Translations

Translation internals, how does it work?

Old TYPO3 multilanguage extension system had only one language file: locallang*.php files. With new xml based system we have now 2 language files.

1. in the extension folder
2. in typo3conf/l10n/ folder

What is the difference between those 2 and from what files are the labels taken?

The main language file is that existing in extension folder. Dummy locallang.xml looks like this:

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" standalone="yes" ?>
   <T3locallang>
        <meta type="array">
              <description>[Insert Title]</description>
              <type>[Insert type: module/CSH/database]</type>
              <csh_table>[first argument of the t3lib_extMgm::addLLrefForTCAdescr() function call including this file inside of ext_tables.php]</csh_table>
        </meta>
        <data type="array">
        <languageKey index="default" type="array">
            <label index="[item_key]">[item_value]</label>
        </languageKey>
        </data>
   </T3locallang>

It must contain at least definition of default labels. Then there can go translation of default labels into:

        <languageKey index="xx" type="array">
           <label index="[item_key]">[item_value_translated]</label>
        </languageKey>

where xx is code of your language.

So for instance we can have:

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" standalone="yes" ?>
   <T3locallang>
       <data type="array">
                <languageKey index="default" type="array">
                        <label index="user">User</label>
                        <label index="account">Account</label>
                </languageKey>
                <languageKey index="pl" type="array">
                        <label index="user">U?ytkownik</label>
                </languageKey>
       </data>
   </T3locallang>

All translations can be put into language*.xml files in extension folder, but it has the same disadvantages as the old *.php based language system:

• if you translate labels to your language and then upgrade extension you will lost your translation
• you can send your translation to extension's author so he can put it into xml files, but this is additional work for him (it can be a lot of job if the extension is popular and there are many translators)
• the language file will get bigger and bigger - for sure it is not good for performance issue

To prevent that disadvantages the new system assume that language files can be placed at Translation Server and after translation being made they can be fetched using Extension Manager and placed outside extension in typo3conf/l10n folder. With the new system translations files are outside extensions and are no longer a burden to extension's authors. Their extension language files can have only default labels.

If you fetch extension translations from Translation Server using Extension Manager then translations files will be placed in typo3conf/l10n folder. NOTE: Even if you fetch the translation it doesn't mean that that they will be used at once. You need to tell TYPO3 that it has to use translation files from typo3conf/l10n folder. The rule is that if there is no translation at all in language file inside extension folder then the external file from l10n folder is used. There can't be even definition of language.

So you need to remove:

                <languageKey index="xx" type="array">
                        <label index="user">U?ytkownik</label>
                </languageKey>

or even empty language definition:

                <languageKey index="xx" type="array">
                </languageKey>

from locallang*.xml files in extension folder.

This can be done manually or you can use special extension for that: llxmltranslate.

Making hardcoded labels translateable

A lot of sys modules are hardcoded and not transable yet. The goal is to make this translateable. Here comes a few thoughts about this issue:

• add new language labels allowed in stable, dev and trunk versions
• change existing labels allowed in dev and trunk versions

llXML

The only one solution to translate extensions, csh, core, on a local Typo3 installation. Use only this extension, don't add any translation to locallang.xml (only default english version), use langage pack (> 4.0)

• locallang-XML translation tool (llxmltranslate) (contact: kasper)

Wiki upload

There was a time when the translation server did not work so well as it does now. The possibility exists to upload language files to the wiki for all to download.

Example-uploads in this wiki:

• Media:UPLOAD-test-locallang.xml
• Media:pear-Llxml_merge.fr.20070711231247.ser
• Media:Pear-locallang-and-ser.zip

Write "Media:" as prefix:

[[Media:UPLOAD-test-locallang.xml]]

[[Media:UPLOAD-test-locallang.xml| pear]]

Proposal for a locallang_common.xml

It would be fine, if there was a "language_common.xml"-file which contained all the daily used labels [Yes, No, Cancel,.....]. This file should be accessible for core and extensions.

The advantages having a file like this are:

• one place for common labels
• reduce work for translators (translators needn't translate 'Yes' for 20th time)
• keep translation consistent
• avoid translation failures

Labels which should go into this file