Several of my articles about PHPBB2, an open source programme that helps webmasters make and run internet forums, talked about many of the program's technical details. You might not know that PHPBB2 is used by people all over the world and has the potential to reach more than half of the world's population in their own language. Expert programmers and great translators have made this possible. Without their hard work, not many people would be able to use the software. Let's look at how translators have brought PHPBB2 to people all over the world.
As with any software, making it work in languages other than your own presents its own challenges. Not only do you have to write the code correctly, but you also have to translate it into many different languages from around the world.
I'm impressed by PHPBB2 because it has made forums available in places like Asia, Africa, and South America that don't speak English. In fact, every continent except Antarctica is represented. On the other hand, if penguins could talk to us on our level, I'm sure a programme would be made just for them.
So, who exactly is being shown? I'm happy you asked! Here is a full list of 60...yes, 60 different languages:
Afrikaans, Albanian, Arabic, Asturian, Azerbaijani, Basque, Bosnian, Breton, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese (both simplified and traditional), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Esperanto, Estonian, Farsi, Finnish, French, Galician, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Kurdish, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Mongolian, Norwegian [two dialects], Polish, Yes, one of the programmes is also English!
If you think it's important for people from different countries to get along, you'll enjoy PHPBB2's many languages and cultures as much as I do. PHPBB encourages people to make more translations so that more people can use the software. Online is a list of a knowledge base that translators can use to help them with their work.
As I've said elsewhere, PHPBB2 is a free programme that almost anyone on our wonderful planet with a computer and internet access can use and translate into their own language. One must think that this small act of kindness can go a long way. Let's hope so, because our world needs all of it.
