process of static content to Gettext PO and back but this was not completed as the translations of static content through the FMFI partners never materialised. The roundtrip for Wiki content happened but was not automated. The automation of these would be simple to implement.

The project used the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pootle Pootle] Translation Management System (TMS) to enable on-line web-based translation to take place. This was done to lower the barrier to entry for translators. They would not need to install any software and the process of translation is as simple as using a web browser.

== Translation process explained ==
The following diagram shows simply the content creation process in contrast to the localisation process:
[[Image:Translation-process.png|thumb|none|400px|Content creation and translation compared]]

In both their is the creator who either creates new content or translates existing content info another language. While the content creator creates and output that benefits users who can speak his or her language, the translator allows other speakers of other languages to benefit from the same content.

The following diagram allows us to understand the actual translation process:
[[Image:Translation-process-technical.png|thumb|none|400px|The translation process for static content]]

From the HTML content we extract translatable text. This is given to a translator who produced translated text. By combining the original HTML and the translated text we can create a translated HTML page.

The same process applies to other content such as Wiki pages. In the context of this project tools where created to transform the HTML into a translatable format. And the tool used by translators to create the translated text was the Pootle TMS.

= Boundary Partners =
Three boundary partners were identified:

[[Image:Boundary-partners.png|thumb|400px|Boundary partners]]

# [http://creativecommons.org/ Creative Commons]
# [http://pootle.wordforge.org Pootle Translation Community]
# FMFI partners

Each has a different level of translation experience and each was given a different level of support.

Creative Commons is an organisation as well as a movement centred around copyright reform. Central to the movement are a set of licenses that allow content creators to define how people may user their content. These licenses are translated into a number of languages and our efforts where to translate them into a number of South African languages.

The Pootle software, that was also used in this project, was developed to allow anyone to translate online. The community that has sprung up around the software is part of the broader software localisation community. During this project we exposed the Pootle user guide for translation into a number of languages.

Lastly, the FMFI project partners themselves where asked to translate the FMFI website content into local languages. As FMFI covers Angola and Mozambique as project partners this introduced Portuguese as a language that would be helpful for research dissemination.

== Levels of translation experience ==
[[Image:Boundary-partner-skills.png|thumb|300px|Levels of translation experience]]The various boundary partners had varying levels of experience in localisation. This varied from no localisation experience to a high level of localisation experience.

We assumed that all FMFI partners had no localisation experience and thus where the ideal representation of the average user of content. Creative Commons had some level of exposure to localisation in that many of the licenses are translated and their community is multilingual and multicultural. The highest level of experience was that of the Pootle Community, since this community is centred around localisation it would be expected that they are very aware of the need for localisation and the experience of localisation.

== Levels of support ==
The Creative Commons translation were performed in Pootle using professional translators and given full support. The Pootle community was was not given any support but they are part of an existing translation community. Lastly, the FMFI partners where given the translations but were not given any level of support, in most cases this would represent a real content community.

= Outcome challenges and progress markers =
The following are the outcome challenges and progress markers for the three boundary partners. (Those progress markers that where realised are shaded in grey.)

== Creative Commons ==
''Creative Commons adopts and actively uses the Pootle translation management system''

{| class="prettytable"
| <center>'''Expect to see'''</center>
| <center>'''Like to see'''</center>
| <center>'''Love to see'''</center>

|-
| Creative Commons wants to have their licenses translated in South African languages
| Translations are hosted by creative commons on their own version of Pootle
| All licenses are translated on the Pootle server

|-
| The translated licenses are made available on the Creative Commons website
| New language teams start translating on the Pootle server
| Other content and software on their website is examined to see if it can be translated

|-
|
|
| Other teams outside of Creative Commons begin adopting the tools

|}
== Pootle Community ==
<center>''The community actively translates the Pootle documentation''</center>

{| class="prettytable"
! <center>Expect to see</center>
! <center>Like to see</center>
! <center>Love to see</center>

|-
| People are able to translate the wiki using Pootle
| The dokuwiki community supports this translation method
| Dokuwiki translated its own content using the wiki extractor and Pootle

|-
| Wiki content is translated into at least one other language
| Other dokuwiki sites use this approach to translations
| Dokuwiki enhances the extractor when they change their internal syntax

|-
|
| At least one major world language is actively translating: e.g. French
| Other wiki creators, specifically MediaWiki adopt the tools

|-
|
|
| Wiki designers add their flavour to the wiki extractor

|-
|
|
| The tools receive media attention.

|}
== FMFI partners ==
<center>''Partners see localisation as an integral component of dissemination of their work''</center>

{| class="prettytable"
! <center>Expect to see</center>
! <center>Like to see</center>
! <center>Love to see</center>

|-
| The software is installed on the FMFI website
| Key content is translated
| Participate actively in the development/enhancement of the software

|-
| FMFI partners in Mozambique and Angola localise some of the content
| Rapid turnaround between publication and translation
| Contribute monetarily to the software's enhancement

|-
|
| Translators excited about the software and its potential application in other areas.
| Promote and advocate the software in other departments

|-
|
|
| Brag about meeting their multilingual mandate.

