Multilingual forum support

[easywebuk]

Hi,

I’m just trying to find out how to go about setting up a multilingual VBulletin forum this would be English as a main language with the option to view the forum in Arabic.

I’m trying to find out if this is possible and if so how to go about it?

Thank you for any help which you kind provide,
Mark
EasyWebUK

[Zachery]

You can have the software display two interface languages (indepedantly). However this does not translate posts or any content enetered into the software.

[easywebuk]

Thank you for the quick reply.

Is there language packs available for Arabic to have an Arabic interface?

I assume this means in the English section people would have to communicate in English and in the Arabic section they would have to communicate in Arabic? But the two would not be interlinked?

Is there any way for posts written in one language to also be posted in the other as well, so that when selecting the other language they would see the content mirrored just in the other language?

[Trevor Hannant]

Thank you for the quick reply.

Is there language packs available for Arabic to have an Arabic interface?

We have a Languages & Phrases forum where you can find packs donated by our customers and also receive help for creating your own:

http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=87

Also, here's the forum containing downloads of the current Language Packs made available by our customers:

http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=96

I assume this means in the English section people would have to communicate in English and in the Arabic section they would have to communicate in Arabic? But the two would not be interlinked?

Yes.

Is there any way for posts written in one language to also be posted in the other as well, so that when selecting the other language they would see the content mirrored just in the other language?

Sorry, there is no function to do this. This requires modifying the code. We cannot officially support code modifications or forums running modified code, however you can try searching or asking for help with this over at www.vbulletin.org.

[feldon23]

Is there any way for posts written in one language to also be posted in the other as well, so that when selecting the other language they would see the content mirrored just in the other language?

I know of no Translation software which is of sufficient quality to accurately translate English -> Arabic and Arabic <- English automatically 100% of the time. Not even close.

If folks want to read your forum translated, they can use Google Translate, but of course the quality is not great.

[meseta]

You can have the software display two interface languages (indepedantly). However this does not translate posts or any content enetered into the software.

Can you have the software display many interface languages (indepedantly)? if so, how to do it?

[Steve Machol]

vB can only display and use one language at a time for each user.

[meseta]

Can browser switch the forum from a language to another one?

[thincom2000]

While there may be some browser tools to read web pages in other languages, as mentioned above, services like these will not be perfect.

When you want to switch the forum from one language to another, the best way to do this is using the language selection tool at the bottom of every forum page.

[feldon23]

Can browser switch the forum from a language to another one?

You may install different language packs, which will change the interface text/help text/etc. however to automatically translate all the posts of all users from one language to another language is beyond the capability of ANY software at this time. Otherwise, there would be no need for translators if we can just use a computer.

Probably the closest is Google Chrome browser with built-in Google Translate, but it's still going to be a rough translation especially in casual conversation with idioms and untranslatable expressions.

Most multi-national forums have an English area, and then separate forum for each language. You can change the forum graphics to match the language, such as change the logo for each section. You can also make a small modification so when I choose Italian, it takes me to Italian area of your forum, etc.

[sweetpotato]

I also interested in this idea. My site have English, French and Vietnamese forums for member to discuss in different languages. So I want to set English as default language for English forum, French and Vietnamese for others. However, the site does not allow me to do that.

[feldon23]

I also interested in this idea. My site have English, French and Vietnamese forums for member to discuss in different languages. So I want to set English as default language for English forum, French and Vietnamese for others. However, the site does not allow me to do that.

I can see changing the link to go to English, French, and Vietnamese forums to switch the language.

HOWEVER, trying to auto-switch language can be a real problem.

• What about if you are reading PMs? The system does not know what language you want.
• What about clicking "Get New Posts" which shows posts from different forums mixed together. What language would you choose?
• What about doing a Search which may also show posts from different forums.

I think having a France and Vietnamese banner or flag icon in the upper right corner to attract visitor's attention is the best approach. This would be a good approach to Guests or Visitors to tell them "Hey, we have sections just for you":

Pre-Sales forum (Right-to-Left) | Pre-Sales forum (Left-to-Right)

But for Registered users, switching the entire language depending on the area of the forum would be a negative experience.

[sweetpotato]

Yes, I quite agree with you but the problem is vbulletin does not allow to set different default languages for different forums so when a guest comes to French forum he/she still sees Vietnamese interface because I have to choose Vietnamese as default language for entire site.

Thank you,

[feldon23]

Guests is a problem. I suggested a clickable flag. But for users coming from Google I understand your concern. It may be possible to set a redirect for unregistered users to have language change based on subforum.

Of course Registered users set their language here and aren't subject to the admin setting:
http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/profi...do=editoptions

[sweetpotato]

How to make a custom flag for certain languague? I found two mod offer multilingual for forum but I don't like auto translation at all. What I need is my members write exactly the language for certain forums and have a right interface when they browse the forums.

I found two mods on vb.org:
http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=232456
and
http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=258009

I am interested in pro version of the first because it offers supports multi language communities. I have not bought it but when I tried the free version on Local it caused style broken.

I think I will contact the coder for some details.

Thank you very much for advising me.