Localization guidelines
Use this guide when localizing Tarantool into Russian.
We address IT specialists fairly knowledgeable in their respective fields. The goal of our translations is to help these people understand how to use Tarantool. Think of us as their colleagues and address them as such. Be professional but friendly. Don’t command or patronize. Use colloquial speech but avoid being too familiar. It’s all about the golden mean.
Think twice when translating modal verbs. Avoid using expressions like «вы должны», because they sound like a demand in Russian, and «вам придётся», because it implies that our readers will face a lot of trouble. Be careful with «нельзя». Make it easy for the user to read the documentation.
Though not all of our readers may be fluent in English, they write in English-based programming languages and are used to seeing error messages in English. Therefore, if they see an unfamiliar and/or more archaic Russian term for a familiar concept, they might have trouble correlating them.
We don’t want our audience to feel confused, so we prefer newer terms. We also provide the English equivalent for a term if it is used in the article for the first time.
If you feel like an older Russian term may sound more familiar for a part of the audience (for example, those with a math background), consider adding it in parentheses along with the English equivalent. Don’t repeat the parentheses throughout the text. A similar rule applies to introducing terms in Tarantool documentation.
Please avoid word-for-word translations. Let the resulting text sound as though it was originally written in Russian.
Be concise and don’t repeat yourself. Fewer words are the best option most of the time.
| Don’t | Do |
|---|---|
| Профиль доступа можно назначить для любой роли пользователя, созданной администратором. А к ролям по умолчанию привязать профили доступа не получится, поскольку такие роли редактировать нельзя. | Профиль доступа можно назначить для любой роли пользователя, созданной администратором. Исключение составляют роли по умолчанию, поскольку их нельзя редактировать. |
Avoid English word order.
The Russian speech is structured with topic and focus (тема и рема). The topic is the given in the sentence, something we already know. The focus is whatever new/important information is provided in the sentence about the topic. In written Russian, the focus most often stands at the end of the sentence, while in English, sentences may start with it.
It is recommended to use systemd
for managing the application instances and accessing log entries. |
Для управления экземплярами приложения и доступа к записям журнала
рекомендуется использовать systemd. |
| Do not specify working directories of the instances in this configuration. | Не указывайте в этой конфигурации рабочие директории экземпляров. |
Avoid overly formal, bureaucratic language whenever possible. Prefer verbs over verbal nouns, and don’t use «являться» and «осуществляться» unless it’s absolutely necessary.
To learn how to clear your Russian texts of bureaucratese, check Timur Anikin’s training “The Writing Dead”.
| Don’t | Do |
|---|---|
| Сообщение исчезнет, как только вы покинете данную страницу. | Сообщение исчезнет, как только вы покинете страницу. |
| Проверка истечения срока действия паролей производится раз в 30 минут. | Раз в 30 минут система проверяет, не истек ли срок действия паролей. |
Use one term for one concept throughout the article. For example, only translate production as «производственная среда» and not as «эксплуатационная среда» throughout your article. It’s not about synonyms, but about terms: we don’t want people to get confused.
| Don’t | Do | |
|---|---|---|
Defaults to root. |
По умолчанию — root. |
Значение по умолчанию — root. |
Do all the pronouns point to the exact nouns you want them to?
Example (how not to): Прежде чем добавить запись в конфигурацию, укажите к ней путь.
In the example, it is not quite clear what «к ней» means – to the record or to the configuration. For more on this issue, check out the writers’ reference at «Ошибкариум».
Don’t forget to proofread your translation. Check your text at least twice.