Bitcoin Forum

Recently I came across a query where I suggested that We cannot post in the "All English" language in a local board or it is not recommended at least.

Yes, i know that if the posts are a mixture of English & local language, then it is fine. Even if some posts are being done in pure English, they are ok but if a person has a post history where he only insists to speak in English on a local board, what do the rules of bitcointalk say in this regard?

Local board will have their own rules. I think India are posting in English. Some Nigerians too are posting in English. But there are some local boards that only local languages are allowed, depending on the local board rules.

It's fine i guess, there's no rules particular for that. I found several thread in my local posting in english thread previously, asking things they want/need that can only found in my local. Although there is google translate, but if you're not confident of doing just post it in english.

What is prohibited is posting non-english language post in only-english board. Local language post can only be posted on their respected locals.

If the local board allows it, then I see no harm in that. As per the Nigeria local board, English is also allowed on the local board since the general language, which is Nigerian Pidgin, is just a little different from English itself.
 
But a local board, to me, will be more interesting if the natives of the place can communicate in their respective languages; that's what makes it a local board, so that they themselves will be the ones who could possibly understand themselves better.

It solely depends on how the local board operates, because some might allow the use of English while other would prefer strict local language conversation and if you find yourself to be part of such local board it would be better to just join in flow of discussion with the preferred language selection to avoid being abstract from every other member. And more over its called a local board for a reason where you get to socialize with your own styles.

It solely depends on the nature of the language in the local board.

You can't post English in a local board like Chinese, Arabic, Greek or Hebrew. It all looks weird lol. But i have seen some languages like Nigerian language, most words are actually in English, so I think it's OK to post there in English. The same applies to the Indian or Pilipinas board.

For some reason mainly due to the language barrier - then using English to post on local boards wouldn't be a big deal.
They know you're not a native speaker of the local language they speak - so posting in English is fine. If you know any local user there - maybe you can ask him for help to translate what you want to say there in local language - it's better than using google translate.

In as much as the local board doesn't say "do not post in English language" any one is permitted to post with whichever they wishes on either your language or english is acceptable. I know in locals there are some people who aren't comfortable posting with their languages so they uses the one which they finds it interesting to post with, your main interest should be focused on whether the post is readable or not, meaningful and conveying the required information if not on topics then such post should be reported to the mod for immediate deletion.

I think in this Forum each boards have their own rules, if in your local board they don't permit English language then you have to respect that, and if in case you don't know how to blend in you might as well let them know that you're not too good with the language your being permitted to use, like in my local board we use pigin language and you can mix with English since not everyone is good at speaking it. All these is just a matter of communication.

I want to draw your attention to the pattern of English spread across local boards. See, in the first four local boards you listed, English cannot be used. You wonder why. It's because English is not the official language in those countries. And in the second list of countries you listed (Nigeria, India, the Philippines. You could add Pakistan), English is the official language. That is why you can write in English in these local sections.

That is, the formula is simple: if English is the official language in the country, then you can write in English on this local board. Otherwise, no.

I think if we need help for something solid, not spam, not troll, not scam, we can make an English post in a local board to ask their opinions, guides ... but it is best if we do it as bilingual way.

The post should be
- In English, with original content.
- In that local language, with a translation from Google or any translation tool. A poster must note that part is taken from a translation tool.

Why do we need bilingual?
- Locals might not understand English, so the translation is needed.
- The translation might not express all and correct meaning of the original content so we need to have the English (original) version. Locals who can understand English will better communicate with us.

If we can do it in global (English) board, it is better.

That's not allowed:

My take: I try to avoid posting on local boards, but I've done it a few times (usually after being mentioned there). Sometimes I post only a link that answers a question, sometimes in English with the comment that I'll delete it soon, hopefully after someone translated it for me. So far, I haven't been banned for it :D

this will entirely depend on the local board's rule. anyway, I don't know about other local boards, but in the Pilipinas board, users can create threads or reply to someone using English. I guess the fact that English is our second language is probably the reason why it is allowed(not really sure if it is the reason).

I think this is also perfectly okay. In your case, it is also a special case - if u can call it that.

Through your services like your weekly updates about the trustlists, D1 + D2 member and your merit data analysis you are omnipresent... atleast for the german local area.
If there are any issues or questions, I've been quite happy that u have commented briefly and to the point by urself.
These updates are very much appreciated and therefore can be overlooked. Besides that other users are always helpful - if necessary - to translate ur texts (which are already really limited to the essentials).

Therefore I would say that this should not be a problem and you should be safe from a ban! :D

As far as I know, in Bahasa Indonesia (for Indonesian) there is no rule that prohibit anyone to post in English - or at least not written in the  general rules here (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=764664.0). However, in my few years reading and observing the Indonesian Local section, I haven't sees any thread that are using full English, I mean most of the people write there because they don't need the extra effort writing in foreign language, so there is no point writing an English post there.