|}
= Strategy Map =

{| class="prettytable"
| <center>'''Causal'''</center>
| <center>'''Persuasive'''</center>
| <center>'''Supportive'''</center>

|-
| '''I-1'''
| '''I-2'''
| '''I-3'''

|-
| Enable key languages on Pootle
| Discuss the issue of dissemination and local languages
| Provide email and online support to translators

|-
|
| Approach individuals to translate
| Update help documentation as needed

|-
| '''E-1'''
| '''E-2'''
| '''E-3'''

|-
| Install a Pootle server
| Send emails requesting help and praising progress
| Demonstrate Pootle translation

|-
| Upload translatable content
| Help set translation as an FMFI priority
|

|}

= Technical =
This is the view of the project from a technical perspective. In this we focused on 3 aspects:

# Translation of creative commons licenses. This is an existing body of translations with a poor process. It allowed us to validate our tools and create a better process.
# Localisation of static web pages. We chose the FMFI website and processed the pages to allow them to be localised.
# Localisation of wiki content. Although wiki content is not static it is hard to localise, we looked at making it easy to localise the Pootle manuals.

== Outcomes ==
From a technical point of view the following positive outcomes where achieved:

=== Creative Commons Server ===
[[Image:|thumb|''Illustration 6: Creative Commons Pootle server'']]Creative Commons installed a Pootle server at [http://translate.creativecommons.org/ http://translate.creativecommons.org/] onto which they migrated their licenses (48 languages) and all of their software. This replaced an old system that was not ideal for translation.

=== Tools enhanced ===
The tools that convert HTML to a translatable format where enhanced, but as explained below this will probably never be fully completed.

The tools where enhanced to manage various Wiki formats so that the Pootle documentation could be translated.

== Issues ==
=== Web pages are messy, very messy ===
A lot of time was spent looking at web pages and fixing the tools so that they extracted only the core content. Since the HTML standard is very loose and many web browsers have over time evolved to handle the idiosyncrasies of bad HTML we discovered that no matter how hard we worked we often ended up with extracted text which was difficult for a translator to use. With more time we could have refined the quality of the output.

However, we did see that it is possible to divorce the content from much of the raw HTML. So this still holds good potential in recovering static web content for translation.

A focus on XHTML which is better structured could also lead to more consistent extraction.

=== Slow translation server ===
The Translate.org.za translation server hosted at Rhodes University experienced a general slowdown for anyone outside Rhodes campus. This was initially assumed to relate to either students using the Internet or throttling policies within the University, however subsequently it was discovered that it related simply to an incorrect IP allocation. Unfortunately this was only discovered after the completion of the project. It is uncertain what influence this would have had on the project but it did affect the FMFI translations, Pootle community translation where unaffected as these are hosted on another server.

It was not possible to find a suitable host within South Africa that could give the same level of access that the Pootle server required.

== Observations ==
=== Wiki's hold potential ===
When building the tools to help make it easy to translate wiki pagesit was realised that Wiki pages, no matter that they are stored in a database, are simple text pages. Even though they follow an informal structure they are more regular then HTML. Thus it was quite easy to create a way to change the wiki page into a translatable format and back.

With much content now being generated in Wiki's, we think of Wikipedia and other resource, one realises that much of this content can be made available for translation. Thus future translation should become much easier as wiki and other content management systems become more pervasive.

= Community =
This is a view of the project from a community or participatory view. In this we looked at:

# How the skill level influenced the work to be done
# How the level of support influenced the outcome of a translation
# How the familiarity with the need for translation impacted on the volume of work completed

== Results ==
The following are the results that where observed:

The Creative Commons translations where conducted with professional translators, who worked on Pootle and where given a high level of support. As would be expected all translations where completed a the Creative Commons licenses where translated into Zulu, Northern Sotho and Afrikaans<ref name="ftn5">Creative Commons license selection form in Zulu: [http://creativecommons.org/license/?lang=zu http://creativecommons.org/license/?lang=zu]</ref>.

The Pootle user guide was translated into six languages by the community that translates the Pootle user interface and is involved in many other software translation projects<ref name="ftn6">List of Pootle user guide translations: [http://pootle.wordforge.org/doc/en/index.html http://pootle.wordforge.org/doc/en/index.html]</ref>.

The FMFI content was made available on Translate.org.za's South African Pootle server<ref name="ftn7">FMFI website content for translation: [http://pootle.translate.org.za/projects/fmfi/ http://pootle.translate.org.za/projects/fmfi/]</ref>, the data was announced twice to the FMFI partners, the need and opportunities available by translating the content where highlighted at various FMFI gatherings but no translations where made.

== Observations ==
=== Partnership works ===
In translating of the Creative Commons license we were able to engage Creative Commons directly which allowed us to bring translators, customer and end-result together. This was an amazing experience and mirrors what should be happening. The translators could work well especially since all the technical details were hidden from them.

=== Making it available is not enough, a connection to the need must exist ===
We made an announcement on the FMFI group list, appealed at various gathering and yet still this did not lead to localisation. With a number of the project partners from Portuguese speaking countries it was assumed that they would see the connection with translation, that by translating the English FMFI content into Portuguese that they would expose their work to others allowing future collaboration.

Therefore it is clear that simply making it easier to translate is not enough. The potential translators will only translate if they see a need to translate. These could be seen as external; the need for others to have access to the information, or internal: by making this data accessible I can get more exposure for my work. The motivation is interesting but what is the most important is that the translator must have made that connection, without that the translations will not happen as they are not prioritised by the translator.

