formalize and automate translation pipeline

[okjodom]

we need to standardise how we generate translations from en to other supported languages. ideally this is an automated process that fits into the current i18n setup

[wbobeirne]

I hackily repurposed a script for a different project to do https://github.com/fedimint/ui/pull/205, I'll try to post that here so that someone (maybe me if I find time) can make it re-usable.

[isaacknjama]

I've been exploring ways to formalize and automate the Fedimint UI project's translation pipeline to streamline the localization process. After some research and analysis, I'd like to propose a solution inspired by successful implementations in projects like Blink Wallet, Bitcoin Core and Jam UI.

Justification

1. Proven Success: Bitcoin Core, Blink, and Jam UI have effectively utilized Transifex for translation management, demonstrating its suitability for open-source projects like Fedimint.
2. Cost-Effective Solution: Transifex offers a free tier for open-source projects, potentially reducing costs associated with translation management. Moreover, it provides automated translation features, which could alleviate manual translation efforts.
3. Community Collaboration: Transifex fosters community collaboration by offering a collaborative translation environment. This enables translators to work together, ensuring translation accuracy and consistency.
4. Integration with i18next: We can seamlessly integrate Transifex with i18next to handle localization tasks within our application codebase.

Implementation Plan

• [ ] Integration with Transifex: Set up a Transifex project and configure it to integrate with the project's GitHub repository. This integration will automate the synchronization of source code and translations.
• [x] Utilization of i18next: Implement i18next to manage localization tasks within the application codebase. i18next provides robust features for translations and language detection.
• [ ] Translation Management: Translators can access the Transifex platform to translate strings into their respective languages. The collaborative environment provided by Transifex will facilitate efficient translation workflows.
• [ ] Automatic Synchronization: Transifex will automate the synchronization process by periodically pulling the latest translations and pushing them to our GitHub repository. This ensures that translated content remains up-to-date with the latest changes in the codebase.

I have developed a quick POC to validate the proposed localization pipeline using Transifex and i18next, which involved setting up a React project, as well as integrating Transifex and i18next.

@Kodylow

[Kodylow]

What's wrong with doing the translation scripts, LLM translation got a thousand times better in the last couple months and costs like 30 cents to do a full translation? I updated it a little while ago and with a Google API key it takes like 5 mins. Is transfinex just for reviewing those or for doing the full translations?

[isaacknjama]

Transifex allows both reviews and full translation - emphasizes a collaborative approach.

What's wrong with doing the translation scripts, LLM translation got a thousand times better in the last couple months and costs like 30 cents to do a full translation? I updated it a little while ago and with a Google API key it takes like 5 mins. Is transfinex just for reviewing those or for doing the full translations?

[Kodylow]

Okay that seems like a big lift for minor gain, there's no major prose/educational content that's specific to get correct, almost all of it is word or phrase level translation that we can like 99% of the way through with translation scripts. If you make the pipeline it might be useful in the future if we add more translatable content but generally seems unnecessary right now.