Better to Oromonise technical terms (make them sound Oromo) than translate them!
Liban
Projectiin googli tuni, waan dansaa! Wonni ani it darruu fedhuu
[hardhaafi] tana:
First many thanks for all the volunteers that have initiated and are
working on this project. But, I am sorry to be a bit blunt in
expressing my view on the Oromo translation of these English technical
computer terms that appear on the board. (Minus the ones I added, of
course! Smile!).
(a) THE TRANSLATED TERMS [INTO AFAAN OROMOO] SOUND VERY UNATTRACTIVE;
CLUMSY; UNWIELDY (DIFFICULT); TIME CONSUMING TO LEARN/MASTER.
(b) FOR THE SAKE OF EASY COMPERHENSION AND EFFICIENCY TO REACH MANY
PEOPLE, IT IS BETTER TO JUST OROMONISE THESE ENGLSIH TERMS AS MUCH AS
POSSIBLE AND TRY NOT TO INVENT NEW ONES IN AFAAN OROMOO.
Note that the main purpose of translation into any language is to
facilitate better comperhension of the message not to make things even
more difficult. There is no need trying to play the game of
ethnic/national pride of "we too must have our own terms for
everything" stuff- which is a sign of linguistic chauvenism. Lets also
remember that Afaan Oromoo is far from being a standardised language
and there are as many versions/dialects of Afaan Oromoo as there are
sub-groups that make up our great nation. Put it in another way: we
need to follow the example of the JAPANESE people or their way of
adoping/incorporating/inventing technical terms for their [Japanese]
language.
Rather than attemtping to invent a new Japenese word/term for a
technical term that first appeared in English, they [Japanese] simply
Japanesise/Indiginise the English technical terms as much as possible.
This way, they have managed to avoid the hassel of trying to invent new
technical terms in Japanese but opted to simply make them sound
Japanese!! As the result, the learning and usage of these foreign terms
has been made relatively easy; less time consuming or efficient for the
Japanese. This way, they concentrate more on applying the technology
and less on the SILLY AND TIME CONSUMING STRUGGLE OF MASTERING THE
MEANING OF TECHNICAL TERMS.
We [Oromos] too could follow the Japanese example. Lets DROP any hint
of LINGUISTIC CHAUVENISM/SNOBERY in trying, at all cost, to find
"authentic Oromo terms or words" when we could just Oromonise the
English sounding technical terms...and voila! This way, we can avoid
all the unecessary effort of inventing new terms in Afaan Oromoo; we
can minimise the difficulty of trying to accomodate as many dialects of
Afaan Oromoo as possible and; more significantly, GET TO USE our
knowledge/command of the English to assist us in understading of what
these technical terms mean. (After these terms appear first in
English). We understand the Oromo version of these technical terms- the
ones that have been translated and appear on the board- BECAUSE we
already seen them or are sort of familiar with them. Right? Without our
prior mastery of these in English, the chances of understanding the
Afaan Oromoo version/translation of the same would have been very
difficult indeed.
Hope you understand what I am trying to convey here and share my
thoughts. Just a simple glance at what has been translated so far
reveals how difficult, unwieldy, even unattractive the Oromo version of
computer technical terms sound. Sorry- that is my opinion!.
What do you think?
Regards and Happy New Year to ALL.
Liban
Damee
I am overwhelmed by what you wrote here above dhiroo. Where have you
been this long? I tried all I could to get hold of linguists like you,
Welcome dear.
To answer the basic questions you raised please allow me to point out
two things here.
1) We started this project not because we are experts either in
English or in Oromo, however; we were just interested in developing our
language. We have the will to do the work but we don't have the
talent here, at least as for me.
2) Obboo Tamanaa Bitimaa, Tokkummaa Ganamoo, Faajjii and
Tokkummaa/Sooresaa had raised similar questions before...by this I mean
we are well aware of what you are trying to convey here. Moreover
although I withhold the edited version of the main page edited by
Tamanaa he Oromonised many technical terms and suggested synonymous
easily understandable for others.
Look Liban,
As you suggested I believe everyone on this mailing list agree that it
is more efficient and comprehensive to Oromonize the technical terms
instead of the direct translation that we did in the previous
translation.
For example let us look at the new Oromo words I learn here in
N.America after I came here.
A- What is going on------->maltu deema?
B- Call me---- naa Waami
C- What is happening----- maltu taa'a jira
D- ...............heddu jira.
The other thing that I didn't really understood is what you
identified as "Linguistic Chauvinism"...as far as I know what we
are trying to accomplish here is to fully translate the Google page to
Oromo. If you encountered any form of linguistic chauvinism as you
called it please be specific to the volunteers on this mailing list to
avoid repeated use of such and such words.
A challenge for you:
Given that in the last four months we only translated 40% of the main
page which is our major concern
1.....Please tell us how we can move forward
2.....Please take the leading role in the editorial part of this
project along with Tamana, Faajji and others.
