SKILL.md
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Identify:
- Content type: Product UI, marketing copy, blog, landing page, docs
- Target language(s): Priority locales
- 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