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Re: use of Yy+0/Nn-1/etc... in LC_MESSAGES yesexpr/noexpr


18.04.2016 04:40 Mike Frysinger <vapier@gentoo.org> wrote:
>
>
> https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=15262
> do we have policy/guidance on the use of english chars in the yes/no
> regexes ? of the 202 locales that define yesexpr/noexpr, 195 of them
> include [Yy]/[Nn], most of which aren't english.
>
> my take: at the risk of being called anglocentric, we should add
> [Yy] & [Nn] to all locales

Sounds reasonable to me. From my own experience and from my contacts
with other developers from neighboring countries it seems to me that
hardcore computer users (software engineers, admins, scientists, long
time users) are used to English and sometimes even prefer English over
their own native languages and sometimes may involuntary press Y/N
instead of their native version even if the software is localized.
My point is that adding [Yy] and [Nn] can make some people happy and
will not hurt anybody.

Note: Make sure that [Yy] and [Nn] are not already used for the opposite
meaning (that [Yy] does not mean "no" or [Nn] does not mean "yes")
because in that case this change would be harmful.

> related, what about locales that are in territories that are frequently
> bilingual ? en_CA for example allows Yes/Oui/No/Non. CLDR only lists
> one option per language. it doesn't (currently) define things on a
> per-locale basis. this is a semi-moot point depending on the Yy/Nn
> question above.
>
> my take: only list the main language (so en_CA would drop Oui).
> if we can get CLDR to list more, it would be easy to support.
>
> related, what about langs that have multiple scripts ? this comes up
> with all the locales that have @latin or @devanagari or @cyrillic.
> for yesexpr, sr_RS uses [ÐÐDd] and sr_RS@latin uses [Dd].
>
> my take: i can go either way: we could have every lang support all the
> alternative scripts (so sr_RS@latin would add ÐÐ), or we could try and
> figure out which script is the "main" one and have it import all its
> alternatives (so the sr_RS examples would stay the same).

I should not speak on behalf of Canadian or Serbian users but my humble
opinion is: use as many ways to express "yes" and "no" as possible
unless it causes conflicts. This would mean:

- no, please don't drop [Oo] (Oui) from en_CA unless preserving [Oo]
  causes some technical issues;
- yes, please use [ÐÐDdYy] and if possible for both sr_RS and sr_RS@latin;
  I guess that some Serbian users may use different keyboard layouts and
  switch between them, it would be easier for them if the software could
  read their intention correctly even if they forget to switch their
  keyboard layout to Latin.

Regards,

Rafal


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