Using AMOS tool for language pack translation

Hi Koen,

You are a very wise and sensible translator and I agree with many of the points you raise, BUT

To illustrate my point, I am enclosing all the strings inside the 'access.php' file for the es_ve (Spanish for Venezuela) language pack. After the ' : characters I have added the current strings for the parent international Spanish language and a comment according to the following key:

*** both child language pack and paternal language pack strings are IDENTICAL
** the child language string has a minor, non significant, difference from the parent language string and both strings can be interchanged without any change in the meaning of the string
* the child and the parent strings are different, but it is most likely a personal opinion of one translator which would likely be different from that of another translator, while both strings would be understandable by most Moodle users
!!! the es_ve child string is a literal (Google) translation that is certainly inappropriate and it should be fixed or deleted, as it conveys a wrong translation sense.

$string['access'] = 'Accesibilidad';Accesibilidad ***
$string['accesshelp'] = 'Ayuda de Accesibilidad';Ayuda sobre accesibilidad **
$string['accesskey'] = 'Tecla de acceso, {$a}';Clave de acceso, {$a} !!!
$string['accessstatement'] = 'Declaración de accesabilidad';Declaración de accesibilidad ***
$string['activitynext'] = 'Actividad siguiente';Siguiente actividad **
$string['activityprev'] = 'Actividad anterior';Actividad anterior ***
$string['breadcrumb'] = 'Ruta de navegación';Rastro de "migas de pan" *
$string['hideblocka'] = 'Ocultar bloque {$a}';Ocultar bloque {$a} ***
$string['monthprev'] = 'Mes anterior';Mes anterior ***
$string['showblocka'] = 'Mostrar bloque {$a}';Mostrar bloque {$a} ***
$string['sitemap'] = 'Mapa del sitio';Mapa del sitio ***
$string['skipa'] = 'Saltar {$a}';Saltar {$a} ***
$string['skipblock'] = 'Saltar bloque';Saltar bloque ***
$string['skipnavigation'] = 'Saltar navegación';Saltar navegación ***
$string['skipto'] = 'Saltar a {$a}';Saltar a {$a} ***
$string['tocontent'] = 'Saltar al contenido principal';Saltar a contenido principal **
$string['tonavigation'] = 'Ir a navegación';Ir a navegación ***
$string['youarehere'] = 'Usted se encuentra aquí';Usted está aquí **

As you can see, there are 12 strings that are IDENTICAL in the child and the parent language packs. Currently this is a waste of resources and a potential risk if the parent language strings were ever updated, e.g. to reflect a change in the original English language text.

There are 2 strings that differ slightly in the wording, but both convey the same meaning and can be interchanged

There is only 1 string with a significantly different string from the paternal language, but if you gather several native speakers it is highly likely that they will have different opinions about  which would be the best translation. Actually, this particular string is an ideal situation for discussion in the Spanish translation forum at https://moodle.org/mod/forum/view.php?id=683, where I will raise the issue in a few minutes.

There is one language string in the es_ve child language pack that is a literal (Google) translation thet is certainly inappropriate and it should be fixed or deleted, as it conveys a wrong translation sense.

The above findings are the reason why I personally think it would be best for the Moodlers in Venezuela if we removed all the files in this pack EXCEPT for the langconfig.php file, which we may later inspect very carefully.

I am not pro removing work of other people, but these strings have 12  redudant and 1 mistaken translations  in one file examined and I think they SHOULD be removed, as the child translations are no better than the paternal language pack.

I don't live in Colombia or Venezuela, but the above strings do not show much of a a difference in the 2 strings with minor differences.

While someone did indeed make the effort to do something, I too agree that the need for a localized language pack might be there, but this es_ve  language pack is not really that different from the international Spanish language pack (only 2 very minor strings wording in this example file). On this I do have a very strong opinion, as the Mexican Spanish language pack that I currently maintain was indeed developed at my University (UNAM) because we did need many important different strings from the Spanish language they use in Spain. Nowadays  AMOS translators from Spain and Mexico make contributions to both language packs, we have detected and fixed typos in both languages, and we have identified a better translation in one pack and copied it into the other pack. And we have also realized that some cultural differences do merit different strings for Spain and Mexico and that some minor differences are really a matter of personal preferences for either translator and both strings are grammatically correct and accurate.

I will be looking forward to reading the opinions of AMOS translators more experienced than me.