Translating WordPress

I started translating WordPress into Finnish today. While the translation will probably be announced somewhere else at some point of time when it’s complete, I have to share some of the problems that arise when translating software. Not that they wouldn’t be all that novel to anyone who has more experience in software translations… What surprised me is that how much there is to translate in WP. Is there light at the end of the tunnel? I guess somewhere in the distance.

I will update the following list with problem spots as I encounter them. Please take a look and see if you can offer any suggestions.

The first problem I encountered was in translating one of the fundamental terms of blogging software: post. What I’ve noticed in Finnish blogs is that the authors either use some mangled version of the English word or just avoid using it all together (preferring e.g. I haven’t written… instead of I haven’t posted…). For now I’m using juttu as a generic substitution to post. If any readers have some other ideas for translations, please send them to me or leave them in the comments.

The second, and linguistically more interesting, problem arises from translating by. A small and simple word that doesn’t have a Finnish equivalent in its ambiguity. All of the Finnish words imply making, writing, drawing, etc. something. There is no suitable generic term for it. I’m using tekijä, maker. I guess that is generic enough. Again, suggestions are welcom.