Translations for the website
https://www.inaturalist.org. Our code can be found at
https://github.com/inaturalist/inaturalist. To help with translations for iNaturalist's mobile apps, check out
https://crowdin.com/project/inaturalistios.
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.
Also note that source strings marked as "hidden" generally do not need to be translated. This mostly applies to HTML files that may have some hidden attributes for markup tags.
SCHEDULE
We will update translations on the website on at least a monthly basis, usually around the start of the month. If there's new functionality with a lot of new text to translate, we may update sooner. We usually deploy translations to the live site on the same day we pull them into the code and run our QA process.
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.
Note that we will only start showing a locale in the language chooser when we have some translations, so just because a locale is available for translation in Crowdin doesn't mean it will show up on the site.
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"
GENDER
For languages with genders, we support a @gender inflection so that strings with variables can be translated differently based on the gender of the variable. For example, if the English text is "a %{resource}", you might translate that as "@gender{m:un|f:une|n:un(e)} %{resource}" in French to support male, female, and neuter forms of the article. For this to work properly, you will also need to translate all the strings with "gender" in their description (
https://crowdin.com/translate/inaturalistweb/38/en-fr#q=gender). Inflections are tricky to do in code and we try to avoid them, so if it's not working, please comment on the translation and let us know something is wrong.
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
We also support a @vow_or_con inflection in some cases where you might need to have different translations depending on whether a variable begins with vowel or a consonant letter. For example, for a source string like "comment on a %{thing}" you might translate it into English as "comment on a post" if %{thing} begins with a consonant but as "comment on an observation" if %{thing} begins with a vowel. To handle this, you could translate this as "comment on @vow_or_con{vow:an|con:a} %{thing}" so if %{thing} begins with a vowel it will insert "an" and if %{thing} begins with a consonant it will insert "a." You can also provide a default, e.g. "comment on @vow_or_con{vow:an|a} %{thing}" which will insert "an" if %{thing} begins with a vowel, otherwise insert "a" (regardless of whether it detected a consonant).
This inflection isn't available everywhere, so we've tried to note where it is available in the context strings. We also really try to avoid situations where this might be necessary since it's very confusing.
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.
HISTORY
For many years we collaborated with
https://translatewiki.net to crowdsource translations. In 2019, we decided to move to Crowdin for a variety of reasons. When we uploaded the existing Translatewiki translations to Crowdin, Crowdin didn't provide a mechanism to give credit to the original translators, so they all appear to be created by the person who uploaded them (Ken-ichi). If you are a Translatewiki translator and this bothers you, please contact us and we'll see if we can remove your translations. We have attempted to give credit to *all* translators at
https://github.com/inaturalist/inaturalist/blob/master/config/locales/CONTRIBUTORS.md
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/