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Translation guidelines

Help us reach an audience in your language!

The website is fully internationalized. You can start translating online within a few clicks.

Translation status

Before you start

Here are a few important things to remember while translating.

  • The “get GNU/Linux!” websites are licensed as CC BY-SA 4.0 works – we’ll release all translations under the same license, where of course you will get all the credit that is appropriate for your translation work.
  • Please variate only slightly from the original text. We advocate freedom in software (convenience or “coolness” of Linux come second) and we are not an anti-Microsoft lobby.
  • Take your time. We are strong also because we are clear and professional in our tone, language, and layout. It’s better to lose a few weeks making sure your grammar, spelling and fluidity are first class, rather than put off potential converts (they never come back).
  • If your language has several variants, use the most neutral style possible. We will then progressively develop localized versions of that language.

Translation components

Each web page has its own component in Weblate. This means you can translate one page at a time. The components are ordered by priority.

Low priority components

We have assigned the lowest priority to some components, because they contain a wall of text that provide additional details, but are not essential to the message of the website. You may translate them if you’d like, but we’d rather have you spend your time and energy on the other components.

Low priority components:

Markdown guide

We write our content in Markdown, a lightweight language that adds formatting (like bolding, links, and headers) using simple symbols.

As a translator, your goal is to translate the content while leaving the code structure untouched. Breaking the syntax can cause the website to crash or look incorrect.

Tip

Translate the words inside the symbols. Do not translate or remove the symbols themselves.

Common patterns you will see

The “Front Matter”

Every file starts with a metadata block enclosed by three dashes (---). This controls page settings.

Example from our project:

---
description: What is Linux? A clear explanation.
hide:
  - toc
  - navigation
---

Correct translation (Spanish example):

---
description: ¿Qué es Linux? Una explicación clara.
hide:
  - toc
  - navigation
---

How to translate this block:

  • Keep: The symbols description:, hide:, toc, and navigation.
  • Translate: The text following description:. This is what appears in search engines.

Formatting & Emphasis

Bold and Italic text is created using asterisks.

  • Original: This is **very important** text.
  • Translation: Este es un texto **muy importante**.
  • Keep: The double asterisks **.
  • Translate: The words inside them.

Links consist of text (what the user sees) and a URL (where the link goes).

  • Original: [Read our guide]{1}
  • Translation: [Lea nuestra guía]{1}
  • Keep: The brackets [] and the URL placeholder {1}.
  • Translate: Only the text inside the brackets [].

Admonitions

We use special blocks for notes and warnings that start with ///.

  • Original: /// warning | Caution: High Voltage
  • Translation: /// warning | Precaución: Alto voltaje
  • Keep: ///, the type (warning), and the |.
  • Translate: Only the text after the |.

Attribute lists

We use the attribute list syntax to define attributes on various HTML elements.

  • Original: Questions and help { .center }
  • Translation: Preguntas y ayuda { .center }
  • Keep: The curly brackets and their contents { .center }.
  • Translate: The text before the curly brackets.

At any point, should you have doubts, questions or any kind of problem, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

That’s it! We hope you have as much fun translating the website as we had writing it.

Rock and roll

Translating Get GNU/Linux! works with a web interface. Weblate helps you translate all the text content of the website. Just create an account, login, select your language and start translating.

Head over to the project page which gives an overview of the languages.

Translation status

Pointers

You can help us react faster: