[support] Drupal sites in different languages

[Jason Flatt]

Having recently done this, I think I can offer some assistance.


On Wed, 23 Mar 2011 10:37:04 -0700
Andre Durudas <durudasa at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hello,
> 
> I am relatively new to Drupal and I am trying to set up a site in two
> different languages. I would be more than happy to hear some recommendations
> how to best proceed on this.

You need to install the Internationalization module set:
http://drupal.org/project/i18n


> Do I need to set up two nodes for every page, one in language 1 and one in
> language 2, and then link them? Or do I create the site in one language and
> copy everything on it and translate it to the second language?

You need to create a copy of every node in each language, but the I18n module
set helps with that process and the linking.


> I saw that there are some modules, even one that comes with Drupal, but they
> all sound like they "just" translate the user interface. I don't care so
> much about that, for me the most important thing are the content and maybe
> the menus.

The built-in Locale module is primarily for translating the UI, but it is the
base for all the other steps.


> Any insights are greatly appreciated! :)

Over all tips, tricks and tutorials in this area seem to be a bit scarce, but
I did locate these helpful tutorials:
http://drupal.org/node/275705
http://www.eangkasa.com/content/setting-multilingual-site-drupal-internationalization-i18n.html

There's also this documentation:
http://drupal.org/node/254214
and this older screencast:
http://drupal.org/node/201788

One thing to note when going through the above links is that with the creation
of the Drupal localization server (http://localize.drupal.org/), manually
importing .po files is no longer necessary.  Use the Localization update
module instead: http://drupal.org/project/l10n_update

There are also a plethora of modules to help in your process.  Read through
the list in the "Recommended add-ons" and "Other related modules you may like"
sections of the Internationalization module page.


> Thanks,
> Andre


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Jason Flatt
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