Get Involved/translation

Are you fluent in multiple languages? Having our software interfaces and documentation available in multiple languages is important to enable more people to be able to comfortably use our software, and you can help make this happen.

The KDE Translation team takes fragments of text from KDE software as well as sections of Documentation, all of which are primarily written in English, and converts them into other languages. These are fed back into the software, and the end result is that a user can use an application entirely in their native language. And that, of course, means you too — instead of translating messages and menu items and button text in your head every time you use an application, you can do it just once, and then have it in your own language whenever you use it.

Communicating with the team

There are several ways to get in contact with the translation team. The two most important are:

• the IRC channel #kde-i18n on the Libera Chat network (learn more about KDE chat) is where translators chat to each other in real time
• the primary mailing list for talking about translations is the kde-i18n-doc list (learn more about mailing lists), although there are other lists for specific languages which you can find on the list of KDE mailing lists

First steps

KDE uses custom tools to internationalize the GUI and documentation of programs. You will want to review The Translation Howto to learn the process. To dive in and start translating, head to KDE Localization Home Page and choose your language. From there, you can contact the specific team for your language and download the translation files.

There is also a scoreboard showing progress of current teams.

A helping hand

KDE is a big community, and translating its software is a big project. It is easy to feel lost when you first start. Several people have volunteered to help new members by answering your questions and pointing you to the right places. You can find a list on the mentoring page.