I meant it will be used together with the original English content. Is it allowed, I guess yes and my post above is for short questions to locals only. In this context, the automated translation is not for posting quota, it is just to have better communication with locals.

Me too. Don't do this is the best.

You will be in future  :D

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This man did the opposite, using a local language in English board (Bitcoin discussion). Did not know where he is posting in  :D

I recently reported an English post on the Dutch board, and my report was marked as Bad. So it looks like "questions to locals" or (in the case of this post I reported) trying to trade locally is allowed for English speakers. My guess now is that is this rule was only created to prevent large-scale "ANN spam" by low-effort translating it into every possible possible language that has a local board.

I guess so too.

I recalled I read some posts from fillippone that he did something similar in the past and he wrote it clearly in his thread. He did it to communicate with some local translators (for his threads) if my memory is good. He is well so far which leads me to the conclusion above.

Rules are flexible and if forum members do good things, moderators will not ban them  :D

If I am not wrong, you will have to check rules of your local section which you are willing to post in. I am sure if you want to access a local section of your country, you know how to write in that language so there shouldn't be a problem. And if you want to make posts in someone else's country board, I think you should avoid doing that. Good Luck!

What is that local board? For example, it is almost possible to use the English language in the Indian board. Otherwise, you can report it to mod and those posts will be deleted. If the account continues to post, it will be banned for a period of 7 days, 14 days, a month and Permanent.
Why does that user insist on posting in that local board? Is it because of merits or something else? If you include the account link, she/he may get negative trust.

I understand it this way, when we are mentioned, and we feel that we should make some comment about that mention, we will be able to give a brief response, even if it involves the use of translation tools. Perhaps including a copy in English. Or maybe only in English. But of course it's not to have a big conversation.

Now, imagine that you need to know something about a certain country. Nothing better than asking in the local tab. Even if it's only in English. In the Portuguese tab, English users sometimes ask questions. And we are happy to respond.

If people don't abuse in that kind of situation, I don't see the problem.

Everything is never black or white when it comes to moderation, there are many shades of grey :).
I can be tolerant when someone tries to speak in french, even if there are a lot of mistakes. But I can directly delete an ANN written entirely in English, or if it's been (badly) translated by Google.

If I have followed correctly, you're referring to your discussion with snowpega (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=232519.msg62470114#msg62470114). It's complicated to answer you because it's a thread and not a section. and if I'm not mistaken, english and urdu are official languages in Pakistan. What happens in Pakistan if someone speaks to you in English ? Don't you answer him ?
What do the other members of the Pakistani thread think about this ?

Yes @_act_ you are right, English should can be allowed on local boards as long as everyone on that board can read and understand the language,  some local boards have their own language rules so other boards will not understand what they are saying (privacy).


Every users on this forum must read the rules on every boards before posting so as not to be a victim of band.

It depends on the rules and regulation of a local boards it because some of them are accepting or allowing every user to post English which they will know that English is a universal language and also it's up to the user what language they will used.  But some of local boards is some of them using half English and and half of their language bus some of them are  only their language because from the word it self Local board which means our community provide us a board that we can use our local languages.

That's true I am not offended if one of my countrymen creates a thread or posts in English, my English is not perfect but English is our second language, it's a fact that many of our countrymen prefer to post in English when it comes to local board it's up to the moderator to set up rules and if there is a request from members then it's up to moderators to consult the community or do a poll.
And besides we have hundreds of different dialects and English is one of the languages that binds us besides Tagalog.

Go through your local board rules and you can easily find out how they operate and the language that's allowed if English language is allowed you will know from there. Each local board has their own rules patterning language, some agree on only the use of local language and nothing more. While other local boards allows for both the local and English.

If I may ask, what country are you from, maybe someone from your country could be of help by clearly explaining it all to you if English is allowed there or not. Myself I am a  proud Nigerian and we do give room for English language and our local Naija pidgin language to coexist as it's convenient for any member to use any of the two.

Bro! English is the language of the forum. Why would you ask such a question? It doesn't matter if it is a local board, what matters is that English is a the primary language of this forum. If your community is unable to answer any questions in English then it is the problem of your local community. Either use translation apps or continue by avoiding such questions in English or reply by using a translation AI. I do understand that not everyone is good with English in the Indian subcontinent. Take your own call and if possible work around with the the possible situation. BTW, globally accepted language is English with different accents.
 .

Sometimes Ive used mixed up its not because I dont like putting up a local words but some are even hard to put in our language so better mixed with some easily understandable english words.

I dont think its bad to write in english, but totally cool if the local language will be use since its the purpose of having the local boards isnt it?

The local boards is meant for people who are not proficient in English to ask questions in their local dialect and get answered with same dialect. Hence, if a  local board like France writes in English what is the essence of posting it in the local board when the person can share it with wider range of people in the forum. As English is the language of the forum. The concept of writing in English in some local boards doesn't add up, as it may not fetch the poster better rapport with locals in the board. Utilizing the local dialect, helps members identify that you're a citizen of their country or acquainted with their language.

