Please keep the Saami language! The Saami languages have been oppressed for many years in all the four countries where they are spoken, and much of this oppression still remains. In age of computers there has been a long and hard struggle to make it possible to use the language in different computer programs and systems, not to mention to get programs with menues in Saami language. Especially has Microsoft been negative and it has been a great encouragement to see that Linux has made it possible to get programs in Sami language. I have followed the work for translations from the beginning, and I know that there is done a lot of good work. But unfortunately computer programs change so fast, that it is impossible for a small language to keep updated all the time. It would be very pityful if all the good work should get lost at once there is a new release for which we don't manage to update the Saami version. The Northern Saami language is spoken in Norway, Sweden and Finland. In the two first countries all or almost all Northern Saami speaking computer users also will understand Norwegian as fallback, but not in Finland. The alternative would be English as fallback, which may be also would be easier as the translations to Northern Saami are done from English. Anyhow, A Saami version with parts of menues in Norwegian or English is much better than nothing. And so I hope that we soon will be able to organize more translations.
Svein Lund > From: Christian Perrier [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: 2006-10-29 14:35:52 CET > To: Petter Reinholdtsen [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Cc: Christian Perrier [EMAIL PROTECTED], [email protected], [EMAIL > PROTECTED] > Subject: [i18n-sme]Re: Did you drop Nothern Saami from the language choice > list in d-i? > > Quoting Petter Reinholdtsen ([EMAIL PROTECTED]): > > > > Hi. Did you drop Nothern Saami from the language choice list in d-i? > > Yes. > > > We need it to be present in Debian Edu, to make sure the nothern saami > > users have a way to get their keyboard setting and locale enabled at > > install time. If it isn't available in the default debian boot > > images, we will have to build our own custom boot images, and I would > > rather avoid that. Is there some way we can get that language option > > back? I know the translations are lacking, and there is little hope > > of finding active translators any time soon. But we care most about > > the effect the language choice have on the installed system, and thus > > want that language option present even if d-i translations are > > missing. > > Well, dropping languages was discussed with Frans. IIRC, I explained > the situation for Sami but it was finally decided to not make an > exception....or maybe I didn't explain very well. > > Frans, what's your opinion about handling Northern Sami? The > translation is obviously incomplete and does not fit the criteria for > being included in RC1. Would you be OK for adding Northern Sami to > localechooser's list even without any translation? > > > > > -- > >
