We’re currently in the process of translating the online version of Getting Real into other languages. So far there are chapters available in Spanish, Italian, and Russian. German, Croatian, Chinese, and Slovakian are coming soon.
In order to keep the translating process as simple as possible, we’re doing the editing in Writeboard. Writeboard lets us keep track of all the edits, who made them, when they were made, makes it easy to compare versions, and saves us the hassle of emailing files back and forth all the time.
Thanks to all our translators for their help! If you’d like to volunteer to help translate Getting Real into your language, email svn@37signals.com.
Reminder: If you prefer the portability of paper, Getting Real is also available in paperback now ($29 via Lulu).
Matt Linderman wrote this on Jan 18 2007 There are 26 comments.
Edgardo 18 Jan 07
En realidad no tengo tiempo para hacer alguna traducción pero estoy disponible para revisar la versión en español y ofrecer mis comentarios. Tomen en consideración que el español se habla de diferentes maneras en cada país.
Just my two cents.
Dave 18 Jan 07
Will it be available in Java and VB.NET? I think there may be a market for C# too.
Ron Mexico 18 Jan 07
Gracias
Keith 18 Jan 07
I enjoyed the book because there are some gems in there.
That said, short meetings and pizza aren’t the core of good working development teams. ;) The book goes over like a ton of bricks when read through “management’s” eyes.
I think a “Getting Real” for bosses would be awesome. Drop some of the pandering to developer’s and designer’s base instincts and present the cogent points that “Getting Real” truly has to say.
There are great messages that managers and bosses shouldn’t miss, but the format now doesn’t really speak to them in their language.
dusoft 18 Jan 07
Who does the Slovak version?
ML 18 Jan 07
Dusoft, we’ve got one volunteer on the Slovak version but feel free to contact us if you’d like to help.
David Rogers 18 Jan 07
Wow! Using community members to voluntarily translate docs. Sounds like open source in a for-profit business. Nice touch.
Anonymous Coward 18 Jan 07
David, 37signals gives the book away free online in HTML form.
Thomas 18 Jan 07
Will a german buyer of the english version receive a translated “update”?
JF 18 Jan 07
Thomas, we are translating the free version that’s on the web for all to read. We’re not translating the PDF or paperback versions we sell.
Mark 18 Jan 07
I’ve always wondered how you go from Writeboard to print (or PDF as it may be…) Does the formatting that’s applied in Whiteboard translate if you copy and paste from the view? Or do you copy and paste and modify what’s in the edit field? Convert the text file format?
ML 18 Jan 07
Mark, the Writeboard includes all the HTML formatting. The translators just change the copy, not the tags. Then we paste the revised code into an HTML page.
Mark 18 Jan 07
Right, but you used Writeboard for the original PDF publication too, right? I’m really just curious how it works into the overall process. Sorry, by “translate” I meant from Writeboard data into your layout software of choice. Unless you’re generating the PDFs via HTML and CSS …?
JF 18 Jan 07
Mark, we write the text in Writeboard and then just copy and paste it into whatever tool we are using to layout the book (InDesign in this case). Copy and Paste is the best import/export tool ever created if you keep things simple. Text is text.
Anonymous Coward 19 Jan 07
How’s Japanese ver.? 日本語はだれも翻訳しないの？
Alex 19 Jan 07
I’ve read Russian version. I think it is needed to be edited a little to be more exciting. Simple translation is not enough))
igor 19 Jan 07
Alex, you are right. It seems that it was translated into Russian by a program. I can get the gist, but all stylistics’s been lost in translation. It’ll take quite an effort to do the thing properly.
Toshiaki Otsuka 19 Jan 07
anyone volunteer Japanese version?
sashika 19 Jan 07
The original is a wonderful and inspiring book. The Russian version is really disappointing. May be it would be better not to show such a half-baked translation at all? just not to spoil the first impression for those who can’t read it in English?
Alex 19 Jan 07
or maybe translate it correctly
sashika 19 Jan 07
Is it possible to participate? I’d like to take a chapter or so. Unfortunately I do not have much time for translation now, but this book deserves some effort.
sashika 19 Jan 07
Is it possible to participate? I’d like to take a chapter or so. Unfortunately I do not have much time for translation now, but this book deserves some effort.
ML 19 Jan 07
Thanks for the comments. If you think a translation can be improved, please get in touch. These versions aren’t set in stone.
Pedro Martinez 19 Jan 07
The second paragraph of the introduction for the spanish version reads: Haciéndolo Realidad es acerca de saltear los elementos que representan lo real (gráficos, cajas, flechas, esquemas, etc.) y de hecho crear la aplicación real.
Saltear means to fry something. I think it was meant to say saltar, but the paragraph does not capture the essence of the original version. My version(without accents) would be: Haciendolo Realidad trata de ignorar los elementos que representan lo real(graficos, ilustraciones, cajas, flechas, esquemas, etc) para crear lo que verdaderamente importa. I sent a note with my offer to volunteer. Folks, it is time to give back, step up!
ML 19 Jan 07
Please don’t post corrections here at this thread. If you think a translation can be improved, contact the email mentioned in the post. Thanks.
George 19 Jan 07
What, no Serbian?
This discussion is closed.