Vietnamese Translation projects
Nancie Severs
I hope this finds everyone well!
Today I received this email from Chrs Leonard, the volunteer Sugar Labs / OLPC / eToys Pootle administrator who coordinates the language localization efforts for Sugar and related open software projects. The information on what has been done and what still needs to be done can be found in the link below.
Date: Wed, Aug 24, 2011 at 12:12 PM
Subject: Vietnamese L10n
To: Nancie Severs <nancie...@gmail.com>
Nancie,
Can you please try to recruit some people to work on the Vietnamese
localization? With Clytie less active, someone has to pick up the
slack.
http://translate.sugarlabs.org/vi/
Even a few words at a time will add up quickly.
cjl
Can we put a translation team together, and perhaps make a timeline and prioritize which parts make the most sense to translate, as a project over a few months? Perhaps someone knows some students who would like experience doing this work?
I know the questions will be who will use the software, and so, is the effort worthwhile?
My thoughts:
In Thailand, work on the localization and translations apparently stopped several years ago when no new XO deployments seemed planned. A new 500 XO project has just been underwritten, and the XO-1.5 ;laptops have been ordered, for children in 13 rural schools. Now the translation job needed in Thailand is quite urgent, in order to support the new deployment.
I am thinking that if our group can work on the Vietnamese language localization at a time when the need is less urgent, then Sugar will be available for Vietnamese teachers and children. And when the time is ripe for more XOs to come to Vietnam, the software support and translation group will be in place.
I plan to be in Thailand in late October and hope to visit Hanoi, perhaps in mid- November and meet with some of you!
Warm regards,
Nancie:)
--
This email came from my XO from OLPC!
Please check out One Laptop Per Child at http://laptop.org/ and help make the world a better place!
Serge Stinckwich
Regarding the current XO deployment in Vietnam: i made a short visit
in the Vung Vieng village in august.
The computers are still in good conditions and used by the children.
When i made a visit this was hollydays and the child was not here, but
i talk with a guy who is responsible for the fishermen in the village
if i understand correctly. He is really interested to have some help
from us. What is lacking apparently is some training for the local
teachers (they only stay one year in the village).
I think we need to setup a task force to help the vung vieng fishing
village deployment.
If there is enough people interested, we could try to prepare a more
update version of the sugar image to deploy on current laptops and
prepare some training materials for the teachers. I think this is
quite important to explain them the philosophy behind OLPC (this is
part of a broader movement) and how they can use the laptops. Maybe
they have some specific needs that we don't know.
> I plan to be in Thailand in late October and hope to visit Hanoi, perhaps in
> mid- November and meet with some of you!
Unfortunately in november, i will be in Japan.
Best regards,
--
Serge Stinckwich
UMI UMMISCO 209 (IRD/UPMC), Hanoi, Vietnam
Every DSL ends up being Smalltalk
http://doesnotunderstand.org/
Nancie Severs
Thank you! This is really so good to hear. I am impressed that eveything (including the solar equipment I left?) is still working.
If the XO's are being used, then this speaks to the XOs durability and utility for exposed locales. In other hot damp locations, particularly in the south of Thailand, any conventional computer equipment has very high breakdown rates and sits junked, unused. I am mentoring a new 500 XO project there, that is buying XOs to hopefully address that issue. So I am really pleased to know that the XOs have lasted almost 2 years already, in good condition.
It's my understanding that Tuyen's role at Indochina Junk changed to have a lot more responsibility. I have not heard from him for along time for reasons I am not sure of; perhaps he thought the adults in the VVV were benefiting more than the children, or probably he just has no time at all and can't take this project on. But I do believe that the VVV residents and governing leadership really do want the children to be educated, to have incentives to learn, and to learn IT so that they can compete for jobs on the mainland when grown and help support their families. Also the adults want to learn to read and write an to use computers too. I think that if the XOs can help with adult literacy and/or IT literacy then that is wonderful. Is there someone fom the VVV we can communicate with?