I think it's allowed as long as you're genuinely asking something, when it's about signature campaign or bounty, your post would be deleted.

What did you mean about this? it's like the local board is used to make an agreement for personal advantage? like trading merit as an example lol. If you posted in this forum, there's no such privacy anymore, someone can report your post or anyone can translate your post using google translate.

I think there's leeway in speaking English on local boards if there's no express rule that it's forbidden or allowed (especially non-native mods). What I know in several countries actually makes English a second language in everyday or formal conversations and there are even laws covering it due to several factors.
In any case, just discuss specifically with local mods if it is necessary to make the rules more explicit.

If the comment remains on topic with what is being discussed..I think there is leeway for it to stand!
Besides some local board's such as the Nigerian one have the language so similar to English and if the topic is that sensitive or engaging and you want to make your contribution this could be allowed but subject to Local board rules ::)

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Out of curiosity what happens to posts made on the English board using a local language??

Although as far as I know the forum doesn't have any rules that English language cannot be use on the local board.
But I think the main purpose of opening a local board or thread is to have a good communication or interaction with our local community.And which cannot be done well by any other language except the local language. If I talk about myself, that my mother language is Bengali, so if I want to learn one thing, it takes much less time to learn things in Bengali than in English. So I think it is better for local people to speak in their own language on local board, At least with respect Mother language. Also, it's not a bad idea to keep English open for outsiders who want to contact the local board or thread.

It probably won't have an answer to your question.
And certainly the post will be deleted by the moderator.
And if it is recurrent of this attitude, it can be warned.

It depends on the local board, for example if you post an English thread on Russian board which has something related to Russia then it's probably allowed and replying depends on whether other forum members of that local board can understand it or not.

But I wonder why someone who knows the English and communicate in English is going to post only in the local board when other members can't understand anything.

The case of Nigeria is that Nigeria is a multilingual country and English is the official language that everyone understands and in some cases, they also make use of their broken language to communicate effectively, but if in a situation your country speaks the same language and not a multilingual country like Nigeria the rules may apply that they only make use of their local language.

Ironically, in the Spanish Board we have had people who used translation tools to communicate with us and we did not mind it.
It is not a common think but I recall some reputable person doing it some months ago in a poker tournament thread.

In general, Spanish speaking people find it endearing when a foreigner tries to communicate in our language, it may be the opposite in other board, though. I assume.

It all depends on the nature of the local board. There are some local boards like mine (Nigeria) that uses pidgin (local English) and also uses English. The most important thing is that you are using a language that the majority or all the users in your locality can understand.
Bitcointalk is about freedom and no hard laws to indict anyone.

Taking the Nigerian local board as an example. Nigeria is a multi-ethnic nation with so many local languages but in the local board rules and guidelines, it is clearly stated that the only accepted languages are English and Pidgin language(a generalized local language). Any other language usage is in violation of the local board rules. So to answer your question, it all depends on what the local board wants. If the local board recognizes English language, then you can apply it but if it doesn't and you don't feel comfortable using the local language, then you cannot use the local board. The local board is an important section of the forum and I think whatever it says in regards to language usage, bitcointalk will honour it.

The reason for creating local board is to engage the user's who's experience in speaking or writing English is very poor have a board they can also discuss bitcoin amidst their local members on their local boards, many of these local boards allows you to post both in English and the local languages except for the cases of those whose rules clearly stated it that no English post is allowed, while other boards aside such locale permits you to post strictly in English, you're not mandated to participate on a local board if you think you're not ok with their rules.

It's pretty much the same thing in other local boards, as I've used Google translate to communicate with members in other locals, and non Croatian speakers used it to communicate in my local board and no one really mind it.

I don't think no one would mind if you make an ocassional post in English on local boards either (at least we didn't mind when someone did that) as long as you don't overdo it and start spamming.

There is a reason why it's been referred to as local board, first i think is for you to check the rules of the local board, if you can post on your local language or English language. Because i feel most local board is to help discuss or ask questions in a way your locals can easily understand your line of thoughts and respond adequately.
So if the rules says, both English and local language is acceptable then that's fine but if it's otherwise then follow suit, as long as is in line with the forum rules.

I know many people already contributed but I will only want to share my own part of my understanding so far..

I will start by using our local board as a case study which happens to be Nigeria, in our board we had lots of people speaking our local pidgin language or lemme say almost 70 to 90 percent of posters are using pidgin language while the rest are just using their simple English language that is readable by other members across the forum. This has nothing to do with either someone posting out of language but as a local board all we need is; Do not spam, Do not copy and paste, and Do not post out of context meaning all post must be meaningful and carrying the information needed as long as it's verified and certified then such person is (are) free to post it the local board.

