Translations for iNaturalist apps for Android and iOS
See
https://github.com/inaturalist/INaturalistIOS/ and
https://github.com/inaturalist/iNaturalistAndroid for our code.
To learn how to use Crowdin, see
https://support.crowdin.com/crowdin-intro/
Note that English regions only need translations when there is a regional difference with the source text (which is en-US). For example, if the source text uses the word "color" but it should be "colour" in New Zealand, that should be translated, but text that would be identical doesn't need to be.
SCHEDULE
For Android (strings.xml), we try to upload new strings twice a month, and integrate translations into our code at the beginning of the month. The app is not on a regular release schedule, so we can't guarantee translations will be released by a given date. App release is driven by the current overall stability of the build, so we might have multiple releases in a month, or we might not release at all in a given month.
For iPhone (the rest of the files), we try to follow a similar schedule, but app releases are less frequent due to the fact that our iPhone developer divides his time between the app and computer vision work, and due to the more onerous review process of the App Store.
APPROVAL / PROOFREADING
Those of us on staff don't speak every language on Earth, so approval is mostly a matter of spot checking a few contributions by a given translator using Google Translate, and if they don't look like spam, just approving the rest of that person's contributions. We do review for code and formatting problems, though.
We will assign proofreaders on request (DM us on crowdin or iNat, or use
help@inaturalist.org), but usually only if that person has already added a significant number of contributions in a given language. It also helps if we know that person is an iNat user. So if you want to be a proofreader, a) add a bunch of translations, and b) contact us, and include your iNat username.
For some locales (es-MX and fr-CA) we leave all proofreading to iNaturalist Network partners, who may be operating on a different schedule.
NEW LOCALES
Please contact a manager like @kueda if you want to add a new locale. Crowdin supports a lot of them (even Klingon!), but we need to turn them on before people can add translations.
PLURAL FORMS
Please be sure to translate *all* plural forms of a string that are offered. Crowdin will not export any translations of that string unless all the plural forms of that string are translated. If you're confused by the "OTHER" when the "FEW" and "MANY" forms are also available, I believe "OTHER" refers to a plural form for fractions in that context. Note that some languages, like Russian, use the "ONE" form for numerous numbers, e.g. 51, 81, etc., so make sure to include the %{count} variable even if the English translation does not.
TRANSLATING BRAND / TRADEMARKED NAMES
Please do not translate the names "California Academy of Sciences" or "National Geographic." In general, it's probably best to assume brand names and trademarked names should not be translated unless a translated form is commonly used alongside the native form, e.g. "Medecins Sans Frontiers / Doctors Without Borders." One exception to this rule is the iNaturalist Network partners that have a country in their name, like "iNaturalist Greece." In those situations, the country name should be translated, but "iNaturalist" should not be.
GENDER
The iPhone and Android apps don't have good support for gender inflection, so if there's an issue with a variable please let us know and we'll see if we can remove it.
Keep in mind that we do *not* know the gender of our users, so gendered pronouns should always be in a gender-neutral form.
VOWEL / CONSONANT INFLECTION
As with gender, there is not good support for inflection, so let us know if there's a problem and we'll see if we can remove the offending variable.
FORMALITY OF TONE
The tone of English text on iNaturalist is generally casual. We hope translators can convey that sensibility in their translations so iNaturalist can remain a friendly and inviting place for speakers of all languages, but we understand that may not always be appropriate. If there is doubt or conflict, please ask, but generally we prefer to err on the side of being casual. This means for languages that support different levels of formality, we prefer casual forms like "tus" instead of "vos" in Spanish.
REPORTING PROBLEMS / CONTACT
The best way to report a problem with a specific translation is to leave a comment on that translation and mark it as an issue. Note that project managers do *not* get notifications about comments unless they are issues or you @ mention a manager by name. You can also message managers directly. If you have a complicated issue and it would help to include screenshots, please post at
https://forum.inaturalist.org/