But as we show below if the motivation is present then sometimes the action of making the content available can be a catalyst for further translation.

=== Existing techs are adopters ===
From all of the projects that we worked with we found that when we have technical people involved they are quick adopters of the translations or of the tools and that often this spreads to others. This was noticed in the translation of the Pootle guides; an existing highly technical group translated the content. Also in the Creative Commons scenario a group of highly technical system administrators quickly adopted the tools.

=== Making it more accessible can get more done ===
People had put some effort into localising the Pootle tools documentation, but nothing quite succeeded. The English documentation is stored in a Wiki, previous translators had simply created translated pages in the wiki based on the English, but these are very hard to keep up-to-date and where often abandoned. By simply making it easier to translate and keep translation up-tp-date we saw more translations. Within days we had a full Persian translation and people has started translating Afrikaans, French and Basque (a minority language of France and Spain).

With the Creative Commons Licenses we found that by using our tools people were able to give higher quality translation, something that they had been unable to do till then. Volunteers also emerged with someone wanting to translate the licenses into Xhosa. They approached Translate.org.za simply because the licenses were made available for easy translation. Thus easy access to translation can make more happen, once again as long as their is the motivation to translate.

= Conclusion =
Although we saw little change within the FMFI participants we were very encouraged by the adoption within the two other communities. The fact that the documentation for the tools has been localised into Persian and Afrikaans within days of announcing their availability is very encouraging, indicating that where their is a will to create local content making it easier to translate results in more local language content.

The creative commons localisation was also very encouraging, since we hosted the translation on our translation server we were approached by students at Rhodes University to localise the licenses into Xhosa.

The most important observations are these:# Lowering the technical barrier results in increasing levels of translation.
# A connection with the need for translated content results in people participating in content translation. Without this connection lowering the technical barriers shows no increase in translation activity.

=External Links=

* [http://translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/toolkit/index Translate Toolkit] - online documentation
* [http://translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/pootle/index Pootle] - online documentation

HTML Translation:Project Chapter

2007-10-28T10:51:10Z

Dwayne: /* Boundary Partners */ Add image

{{HTML_Translation nav bar}}

= Background =
Most projects within the FMFI project focus on connectivity, the first mile (innovative ways to connect A to B). This project falls within the first inch, the ability to access content. To many people this is often seen as access to a device that allows the user access to content. Or in some cases technology that allows people with disabilities to access data; screen readers, text-to-speech, etc. But not many people consider that with content not available in someone's own language that first-inch and first-mile solutions are bring information to a person but they are unable to access it simply because of a language barrier.

[[Image:CC-nso.png|thumb|450px|Creative Commons license selection page translated into Northern Sotho]]

All the e-Government systems in the world, delivered efficiently to all the rural areas in South Africa will still not bring access to people if all the content is in English.

English content is a barrier to many people wanting to access information. By focusing on making it possible for a website to be easily translated the project's aim is not to eliminate the barrier posed by English but to eliminate the technological issues that prevent web content from being translated. Actual translation still needs to be done by a translator and the project looks at the social issues that enable or prevent this translation from happening.

The majority of content on the internet in created in English, this is indeed also a reflection on the fact that many of the first Internet users where English speaking. With the growth of the Internet there is a growing community that does not speak English and are creating content in their own languages. However, the fact remains that much English content if available in their mother-tongue would be very useful to many non-English speakers. This problem of monolingual content means that content is not widely accessible.

If this content could be translated then it would be accessible to a greater audience bringing with it all sorts of possibilities. The bridging of divides between linguistic communities, the sharing of information and the stimulation of new content.

Although there is a movement to Content Management Systems (CMS) and Wikis, there is still a large amount of content that is stored in static HTML pages. And the problem with static content is that it is hard to process and translate. But with tools it would be possible to transform static HTML content into a standard translatable form.

With a process set in place to transforms static content into a translatable form, then makes it easy for someone to translate and lastly converts the translated content back into static HTML then it would be possible to unlock monolingual content easily.

== Research Question ==
Does the ability to easily translate websites content stimulate the actual translation of the content.

== Implementation ==
The first major technical challenge was the adaptation of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translate_Toolkit Translate Toolkit] to be able to process HTML, and later wiki pages, in a standard translation format known as Gettext PO. This proved difficult as although HTML is a standard its implementation varies. Wiki syntax proved much easier to manage.

The project did set out to automate the roundtrip process of static content to Gettext PO and back but this was not completed as the translations of static content through the FMFI partners never materialised. The roundtrip for Wiki content happened but was not automated. The automation of these would be simple to implement.

The project used the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pootle Pootle] Translation Management System (TMS) to enable on-line web-based translation to take place. This was done to lower the barrier to entry for translators. They would not need to install any software and the process of translation is as simple as using a web browser.

== Translation process explained ==
The following diagram shows simply the content creation process in contrast to the localisation process:
[[Image:Translation-process.png|thumb|none|400px|Content creation and translation compared]]

In both their is the creator who either creates new content or translates existing content info another language. While the content creator creates and output that benefits users who can speak his or her language, the translator allows other speakers of other languages to benefit from the same content.

The following diagram allows us to understand the actual translation process:
[[Image:Translation-process-technical.png|thumb|none|400px|The translation process for static content]]

From the HTML content we extract translatable text. This is given to a translator who produced translated text. By combining the original HTML and the translated text we can create a translated HTML page.