Though there are some local board that is mainly with their local post, meaning there will be no other language apart from the appointed language to posting with, in such local board anyone who post using English language such post may be deleted or the person must post it with the authorized local language all less such persons are not willing to post in the board or are not conversant with language then they may use google translator  ( this are mainly for visitors, meaning those that are not from that local board) but are wanting to read and communicate with those in the local's then such person's has some specific time and limits him or she may post there.
 

That's the way I see it too. You too sabi wetin dey. Yes, I agree that each local board has its own rule and if it's strictly stated what medium/media of exchange is (are) allowed, it shouldn't be an issue writing in another language other than the country's local language. Like you stated, communicating in one's local language acts does have it advantages as a unifying factor and drives the message home faster than when English is used. Also, writing in English language in local exposes the board to spam posting from those (lurkers) who aren't completely in the know of the main gist at hand but would want to contribute to complete weekly quota. I would prefer code-mixing to outright writing/speaking in English.

Local board is basically created for local communication of a country and there are different rules for local board but there are many local board also see English post but I don't know how logical it is. I think since the local board consists only of people from the local country, it is reasonable to use the language of your country there. Maybe some local boards use English for their personal reasons or purposes and I don't have the knowledge or information to explain them, so I'm not making any deep comments yet here.

Many countries treat English as a second language and most of the people in those countries can easily understand and speak English. So I don't think there should be any problem if English posts are mixed with the local language posts (as long as the local board people have no objection to it). 

Technically, we are allowed to post in English, but it is recommended to use the local language in the local board, especially the locals who have a grip on the local language should promote their language.

One of the unique features of bitcointalk is the ability of the users to communicate in their various local languages. And that is why local boards were created.
The creator of bitcoin talk forum understand that it is not everyone that knows how to use the English language. In order that language will not be a barer in knowing about bitcoin. He therefore created different local boards for different countries and languages

So if there be any country that has a local language and still understand English, it will be fine that they maintain both the local language and English language. Some countries have too many languages that are not unified. Then they were colonized by the British and it now seems like English is their major language, that is the reason you see such happening.

If you have a question for Turkish people or about Türkiye you can ask English in our local board. These are rare occasions but I let these posts to stay. Some examples from first few pages would be these:
Thanks Türkiye. (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5452035.0)
Bitcoin Wallet with Turkish seed words, what is it? (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5424945.0)

Just as you cannot write in your native language in English boards, you cannot write in English in local boards, otherwise your post will be deleted.

I found that most of the topics in local boards in India are also in English. so I don't see any problem in using English on local boards. I don't think anyone else would have a problem if the local community members accept English as their topic and I have not found anything in any of the local board rules that says English cannot be used in the local board. But if the local community members do not accept English and if they report the post it may get deleted so it is better not to use English on local boards.

I don't think that it is a crime to post in English on local boards. However,it also depends on the kind of local board because I guess that all local boards have their own rules. If you go to your local board and English is highly prohibited then there is no big deal for you to post in your local language. But if English isn't prohibited then you can post base on your choice of language either local language or in English language. I don't see this as a problem,if you are in Rome,behave like a Roman and if you are in France behave like a French man.

But if the user continues to do so then he will get posts deleted after moderator action or could have warning also.Because local board may not prohibit from posting in English but if all members are making conversation in their local language you should take part in the same manner but if you want to post in English then there are general boards to do so.

If the board members are native English speaker then they wouldn't understand what's he's saying.They will need to use translation tools which is not so much appreciated so it will be deleted.But on the contrary ir in local language some user post in English it may have some replies.

Indian local board is a specific case because they have more than 20 official languages and English is among them. Since it would be a total chaos to use so many official langauges, they agreed to use English. At least that's the explanation given to me by once of their members as I was also curious about them using English.


I don't think that anyone would mind if an outside member leave ocassional post in English (at least members of my local board don't mind) but I don't think any local board members will like it if their local board is swarmed with posts written in English.

Once in a while it's okay, I've got some merit source non local boards have make post in English on local Indonesian board with English. That's fine, especially since it's only occasionally on one occasion when they need to address some of the issues being discussed about them.

I can give an example like @Ratimov has posted 2x on my local board so far this year:

1. https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5041461.msg62510745#msg62510745
2. https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5253221.msg61883355#msg61883355

But I also don't think it would be bad if the poster uses GT to post occasionally in Bahasa Indonesia as an act of politeness. This was done by @fillippone a few years ago in my thread.

1. https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5209309.msg56060143#msg56060143

The purpose of local board is to discuss using local language or else it should be posted on global if you want a discussion in global language format. Posting pure english language and discuss in english language defeat the purpose of having a local board imho.

Also you are quoting a statement by EFS that clearly stated that posting English Language will be deleted once done on his local board except for those thread that he post which is a question for Turkish people from non Turkish people. I believe this case is really acceptable but for a local members discussed in English on Local board is not acceptable except on some countries that has multiple language or English is common language too like India and Nigeria.

