YWAMKnowledgeBase:Multiple Languages
From YWAMKnowledgeBase
When we started the YWAM KB project we started it in our native tongue. Although I (Kev-The-Hasty 10:08, 20 June 2008 (CEST)) can read French as well as English my written French is appalling. Machine translation is very poor too and is often offensive for native language readers.
Multi-lingual Vision for the Knowledge base
I see a time when we will have seven or more KnowledgeBases in parallel in several languages. English, Korean, Dutch, French, Spanish, Russian... who knows which languages. Like trees in an orchard. Whether they have they own server or a separate server is not vital, probably long term they need their own server and a team to look after it.
Each language group and culture have different needs and some articles are relevant and others not. They need their own articles to represent their own needs. So what should happen is for a couple of people to agree to start a KB in French or Spanish. Then they start by translating some core documents and then some completed articles and/or GLT docs. Finally they can write their own documents and translate other articles as they become complete.
I see each KB held to each other one by a shared vision and values but free to use their KB in whatever way most helps their cultural situation.
I see a small team of administrators co-operating to keep one or two servers that hold all these different KB's. It will be an international team, that perhaps never meet in person. It wont be limited if one person leaves or decides to take a mission trip for six months, others can step in for them. In fact there will be no official head of the KB project; just people helping each other bound together by a common vision.
A Plan
If the goal is to have parallel KB's realistically it will take some steps to get there. I have no idea how needed some of the intermediate steps are but time will tell!
Desirable languages:
- Korean
- Spanish
- German
- Dutch (not a big language but already have big contributions in English from Dutch speakers)
- Portugese
- French
- Native speakers of other languages need to find the English language KB and also find each other. We think it will take a close team of at least two people working together to make the project happen - it is tough developing a KnowledgeBase.
- People start writing foreign articles in the English KB. They do this by starting a new article with the country code and a slash before the title.
- Thus an article on "Evangelism" written in Korean becomes "KR/복음전도".
- In French "FR/Evangelisation"
- A category should be added to a foreign language page (French Language Article - see that a start has been made already: Category:Français and Category:!Non-English Articles)
- On the front page a link to the Category will be made in a new section on Foreign languages - we will change the current offer of Google translation to be more inviting of others to join and become official translators.
- We will borrow the wikibook scheme of placing a status on each article of completeness. When an article is considered complete it can be marked as 100%. These as suitable for translating.
- Once an article is translated we can add inter-language links.
- When it appears a momentum is growing and a community is forming in that language a proposal can be made to create a parallel wiki. I would guess three or more very keen people would need to be found to take it on. (Including techincal skills) The good news is that there is great excess capacity on this server and the technical expertise can be shared. No need for a super technical person to be found.
- A series of core documents need to be translated first such as: Disclaimers, Copyrights, Policies, the HELP section, the FAQ etc. Then key GLT documents can be added. Other core articles should be listed and worked started alongside a more official launch.
- It is not advised that all the pages are copied and worked on one after the other, as a non-English page will be full of English text! It is better that is does not exist!
- Once a proposal is agreed, the new parallel wiki will be created and the articles migrated. New wiki will be in a sub-domain.
- eg. French http://fr.ywamkb.net/fr/index.php... and/or http://www.ywamkb.net/fr/index.php...
- English KB will move to http://en.ywamkb.net/en/index.php and http://www.ywamkb.net/kb and http://www.ywamkb.net will become a directory for the other language wiki's.
- New articles in this language will be written on the new wiki
- Unless an article is very mature I would advise against translating articles. The purpose of a wiki is for change. It is better to have English articles inspire Korean articles and visa versa.
