My Contribution to the WordPress Polyglots Team
With this report I close my WordPress contribution project through the Polyglots team. Over these weeks I went from being an observer of the community to an active contributor, and in this text I want to summarize the work carried out, the results obtained, and the lessons I take from the experience.
Project summary
My contribution focused on translating and correcting strings from the Elementor Website Builder plugin into Spanish for Costa Rica (es_CR), one of the locales with the fewest active contributors and, therefore, with the greatest need for contributions. The goal was twofold: to increase the plugin’s translation percentage and to do so with a professional quality standard, applying terminological consistency criteria and a clear, neutral register.
Results obtained
During the project I achieved the following:
- I translated and corrected approximately [number] strings of the Elementor plugin in the es_CR locale.
- Of those, [number] were approved by the translation editors and moved to the “current” state.
- I advanced the plugin’s translation percentage from approximately [X%] to [Y%].
- I participated in [number] community discussions or meetings through Slack and the Polyglots channels.
- I attended the [event name] event, where I was able to see up close how the Spanish-speaking WordPress community works.
(Replace each bracket with your real figures and data before publishing.)
What I learned
This project confirmed that translating software is a discipline of its own, different from translating ordinary texts. I learned to preserve elements that should never be touched — variables such as %s and %d, HTML tags, proper names of features — and to decide with judgment when a term is translated and when it is kept in English, as in the case of the easing values or the Atomic Elements.
I also understood that consistency is as important as accuracy. Maintaining a single translation for each technical term across hundreds of strings was a central part of the work, and it is what distinguishes a professional interface from an improvised one. To achieve this, I systematically applied the “usted” treatment, relied on glossaries, and verified the context of each string before translating it.
On a personal level, I developed discipline, patience, and attention to detail. I understood that this is collaborative work, where my contributions are subject to review by volunteer editors, and that quality always outweighs speed.
Final reflection
Contributing to WordPress taught me that free software is built through the collective effort of many people, each contributing from their own skills. My contribution was that of words: hundreds of strings that now help more people use WordPress comfortably in their language.
I began this path with some insecurity before my first string, and I finish it feeling part of a global community. That, beyond the figures, is the greatest result of this project.