translation

**When invoking**: On **first use**, if helpful, open with 1–2 sentences on what this skill covers and why it matters, then provide the main output. On **subsequent use** or when the user asks to skip, go directly to the main output.

## Scope

- **Workflow**: Brief → translate → review
- **Terminology**: Glossary creation and management
- **Style guide**: Voice, tone, formatting per language
- **Human vs MT**: When to use each; post-editing
- **Quality**: QA, consistency, SEO
- **Market-specific**: Terminology by region

## Initial Assessment

**Check for project context first:** If `.claude/project-context.md` or `.cursor/project-context.md` exists, read it for brand voice, target markets, and product terminology.

Identify:
1. **Content type**: Product UI, marketing copy, blog, landing page, docs
2. **Target language(s)**: Priority locales
3. **Existing assets**: Glossary, style guide, translation memory (TM)

---

## 1. Translation Workflow

### Brief → Translate → Review

| Phase | Purpose | Output |
|-------|---------|--------|
| **Brief** | Context, audience, tone, glossary reference, style guide | Translator brief document |
| **Translate** | First pass; use glossary + TM when available | Draft translation |
| **Review** | Native speaker review; consistency, brand voice, SEO | Final translation |

### Translator Brief

Include in every project:
- **Context**: What the content is for (landing page, product UI, blog)
- **Audience**: Target market, user persona
- **Tone**: Formal, casual, technical
- **Glossary**: Link or attach; mandatory terms
- **Style guide**: Reference or key rules
- **Constraints**: Character limits (UI), SEO keywords to include naturally

### Content-Type Workflow

| Content Type | Approach | Notes |
|--------------|----------|-------|
| **Product UI** | Glossary-critical; short strings; consistency | Use TM; avoid machine translation |
| **Marketing copy** | Brand voice; cultural adaptation | Human translation; see terminology |
| **Blog / Article** | SEO; natural keyword placement | Re-research keywords in target language; don't translate keyword lists |
| **Landing page** | Conversion-focused; CTA clarity | Human; test localized CTAs |
| **Technical docs** | Precision; glossary | TM + glossary; consider MT + post-edit for high volume |

---

## 2. Glossary & Terminology

### Glossary Purpose

- **Consistency**: Same term translated the same way across all content
- **Brand**: Product names, feature names, approved phrasing
- **Compliance**: Safety, legal, regulated terms
- **Cost**: Reduces rework; accelerates review

### Glossary Structure

| Field | Purpose |
|-------|---------|
| **Source term** | Original (e.g., English) |
| **Target term** | Approved translation |
| **Context** | Where it appears; usage note |
| **Do not translate** | Brand names, product names (when applicable) |

### Market-Specific Terminology

| Term | English | Chinese | Notes |
|------|---------|---------|------|
| **Generative AI** | Generative AI, GenAI | AIGC (人工智能生成内容) | Use "AIGC" for China; "Generative AI" for English |
| **Influencer** | Influencer | KOL (关键意见领袖) | "KOL" common in Chinese marketing |
| **User** | User | 用户 | Context-dependent |
| **Dashboard** | Dashboard | 控制台, 仪表盘 | Choose one; document in glossary |

**Principle**: Don't translate terminology lists; research how target market searches and speaks. See **keyword-research** for multi-language keyword research.

---

## 3. Style Guide (Translation)

### Elements to Define

| Element | Purpose |
|---------|---------|
| **Voice** | Brand personality; formal vs casual |
| **Tone** | Varies by content type (support = helpful; marketing = persuasive) |
| **Register** | Formal (您) vs informal (你) in languages that distinguish |
| **Punctuation** | Quotation marks, spacing (e.g., no space before colon in French) |
| **Formatting** | Dates, numbers, units; locale-specific |
| **Forbidden** | Terms or phrases to avoid |

### Per-Language Considerations

- **Chinese**: Simplified vs Traditional; measure word usage
- **German**: Formal (Sie) vs informal (du); compound nouns
- **Japanese**: Honorifics; keigo for formal contexts
- **Arabic**: RTL; formal vs dialect

---

## 4. Human vs Machine Translation

### When to Use Human Translation

| Scenario | Reason |
|----------|--------|
| **Product UI** | Terminology, UX clarity, brand |
| **Marketing copy** | Persuasion, cultural nuance, CTAs |
| **Landing pages** | Conversion; tested copy |
| **Legal, compliance** | Accuracy, liability |
| **Brand-critical** | Taglines, campaign copy |

### When Machine Translation (MT) May Be Acceptable

| Scenario | Condition |
|----------|-----------|
| **High-volume, low-stakes** | Internal docs, user-generated content |
| **Draft / triage** | MT + human post-edit (MTPE) |
| **Real-time** | Chat, support; with disclaimer |

### Avoid

- **Raw MT for product/marketing**: Terminology errors, cultural misfires, poor SEO
- **MT without post-edit** for customer-facing content
- **Translating keyword lists** instead of re-researching in target language

---

## 5. Translation Memory (TM) & TMS

### Translation Memory

- **What**: Stores approved source↔target sentence pairs
- **Benefit**: Consistency; reuse; lower cost per word; faster turnaround
- **Best practice**: Maintain TM; clean duplicates; align with glossary

### Translation Management System (TMS)

- **Use for**: Centralized workflow; glossary + TM integration; vendor management
- **When**: Multiple languages; ongoing translation; team collaboration

---

## 6. Quality & SEO

### Quality Checklist

- [ ] Glossary terms used correctly
- [ ] Style guide followed
- [ ] No untranslated strings
- [ ] Numbers, dates, units localized
- [ ] Character limits respected (UI)
- [ ] Native speaker review completed

### SEO for Translated Content

- **Keywords**: Re-research in target language; don't translate from source
- **Metadata**: Title, description translated; see **title-tag**, **meta-description**
- **Hreflang**: Technical implementation in **localization-strategy**; translation produces the content
- **Thin content**: Avoid publishing many low-quality translated pages at once; can trigger penalties. See **localization-strategy** Multilingual Risks.

---

## 7. Integration with Localization

| Topic | Skill |
|-------|-------|
| **i18n implementation** | localization-strategy |
| **URL structure, hreflang** | localization-strategy |
| **Translation workflow, glossary, style** | This skill (translation) |
| **Keyword research by market** | keyword-research; localization-strategy |

When adding a new locale: create glossary, style guide, then translate. See **localization-strategy** for technical checklist (hreflang, sitemap, metadata).

---

## Output Format

- **Translator brief** (context, audience, glossary, style)
- **Glossary** additions or updates
- **Style guide** notes for target language
- **Human vs MT** recommendation
- **Quality** checklist

## Related Skills

### Strategy & Technical

- **localization-strategy**: i18n, hreflang, URL structure, pricing by market; translation produces content for localized pages
- **content-strategy**: Multilingual content planning; avoid thin translations
- **content-marketing**: Content types and formats; translation as one channel adaptation

### SEO & Content

- **keyword-research**: Multi-language keyword research; don't translate keyword lists
- **page-metadata**: Hreflang implementation
- **title-tag, meta-description**: Translate metadata per locale
- **copywriting**: Source copy to translate; brand voice
- **image-optimization**: Localize image filenames for translated pages

### Pages

- **article-page-generator**: Article structure; translate with SEO in mind
- **landing-page-generator**: Landing page copy; human translation for conversion