This thread serves as a hub for users requesting proofreader or translator permissions for the Discourse platform via Crowdin, alongside discussions on translation workflows and issues. The original guide outlines that anyone can translate, but proofreading permissions are limited, with major languages like Arabic, Chinese, French, German, and Spanish managed by agencies. Users are encouraged to discuss changes in the Contribute > Translations category.
Several users successfully requested and received proofreader permissions: tig3 for Armenian, mansil for Portuguese (Portugal), and KlassAdmin for Vietnamese. However, requests from Dev_Kaique for Brazilian Portuguese, Victoria_sheep and xErrorAmelie for German, and kcahtoor for Urdu were either denied due to agency management or technical issues with username mismatches. satonotdead requested permissions for Esperanto, proposing a strategy involving AI-assisted drafting followed by human review to reach the 70% coverage threshold.
Technical discussions included Noble_Fish asking about a Crowdin error message indicating an identical translation already exists. gerhard explained this means the suggestion was previously submitted; it may not appear in Discourse if another translation has more upvotes or is already approved. Noble_Fish later confirmed the suggestion was approved but had been stuck in the queue for five months. Moin suggested adding the list of agency-managed languages to the main post for clarity.
This document provides a guide on how to contribute translations to the Discourse platform using Crowdin.
Required user level: Anyone can contribute translations
Translating Discourse into different languages is essential for its global adoption. Contributing as a translator or proofreader is greatly appreciated and helps in making Discourse accessible to a broader audience.
Summary
This guide covers:
Translating Discourse using Crowdin.
Becoming a proofreader to ensure translation quality.
Best practices for contributing translations.
Translating
To start translating Discourse, follow these steps:
It’s always a good idea to start a discussion with your fellow translators before making large or radical changes to existing translations. Please create a new topic in Contribute > Translations if there isn’t one for your language.
Proofreading
Reviewers ensure translations are accurate and maintain a consistent style. To become a proofreader:
Request proofreader permissions:
Reply to this topic and provide your language along with your Crowdin username.
We do not grant proofreading permissions for the following languages because they are managed by a translation agency:
Arabic
Chinese Simplified
Dutch
Finnish
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Portuguese (Brazilian)
Russian
Spanish
Turkish
Quality assurance:
We limit the number of reviewers to a maximum of two per language to maintain quality. If you have a good reason for an exception, please start a discussion in this topic. Consistency and accuracy are critical for maintaining high translation standards.
Hi @Dev_Kaique,
thanks for wanting to help with proofreading. Proofreading of Portuguese (Brazil) is handled by a translation agency, so we aren’t accepting any other proofreaders. But, if you see a problem with an already reviewed translation, feel free to downvote the current translation and suggest a better one on Crowdin. The translators will consider them the next time they work on the translations.
@tig3 I added you as a proofreader for Armenian. Currently, only for the “discourse” project, not plugins and theme components. Updating all those projects is a manual process, so you’ll get assigned to them the next time we update the Crowdin workflow for all those projects.
I hope you’re doing well.
My Crowding username is @Victoria_sheep, and I’m a professional English<>German<>Chilean Spanish Translator and Proofreader.
My mother tongue is Chilean Spanish, thus I’ll be more than happy to contribute with my abovementioned services.
Moreover, I have worked with several translation companies, such as RWS Group. (Formerly SDL. plc), Angloc, IEB Translations, Accenturenetwork, and SupperAnnotate. (Over six years of experience). Therefore, I’m requesting translator and/or proofreader permissions.
Should you have any other questions, please let me know; I’m always happy to help.
Hello, I am interested in working as a proofreader for both German and English. My native language is German, but I’m also very comfortable speaking English.
You can look at my profile on forum posts and crowdin contributions. I also translate on various other platforms like Weblate and Crowdin (non-discourse instance).
How should I understand this scenario? When I press Save, it prompts “An identical translation of this string has already been saved.” But in the latest version of Discourse, this translation has still not been applied. Does it mean “Someone else has already submitted the same translation change proposal, but it hasn’t been approved yet, so you don’t need to submit it again”?
Yes, that’s what it means. The same translation was suggested before. If it doesn’t show up in Discourse the string either has an different, approved translation or another translation has more upvotes. Which language is that? Could you add a comment to that string on Crowdin? I’ll have a look.
Simplified Chinese, this link lists three related entries, the last two of which earlier triggered the prompt.
Additionally, I just received an email notification that the change was approved, so I don’t think it falls under any of the situations you described.
It looks like it has been stuck at the approve stage for five months, so it hasn’t been added yet.
This document provides a guide on how to contribute translations to the Discourse platform using Crowdin.
Required user level: Anyone can contribute translations
It’s always a good idea to start a discussion with your fellow translators before making large or radical changes to existing translations. Please create a new topic in Contribute > Translations if there isn’t one for your language.