The issue with Google Translate (or any other machine translator) is that it can generate complete gibberish translations, causing a complete loss of meaning. In my opinion, when you find yourself in a situation where you don't know the local language and need to communicate on a local forum board, it's best to stick with English. As a gesture of courtesy to the local members, it may be a good idea to provide both the original English version and the translated content.

Of course, GT will not always help to post in lokal languages, moreover they don't understand local languages ​​at all because in the end they just make a lot of words in it which are difficult to understand the intent and purpose. Similarly local users post in English, when they don't understand a little bit of English, then they are posters who only make it difficult for others to understand their posts.

Most local boards are for languages and not for countries. India, Nigeria, Philippines and Scandinavia are exceptions. Spanish is spoken in dozens of countries and even if any of them there will be any other popular language it doesn't mean that it is welcomed in Spanish section. Many of languages presented in Local boards sections are spoken in different countries: Arabic, French, German, Russian, etc. If you want to speak Romansh which is one of the official languages in Switzerland along with German, French and Italian, it would be not good to go to any of these three sections, it would be right to open a separate topic for Romansh language or for Switzerland as a country in an Other languages/locations section.

Of course most active users in local sections are friendly, but it doesn't mean any should go and speak some other language than mentioned in the board name if it is not a regional board like for India, Nigeria, Philippines and Scandinavia. If there's something important and urgent, then it's okay. But just better not to do so too often.

I've been doing the same thing from time to time (like once every few months) on other local boards and never had issues whatsoever, and others were doing in our local board. As long as you are not overdoing it, (probably) no one will object.



I think results depend a lot on the kind of language you are using. If you are using bunch of slang and idioms, Google translate will have issues and it will result in gibberish, but as long as you are sticking to clear and properly written sentences (which I am doing when using translate to write on other local boards)  Google will do a pretty decent job.

Nevertheless despite English is not my mother tongue I see from time to time that some forum users make silly mistakes typical for automated translators, and it looks like they don't understand English enough to catch those mistakes. Not blaming anyone as firstly my English is far from fluent as well and secondly automatedly translated texts in English are clear enough.

But if to look at the posts in other languages made with automated translation, they're not as good. Sometimes mistakes left by translator make text unclear or understood wrongly. Automated translators are not so perfect for many languages, they let you understand main sense of a text, but not make it perfect with a perfect grammar.

That's right.
When an automatic translator is used, you cannot speak as if with another person of the same language. You should use short and direct sentences. Simple phrases without very specific expressions that only exist in our language.

Of course, it will never be perfect, but in most cases it will have the ideal quality for a good conversation.

Let's be honest, many people don't even know how to write properly in their own native language (or maybe they simply don't ncare to write properly) so when they put that text in Google translate, of course there will be all kind of mistakes. But if you write proper sentences without idioms and expressions native to your own langauge, Google will do a pretty decent job.

I heard from some people that ChatGPT does even better job at translating than Google but I haven't tested its translation capablities yet.

I have also not done it for translation purposes but definitely it would be give better results then google because it gives messy results and lines sometimes doesn't make sense as I have experienced in the past.But after this post I am going to try the difference in both to check it with different sentences in some languages but according to me AI will give much better output.

As far as I know, I think there is no rule regarding this but yes local board must stick to their language.

But I guess that's not the only purpose of local boards to post content in their local language. Local boards are also meant to discuss issues related to specific country or region.

I regularly visit India local board and most of threads there are in pure English. I guess it is mostly because India is a country of diverse culture and languages. There are roughly 780 languages spoken in India and some of them have their own script too.
In such case it is better to use English and not stick to local language.

There are no restrictions on posting on the language local board.

I think you are aware that the forum has some rules that apply to all. When you post in the local language, sometimes the rules of posting are relaxed, so that others people can understand everything very well in simple language.

You are not wrong for local board is about language but you are missing the fact that local board was a board to discuss the topic specifically for that country or if a global topic being discussed on a local language. I think it’s just confusing on country that has similarity on language like the previous USSR that already split on different country and so on since they share same language before.

I said that you are not wrong since at some local board it’s about language but the discussion on most of the local board is more on the local topics and not about the language alone which you are implying on your post.

You are emphasizing some country. But which country? Look at the Spanish board, their Mercadillo section is divided to Mexico, Argentina, España and Centroamerica y Caribe subsections. But other sections are for all the Spanish speaking. Which country is for German? Austria, Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxemburg or Switzerland?

If we talk about Russian board then there are dozens of official languages in Russia (if you think that it could be related to some country), but if someone will decide to speak Bashkir or Khanty for example, they should open a separate language topic in Other languages/locations. And there are topics about what is happening in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine and other countries, not only of Ex-USSR, anyone interested to discuss anything in Russian and who knows Russian enough to speak without online translator is welcomed on a Russian board! From any part of the Earth and further.

So, of course most discussed topics on the language boards are "local", but that "local" is usually not locked in the boundaries of some exact country. Many of these languages are spoken wide enough.

