インターンのAluによるオープンソースカンファレンス2020 Online/kyotoでの発表資料です。 https://event.ospn.jp/osc2020-online-kyoto/session/184441

1. First Stages and challenges
of LibreOffice Translation
in Hausa Language
By Assao Neino Alu
OSC 2020 Online/Kyoto

2. CONTENT
• Introduction
• Register for the language support team and start the Hausa
language project
• Description of the language and historical background
• Adopted approach towards the process of translating LibreOffice
• Challenges
• strengths
• Conclusion & Future work

3. Introduction
●
Translation in one’s Native language seems easier as we think
but it involve many parameters which need to be consider.
●
In this work I am sharing my own experience on how I began
my first steps in translating LibreOffice in Hausa Language.
●
Through this work we will discover how the evolution of the
language could affect the translation process.
●
Having the opportunity to speak two languages contributed a
lot with the IT background it becomes a great advantage too.

4. Weblate
• Translation on Weblate is organized in series of projects and
components
• Components are contained in projects and each project has
many languages.
• From the inside view, each project has translations to common
strings shared across other components within it by default.
This reduces the worry of repetitive and multi version
translation.
• Weblate hosts LibreOffice’s translation under TDF project:
https://translations.documentfoundation.org/

5. Registration procedures

6. Registration procedures
• Previous work was on bug triage
• As LibreOffice community volunteer, I engage this time in
my native language translation.
• Each language stands on its own project in which many
users can participate in the translation.
• The first step is to register on the translation support team
or mailing system: [libreoffice-l10n]. You shall have
direction and guidance from them.
• Next step is to create account on Weblate platform by
signing up with an email address (
https://translations.documentfoundation.org/ ).

7. Registration procedures

8. Registration procedures
• Once the account created, it automatically assign a user
profile on which you can check and track your activities.
• From there you are all set to start your translation.

9. Activity checks

10. Activity checks

11. Activity checks

12. • Remember!!! There are many OpenSource project under
Weblate plateform, Register under the TDF translation
project to work specifically for LibreOffice.
• At the beginning, I registered on the main Weblate site and
couldn’t work on LibreOffice, I had to sign up and recreate
another account on Weblate. So be careful!!!
• During the process of creating the account you need to
choose secondary languages that will be used for helping
in the translation process. In my case I selected English &
French.

13. Hausa language
(Background)

14. Background & Evolution
• As LibreOffice is continuing supporting language
worldwide, it was a good idea to start the Hausa language
project. The language Currently has 100 to 150M speakers
worldwide (Wikipedia).
• Hausa language: one of the most spoken language in west
part of Africa, with significant speakers across Central to
east Africa in general.

15. Background & Evolution
• Originated within the Niger area (actual Niger and Nigeria),
The Hausa has in the last 500 years crisscrossed the vast
African landscape in all its four corners for varieties of
reasons ranging from military service, long-distance trade,
performance of hajj, fleeing from oppressive feudal kings
as well as spreading Islam.

16. Background & Evolution
• An important fact in its history was the arrival of
Bayajidda, an iraqi prince from Bagdad who exiled to
Hausa land and got married to a queen then his
descendants later ruled the empire under 14 different
sates.

17. Background & Evolution
• After colonization era, most empires were declined and
gave place to countries. The official languages which
depend on regions had also impacted the evolution of the
language which nowadays people read and write according
to official languages of the country in which they are
located.

18. Background & Evolution
• Base on these facts, the Hausa language differs from one
region to another. And even internally in both countries,
the language varies from one to another.
• For example in Niger, the language is different in each
region, but people understand each other. In Nigeria, it
varies from states and could find even different Hausa
dialects within the same state.
• Also, people from Nigeria write the Hausa language base
on native English Alphabet, words and pronunciation while
the people in Niger do the same base on French language.

19. Background & Evolution
The history background m ightseem slong buthere isthe point:
HO W DO W E M AKE THE TRANSLATIO N AS ACCURATE
AS PO SSIBLE BASE O N THESE PO INTS ???
 Difference w ithin the native speakers(w ithin the language itself)
 Difference betw een officiallanguages
 Base on new technicalterm sthatdoesnotexistin the language

20. Adopted approach
Translation process

21. Grammar & Vocabulary
• In its original form, Hausa language is grammatically very
rich and flexible in vocabulary aspect.
• During its evolution and the Islamic culture inclusion, at the
beginning it borrowed much from Arabic words then English
and/or French words came in later depending on the region.
• Because of the largest group being centralized in Nigeria
and even greater part of the heritage, most dictionaries and
documentations are English-based.
• During the translation process, I used the English-based
documentation as it is the standard one even google is
currently using.

22. Challenges
• A Nigerian could make a perfect translation for English
based native Hausa speakers but might be somehow
understood by a French-based native Hausa speaker and
vice-versa.
• And both can do well but could eventually fail to find even
accurate meanings for many IT related terms and
expressions.

23. Challenges
• It was easy to compare strings and give the closest equivalent
of them for general expressions especially while using both
English and french.
• However I find it very difficult to translate some technical
terminologies:
Ex1: in calc (comments about equations and mathematical
formulas)
Ex2: in Base text and expression related to algorithms,
databases…
• Google translate is not accurate.
• Online dictionaries gives approximate translation which vary
from one site to another

24. Strengths
• I was very opportune to share the two countries cultures
(Niger & Nigeria) and both official French and English
languages.
• Considering the largest majority being concentrated in
Nigeria, most of the ease-access documentation was based
on the Nigerian English-based Hausa.
• My IT background has contributed a lot in the process of
translation. It gives me the ability to first understand terms
and expressions, concepts and terminology which could be
very difficult for anyone with no solid background in these
(IT, FRENCH & ENGLISH) for the current project.

25. Conclusion and future work
• So far this is just the starting point of this work and need
more and collective efforts.
• The point is to create condition for high institutions
(universities) to discuss and find terms related to
computing.
• The vocabulary should be enlarged according to the fast
trending of technology not only in software area.
• Consider these differences and find a way to come with
standards across all regions.
• Mobilize more people to contribute for more accuracy and
flexibility in modern open-source software translation.

26. ご清聴ありがとうございました
END
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