The same process applies to other content such as Wiki pages. In the context of this project tools where created to transform the HTML into a translatable format. And the tool used by translators to create the translated text was the Pootle TMS.

= Boundary Partners =
Three boundary partners were identified:

[[Image:Boundary-partners.png|thumb|400px|Boundary partners]]

# [http://creativecommons.org/ Creative Commons]
# [http://pootle.wordforge.org Pootle Translation Community]
# FMFI partners

Each has a different level of translation experience and each was given a different level of support.

Creative Commons is an organisation as well as a movement centred around copyright reform. Central to the movement are a set of licenses that allow content creators to define how people may user their content. These licenses are translated into a number of languages and our efforts where to translate them into a number of South African languages.

The Pootle software, that was also used in this project, was developed to allow anyone to translate online. The community that has sprung up around the software is part of the broader software localisation community. During this project we exposed the Pootle user guide for translation into a number of languages.

Lastly, the FMFI project partners themselves where asked to translate the FMFI website content into local languages. As FMFI covers Angola and Mozambique as project partners this introduced Portuguese as a language that would be helpful for research dissemination.

== Levels of translation experience ==
[[Image:|thumb|''Illustration 5: Levels of localisation experience'']]The various boundary partners had varying levels of experience in localisation. This varied from no localisation experience to a high level of localisation experience.

We assumed that all FMFI partners had no localisation experience and thus where the ideal representation of the average user of content. Creative Commons had some level of exposure to localisation in that many of the licenses are translated and their community is multilingual and multicultural. The highest level of experience was that of the Pootle Community, since this community is centred around localisation it would be expected that they are very aware of the need for localisation and the experience of localisation.

== Levels of support ==
The Creative Commons translation were performed in Pootle using professional translators and given full support. The Pootle community was was not given any support but they are part of an existing translation community. Lastly, the FMFI partners where given the translations but were not given any level of support, in most cases this would represent a real content community.

= Outcome challenges and progress markers =
The following are the outcome challenges and progress markers for the three boundary partners. (Those progress markers that where realised are shaded in grey.)

== Creative Commons ==
''Creative Commons adopts and actively uses the Pootle translation management system''

{| class="prettytable"
| <center>'''Expect to see'''</center>
| <center>'''Like to see'''</center>
| <center>'''Love to see'''</center>

|-
| Creative Commons wants to have their licenses translated in South African languages
| Translations are hosted by creative commons on their own version of Pootle
| All licenses are translated on the Pootle server

|-
| The translated licenses are made available on the Creative Commons website
| New language teams start translating on the Pootle server
| Other content and software on their website is examined to see if it can be translated

|-
|
|
| Other teams outside of Creative Commons begin adopting the tools

|}
== Pootle Community ==
<center>''The community actively translates the Pootle documentation''</center>

{| class="prettytable"
! <center>Expect to see</center>
! <center>Like to see</center>
! <center>Love to see</center>

|-
| People are able to translate the wiki using Pootle
| The dokuwiki community supports this translation method
| Dokuwiki translated its own content using the wiki extractor and Pootle

|-
| Wiki content is translated into at least one other language
| Other dokuwiki sites use this approach to translations
| Dokuwiki enhances the extractor when they change their internal syntax

|-
|
| At least one major world language is actively translating: e.g. French
| Other wiki creators, specifically MediaWiki adopt the tools

|-
|
|
| Wiki designers add their flavour to the wiki extractor

|-
|
|
| The tools receive media attention.

|}
== FMFI partners ==
<center>''Partners see localisation as an integral component of dissemination of their work''</center>

{| class="prettytable"
! <center>Expect to see</center>
! <center>Like to see</center>
! <center>Love to see</center>

|-
| The software is installed on the FMFI website
| Key content is translated
| Participate actively in the development/enhancement of the software

|-
| FMFI partners in Mozambique and Angola localise some of the content
| Rapid turnaround between publication and translation
| Contribute monetarily to the software's enhancement

|-
|
| Translators excited about the software and its potential application in other areas.
| Promote and advocate the software in other departments

|-
|
|
| Brag about meeting their multilingual mandate.

|}
= Strategy Map =

{| class="prettytable"
| <center>'''Causal'''</center>
| <center>'''Persuasive'''</center>
| <center>'''Supportive'''</center>

|-
| '''I-1'''
| '''I-2'''
| '''I-3'''

|-
| Enable key languages on Pootle
| Discuss the issue of dissemination and local languages
| Provide email and online support to translators

|-
|
| Approach individuals to translate
| Update help documentation as needed

|-
| '''E-1'''
| '''E-2'''
| '''E-3'''

|-
| Install a Pootle server
| Send emails requesting help and praising progress
| Demonstrate Pootle translation

|-
| Upload translatable content
| Help set translation as an FMFI priority
|

|}

= Technical =
This is the view of the project from a technical perspective. In this we focused on 3 aspects:

# Translation of creative commons licenses. This is an existing body of translations with a poor process. It allowed us to validate our tools and create a better process.
# Localisation of static web pages. We chose the FMFI website and processed the pages to allow them to be localised.
# Localisation of wiki content. Although wiki content is not static it is hard to localise, we looked at making it easy to localise the Pootle manuals.