It's as simple as that. You just don't use English language in a country's  local board that speak purely their native language as an official language in their country. Using English language in such local boards you may be viewed as an alien to the local board and communication with fellow locals would not sink. English is not an official language in every country though some people decides to learn it but when a local board don't accept it, just respect that decision and follow suit.

Reading everyone contributions to the question just shows us how leaving the forum open for our own interpretation is doing a good job of carrying everybody along. In my own understanding local boards should be strictly for local language discussion and when there's more than one official languages in a country, the local boards should come up with a solution which is to choose a widely spoken language that's acceptable in their country. I don't have to use English on the main boards and also be forced to use English when I want to communicate locally.

English is a borrowed language and when opportunity that are meant to promote my local dialect (or way of communicating) get overtaken by English I don't feel nice about that. Although that's just my feeling and I don't have to imposed that on anyone which is why what I said from the beginning stands, we don't have a fix rule for all local board so each local board can come up with their own rules and it has to be obeyed by the members of the board. If the local board says no English, you have to respect that and for those accepting English that's fine as well. It all depends on the local board.

In local board like NIGERIA (NAIJA) we communicate in English but the best there is pigin because it pass that vibe and a lot of fun when we read through each members reply and who relate to the OP topic post. but in the sense that the local is meant for that language of the local and u just should up from no where and start replying in english other than the local language, u wont be giving much attention because e go come be  like say na your own good pass.  

this is in naija local language

Again, That’s what actually I’m telling, There are some language that being use in different country since they are belong to a single country before or colonial like your example is Spanish since Spain conquest many country before like my country. You are choosing a language that is debatable while leaving all the other local board that is a country based. Again, I said you are not wrong because some local board is indeed a language based.


The other languages and location board proves that local board are based on location and languages. That is just my point on this discussion.

This is not what we should be arguing about because if every local boards has there own rules then everyone that choose to write there must adhere to the instructions and rules of the local board. If the rules says, no English language or other languages is allowed except the native language that is agreed by the local board members.

 There is no néed to go against the rules no matter what, whether your weekly posts must be in English language or not.
It is important for everyone of us to stick to the local board rules too in as much as we are sticking to the general forum rules that guide everyone to respect themselves and do things in a way that is ethical and does not compromised other people's opinions.
Being direct and behaving according to rules is what we should all adhere to in order to establish a a strong rapport with other members of the forum and in our local boards.

Yes, by the above discussion, it is obvious that one can post in English on a local board, but personally, I too will not like to do that when I can express my feelings in my own local language.

English is no doubt a second language in most of countries and all the educated population of the world understand English, but why use it on local boards when we have a whole forum to write in English? We cannot write in the local language anywhere in the forum except on the Local boards, Right?  So enjoy the privilege to talk in a non-English language and feel like home  :)

I occasionally see posts written in English in our local board, and I don't mind it if it's a one-time thing. It usually happens when you mention a member's name who then gets notified by a bot that someone mentioned them and they drop by to either explain themselves or comment in some other way. I see no problem with that. I would only consider it a problem if you made it a habit to write English posts in an alternative language forum. It simply shouldn't be like that, and that's not why we have local boards. 

Yes in the Nigerian locals English is used likewise Pidgin English because it is the language that can be used for effective communication there since every one understands it better but if there are rules that doesn't support the use of English language for communication in the local boards then it's  going to be difficult for some local boards to interact effectively since the Nigerian languages and others are so many and the people there don't speak nor understand each other's languages.

Everything depends on individual understanding of the use of the local board section and rules set up for the local board posting by the moderators in charge but from my own personal understanding based on the name given to the section "local section" which technically means "local language section" and if people are to use it for English posting there's no point in having it as the local board.

why should this be debated, some countries have multiple languages (but for my country it's different, the majority of members on the Indonesian local board only use Indonesian, never other languages such as English or Malaysia)

for countries that have multiple languages, tolerance using other than the main language is a must imo. but if you are unified (fellow local members of the board), you must set other language rules that are prohibited in local posts.

Like I said in my previous post, it all depends on why you are posting in English.

Imagine that I mention your name and say something about you in the Croatian local. It can be either something positive or negative. Maybe even an accusation of some kind. It's normal that you would have an opinion about this and would like to share it. In that case, you have two choices. You can either make a normal post in English because you speak that language or you can make a silly and probably wrongly google-translated post in Croatian. Btw, I think such google-translated posts in the local boards aren't allowed. If it's not allowed, you are stuck with either saying nothing or writing in English.

I am not sure about this as I've used Google translate to post in other local boards and had no issues whatsoever, and I remember other members using Google translate to write posts in our local board and again there was no issues.

I think that what it matetrs in the end is how often you do that; if you constantly write in local board using google translate (iirc there was a case like that in Italian board, maybe @fillippone can share more info ) some people might get annoyed (especially if you don't write proper  and simple sentences so google translated posts end up gibberish) so you may end up reported but if you only do it every once in a while, I don't think that locals will mind it.

