there's internationalization for gnome right? it changes the usual text like 'ok' 'cancel' and whatever to the language selected?

just wanna know how you could do your own of that by user customization. any urls on how maybe? i can't find any on the gnome website

This is not a straight forward process. Almost all applications that are run under Linux use the GNU gettext framework. GUI text, i.e all that is visible to a user in menus, dialogs, etc. is stored in message catalogs (called PO files), this is used for translation purposes. When an application runs in particular language environment, it looks for translated message catalog for that language and uses it if it finds one.

There is a project that requires input from translators to help convert linux to languages other than English, (though I doubt if west coast surf speak is what they are after).

So you may have to write your own translation.

Searching for i18n (that is 'eye-one-eight-en') will get you more information on how translation works.

But you may as well face it, to misquote Descartes you use linux therefore you are a geek, so you may as well talk like one.

This is not a straight forward process. Almost all applications that are run under Linux use the GNU gettext framework. GUI text, i.e all that is visible to a user in menus, dialogs, etc. is stored in message catalogs (called PO files), this is used for translation purposes. When an application runs in particular language environment, it looks for translated message catalog for that language and uses it if it finds one.

There is a project that requires input from translators to help convert linux to languages other than English, (though I doubt if west coast surf speak is what they are after).

So you may have to write your own translation.

Searching for i81n (that is 'eye-one-eight-en') will get you more information on how translation works.

But you may as well face it, to misquote Descartes you use linux therefore you are a geek, so you may as well talk like one.

nope, i'm a game developer. well at least i'm planning to be. i'm a college student. and thanks, i'll look up on that i18n thing