But I am convinced that together we can make it reality, what piss-
me-off the most though is the fact that Oromo scholars and academic
Organizations like ONA had ignored our repeated call up on them.
Dhiroo let us work together then, come up with alternatives we are
willing to do whatever to accomplish this task.
Abdi Sabatti.
PS: By we I am referring to my peers here who started the project.
Liban
Happy New Year to you, to your loved ones and to ALL the wonderful
volunteers that have initiated and and are working on it!! It is great
to see Oromos doing such a great thing for the betterment of our
language and, eventually, our people.
That said, remember that my intention has NOT been to belittle your
efforts in any shape and form. Besides, and as you rightly implied,
people have to be part of things AS WELL AS pointing their
"udaan-guurttuu" fingures (sorry) at the deeds of others. I am neither
a linguist, an expert in Afaan Oromo or computers. But, as an Oromo
citizen who desire the better of our language and nation, I want to
point out what could be improved. As you know, translations, for them
to be effective, need to be USERFRIENDLY. The terms and words employed
need to be as PRECISE OR SNAPPY as possible. They also need to be EASLY
undesrstood by many- if not most- of the people these are intended for.
In this last case, the terms we use have to take into account the
diversity and complexity of our language. Of course, those that make
the translations need to have a good grasp of the technical terms in
need of translation - needless to say. To make translations of these
nature easier it is better, I think, to INDIGINISE/OROMONISE the terms
as much as possible. By this I mean render the terms Oromo-sounding
while retaining their original sense (or as they appear in original
language). That way: (a) it is easier to avoid the tiresome need of
trying to reach all sub-dialects of our language (b) we can retain the
ability to still understand the basic meaning of the terms from our
knowledge of Ehnglish or other advanced languages we are familiar with.
(Languages via which many of the Oromos that get to use computers etc,
already mastered).
Not sure if I made my point clear but all my attempt- despite sounding
a bit blunt- was intended to highlight the things many people do sense
but are a bit uncomfortable to say it [abeet!....abeet!...smile, here].
Here is how I aim to contribute. I will get a paper copy of the terms
and think about possible translations as I go about and then send it
over to the co-ordinators for their consideration.
But, it would help if the actual technical terms used by the Google are
themselves translated into PLAIN ENGLISH. As they are, many of them
sound "DOUBLE DUCH" for many. I would say most-native Englsih speakers
let alone speakers of Afaan Oromoo or Afaaan Boorana (smile) have
difficulty decoding what they mean!. To facilitate the process of
translation and to encourage many more Oromos to take part, we/you need
to DE-JARGONISE the English version of these terms first. The terms-
many of them anyway- are designed by and for what popularly known as
computer nerds (sorry). Often, many people wonder why there was a need
to use so much jargon when words in ordinary English could perfectly be
used to convey the message. So, could those of you with expertise in
computer system/technology, please attempt to translate some of the
terms into ordinary English?? Thanks. That would greately assist the
process of translation. Yes, I did look at the possible meanig of these
jargons provide by Google- for which one has to sit and wait for a long
time for this to appear/downloaded!. But, the English version of the
translations are not a lot better from the actual jargons.
All the same, I will try contribute as much as I can. I added the term
"soqa" as the Afaan Oromo equivalent of the term "search", for
instance. The word "barbaada; barbaadu" could be used. But this last
one is used for "looking for something that is lost". Soqa, on the
other hand, is an act of messing around within the same area to find
things; it is a bit like a complex and investigative search for things.
Does this make any sense?
Oh, another thing. It does help if you/we put the translation project
on one of our popular forums (gadaa.com??, Bilisummaa.com??) so that
many people can have a look at the them, comment on them and try to
provide alternative terms/translation. From there, you/those in charge
could upgrade the process of translation at google. I said this last
thing because just getting to the google site where the translations
are being attempted is not that easy. The Webmaster at Gadaa.com could
put/post the project at the top of the discussion topics (like the one
on Qubee Afaan Oromoo Lesson at gadaa.com) so that the thread (of the
translation) appears at the top all the time.
Bari haaran kunni ka gamaachuu ha sii ta'u.
Nagaa badhaadhani,
Liban
g.b...@comcast.net
Damee
Dear Liban Digalu fi hundi,
Bari haara 2006 Bara Nagaa, kan Gammachuu, Jalallaa fi Bilisummsaa akka
nuuf taa'u hawii kooti.
Boo ati waan jabdu fiddee Liban kenyaa, but I don't see why most of the
people who are reading your eloquent remarks are not replying. Hope
that it is just the New Year party party thing that is keeping them
busy.
You brought up long-lasting suggestion as to how we can standardize our
language, but I do see that you are making the load even heavier than
what it already is.
I have a reason to say this,
You are asking the so-called experts in computer to translate the
computer terms to ordinary English so that ESL'S like me can easily
understand it. I share your concern because I have seen how hard it is
to translate a single word or phrase. Yet, as far as I know most of
the people on this mailing list are neither experts nor computer gigs.
