What is the best way to implement multi-language support for a social (100% user content) website. Currently it's being developed in PHP in english with multi support. The plan is to keep adding in as many languages as possible as the site grows. There are 200 identified languages to target 1 by 1.
Two content types: System content -> the template pages User content -> The status updates, posts, comments, etc.
So for content # 1, we will be adding all the translation. For content # 2, users will be translating it on their own from a choice of over 200 languages available as and when needed.
Issues:
- Prevent data duplication
- Scalability: Features will change and constantly be added, so it should be easy to add/edit the system translations as needed. And also, for the translations to roll down into the child pages as needed. Currently there are over 2.5 million system child pages by default. So system translation will be common for all these 2.5 pages, but user translation will differ page by page and each page content type can support any of the 200 languages available.
- For user content -> Need a way for system to overlap the languages, so if I am in the English session and I want to translate a text into German I should be able to do that in the English session only.
Ideas?