Checklist for submitting a new localisation file (.lbx)

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1. Checklist for submiting a new lbx file

This checklist explains what needs to be done to add support for a new language to Biblatex. Essentially, supporting a new language requires an lbx file for the language.

1. 1. Encoding

lbx files must be encoded in Ascii (using TeX commands for accents if required) or UTF-8. If possible, Ascii is preferable because any Ascii file is also a valid UTF-8 file, making the lbx file more versatile.

1. 1. Bibliography Strings

Use one of the lbx files which ship with Biblatex as a template. Note that the translations in english.lbx and german.lbx are the reference translations. Other lbx files may be incomplete. Proceed as follows:

  1. Copy the existing file and rename it. Use the babel language identifier of the language as the file name. 
  2. Remove the \DeclareBibliographyExtras and \UndeclareBibliographyExtras parts (for the time being, see below for explanation.) 
  3. Translate the \DeclareBibliographyStrings part. Note the following: 
    * When using english.lbx as a template, remove the \finalandcomma macros from the translations. This is only required to support both British and American English in one file. Other modules should either place or omit a comma, depending on the language. 
    * Abbreviated strings must use "\adddot" or ".\isdot" at the end of the string because Biblatex's punctuation tracker distringuishes periods and abbreviation dots. 
      * If the language uses "\frenchspacing", only the final abbreviation dot must be marked as such. \adddot or \isdot is optional in the middle of the string. 
      * If the language uses "\nonfrenchspacing", all abbreviation dots must be marked as such. 

1. 1. Bibliography Extras

Adding bibliography extras requires more in-depth knowledge of Biblatex's localization modules. It is usually best if you go over the checklist below and send the answers to the Biblatex developers along with the translations; i.e., you translate the \DeclareBibliographyStrings part but omit \DeclareBibliographyExtras.

  1. What kind of dash do you use in number ranges like "35-50"? 
    * \textendash? \textemdash? hyphen? 
    * Are there any spaces around the dash? 
  2. What kind of dash do you use in date ranges like "1st January-3rd February 2009"? 
    * \textendash? \textemdash? hyphen? 
    * Are there any spaces around the dash? 
  3. In lists and enumerations, do you add a comma in addition to connectors like "and"? Examples: 
    * UK English: "apples, oranges** and **cherries" 
    * US English: "apples, oranges**, and **cherries" 
  4. How do you format short ordinals? Are ordinals gender/number sensitive? Examples: 
    * English: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th ... [= gender insensitive, 1-3 number sensitive] 
    * German: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. ... [= gender/number insensitive] 
    * Spanish: 1º 2º 3º 4º 5º ... (masc.), 1ª 2ª 3ª 4ª 5ª ... (fem.) [= gender sensitive, number insensitive] 
    * French: 1er 2e 3e 4e 5e ... (masc.), 1re 2e 3e 4e 5e ... (fem.) [= only 1 is gender/number sensitive] 
  5. What's the gender of the word "edition"? 
  6. What's the gender of the word "series" (of a journal)? 
  7. What's the long date format? Examples: 
    * US English: [month name] [day as number], [year] = January 31, 2009 
    * UK English: [day as ordinal] [month name] [year] = 31st January 2009 
  8. What's the short date format? Examples: 
    * US English: month/day/year = 01/31/2009 
    * UK English: day/month/year = 31/01/2009 
    * German: day.month.year = 31.01.2009 
    * Swedish: year-month-day = 2009-01-31 
  9. After which punctuation marks do you capitalize a word? Examples: 
    * after ". ! ?" (English = package default) 
    * after ". : ! ?" (German)