Theme & Plugin Directories

Every RosettaRosetta The code name of the theme for the local WordPress sites (eg. bg.wordpress.org is a “Rosetta” site). All locale specific WordPress sites are referred to as “Rosetta sites.” The name was inspired from the ancient Rosetta Stone, which contained more or less the same text in three different languages. site now gets a theme and pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party directory for free! This is a new feature that has been rolled out to all Rosetta sites and is part of the site setup process for new localesLocale Locale = language version, often a combination of a language code and a region code, for instance es_MX denotes Spanish as it’s used in Mexico. A list of all locales supported by WordPress in https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/teams/. There are a number of features that need to be added to these directories to make them more friendly to localized visitors (for example, prioritizing translated themes and plugins over English ones), but the process has started.

How to Translate the Theme & Plugin Directories How to Translate the Theme & Plugin Directories

Translating all “metaMeta Meta is a term that refers to the inside workings of a group. For us, this is the team that works on internal WordPress sites like WordCamp Central and Make WordPress.” projects (Rosetta sites, etc) can be done from the Meta tab for your localeLocale Locale = language version, often a combination of a language code and a region code, for instance es_MX denotes Spanish as it’s used in Mexico. A list of all locales supported by WordPress in https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/teams/. You can track the progress of translating both the theme and plugin directories from their respective project pages. Once they’re translated, they will be deployedDeploy Launching code from a local development environment to the production web server, so that it's available to visitors. every 24 hours.

Top ↑

Translating Themes & Plugins Translating Themes & Plugins

The eventual goal is to be able to translate any theme or plugin in the WordPress.orgWordPress.org The community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. https://wordpress.org/ theme and plugin directories. There are still a few things left to get to that point, but we’re well on our way and expect to turn on this feature soon. Once turned on, you’ll be able to translate any active theme or plugin! At the same time, you’ll be able to translate every theme and plugin. This can be a daunting experience, but we’re working on improving it.

For starters, some themes and plugins have their own, existing communities that are not hosted on WordPress.org. If a theme or plugin developer requests it, we strongly recommend that the translation editorTranslation Editor Translation editors can approve translations for projects. The GTE (General Translation Editor) and LM (Locale Manager) roles can add new users with the "Project Translation Editor" role that can approve translations for specific projects. There are two different Translation Editor roles: General Translation Editor and Project Translation Editor adds new, project-specific translation editorsTranslation Editor Translation editors can approve translations for projects. The GTE (General Translation Editor) and LM (Locale Manager) roles can add new users with the "Project Translation Editor" role that can approve translations for specific projects. There are two different Translation Editor roles: General Translation Editor and Project Translation Editor.

Example: if the author of the Twenty Fourteen theme (WordPress.org!) has an existing German translation editor in their community, they can request that the current German translation editors on WordPress.org (“Editors”) add their translation editor to the team, specifically for the Twenty Fourteen project.

Note: Want to understand how roles and permissions work? The Roles and Capabilities page walks through the different roles.

Translating 30,000+ plugins and 3,000+ themes is a very big task. Whenever possible, bringing in translation editors – for specific themes or plugins – is the ideal path and the polyglots team will work with Editors of all locales to make this happen.

Requesting New Translation Editors Requesting New Translation Editors

Should a theme or plugin author wish to migrate their translation editors (PTE) to translate.wordpress.org, they should create a post on make/polyglots with the details.

You can see an example of a request post on the PTE Request page.

Where applicable, we recommend that a plugin author joins concurrent requests several plugins/themes and/or for several languages in the same request. However, importing plugins will happen in stages so that duplicate posts may be needed. The post must include WordPress.org usernames.

For additional requests to add more translation editors, you may edit your own recent post instead of creating a new request. If a longer time has passed, then it’s better to write a new post.

Top ↑

Cross-Locale Project Translation Editor Cross-Locale Project Translation Editor

A Cross-Locale Project Translation Editor (CLPTE) is an account owned by a plugin or theme author (or the authoring organization), which uses professional translators to localise their product. The cross-locale project translation editor can import/validate strings on a specific project for more than one locale. This role has the same capabilities as a Project Translation Editor over multiple locales instead of one. Cross-Locale Project Translation Editors need to meet a set of criteria before being appointed by General Translation Editors.

Top ↑

Criteria for a Cross-Locale Project Translation Editor Criteria for a Cross-Locale Project Translation Editor

To be granted access to import/validate strings for more than one locale, an organisation/plugin/theme author must cover the following criteria:

  1. Make sure that the translators they hire use the community style guides and glossaries or create ones based on them and provide public links.
  2. Create a new translator account for this role, and fill in its profile page with contact information so that the local translation teams can get in touch.
  3. Disclose the sources of translation (e.g. translation vendor) and reviewers (.org username) on the description of the new WordPress.org account.*
  4. List steps for other .org community volunteers to get involved in the review process.
  5. Have a Slack account on chat.wordpress.org and provide notice to the General Translation Editors of each locale after imports.
  6. Update their WordPress.org name to indicate that this user is a CLPTE. For example, “XYZ Translation Team (CLPTE)”.
*Note: Our general expectations also apply to translators working for a CLPTE. Please make sure you understand that machine translation without human review by a speaker of the language will NOT be considered as an accepted source.