So that approach looks to me ineffective given that there is no
encouraging feedbacks from the elites and those who wrote
books/dictionaries in Oromo.
I personally share your concerns dhiroo no misinterpretation here, what
I am trying to say is let us look for an easy way to accomplish this
task.
The other most important point is the "Soqa vs. Barabaada". Let me
tell you what happend to me once. While I was in college in Finfinne
some 3 years back....I told my colleagues "Maali boo isin Soqa olee
mi?"....they start LOL and I was so emberassed by what I said later a
freind start explaining what was going on. After sometime we met again
in my uncle's house....when they first enter the house unlce told them
"asi ta'aa, asi ta'aa" .... a friend replied "lakki asi Damee bukken
ta'aa!"....all of a sudden silence took over the whole place....I
couldn't help laughing because I have heard alot about this B4. Anyways
I just want to point out here that although you think some words are
unfriendly please understand that othe rwords you think freinndly can
even be offensive to others because we have the richest langauge.
Please read below what Tamana had said months back
A)Dhugaa dubbii yoo tahe, inni ati natti ergitee qubeen isaa hedduu
mishaa dha. Dogoggorrin ani argee sirreesse, waanuma namni qubee
sirriitti beeku dogoggoruu dandayu. Tahus bakka baayyeetti sirreesseen
jira.
B)Sagaleewwan tokko tokko kan biraatiin bakka buuseen jira. Akka
kitaabbii isaa garii qaqqajeelcheen jira. Isa kana irratti mee kanaa
gadittan waa jedhaa na hoofkalchi!
C)Sagalee (jecha) tokko tokko jalqaba hamma dhumaattan akka walfakkaatu
godhe. Fakkeenyaaf: "haaraa, haarawa, haaraya", isa jedhamee tokko isaa
duwwaa barreessuu irra wayya. Kanaafan bakka hundaatti: "haaraa"
barreesse. "Haarawa" kan jedhus sirriidhuma. Ammoo, tokko gochuun nama
dubbisuuf irra wayya. Akkanuma: Waa'ee > waaye! e, dhi'oo > dhiyoo,
dhihoo, ga'eessota gayeessota, danda'uu > dandayuu, faa ...! Isaan
gurraachoman kana yoo fudhannee ittiin hojjanne gaarii natti fakkaata.
Isaan hafaanis mee dogoggora mitii! Ammoo, guddina afaan Oromootii
tokkoo isaa filatanii waaltessuutu mishaa dha.
D) Bakka tokko tokkotti immoo jechoota bakka hundaatti beekaman galchuu
irra wayya. Fkn: iddoo > bakka, eegaluu > jalqabuu, xuquu > tuquu faa .
E)Sagaleewwan baay'inaa keessaa isa (kana keessatti tokkoo isaa qofa)
fudhatanii hamma dhumaatti ittiin dhimma bawuun gaarii dha.
Fakkeenyaaf: takka guyyaawwan, takka immoo guyyoota jechuu irra tokko
isaan filee: guyyaawwan ...!
F)Bakka baayyeetti: dhaaf, jechuun fkn: sangaaf, sangaadhaa,
sangaadhaaf. Inni akka "sangaadhaaf" jedhuu kun hedduu nama rakkisa.
Waan looga naannoo Oromiyaa tokkoo taheef, sirriidhuma. Garuu, isa
ennaa barreessanis, ennaa dubbatanis namatti tolu, fudhachuu irra
wayya. Kanaaf, isa sangaaf yookaan sangaadhaa jedhumu irra wayya.
Akkanuma bakka: -dhaaf > -f kan jedhamutu bu'a!
G)Bakka tokko tokkotti fakkeenyaaf: seenaa, seeni ... galchaa, galchi
... faa jedha. Kanaaf, isuma: seeni, galchi, tuqi ... faatu irra gaarii
dha.
H) Isa akka hindeemuu, nideema faa ... hin deemu, ni deema faa jechuun
addaan baaseen jira.
Suggestion:
·Dhiroo Liban please take the leading position as I suggested last
time in the editorial part along with Faajjii, Tamanaa, and Tokkuumma.
·Faajjii, Tokkuumma and Tamanaaa we deserve your opinion on what Liban
is saying here. It is very important you guys are on the same page.
·Liban please allow us (the ordinary volunteers) to do the best that
we can to translate the words to Oromoo--- no matter how clumsy and
user-unfriendly it is. Because better do something than sitting idle.
Kaa taa qabu darbattee sodatuu hin je'amu jedha miti Oromoon.
Moreover, you guys the editors can work on that after we put in what we
can.
* Jallan Reef dhuftan akka Dawwii faa mee maaloo nuu
dirmadhaa....action action action
Ammaf kanuman jedha once again Liban thank you for your contribution
and keep up the good work. Oromoo fi Oromiyaan nama waa hojattuu feeti.
Abdi Sabatti.
PS: I am away from Home and I barely have computer access this week
apology for my late responses in advance.