cockburn@system.enet.dec.com (Craig Cockburn) (06/12/91)
--
If anyone is interested in helping out with this field test, could
they contact Marion GUNN on MGUNN%IRLEARN.BITNET@uga.cc.uga.edu
please - not me! I'm only passing the message on. Please feel free
to repost or forward this message to anyone who might be interested.
thanks
Craig
------ Forwarded mail received on 12-JUN-1991 at 13:23:40 ------
From: DECWRL::"GAELIC-L%IRLEARN.BITNET@uga.cc.uga.edu"
"GAELIC Language Bulletin Board"
To: Craig Cockburn <SYSTEM::cockburn>
Subj: beta-tha/sta/il <beta-testing>
RABHADH: teachtaireacht fhada a bhaineann le bogearrai/ ri/omhaireachta.
Muna bhfuil suim agat i ri/omhairi/ Apple Macintosh, anois an
t-am chun an cnaipe DEALAIGH a bhru/!
<WARNING: long message about computer software. If you have no interest at
all in Apple Macintosh computers, now would be a good time to hit
the DELETE button!>
The body of this message is being sent out in English, so that all the
Gaelic words in it will stand out from the context, for discussion later.
It is a call for beta-testers to try out the first working package of
EVERSON GUNN TEORANTA Irish-language Apple Macintosh software.
When the team of Everson and Gunn began their work (seems like a
long time ago) his command of Irish was virtually nil and her command of a
macintosh about the same. Now he is quite adept at translating various
jargon into Irish and she so used to hacking away in ResEdit that she
doesn't cause the system to crash any more frequently than he does! So,
basically, what they require is a few more like-minded people who are
prepared to risk losing their sanity in a good cause.
We'd like testers to be either computer pofessionals or users
strong-minded enough to do things that normal, easily-intimidated people
wouldn't dream of trying - such as going right ahead and dragging the hard
disk to BRUSCAR (Trash), erasing a locked disk, shoving any old floppy
which contains nothing but text files into the drive and trying to reset
its non-existent startup whatsit - think up impossible things to do, just
to see what error messages come up. That and, of course, spotting any
remaining grammatical and spelling (caighdea/n!) errors.
Because we are still awaiting delivery (from Apple) of a full
localization kit, together with advice on testing routines, we have had
to leave a lot more to our testers than we should have liked to do. For
example, though we are able to re-size buttons to fix the text in most
places, there remain certain black holes where results are not visible
in ResEdit. Another problem constantly slowing us down is having to find out,
by trial and error, which things can be translated and which can not.
For example, we translated thousands of System, Finder, etc. strings into
Irish, and they worked just as well as the English version. We then translated
the package titles "System," "Finder", and sat back to see what would happen.
Nothing happened.
If you want the thankless, unpaid job of beta-tester to EGT, please
e-mail <MGUNN@IRLEARN.UCD.IE> your name, snailmail address, phone, fax nos.
Before going on to say a bit more about our work and to list the items in the
test package, I wish to acknowlege an unrepayable debt to Se/amas O/ Scolai/,
for permitting us to fill up his machine with the most appalling rubbish. His
unfailing kindness, encouragement and advice will always be remembered. Also,
our thanks to those who made useful comments or helped out in the early stages,
especially Brendan Clavin and Tom Killalea and the authors of all the old
debates on technical terms in GAELIC-L's archives - I got inspiration there
in every kind of Gaelic! Our thanks to Paddy Matthew for "CeannLuibhne"
("KeyCaps" !) And yet more thanks to Kevin P.O'D. for more wordlists.
You were warned that this would be a very long message! Now for
technical stuff: potential testers should own a copy"Te/armai/ Ri/omhaireachta"
(An Gu/m 1990) and "Foclo/ir Gaeilge-Be/arla" (O/ Do/naill 1977). "T.R." is
important, not just because it is the principal authority on computer
terminology in Irish Gaelic, although it lacks score upon score of special
Mac-only terms, which are contained in the EGT translation, together with
some ordinary words which appear in O/ Do/naill but not in "T.R.". For example,
"T.R." translates "switch" as "lasc", which is fine for the switch on your
laser printer, but "malartaigh" is the word needed for switching from one
system to another (6.0.7 to the magic 7!); "erase" as "scrios", which is
okay for total erasure of files, folders, but for disks, only the contents of
which are to be destoyed, it has to be "glan diosca"; "T.R." only has
"monato/iri" for "monitor", which is fine for VDUs, but we are referring to
the monitoring of printer activity as "feitheoireacht".
Some people may not like our solutions to certain problems, such
as what to do with a computer which only understands "yes" and "no" when
translating into a language in which these words do not exist. "Do you want
to erase XYZ ?" = "An dteastai/onn uait...?" - response "Teastai/onn" or
"Ni/ theastai/onn" (Easy ? Ok, so just YOU try fitting that lot on a tiny littl
e Mac button!) And what if - from your mixed bag of resource strings - the
word "Du/n" pops up, or "Sa/bha/il", instead of "Teastai/onn"? Confusion!
What we do is use a monotonous list of "An bhfuil" strings, which
make a straight match with "Ta/", "Ni/l" and - keeping within the "Ta/" mode -
"Ta/ go maith" for "OK". Some may not like that, as I say, but live with it and
you'll see that the repetitive pattern "An bhfuil tu/ cinnte" "An bhfuil tu/ ag
iarraidh..." actually helps a new user (or one not used to issuing commands
in Irish) to settle in to the rhythm of the Mac environment. I deliberately
break that pattern when something drastic is being contemplated. For example,
if you try to reinitialize your hard disk, your choice will (I hope!) not be a
too-easy-to-press "Ta/" or "Ta/ go maith" button, but the unambiguous, drastic
command "Tu/saigh"!
This message is already too long, so I am going to send the list of
contents of the first EVERSON GUNN TEORANTA package as a separate mailing.
Marion Gunn
% ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ======
Reply-To: GAELIC Language Bulletin Board <GAELIC-L%IRLEARN.BITNET@uga.cc.uga.edu>
Sender: GAELIC Language Bulletin Board <GAELIC-L%IRLEARN.BITNET@uga.cc.uga.edu>
From: Marion GUNN <MGUNN%IRLEARN.BITNET@uga.cc.uga.edu>
Subject: beta-tha/sta/il <beta-testing>
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Craig Cockburn, Digital Equipment Co. Ltd, Reading, England.
ARPAnet: cockburn@system.enet.dec.com
UUCP:..!decwrl!system.enet.dec.com!cockburn
{ Airson Alba Ur }
Views expressed here are my own, and do not necessarily
reflect those of Digital.
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