del
No, Maria, English is not my first language, and not even my second. At the age of twelve, I didn’t know a single word of English; I never lived in an English speaking country, and I don’t have any English speaking friends. So my English, for what it’s worth, is completely bookish. I am able to discuss in English about literature, history and philosophy, and even about computer interfaces, but not about preparing meals or renovating houses: my English vocabulary is much too poor for similar purposes.
I learnt English for the same reason why people in the Middle Ages learnt Latin: because in the present world you can’t do without it. And I have always written not only my academic stuff, but also my personal things (diaries etc.) in languages different from English, using applications with an English interface. And it never made me feel uncomfortable.
But I know that on this point many people disagree, so I won’t insist.
del
Maria, I’m sorry you had English foisted on you and so you hate it. I took some German, but by choice and later in college (as with French, Latin, and Attic Greek), and I do like it (though I fear I have forgotten most of it–use it or lose it!).
Timotheus, I’m suprised and deeply impressed by the fact that you don’t use English all that often, yet I would never have guessed it.
But I’m very curious now about what is your first language. I don’t meant to pry, but if you would like to share, I’d be interested to know.
Alexandria
(my first language is Dutch, and my second Italian. And my English is certainly not as good as the English of Maria and other non native speakers on this forum. But let’s talk about Scrivener, and about the localizations many of us so passionately desire)
I’ve volunteered for the French. It should only take me a few months to figure out an elegant froggy equivalent to “Edit Scrivenings” 
E
Might have guessed it.
Damn Dutch; they speak better English than the English 
.
Ah, you multi-lingual folks are so lucky. I didn’t start learning other languages until my early adult years and yes, it is much harder that way. But I still love languages. I have taken Italian (my mother is Italian), but certainly can’t claim it as a ‘language’ in any numerical position!
But, yes, right, this thread is about localizations…I stray. Yes, to localize or not localize…Hmmm, have no opinion. Though maybe when Eiron creates that French version, I can use it to help me learn French! Or to help me understand what it is like to have to work in interfaces with languages other than my own! Then Scrivener could help me become a better human being, not just a better writer!! 
From a frog: a smart french word is “Scribanne” which is a little bookcase.
see one here:
antiquites-en-france.com/img … 447v1a.jpg
So perhaps something like: “ouvrir la scribanne”. A little bit precious but not a neologism…
jean-louis
I just got the mental image of smashing and un-smashing hundreds of little bookcases together.
You’re right…
May be better: “rassembler la paperasse…”
but this time a little bit trivial… not easy!
see what I mean? 
E
I see: Je vois bien le problème…
Mais je trouve ça passionnant!
Spanish volunteer for a Spanish translation.
After having registered after seven days of testing Scrivener I do hereby put myself onto the lists of volunteers for a German translation of Scrivener - indeed I’d love to cooperate with my German pre-posters in this forum.
Any chance to get this running? I don’t have a problem with the English language, but due to lack of concentration in some parts of my writing German menus etc. would come quite handy.
Interested? Let me know and we shall work it out!
Best regards,
Oliver
I can coerce my fiance into helping me with a dutch translation, if you want! Mine is okay, but I can have him check for me.
And still, somehow, the matter of localization remains unresolved.
I agree completely with Maria: localization is indeed both desirable and neccessary.
Couldn’t we create a pool of potential translators which in turn create a list of different Scrivener-parts (Application, Help, Tutorial), weighed in terms of volatility? As a result we would have long list in which all of Scriveners features are connected to the respective parts in the tutorial and the helpfile; whenever we get new features or changes in existing features only the part in question would need a rewrite as well.
The first to translate everything would get the all-exclusive scrivener Coffee-mug 
I’m not quite sure what you mean by this, but I always said that localisation would come after 1.0, and 1.0 is barely out. I have always agreed that it is “desirable and necessary”, but it is still unlikely to happen for a number of months. I am very grateful to everyone who has volunteered, and when the time comes, I will post here to discuss the best way of going about things given the number of volunteers.
That time is not yet, though. I can understand non-English users clamouring for translation, but please do be patient. These things take time; localisation is not as trival as just sending you a list of words and phrases to translate. For a start, translators will need to install the developer tools and use Interface Builder, they will have to use string tables and other such. There is also the issue that the first few post-1.0 releases will add a few minor features which will require further translation.
A sincere thanks to all who have volunteered, and thank you also for your patience - as I say, it is likely to be some months before I can turn to localisation and give it the attention it needs.
All the best,
Keith
Keith, I’m sure you already know it, otherwise give a try to iLocalise (arizona-software.ch/applicat … calize/en/). It is the Scrivener of localisation
No dev tools to install, no code to patch. Very ‘mac’ linking of code and localised resources.
Mario
Do they have an English version called iLocalise? No, really, thanks for this - I had come across this. There is also Blue-Tec’s Localization Suite, but iLocalize looks more recently updated, so I’ll definitely check it out.
Thanks,
Keith