Re: [PATCH 16/16] docs/zh_TW: Add a glossary for Traditional Chinese translations

[葉宸佑]

On Fri, Jul 24, 2026 at 08:56:45PM +0800, Weijie Yuan wrote:
> I started a discussion yesterday in the telegram channel of l10n-tw [1].
> Some friends support "核心", some support "內核". The ratio is
> approximately 50:50 or 60:40.

Thanks for taking this to l10n-tw -- and for recording both sides here,
that is useful to have in the archive.

For the glossary I would like to keep 核心, for three reasons:

  - It is what Taiwanese technical writing and teaching material
    actually use. The OS course material you linked is one example,
    and translated OS textbooks published here overwhelmingly use
    核心 for kernel.
  - 內核 is the zh_CN rendering. Since the whole point of this series
    is that zh_TW currently reads like converted zh_CN, keeping 內核
    would leave in place one of the most visible instances of exactly
    that.
  - The kernel/core ambiguity is manageable in practice. "核心" for
    kernel and 核 / 核心 for CPU cores coexist fine here -- 雙核心
    (dual-core) is unambiguous from context, and the kernel docs
    rarely need both senses in one sentence.

That said, I agree with your conclusion that either is understandable,
so this is not something to spend much more time on. What matters more
is that whichever we pick is applied consistently, which is what the
glossary is for. If a strong consensus ever forms the other way in the
Taiwanese community, changing it later is a mechanical patch.

Thanks for the Acked-by.

Chen-Yu

Weijie Yuan <wy@xxxxxxxxx> 於 2026年7月24日週五 下午8:57寫道：
>
> On Wed, Jul 22, 2026 at 05:55:42AM +0800, Chen-Yu Yeh wrote:
> > Add Documentation/translations/zh_TW/glossary.rst documenting the
> > Taiwanese Mandarin terminology used by the zh_TW translations, with
> > the corresponding zh_CN terms for cross reference, plus the character
> > conventions (為/裡/著/才/啟/只/發布). Hook it into the zh_TW index,
> > replacing the existing TODO entry.
> >
> > This is the reference used by the terminology localization of the
> > zh_TW process/ documents in this series.
>
> Acked-by: Weijie Yuan <wy@xxxxxxxxx>
>
> > Signed-off-by: Chen-Yu Yeh <chenyou910331@xxxxxxxxx>
> > ---
> >  Documentation/translations/zh_TW/glossary.rst | 145 ++++++++++++++++++
> >  Documentation/translations/zh_TW/index.rst    |   5 +-
> >  2 files changed, 148 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)
> >  create mode 100644 Documentation/translations/zh_TW/glossary.rst
> >
> > diff --git a/Documentation/translations/zh_TW/glossary.rst b/Documentation/translations/zh_TW/glossary.rst
> > new file mode 100644
> > index 000000000000..32cfbfaaef3c
> > --- /dev/null
> > +++ b/Documentation/translations/zh_TW/glossary.rst
> > @@ -0,0 +1,145 @@
> > +.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
> > +
> > +.. _tw_glossary:
> > +
> > +術語表
> > +======
> > +
> > +:作者: 葉宸佑 Chen-Yu Yeh <chenyou910331@xxxxxxxxx>
> > +
> > +本術語表列出Linux核心繁體中文（zh_TW）翻譯所使用的術語。zh_TW翻譯以臺灣
> > +慣用的資訊術語為準。新增或更新翻譯時，請依照本表選擇用詞，以維持整個
> > +zh_TW文件樹的一致性；若遇到本表未收錄的術語，歡迎提交補丁補充。
> > +
> > +下表同時列出常見的簡體中文（zh_CN）譯法，方便從zh_CN翻譯轉換或對照時
> > +使用。
> > +
> > +一般術語
> > +--------
> > +
> > +========================  ==========================  ====================
> > +英文                      zh_TW                       zh_CN（對照）
> > +========================  ==========================  ====================
> > +kernel                    核心                        内核
>
> Non-blocking note:
>
> I started a discussion yesterday in the telegram channel of l10n-tw [1].
> Some friends support "核心", some support "內核". The ratio is
> approximately 50:50 or 60:40. I just leave some opinions here for future
> reference.
>
> * 核心:
>
>   Reasons (unmodified):
>
>   1. jserv 開的作業系統課是用「核心」啦...
>
>      https://hackmd.io/@sysprog/linux-concepts
>
>   2. 基本上 core 在核心情境下不會單獨當名詞用，而且歧義看前後文就知道了
>      所以會很多人比較習慣 kernel = 核心 (然後 core 也等於核心 (but as an
>      adjective))
>
>   3. core 亦可作為名詞，如「雙核心」，此時並不會與 kernel 混淆
>
>   4. 作業系統的 kernel 在台灣的書籍翻的還是核心比較多啦
>
>      https://www.tenlong.com.tw/products/9789574935055
>
>
> * 內核:
>
>   Reasons (unmodified):
>
>   1. Shell: 外殼
>      Kernel: 內核
>      Core: 核心
>
>   2. Jserv大建議的是
>      kernel 核心
>      core 核
>      以區分兩者
>
>      不過我個人目前其實比較喜歡「內核」，因為 kernel 和 shell
>      的稱呼大約就來自於內外關係。kernel
>      是作業系統的核心，其他一切都是由核心延伸(?)出去的，shell
>      則是「果仁」外層的「殼」，是使用者與前者互動的介面。另一方面，shell
>      譯作「殼層」在我看來是錯誤地沿用了物理學名詞，不應強調「層」，如果 shell
>      用了「外殼」那 kernel 自然要與之對齊。
>
>   3. 比較沒爭議的就 核心／殼層／核 吧 (* what does this mean..? Can it
>                                                 be considered neutral?)
>      有其他意見的人基本上就是自己研究過的，他們能看懂的((
>
> ---
>
> Because of the context, no matter which translation is used, there is
> actually no problem in understanding this. So there's no need to worry
> too much about this.
>
> Thanks.