I totally agree!

It is true that the "rules" dictate that one should not post on these boards using translators. But I think this is a way to avoid abuse, as these boards were created for native speakers of that language to speak, without having to use English.

Now, if it is in specific situations, framed in the subject that is being talked about, or to clear a doubt about something from that country (countries), I don't see any problem in resorting to this type of tools. Furthermore, if I am spoken to on a board of any language, and I think that what was said deserves a response from me. I see no harm in using a translator to respond.

And from my experience, this has never been frowned upon by the language community. As long as the person doesn't abuse it, I don't think anyone will care about it.

If no one reports it and there is no local moderator to notice it, nothing is going to happen and the post will stay. I just took a look at the rules of Bitcointalk and I was right. It's not allowed according to Rule #27. It's not a big deal, though.
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=703657.0

Yep, that sums it up nicely.



Yeah I know about that rule, but I always thought that rule was mainly enforced when it comes to translated topics. e.g when spammers decide to share their ann on bunch of local boards.

It's possible, but from the way the rule was written, it doesn't specify to what exactly it applies. Google-translated threads like the ANNs you mentioned get deleted if reported. It also depends on the staff member checking the reports and their interpretation of the rule. One person might have the same opinion as you, another doesn't like to see any automated-translation posts regardless of type or length.

Personally, I highly value any user who takes the time to visit the Portuguese tab, read an entire topic on the subject (using a translation tool), and then takes the time to, in a very respectful and humble way, leave their opinion. in Portuguese. I think this gives value to the content that is generated in my language.

It is true that there is this rule ("unofficial"), to avoid abuse and translations of entire topics made by machines. But for everyday situations, I don't see any harm.

I have posted in many local boards, and apart from a few language I speak, I used GT to post in the local language.
Of course the content I was posting was original and answers to maybe my translated posts or something I wanted to address to that specific board. Of course we are not speaking about paid content or advertising of any kind.

I used GT because I started from the hypothesis that who was posting on those board wasn’t familiar with the English language and I know from experience how much a post in a different language can interrupt the good flow of the conversation.

All was good on many occasions until a moderator told me it is not acceptable to post automated translation on his board (sorry I cannot recall which board it was, maybe German?) and referred to a different rule (the one prohibition to post AT content for paid service, which he wanted to apply for similarity).

Even if I wasn’t sure about his interpretation, I decided to post in English and then provide a courtesy translation via Google Translate.
I think this is an acceptable compromise as I saw users quoting and replying both to the English or the translated part.

Regarding the above quoted rule, I never saw that one, but again, it’s an unofficial set of rules. Not that we need a jury to apply those…

Exactly!

By the way, now I was rereading the rule:

What does "translated content in Local boards" mean?
I understand that it is taking something that exists (content) in a language and bringing it to another. That is, I cannot take a topic in English, put it on Google Translate, and translate everything into Portuguese and put it on my local board. That is, this rule would even be validated for me, being Portuguese. If I want to translate a topic, I have to do this translation manually.

Therefore, if I go to the Italian board, and write new information, reply to a topic, or share something relevant, I am not translating content but creating content.

Am I really wrong with this reasoning?  :-\
It is true that afterwards everything needs to be interpreted by each one. But, I think I'm not very wrong in this line of reasoning.

As for the specific Italian board, of course, I am not the moderator here, but I guess it is ok, provided that the translation is intelligible (but this is usually the case if translating from English) and, as you said, you are posting original content and not spamming ANN threads or so.

But again, it is really dependent on the relevant mod for other boards, and in my honest opinion, it is not a hill to die for. I think I found a decent compromise.

Anything that was originally written in Language #1 (for example English) that you copy/pasted into google translate, translated into Language #2 (Portuguese), and posted that automated translation into the Portuguese local board. I am using Portuguese as an example since you brought it up.

So, automated translation content isn't allowed.
Taking a post and translating it manually using your own words is ok.

I think we should make this a norm, people that don't speak the language try to engage in that said language by giving their opinion with the help of translation tools. I don't get the abuse part though? Is it the possibility to abuse local boards in the case that you've run out of boards to post in to try and meet the quota of your campaign? If it's the case then the campaign manager can just not count the posts in the local boards, a lot of campaigns already do that right? Another thing that irks me is the demonizing of machine assist, that's stupid in my opinion especially in this case, you want to talk to someone, what better way to do that than speaking their language but oh no, because you are using a translation tool, you can't which is sad because imagine all of the missed opportunity to interact with more people. This forum always talks about community, but this kind of interaction with the help of a machine to create a bridge against language barrier is frowned upon.

Yeah... that's what I think.
One thing is the copy-paste process of translating existing content using translation tools. Another thing is that I write directly in the translation tool, something completely new. This is something original and not existing content.

