Odoo is available in dozens of languages. Bosnian was not among them - at least not in a usable form.
When we opened translate.odoo.com, the overall translation for Bosnian was at about 13%. Some of the most useful modules at 18%, some even less. Unrelated terms, inconsistent terminology, lots of empty fields. Using Odoo in Bosnian in that state was not an option.
We decided to change that.
Why do we translate?
Odoo localization for Bosnia and Herzegovina without translation is pointless. You can have a perfect chart of accounts and VAT forms, but if the user doesn't understand the interface - they won't use it.
Our clients are companies in BiH. Their accountants, storekeepers and salespeople work in Bosnian. The interface must be in the language they use every day.
How did we do it?
Manually translating thousands of strings per module is not realistic, at least not in a short time. We have created a semi-automatic process - we use Croatian and Serbian translations as a basis because the languages are similar, we fill in the rest automatically, and then we manually review and correct everything.
Sounds simple, but it was far from it.
Pitfalls of automatic translation
Automatic translation speeds up the work, but it creates problems that you need to be able to recognize. Odoo strings sometimes contain programming code - the translator translates or into Bosnian ili within a technical term and everything breaks down. Similarly, the translator can "translate" a placeholder for the company name, so the system cannot fill in the value. The mail template, on the other hand, contains an HTML structure that automatic translation can completely destroy.
We have learned to recognize and correct each of these problems.
Result
We brought key modules from 18% to 100%. Total Bosnian translation in Odoo increased from 13% to 28% - and we're continuing to grow.
Translations are available to everyone through translate.odoo.com - they are not locked or proprietary. Any company using Odoo in Bosnia and Herzegovina can use them.
What's next?
We continue with the other modules - the goal is for the complete Odoo installation to be usable in Bosnian.
If you use Odoo in BiH and have suggestions for terminology or notice a translation error - please contact us.