== Outcomes ==
From a technical point of view the following positive outcomes where achieved:

=== Creative Commons Server ===
[[Image:|thumb|''Illustration 6: Creative Commons Pootle server'']]Creative Commons installed a Pootle server at [http://translate.creativecommons.org/ http://translate.creativecommons.org/] onto which they migrated their licenses (48 languages) and all of their software. This replaced an old system that was not ideal for translation.

=== Tools enhanced ===
The tools that convert HTML to a translatable format where enhanced, but as explained below this will probably never be fully completed.

The tools where enhanced to manage various Wiki formats so that the Pootle documentation could be translated.

== Issues ==
=== Web pages are messy, very messy ===
A lot of time was spent looking at web pages and fixing the tools so that they extracted only the core content. Since the HTML standard is very loose and many web browsers have over time evolved to handle the idiosyncrasies of bad HTML we discovered that no matter how hard we worked we often ended up with extracted text which was difficult for a translator to use. With more time we could have refined the quality of the output.

However, we did see that it is possible to divorce the content from much of the raw HTML. So this still holds good potential in recovering static web content for translation.

A focus on XHTML which is better structured could also lead to more consistent extraction.

=== Slow translation server ===
The Translate.org.za translation server hosted at Rhodes University experienced a general slowdown for anyone outside Rhodes campus. This was initially assumed to relate to either students using the Internet or throttling policies within the University, however subsequently it was discovered that it related simply to an incorrect IP allocation. Unfortunately this was only discovered after the completion of the project. It is uncertain what influence this would have had on the project but it did affect the FMFI translations, Pootle community translation where unaffected as these are hosted on another server.

It was not possible to find a suitable host within South Africa that could give the same level of access that the Pootle server required.

== Observations ==
=== Wiki's hold potential ===
When building the tools to help make it easy to translate wiki pagesit was realised that Wiki pages, no matter that they are stored in a database, are simple text pages. Even though they follow an informal structure they are more regular then HTML. Thus it was quite easy to create a way to change the wiki page into a translatable format and back.

With much content now being generated in Wiki's, we think of Wikipedia and other resource, one realises that much of this content can be made available for translation. Thus future translation should become much easier as wiki and other content management systems become more pervasive.

= Community =
This is a view of the project from a community or participatory view. In this we looked at:

# How the skill level influenced the work to be done
# How the level of support influenced the outcome of a translation
# How the familiarity with the need for translation impacted on the volume of work completed

== Results ==
The following are the results that where observed:

The Creative Commons translations where conducted with professional translators, who worked on Pootle and where given a high level of support. As would be expected all translations where completed a the Creative Commons licenses where translated into Zulu, Northern Sotho and Afrikaans<ref name="ftn5">Creative Commons license selection form in Zulu: [http://creativecommons.org/license/?lang=zu http://creativecommons.org/license/?lang=zu]</ref>.

The Pootle user guide was translated into six languages by the community that translates the Pootle user interface and is involved in many other software translation projects<ref name="ftn6">List of Pootle user guide translations: [http://pootle.wordforge.org/doc/en/index.html http://pootle.wordforge.org/doc/en/index.html]</ref>.

The FMFI content was made available on Translate.org.za's South African Pootle server<ref name="ftn7">FMFI website content for translation: [http://pootle.translate.org.za/projects/fmfi/ http://pootle.translate.org.za/projects/fmfi/]</ref>, the data was announced twice to the FMFI partners, the need and opportunities available by translating the content where highlighted at various FMFI gatherings but no translations where made.

== Observations ==
=== Partnership works ===
In translating of the Creative Commons license we were able to engage Creative Commons directly which allowed us to bring translators, customer and end-result together. This was an amazing experience and mirrors what should be happening. The translators could work well especially since all the technical details were hidden from them.

=== Making it available is not enough, a connection to the need must exist ===
We made an announcement on the FMFI group list, appealed at various gathering and yet still this did not lead to localisation. With a number of the project partners from Portuguese speaking countries it was assumed that they would see the connection with translation, that by translating the English FMFI content into Portuguese that they would expose their work to others allowing future collaboration.

Therefore it is clear that simply making it easier to translate is not enough. The potential translators will only translate if they see a need to translate. These could be seen as external; the need for others to have access to the information, or internal: by making this data accessible I can get more exposure for my work. The motivation is interesting but what is the most important is that the translator must have made that connection, without that the translations will not happen as they are not prioritised by the translator.

But as we show below if the motivation is present then sometimes the action of making the content available can be a catalyst for further translation.

=== Existing techs are adopters ===
From all of the projects that we worked with we found that when we have technical people involved they are quick adopters of the translations or of the tools and that often this spreads to others. This was noticed in the translation of the Pootle guides; an existing highly technical group translated the content. Also in the Creative Commons scenario a group of highly technical system administrators quickly adopted the tools.

=== Making it more accessible can get more done ===
People had put some effort into localising the Pootle tools documentation, but nothing quite succeeded. The English documentation is stored in a Wiki, previous translators had simply created translated pages in the wiki based on the English, but these are very hard to keep up-to-date and where often abandoned. By simply making it easier to translate and keep translation up-tp-date we saw more translations. Within days we had a full Persian translation and people has started translating Afrikaans, French and Basque (a minority language of France and Spain).