Of course I'm not saying with this, that being Portuguese, I would spend my time speaking on the board in Italian or Spanish. But, also if I think I can give an opinion on a subject that is being debated there, or answer someone who talks about me, I don't see any harm in that.

I think that deep down, there must be a balance, in order to avoid abuse. Where it depends on each one, find that balance.

Personally, I think that it's disrespect to post in English language in your own local board unless posts are intended for international users. That's definitely okay if your country has two or more official languages and one of them in English, like in India and Ireland.
Btw no one can prohibit you from posting in English in local board, it's just disrespect that will probably upset a lot of local board members if you intentionally don't post in your own language and post in English.

Why should one be uncomfortable to post in their own language in local board? This just seems illogical.

It's waay better to use DeepL than Google Translate if it supports your language and the language you want to translate in.

Sometimes while posting in international boards, many members get into the habit of posting in English, as a result of which they cannot write good posts in the local language even if they want to. So they also want to post in English on local boards, which many local members find difficult to understand because English is not their main language. But I do not agree with the statement that posting in English on the local board will upset the local members and disrespect the local board.

Thanks, I am an old person and I am used to do the same thing again and again, but for sure I will give DeepL a chance.
I reckon GT has limits on “tier2” languages. While I think it is pretty good on the most common ones.

But of course, here I was referring to GT not as a specific service, but generally as “automated translation service”.

Just take for instance of our LB since we doesn't have any particular language to speak we prefer pidgin why because we have about 3 ethnic groups with over 300 languages. Now come to think of where everyone write a post with their language how do we understand others, the official language is pidgin in english were we understand each others. But I know this may not be applicable to others that only speaks one general language, in some cases if it's a must do rules then speaking english is not allowed and they should only focused on the acceptable language than english.

I was unaware of DeepL. I will review this tool and check its performance.
They at least advertise being better than Google Translate.
For me it ends up being a bit indifferent, but for the readers of my posts it can be much better.
^{use DeepL}

---

I was unaware of DeepL. I will analyze this tool and check its performance.
They at least claim to be better than Google Translate.
For me it turns out to be a little indifferent, but for the readers of my posts it can be much better.
^{use Google Translate}

---

Which is best for the reader?

There is no way one can speak and write English (as a second language) better than the native language.
It will definitely upset local people. Imagine you are a French and write in English in Français board. That's the disrespect of your own language. Imagine, you are a German and post in English in German board, isn't it disrespect of your own language when you live in a country where official language is German and everyone speaks it in that country?
The situation is different if we talk about Swiss board. In Switzerland, there are four official languages: German, French, Italian, and Romansh. If you are from the western part of Switzerland and speak French and post in French language, then that can't be considered as disrespect and will be tolerated by everyone, I guess.

That's definitely a different case and I already said that in local board of countries like India and Ireland, it's definitely no problem to post in English language. The situation is similar in case of Nigeria.
It's definitely intolerable to go and post English posts on French, German, Spanish and on similar local boards when you speak your native (French, German or Spanish) language.

1st line - both of them are good
2nd line - probably Google wins.
3rd line - both of them are okay.

DeepL also offers you alternative versions of translations, I mean, it offers two or three version of translated sentence and gives you possibility to choose which one is the best at the moment, in this case you should know language a little better.
To really compare them, try to translate  more complex and difficult sentences.

I said what seemed right from my point of view. Now I never thought that local members might be disrespected for posting in English. I agree that local board members should post in local language, because it will be easier for all members to understand the post there.

Now even if someone feels comfortable posting in English on a local board, your statement implies that he should be forced to post in the local language in the local language! However, since I don't post on my local boards, so don't worry too much about this. But still just giving my opinion.

No problem with that, I just think that I'm right because I have travelled in many countries and from my experience, I can say that people don't like it when I start speak in English language, they often ignore and say that they don't speak English but when I try to say some words and form a sentence in their local language, then they open up more ,out of nowhere they can speak English too :D. Oh, I have never had such a problem in capitals and cities like Paris, Rome, Oslo, etc.
That's just my personal experience and prediction, you can consider it or ignore it, no problem, I appreciate what you say too, didn't want to make anyone upset.

Just explain to me something that I didn't understand: what was the purpose of a French user, writing in English on the French board?
If the language of the board is french, and your mother tongue too, why not write french?

Of course this can happen, in specific situations. I myself already wrote in English on the Portuguese board - I was replying to a user who asked something in English. I did it with pleasure and without any problems.

I just don't think it makes sense for a native speaker to speak another language on that language's board, without any relevant reason.

I have already said that local board members should post in local language, so that everyone can understand their posts. But for those members who feel comfortable posting in English, I have written that they can also post on their local boards. I am in favor of this not preventing the member from expressing his views, even if he wants to post in English.

But yes this is true even in local boards if members keep posting in English then the importance of those posts will decrease for those members who face a lot of problem in English. Therefore local language should be given more importance in local board.