Description
Internationalization (i18n) has long been one of GNOME’s strengths, enabling our desktop and applications to reach users across cultures, languages, and writing systems. Yet the expectations of a global audience continue to evolve.
In this talk, we will revisit the fundamentals of GNOME’s internationalization process, clarify the responsibilities shared between developers and translators, and highlight the linguistic and technical challenges of supporting more than 180 locales—from plural rules and grammatical variation to complex writing systems and RTL layouts.
We will also review the current state of our translation platform, Damned Lies, and discuss opportunities to modernize its workflow and tooling. Finally, the session will open the door to future work, including one of the most significant emerging topics in UI text design: gender‑neutral and inclusive writing across languages.
Author(s) Bio
Guillaume Bernard started as translator in the GNOME French Team in 2014. He’s now maintainer of Damned Lies, coordinator of the French Team and member of the i18n team to promote a clear internationalization over the project.
| Presentation Type | In Person |
|---|---|
| Pronouns | He/His |
| Photo usage consent | Yes |