TODO FIX OR STANDARDISE TARGETS * extract translatable strings from source code to `po/out/': at toplevel, do: make po make -C po po-update (or do `make po-update' at toplevel) * if there are no errors (a list of changes against `po/' directory may be displayed, that's ok), do cp po/out/*.po po/ copy the template file for translating to a new language LANG: do cp po/out/lilypond.po po/LANG.po * and edit your favorite po/LANG.po. Use a dedicated tool, like kbabel: kbabel po/fi.po Especially, look for fuzzy and untranslated entries. At the bottom of the file may accumulate the list of obsolete translations, which may help to translate some changed entries and may be safely dropped out. * because I never install LilyPond, I (check-out buildscripts/set-lily.sh) made these links: ln -s $LILYPOND_SOURCEDIR/po/out/nl.mo $PREFIX/usr/share/locale/nl/LC_MESSAGES/lilypond.mo ln -s $LILYPOND_SOURCEDIR/po/out/it.mo $PREFIX/usr/share/locale/it/LC_MESSAGES/lilypond.mo $PREFIX is the --prefix you passed to configure. then simply type, e.g. LANG=nl lilypond -h note that your favorite language should also be listed in locales, check locale -a