With the Creative Commons Licenses we found that by using our tools people were able to give higher quality translation, something that they had been unable to do till then. Volunteers also emerged with someone wanting to translate the licenses into Xhosa. They approached Translate.org.za simply because the licenses were made available for easy translation. Thus easy access to translation can make more happen, once again as long as their is the motivation to translate.

= Conclusion =
Although we saw little change within the FMFI participants we were very encouraged by the adoption within the two other communities. The fact that the documentation for the tools has been localised into Persian and Afrikaans within days of announcing their availability is very encouraging, indicating that where their is a will to create local content making it easier to translate results in more local language content.

The creative commons localisation was also very encouraging, since we hosted the translation on our translation server we were approached by students at Rhodes University to localise the licenses into Xhosa.

The most important observations are these:# Lowering the technical barrier results in increasing levels of translation.
# A connection with the need for translated content results in people participating in content translation. Without this connection lowering the technical barriers shows no increase in translation activity.

=External Links=

* [http://translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/toolkit/index Translate Toolkit] - online documentation
* [http://translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/pootle/index Pootle] - online documentation

HTML Translation:Project Chapter

2007-10-28T10:48:06Z

Dwayne: /* Background */

{{HTML_Translation nav bar}}

= Background =
Most projects within the FMFI project focus on connectivity, the first mile (innovative ways to connect A to B). This project falls within the first inch, the ability to access content. To many people this is often seen as access to a device that allows the user access to content. Or in some cases technology that allows people with disabilities to access data; screen readers, text-to-speech, etc. But not many people consider that with content not available in someone's own language that first-inch and first-mile solutions are bring information to a person but they are unable to access it simply because of a language barrier.

[[Image:CC-nso.png|thumb|450px|Creative Commons license selection page translated into Northern Sotho]]

All the e-Government systems in the world, delivered efficiently to all the rural areas in South Africa will still not bring access to people if all the content is in English.

English content is a barrier to many people wanting to access information. By focusing on making it possible for a website to be easily translated the project's aim is not to eliminate the barrier posed by English but to eliminate the technological issues that prevent web content from being translated. Actual translation still needs to be done by a translator and the project looks at the social issues that enable or prevent this translation from happening.

The majority of content on the internet in created in English, this is indeed also a reflection on the fact that many of the first Internet users where English speaking. With the growth of the Internet there is a growing community that does not speak English and are creating content in their own languages. However, the fact remains that much English content if available in their mother-tongue would be very useful to many non-English speakers. This problem of monolingual content means that content is not widely accessible.

If this content could be translated then it would be accessible to a greater audience bringing with it all sorts of possibilities. The bridging of divides between linguistic communities, the sharing of information and the stimulation of new content.

Although there is a movement to Content Management Systems (CMS) and Wikis, there is still a large amount of content that is stored in static HTML pages. And the problem with static content is that it is hard to process and translate. But with tools it would be possible to transform static HTML content into a standard translatable form.

With a process set in place to transforms static content into a translatable form, then makes it easy for someone to translate and lastly converts the translated content back into static HTML then it would be possible to unlock monolingual content easily.

== Research Question ==
Does the ability to easily translate websites content stimulate the actual translation of the content.

== Implementation ==
The first major technical challenge was the adaptation of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translate_Toolkit Translate Toolkit] to be able to process HTML, and later wiki pages, in a standard translation format known as Gettext PO. This proved difficult as although HTML is a standard its implementation varies. Wiki syntax proved much easier to manage.

The project did set out to automate the roundtrip process of static content to Gettext PO and back but this was not completed as the translations of static content through the FMFI partners never materialised. The roundtrip for Wiki content happened but was not automated. The automation of these would be simple to implement.

The project used the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pootle Pootle] Translation Management System (TMS) to enable on-line web-based translation to take place. This was done to lower the barrier to entry for translators. They would not need to install any software and the process of translation is as simple as using a web browser.

== Translation process explained ==
The following diagram shows simply the content creation process in contrast to the localisation process:
[[Image:Translation-process.png|thumb|none|400px|Content creation and translation compared]]

In both their is the creator who either creates new content or translates existing content info another language. While the content creator creates and output that benefits users who can speak his or her language, the translator allows other speakers of other languages to benefit from the same content.

The following diagram allows us to understand the actual translation process:
[[Image:Translation-process-technical.png|thumb|none|400px|The translation process for static content]]

From the HTML content we extract translatable text. This is given to a translator who produced translated text. By combining the original HTML and the translated text we can create a translated HTML page.

The same process applies to other content such as Wiki pages. In the context of this project tools where created to transform the HTML into a translatable format. And the tool used by translators to create the translated text was the Pootle TMS.

= Boundary Partners =
Three boundary partners were identified:

# Creative Commons<ref name="ftn3">http://creativecommons.org/</ref>
# Pootle Translation Community<ref name="ftn4">http://pootle.wordforge.org</ref>
# FMFI partners

[[Image:|thumb|''Illustration 4: Boundary partners'']]Each has a different level of translation experience and each was given a different level of support.

Creative Commons is an organisation as well as a movement centred around copyright reform. Central to the movement are a set of licenses that allow content creators to define how people may user their content. These licenses are translated into a number of languages and our efforts where to translate them into a number of South African languages.

The Pootle software, that was also used in this project, was developed to allow anyone to translate online. The community that has sprung up around the software is part of the broader software localisation community. During this project we exposed the Pootle user guide for translation into a number of languages.

