Re: kernel support for non-English user messages

[Timothy Miller]

Bruce Harada wrote:

>Suggestion: Chop your CCs. I sus pect Linus gave up on this topic a long time
>ago, as (most likely) have the majority of the others.
>
>On Wed, 16 Apr 2003 10:28:31 -0400
>Timothy Miller <[e-mail]> wrote:
>
>  
>
>>The Japanese are taught to read and write English as school children. 
>> They also are taught how to write their own language in Romanji, which 
>>is an adaptation of the Roman alphabet.
>>    
>>
>
>No, they're not (taught to write Japanese in Romaji, that is).
>  
>
Perhaps I was mistaken on that.

>  
>
>> How much you want to bet that 
>>the Japanese use English when they write error messages?
>>    
>>
>
>Well, it rather depends on the person... try setting your locale to
>ja_JP.eucJP, and you might be surprised by the applications that give you
>Japanese messages. Certainly, some Japanese people prefer messages in
>English, but that can hardly be generalized across the entire userbase.
>  
>
Applications.  Far more people work on applications than on the kernel.

I'm not saying I don't think Japanese would benefit from Japanese 
messages.  I'm saying that, in my humble estimation, i18n kernel 
messages would lose in the cost-benefit analysis.

>  
>
>>Linus Torvalds isn't the first Finn I've encountered who speaks, reads, 
>>and writes English impeccably.
>>
>>I've also never met a German who didn't speak English.
>>
>>When we have Asian vendors from various countries come visit where I 
>>work, even the ones who need a translator speak English better than we 
>>speak their language.
>>    
>>
>
>My only answer is, you have only had the opportunity to meet people from
>overseas who have some English ability... really, your argument is on the same
>level as "I've got lots of foreign friends who all like <whatever>, so all
>foreigners must like <whatever>."
>
You make a good point.

>
>Bruce
>
>
>PS: I'm against translating kernel messages, but for technical reasons (simple
>== good) rather than some wild idea that everybody else in the world can
>understand English.
>
I agree that an objective technical analysis, not personal opinion, 
should be the basis of our decision on this matter.