View source for Helping with Translation

When writing for this wiki, it is important to think and plan for the translation of your words into other languages. Here are some things to keep in mind.

==Write simply==

It is tempting, when writing about theological topics, to use complex, scholarly language. It is tempting to use complex sentence structure. I am guilty of this.  When we write for our peers, or for people who speak our native language well, we like to use all the distinctive features of our language.

Complexity is often difficult to render in a target language. Idioms are often difficult to render in a target language. "Technical" language is only relevant within a particular native language.

Keep your sentences as simple as possible.

==Define your terms==

Do not assume that people understand how you are defining a particular word. This is particularly true, when planning to have your words translated into another language.

<translate>==Specific formats==</translate>

<translate>Instead of creating links like this:</translate>
 <nowiki>[[:Category:Murder|Murder]]</nowiki>

<translate>use this format instead:</translate>

 <nowiki>{{:Translink|Category:Murder|{{#urlget:lang}}}}</nowiki>

<translate>This change will automatically render the target (Category:Murder) in the relevant language.

On the other hand, if you want custom link text, such as when you are embedding the link within a sentence, you can use:</translate>

 <nowiki>[[:Special:MyLanguage/Category:Murder|&lt;translate&gt;act of murder&lt;/translate&gt;]]</nowiki>