Serge, your idea of a task force for the VVV project is really good. It would be helpful if our group in Hanoi could establish a relationship with a person from the village that could be a comunication liason. An ultimate goal would be to identify someone from the village (maybe some of the kids,) who could learn to update the XOs when on the mainland, (I know by now they must have discovered the net cafes.) And someone who could do teacher training at the college from where the teachers come or for each teacher group that will come to the VVV.
Is there Internet in the village yet? Any plans or desire to have it? That would probably be a major benefit to the business interests operating in the village, the tourist shops and the fishing and pearl industry. The benefit to the business will get the governing leadership behind the project and then the Internet can provide its huge education opportunities to the village children as well. The goal is to embrace whatever works to change the dynamics where literacy is only 25%, and where kids stay in school only until they are about 10 years old, when they have school, and teachers, which does not appear all that regular. If sharing the learning with XOs with the adults will encourage the children and help improve their future, then that's a good thing!
A VVV Task force could also consider what kind of budget needs there would be to support travel and visits for installing updates and teaching, and perhaps for Internet expenses for the village.
Then we could look to identify funding sources by grant or corporate partnerships (perhaps with some of the tour agencies operating in Halong Bay?)
I had an email recently from an American college student that is a native Vietnamese speaker. She found my blog and would like to volunteer in the village next summer for some weeks. She teaches ESL in the Boston area Vietnamese community and could teach English. I told her I would investigate it. So you can see how having someone to communicate with directly from the VVV would really help things.
Those are my thoughts today. I see you'll be in Japan in November. I'll let you know my time frame in SE Asia when I have it, so that perhaps one place or another we can finally meet.
Thanks Serge and everyone,
Nancie:)
Quynh Vu Do
2011/9/8 Nancie Severs <nancie...@gmail.com>:
> Serge, your idea of a task force for the VVV project is really good. It
> would be helpful if our group in Hanoi could establish a relationship with a
> person from the village that could be a comunication liason. An ultimate
> goal would be to identify someone from the village (maybe some of the kids,)
> who could learn to update the XOs when on the mainland, (I know by now they
> must have discovered the net cafes.) And someone who could do teacher
> training at the college from where the teachers come or for each teacher
> group that will come to the VVV.
>
I may spare a few days (2-3) in october/november to pay a visit to the
VVV village and try to establish durable contacts with locals.
> Is there Internet in the village yet? Any plans or desire to have it? That
> would probably be a major benefit to the business interests operating in the
> village, the tourist shops and the fishing and pearl industry. The benefit
> to the business will get the governing leadership behind the project and
> then the Internet can provide its huge education opportunities to the
> village children as well. The goal is to embrace whatever works to change
> the dynamics where literacy is only 25%, and where kids stay in school only
> until they are about 10 years old, when they have school, and teachers,
> which does not appear all that regular. If sharing the learning with XOs
> with the adults will encourage the children and help improve their future,
> then that's a good thing!
>
I recently bought a 3G USB Modem from Viettel for use of internet in
remote areas. It worked well with my netbook (EeePC 1001HA, Ubuntu
11.04). If I go to the VVV village I will test internet connection
through 3G services there. Then we could further discuss any interest
with internet use with the locals.
> A VVV Task force could also consider what kind of budget needs there would
> be to support travel and visits for installing updates and teaching, and
> perhaps for Internet expenses for the village.
> Then we could look to identify funding sources by grant or corporate
> partnerships (perhaps with some of the tour agencies operating in Halong
> Bay?)
>
Yes. This is a good idea. Actually, I wrote a letter to Viettel
several months ago asking whether they would like to support the
school in VVV village with providing internet access (they have a
large scale national program for this) but got no answer so far. Maybe
a foreigner like you, paying them a visit and explaining the goals of
the project may have a better result in terms of PR's benefit for
Viettel.
> I had an email recently from an American college student that is a native
> Vietnamese speaker. She found my blog and would like to volunteer in the
> village next summer for some weeks. She teaches ESL in the Boston area
> Vietnamese community and could teach English. I told her I would investigate
> it. So you can see how having someone to communicate with directly from the
> VVV would really help things.
>
Yes. These are good opportunities.
Regards
--
Vu Do Quynh (M.)
Hanoi, Vietnam
Blog personnel: http://vdquynh.blogspot.com/
Moments online: http://memolane.com/vdquynh/