Translation
There's lots of translation work to do for the OpenStreetMap project, both by translating the map data itself by giving names to objects on the map in multiple languages and by translating programs related to OpenStreetMap. E.g. the OpenStreetMap website and various editors.
Contributions are invited from anyone who is able to provide full or partial translations. Sometimes development of internationalization support will be needed first.
This page is for listing the various places where translation efforts are being coordinated.
Contents
OpenStreetMap map data
Any object in the OpenStreetMap map data that has a name should be given a name=* tag. But translators can also add additional name tags for other languages, see Names#Localization for documentation on name tags with language prefixes, and take a look at this node for Vienna as an example.
This data permits map internationalization, renderings of the map for different languages and also it's useful data for searches to match on.
Unfortunately there are currently no friendly editors for OpenStreetMap data dedicated to just presenting a translation interface and nothing else. But users can use existing editors in the meantime. To translate e.g. the names of all world capitals one could get all the objects tagged with place=city and capital=yes from the XAPI. Open that data in JOSM and start translating & uploading objects. Ævar blogged about doing this for icelandic names of all capital cities.
Alternatively, try Nomino.
Multilingual Map Test
Jochen Topf created the Multilingual Map Test, an OSM map where you can switch the text to one of a number of languages. It works by outputting map tiles without text, and overlaying them with transparent PNG tiles rendered with the text in each language. If all placenames had names in all the languages it would multiply the number of tiles that must be generated by that number; but in practice most places only have a single name.
OpenStreetMap website interface
The OpenStreetMap website at https://www.openstreetmap.org can be translated using translatewiki.net. Go to Website Internationalization#How to translate to find out how this is done.
Wiki Translation
Since the wiki holds a lot of important help content and documentation, we'd like to make at least some of this available in other languages. Translation is taking place on a somewhat ad-hoc basis, and you are encouraged to join in, but we also need to try and get more organised about this; a full migration to translatewiki.net's and MediaWiki's Translate extension has not be decided yet. Let's set up more details on the Wiki Translation page.
Editors and other contributing tools
- iD at Transifex (documentation)
- Potlatch 2 (and deprecated Potlatch 1) at translatewiki.net
- Potlatch 2's localization support is limited to the toolbar and Help dialog; the tagging interface cannot be translated. There is a fully-localizable fork of Potlatch 2 that is translated at Transifex; however, this is not the version used on openstreetmap.org.
- JOSM at Launchpad (proposal to migrate to Transifex)
- Keypad-Mapper 3 via Markus59
- Level0 at Transifex
- Merkaartor at Transifex
- OSM Tasking Manager at Transifex
- StreetComplete at POEditor
- Vespucci at Transifex
Geocoders
Analysis and quality assurance tools
- Taginfo
- Overpass turbo at Transifex
- Osmose at Transifex
- Keep Right at Launchpad
- CheckAutopista at Transifex
- POIchecker at Transifex
The following software is unmaintained but may still be useful as a reference source for translators:
Renderers and mashups
- Historical Objects
- Mapbox Android Demo at Transifex
- Mapbox GL (Mapbox Android, iOS, macOS SDKs) at Transifex
- uMap at Transifex
- Wheelmap in several projects at Transifex
Routers
- Sample driving instructions (a common resource)
- GraphHopper in a Google Sheets spreadsheet
- Gosmore
- LoroDux
- Mapbox Navigation SDK for Android at Transifex
- Mapbox Navigation SDK for iOS at Transifex
- Navit via Launchpad
- OpenRouteService
- OsmAnd at Weblate
- OSRM Text Instructions at Transifex
- Valhalla at GitHub
Other tools
Online translation platforms
You can also search these online translation platforms for more OSM-related tools to translate:
- https://poeditor.com/
- http://weblate.org
- http://transifex.com
- http://translatewiki.net
- http://translations.launchpad.net
