[Python-Dev] i18n

[Jeroen Ruigrok van der Werven]

-On [20100813 23:51], Alcino Dall'Igna Jr (adijbr at gmail.com) wrote:
>I'm starting a project that aims at first to internationalize the python
>interpreter, so it could be localized. I want to know if this could be
>considered for the main trunk of python. 

I doubt you will be able to localize much with regard to the interpreter.
The only thing that really comes to mind are the error and exception
messages, but you will never be able to localize the errors themselves. The
problem there is that if they seek help on international fora for Python,
other people might have no clue what the (error) message even means. The
only portable way around that is if you start assigning each and every
message in the interpreter an integer that's unique. That way one is always
able to identify across languages which exact message is being referred to.
I think AIX did something similar.

>As a second phase I intend to internationalize the language itself so it could
>be localized and used with kids and for programming teaching. 

I think this is not going to be helpful in the long run. The upside is that
you are teaching programming in their native language. The more heavy
downside is that you are creating a programming dialect that requires
extensive rewriting (which might or might not be automated) in order to be
compatible with the Python the rest of the world uses. This is frustrating
for the budding programmer. Especially if they seek help using the various
help fora available to them.
Aside from that, the way Python is using English idiom in its syntax does
not necessarily mean you can translate it 1-on-1 to a target language.
If-then-else might become very convoluted in, say, Japanese. So what then
will the added benefit be for the main trunk of Python?

Personally I think it would be much more valuable if the Python
documentation had some volunteers working on it to get it translated to
their own language.

Just my EUR 0,05.

-- 
Jeroen Ruigrok van der Werven <asmodai(-at-)in-nomine.org> / asmodai
イェルーン ラウフロック ヴァン デル ウェルヴェン
http://www.in-nomine.org/ | http://www.rangaku.org/ | GPG: 2EAC625B
Only a life lived for others is worth living...