Lastly, the FMFI project partners themselves where asked to translate the FMFI website content into local languages. As FMFI covers Angola and Mozambique as project partners this introduced Portuguese as a language that would be helpful for research dissemination.

== Levels of translation experience ==
[[Image:|thumb|''Illustration 5: Levels of localisation experience'']]The various boundary partners had varying levels of experience in localisation. This varied from no localisation experience to a high level of localisation experience.

We assumed that all FMFI partners had no localisation experience and thus where the ideal representation of the average user of content. Creative Commons had some level of exposure to localisation in that many of the licenses are translated and their community is multilingual and multicultural. The highest level of experience was that of the Pootle Community, since this community is centred around localisation it would be expected that they are very aware of the need for localisation and the experience of localisation.

== Levels of support ==
The Creative Commons translation were performed in Pootle using professional translators and given full support. The Pootle community was was not given any support but they are part of an existing translation community. Lastly, the FMFI partners where given the translations but were not given any level of support, in most cases this would represent a real content community.

= Outcome challenges and progress markers =
The following are the outcome challenges and progress markers for the three boundary partners. (Those progress markers that where realised are shaded in grey.)

== Creative Commons ==
''Creative Commons adopts and actively uses the Pootle translation management system''

{| class="prettytable"
| <center>'''Expect to see'''</center>
| <center>'''Like to see'''</center>
| <center>'''Love to see'''</center>

|-
| Creative Commons wants to have their licenses translated in South African languages
| Translations are hosted by creative commons on their own version of Pootle
| All licenses are translated on the Pootle server

|-
| The translated licenses are made available on the Creative Commons website
| New language teams start translating on the Pootle server
| Other content and software on their website is examined to see if it can be translated

|-
|
|
| Other teams outside of Creative Commons begin adopting the tools

|}
== Pootle Community ==
<center>''The community actively translates the Pootle documentation''</center>

{| class="prettytable"
! <center>Expect to see</center>
! <center>Like to see</center>
! <center>Love to see</center>

|-
| People are able to translate the wiki using Pootle
| The dokuwiki community supports this translation method
| Dokuwiki translated its own content using the wiki extractor and Pootle

|-
| Wiki content is translated into at least one other language
| Other dokuwiki sites use this approach to translations
| Dokuwiki enhances the extractor when they change their internal syntax

|-
|
| At least one major world language is actively translating: e.g. French
| Other wiki creators, specifically MediaWiki adopt the tools

|-
|
|
| Wiki designers add their flavour to the wiki extractor

|-
|
|
| The tools receive media attention.

|}
== FMFI partners ==
<center>''Partners see localisation as an integral component of dissemination of their work''</center>

{| class="prettytable"
! <center>Expect to see</center>
! <center>Like to see</center>
! <center>Love to see</center>

|-
| The software is installed on the FMFI website
| Key content is translated
| Participate actively in the development/enhancement of the software

|-
| FMFI partners in Mozambique and Angola localise some of the content
| Rapid turnaround between publication and translation
| Contribute monetarily to the software's enhancement

|-
|
| Translators excited about the software and its potential application in other areas.
| Promote and advocate the software in other departments

|-
|
|
| Brag about meeting their multilingual mandate.

|}
= Strategy Map =

{| class="prettytable"
| <center>'''Causal'''</center>
| <center>'''Persuasive'''</center>
| <center>'''Supportive'''</center>

|-
| '''I-1'''
| '''I-2'''
| '''I-3'''

|-
| Enable key languages on Pootle
| Discuss the issue of dissemination and local languages
| Provide email and online support to translators

|-
|
| Approach individuals to translate
| Update help documentation as needed

|-
| '''E-1'''
| '''E-2'''
| '''E-3'''

|-
| Install a Pootle server
| Send emails requesting help and praising progress
| Demonstrate Pootle translation

|-
| Upload translatable content
| Help set translation as an FMFI priority
|

|}

= Technical =
This is the view of the project from a technical perspective. In this we focused on 3 aspects:

# Translation of creative commons licenses. This is an existing body of translations with a poor process. It allowed us to validate our tools and create a better process.
# Localisation of static web pages. We chose the FMFI website and processed the pages to allow them to be localised.
# Localisation of wiki content. Although wiki content is not static it is hard to localise, we looked at making it easy to localise the Pootle manuals.

== Outcomes ==
From a technical point of view the following positive outcomes where achieved:

=== Creative Commons Server ===
[[Image:|thumb|''Illustration 6: Creative Commons Pootle server'']]Creative Commons installed a Pootle server at [http://translate.creativecommons.org/ http://translate.creativecommons.org/] onto which they migrated their licenses (48 languages) and all of their software. This replaced an old system that was not ideal for translation.

=== Tools enhanced ===
The tools that convert HTML to a translatable format where enhanced, but as explained below this will probably never be fully completed.

The tools where enhanced to manage various Wiki formats so that the Pootle documentation could be translated.

== Issues ==
=== Web pages are messy, very messy ===
A lot of time was spent looking at web pages and fixing the tools so that they extracted only the core content. Since the HTML standard is very loose and many web browsers have over time evolved to handle the idiosyncrasies of bad HTML we discovered that no matter how hard we worked we often ended up with extracted text which was difficult for a translator to use. With more time we could have refined the quality of the output.

However, we did see that it is possible to divorce the content from much of the raw HTML. So this still holds good potential in recovering static web content for translation.

