Open Radar

 
(Sorry for not strictly following the description format. It is not suitable in this case.)

Summary:

"OK" (the confirmation button label) is currently left untranslated in the Czech localization. In previous versions of Mac OS (since System 6 if I remember correctly) it has been translated as "Budiž", which is in my opinion more suitable in Czech than "OK". Additionally, using "Budiž" would be consistent with previous Mac OS X localizations.

Discussion:

While "OK" is certainly comprehensible to any Czech user, out of the computer context, the word is used only as slang. To confirm something with an "OK" is very colloquial and so it does not match the level of formality in Mac OS X interface. "Budiž" is a Czech word that can be used for confirmation in any context in which Mac OS X uses "OK".

Frequency and context of usage of the words "OK" (pronounced "oukej", "ou kej", or "ó ká" in Czech) and "budiž" in a current Czech spoken corpus from primary and secondary school lessons[1] reveals that:

- OK is used only three times: in two classes, in both cases to explain which button to use in a software where "OK" wasn't translated:

http://box.nohejl.name/lev/budiz-diskuse/schola2010-OK.png

(Translation: "set up. be careful not to press 'oukej', because that would take you back again", "set up and confirm. now confirm using 'oukej', close, close the whole dialog.", "so here you will have a table. then use 'oukej'. And then you will have the field here from which you can".)

- Budiž is used four times in four different classes, in one case in a citation of a literary work, but otherwise it occurs in the sentence naturally to confirm or approve something:

http://box.nohejl.name/lev/budiz-diskuse/schola2010-budiz.png

(Translation: "inner life of the main character, alright, 'budiž'. I'm listening to you. ...", then the literary quotation, "that's not a daily but a weekly newspaper, 'budiž' nonetheless. What else? ...", "movement. blender? blender. blender, alright, 'budiž' blender. washmashine. washmashine, alright, washmashine")

Budiž should be comprehensible to anyone, and can be used in formal and informal context. (I have chosen the spoken corpus from schools, which I believe provides the right level of formality, to prove the point. In newspapers, "budiž" would be even more common, and "OK" virtually absent except for quotations of slang and computer interface elements.) 

Another argument is that "Budiž" has been used in Czech Mac OS localizations up until now and long-time Mac users are used to it. The only possible argument against "Budiž" is that other software than Mac OS (X) and devices commonly use "OK", so people are used to seeing "OK" in the computer context often even if the rest of the interface is translated to Czech. But even for these people Budiž should not be confusing, it is a clear, unambigous, and relatively common (see corpus citations above) word.

References:

[1] Czech National Corpus/Český národní korpus - SCHOLA2010. Ústav Českého národního korpusu FF UK, Praha 2010. Available online: <http://www.korpus.cz>.