Report From the Localization Team (2023)

Categories: Localization, Community
Last year was marked by the revitalization of the Localization Team. We re-established regular meetings and started working on a number of issues, including decommissioning the old translation infrastructure with Pootle, which had become obsolete since the switch to Crowdin.

We also started working on tutorial videos to explain the use of Crowdin to translators and extension developers. Additionally, we tackled a lot of other topics around the localization infrastructure.

TYPO3camp RheinRuhr

Peter Kraume represented the Localization Team at the TYPO3camp RheinRuhr (3–5 November 2023). There was a session where TYPO3 community teams and committees were introduced. Along with our team the Documentation Team, the Best Practices Team and the Motivation Research Team were also present. The session was very good, although there were relatively few attendees.

For 2024 we plan to have our team present at as many TYPO3camps as possible.

TYPO3 Community Sprint Autumn

Abdulhamid Kwieder and Peter Kraume attended the TYPO3 Community Sprint Autumn for three days at the offices of TYPO3 GmbH. They were very productive and worked on several topics:

  • Improved documentation for contributors and extension authors
  • Updated Crowdin Description
    • The description now contains more information about TYPO3, how to start translating, and where to get support.
  • News about Pootle shutdown
    • The article was written and published on 3 December, 2023
  • Many duplicate labels in Crowdin
    • We have been talking with TYPO3 Core members about ideas to reduce the number of duplicate labels used in almost every system extension.
    • There is still some work to be done in the TYPO3 Core, for example,  removing the magic of how labels for backend modules are automatically fetched from XLIFF files.
    • Once this is done, we can start moving labels around.
  • Tutorial Videos
    • Together with Tom Warwick from TYPO3 GmbH, we have been working on the storyboard for two tutorial videos: one for volunteers who want to translate the core and extensions into their language, and one for extension developers who want to support translations with Crowdin.
    • Tom Warwick is currently working on the first shots. Release of the videos is planned for Q1/2024.
  • Updated the Localization Team page on typo3.org
  • Brainstormed about marketing to get more people to contribute translations.
    • We recorded a short video to attract new translators.
    • The next step is to add a new translation section to the Contribute to Official Documentation.
    • The video will be released as soon as the new section is ready.

Other Activities

  • Abdulhamid Kwieder became co-leader of the team. He also received the Personality of the Year award at T3CON23 for his work on the translation of TYPO3 into Arabic.
  • The Spanish translation of TYPO3 took a big step forward in November 2023, mainly due to the efforts of Andrea Cay.

Plans for 2024

The Localization Team has some exciting plans lined up for 2024, including: 

  • Finish the tutorial videos for translators and extension developers.
  • Continue to improve the documentation and onboarding process for translators and reviewers.
  • Make the work of translators and proofreaders more visible to increase the attractiveness of Crowdin.
  • Expand the team.
  • Be present at many TYPO3camps.
  • Attend one TYPO3 Community Sprint.

Join the Team!

Currently we're just a small team of seven people. If you're interested in the work of the TYPO3 Localization Team feel free to join any of our regular meetings. You don’t need to be multilingual! Our work is less about the actual translation of TYPO3 and more about maintaining the infrastructure and documentation. You just need to bring some time. Developer skills are not required!

For details on our schedule, please visit our Slack channel #typo3-localization-team.