A focus on XHTML which is better structured could also lead to more consistent extraction.

=== Slow translation server ===
The Translate.org.za translation server hosted at Rhodes University experienced a general slowdown for anyone outside Rhodes campus. This was initially assumed to relate to either students using the Internet or throttling policies within the University, however subsequently it was discovered that it related simply to an incorrect IP allocation. Unfortunately this was only discovered after the completion of the project. It is uncertain what influence this would have had on the project but it did affect the FMFI translations, Pootle community translation where unaffected as these are hosted on another server.

It was not possible to find a suitable host within South Africa that could give the same level of access that the Pootle server required.

== Observations ==
=== Wiki's hold potential ===
When building the tools to help make it easy to translate wiki pagesit was realised that Wiki pages, no matter that they are stored in a database, are simple text pages. Even though they follow an informal structure they are more regular then HTML. Thus it was quite easy to create a way to change the wiki page into a translatable format and back.

With much content now being generated in Wiki's, we think of Wikipedia and other resource, one realises that much of this content can be made available for translation. Thus future translation should become much easier as wiki and other content management systems become more pervasive.

= Community =
This is a view of the project from a community or participatory view. In this we looked at:

# How the skill level influenced the work to be done
# How the level of support influenced the outcome of a translation
# How the familiarity with the need for translation impacted on the volume of work completed

== Results ==
The following are the results that where observed:

The Creative Commons translations where conducted with professional translators, who worked on Pootle and where given a high level of support. As would be expected all translations where completed a the Creative Commons licenses where translated into Zulu, Northern Sotho and Afrikaans<ref name="ftn5">Creative Commons license selection form in Zulu: [http://creativecommons.org/license/?lang=zu http://creativecommons.org/license/?lang=zu]</ref>.

The Pootle user guide was translated into six languages by the community that translates the Pootle user interface and is involved in many other software translation projects<ref name="ftn6">List of Pootle user guide translations: [http://pootle.wordforge.org/doc/en/index.html http://pootle.wordforge.org/doc/en/index.html]</ref>.

The FMFI content was made available on Translate.org.za's South African Pootle server<ref name="ftn7">FMFI website content for translation: [http://pootle.translate.org.za/projects/fmfi/ http://pootle.translate.org.za/projects/fmfi/]</ref>, the data was announced twice to the FMFI partners, the need and opportunities available by translating the content where highlighted at various FMFI gatherings but no translations where made.

== Observations ==
=== Partnership works ===
In translating of the Creative Commons license we were able to engage Creative Commons directly which allowed us to bring translators, customer and end-result together. This was an amazing experience and mirrors what should be happening. The translators could work well especially since all the technical details were hidden from them.

=== Making it available is not enough, a connection to the need must exist ===
We made an announcement on the FMFI group list, appealed at various gathering and yet still this did not lead to localisation. With a number of the project partners from Portuguese speaking countries it was assumed that they would see the connection with translation, that by translating the English FMFI content into Portuguese that they would expose their work to others allowing future collaboration.

Therefore it is clear that simply making it easier to translate is not enough. The potential translators will only translate if they see a need to translate. These could be seen as external; the need for others to have access to the information, or internal: by making this data accessible I can get more exposure for my work. The motivation is interesting but what is the most important is that the translator must have made that connection, without that the translations will not happen as they are not prioritised by the translator.

But as we show below if the motivation is present then sometimes the action of making the content available can be a catalyst for further translation.

=== Existing techs are adopters ===
From all of the projects that we worked with we found that when we have technical people involved they are quick adopters of the translations or of the tools and that often this spreads to others. This was noticed in the translation of the Pootle guides; an existing highly technical group translated the content. Also in the Creative Commons scenario a group of highly technical system administrators quickly adopted the tools.

=== Making it more accessible can get more done ===
People had put some effort into localising the Pootle tools documentation, but nothing quite succeeded. The English documentation is stored in a Wiki, previous translators had simply created translated pages in the wiki based on the English, but these are very hard to keep up-to-date and where often abandoned. By simply making it easier to translate and keep translation up-tp-date we saw more translations. Within days we had a full Persian translation and people has started translating Afrikaans, French and Basque (a minority language of France and Spain).

With the Creative Commons Licenses we found that by using our tools people were able to give higher quality translation, something that they had been unable to do till then. Volunteers also emerged with someone wanting to translate the licenses into Xhosa. They approached Translate.org.za simply because the licenses were made available for easy translation. Thus easy access to translation can make more happen, once again as long as their is the motivation to translate.

= Conclusion =
Although we saw little change within the FMFI participants we were very encouraged by the adoption within the two other communities. The fact that the documentation for the tools has been localised into Persian and Afrikaans within days of announcing their availability is very encouraging, indicating that where their is a will to create local content making it easier to translate results in more local language content.

The creative commons localisation was also very encouraging, since we hosted the translation on our translation server we were approached by students at Rhodes University to localise the licenses into Xhosa.

The most important observations are these:# Lowering the technical barrier results in increasing levels of translation.
# A connection with the need for translated content results in people participating in content translation. Without this connection lowering the technical barriers shows no increase in translation activity.

=External Links=

* [http://translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/toolkit/index Translate Toolkit] - online documentation
* [http://translate.sourceforge.net/wiki/pootle/index Pootle] - online documentation