Welcome to the team. We are translating KDE, a Linux graphical desktop, to Tamil. The aim is to enable people who can read and write tamil well to enjoy the benefits of Linux. Let us see how far this goes. A Tamil Linux distribution??

What you need? (not necessarily in that order)

• Be a computer user :) (familiarity with the computer buzz words useful)
• Exposure to Linux/Unix/KDE (beneficial)
• Patience (in large quantities)
• Love of Tamil (do)
• A good TSCII editor

(We use Akaram. If you install the KDE tamil keymap, you can use tamil in Kedit/Kwrite/StarOffice)
• TSCII font(s) (fixed width fonts preferable)

• Get a Windows based TSCII editor.

There are many freely available:
• The Keyman program allows you to type tamil in MS Word, Notepad etc.
• Murasu Anjal
• Suvadi
• Kamban (may not be free)
• TSCII font(s) (preferrably fixed width fonts)

Okay. Once you've met the above requirements, you should be able to proceed to the actual translation. We are using Kalaichol Akarathi as the reference for our translations. You don't have to constrain yourself to this reference. Feel free to use your tamil skills, but please be consistent. To view the kalaichol akarathi, view it in a TSCII font.

Now:

Identify one or more programs that you want to translate. The messages to be translated for that program(s) (menus, dialog boxes etc. are contained in files named as program_name.pot. All you have to do is to edit the file and put the appropriate tamil messages there.

Before you begin the translation, check the list of files already translated/in progress. Please let me (Siva) know which file you are translating, so that the list can be kept upto date.

Download the .pot file to your computer. The .pot files are available at the KDE WebCVS site.

Begin by opening the .pot file you selected using a TSCII editor. The text that is associated with the keyword 'msgid' is the english message that appear in menus and dialog boxes. Translate the message within the double quotes next to 'msgid' and put them in the double quotes next to 'msgstr'.

For example, if msgid contains "Save" you'll translate this and type the tamil text "§ºÁ¢" (sEmi) into msgstr.

1. While translating, take care with the following points:
• if the 'msgid' has '\n' at the end,'msgstr' should also end with '\n'.
• Don't miss any %n s in the message. If there are variables %1, %2, ... in 'msgid', there should be equivalent %1, %2, ... in 'msgstr' too.
• Otherwise try to be as similar to 'msgid'. Watch for characters like '%:,.'
Once you complete translating for a file, please send the translated file back
to us. We'll start off with the important files (i.e. most commonly used, found in the kdebase directory in WebCVS). We can add other files as we go along. There is still a lot of translation remaining, so your support is crucial for the success of this project.

Once you accept responsibility for a particular file, and for some reason, you are unable to work on it, please submit whatever you had completed to us.