[WARNING - cross posted so that it reaches the maximum number of people]

Proposed by: Sayamindu Dasgupta
Organization: The Ankur Group
Dated: July 8th, 2003

        
Abstract:

This document proposes a standard set of Bangla (bn) equivalent for certain key terms encountered in the standard Graphical User Interfaces (GUI). It also proposes a standardized list of accelerator keys to be associated with each term.

Table of Contents:

1. The method of assigning accelerator keys.
2. The wordlist
3. Online resources

1. The method of assigning accelerator keys.

Translators volunteering to translate packages are given PO files ("portable object files", extension .po), which are plain text files with key-value pairs for string values. 
Accelerator keys are also defined in the PO files by the help of underscores (the character following the underscores gets assigned as the accelerator key). 
For example:

	#: collection/eog-collection-view-ui.xml.h:14
        #: viewer/eog-image-view-ui.xml.h:17
        msgid "_View"
        msgstr "_Ansicht"
        
However, in Bangla, due to the existence of conjuncts, a new problem surfaces. 
Say a translator translates in the following manner

       	#: collection/eog-collection-view-ui.xml.h:14
	#: viewer/eog-image-view-ui.xml.h:17
        msgid "_View"
        msgstr "দ_র্শন"
        
It is not clear whether the accelerator key is র or whether it is ্ or whether it is শ. Hence, two alternative proposals were placed in the thread available at http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/forum.php?thread_id=2691148&forum_id=24633

The first of the two proposes that the translation should be as

	#: collection/eog-collection-view-ui.xml.h:14
	#: viewer/eog-image-view-ui.xml.h:17
        msgid "_View"
        msgstr "দর্শন (_V)"
        
This is useful in today's scenario, but in the long run, the second proposal, which specifies the translation as

	#: collection/eog-collection-view-ui.xml.h:14
	#: viewer/eog-image-view-ui.xml.h:17
        msgid "_View"
        msgstr "দর্শন (_দ)
        
seems to be more sensible, and hence, the second proposal was accepted.

2. The wordlist.

However, once a consensus was reached on the above issue, it became necessary that a standard set of common GUI terms be standardised, along with the corresponding accelerator keys, so that there is consistency and coherence between all translated applications. Such a wordlist is proposed below.

File : ফাইল (_ফ)
Edit : সম্পাদন (_ম)
View : প্রদর্শন (_দ)
Find : খোঁজা (_খ)
Search: খোঁজা (_খ)
Tools : যন্ত্রপাতি (_য)
Documents : নথিসমূহ (_ন)
Help : সাহায্য (_স)
New : নতুন (_ন)
Open : খোলা (_খ)
Save : সংরক্ষণ (_স)
Save As : নতুন নামে সংরক্ষণ (_ত)
Print : ছাপা (_ছ)
Print Preview : ছাপার আগে প্রাক্‌দর্শন (_দ)
Close : বন্ধ (_ব)
Exit : প্রস্থান (_প)
Undo : বাতিল করা (_ব)
Redo : আবার করা (_আ)
Cut : কাটা (_ট)
Copy : কপি (_ক)
Paste : সাঁটা (_স)
Clear : মুছে ফেলা (_ম)
Select All : সমস্ত নির্বাচন করা (_ন)
Preferences: পছন্দসমূহ (_প)
Properties : বৈশিষ্ট্যাবলী (_ব)
Find Next : পরেরটি খোঁজা (_প)
Find and Replace : বদলে বসানো (_ব)
Contents : সূচী (_চ)
About: পরিচিতি (_প)
OK : ঠিক আছে (_ঠ)
Credits : স্বীকৃতি  (_স)
Cancel : বাতিল (_ব)
Next : পরবর্তী (_র)
Back : পূর্ববর্তী (_ব)
Stop : থামা (_থ)

Please do note that this list is as short as possible as it tries to include only the _standard_ and common GUI items.

3. Online resources.

1. Thread on the Ankur-core mailing list on this issue: http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/forum.php?thread_id=2691148&forum_id=24633
2. Section on User input in the GNOME HIG (Human Interface Guidelines) document: http://developer.gnome.org/projects/gup/hig/1.0/userinput.html