ProZ.com Translation Forums

German: Use of Sie/du for localizing a learning platform | at your own risk

Zea_Mays — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 15:05:00 +0000

Forum: Localization
Topic: German: Use of Sie/du for localizing a learning platform
Poster: Zea_Mays
Post title: at your own risk

This may sound a bit rude, but if you were a native German speaker, you wouldn't need to ask this question. Cybersecurity is a highly sensitive and technical topic, and "a lot of jokes and metaphors" implies a perfect grasp of the target language.

German: Use of Sie/du for localizing a learning platform | IKEA

CafeTran Trainer — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 14:05:00 +0000

Forum: Localization
Topic: German: Use of Sie/du for localizing a learning platform
Poster: CafeTran Trainer
Post title: IKEA

[quote]Annalisa Magnani wrote:

Dear Community,

I am carrying out my first localization job and I am being asked to post-edit and localize a learning platform on the topic of cybersecurity for the German market.
The original platform is in Italian, the tone is very informal and the scripts include a lot of jokes and metaphors. Still it’s a learning platform meant to be sold to external companies.
Would you use the Sie or the du form in German? The company would like to keep the tone informal and young but is it too impolite in German?

Thank you for your help! [/quote]

Personally, I'd use the Sie-Form, but IKEA style is also possible:

Hej! Du hast die Kontrolle über deine Informationen und Daten
Wenn du uns durch Anklicken von "Alle Cookies akzeptieren" deine Einwilligung erteilst, greifen wir (Ikea Deutschland und unsere Partner) auf Informationen (z.B. Gerätekennung, Browserinformationen, Werbe-ID) und Daten (z.B. IP-Adresse) in deinem Endgerät zu und speichern Informationen (z.B. Cookies) in deinem Endgerät,  um unsere Webseite zu optimieren, um sie für dich zu personalisieren, um Kundensegmente zu bilden und um dir relevante Werbung auf Drittseiten und in sozialen Medien anzeigen zu können.

German: Use of Sie/du for localizing a learning platform

Annalisa Magnani — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 13:26:00 +0000

Forum: Localization
Topic: German: Use of Sie/du for localizing a learning platform
Poster: Annalisa Magnani

Dear Community,

I am carrying out my first localization job and I am being asked to post-edit and localize a learning platform on the topic of cybersecurity for the German market.
The original platform is in Italian, the tone is very informal and the scripts include a lot of jokes and metaphors. Still it’s a learning platform meant to be sold to external companies.
Would you use the Sie or the du form in German? The company would like to keep the tone informal and young but is it too impolite in German?

Thank you for your help!

Phrase vs. Crowdin | I agree with Zea

Laura Kingdon — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 16:58:00 +0000

Forum: Localization
Topic: Phrase vs. Crowdin
Poster: Laura Kingdon
Post title: I agree with Zea

I largely agree with Zea's points - I really detest Crowdin, in fact, as I don't find the UI to be intuitive at all. Phrase's QA is horrible, especially since project managers only rarely seem to understand how to set up QA for Korean in the first place (leaving options like "Detect initial capitalisation differences" checked or setting QA to throw up alarms if the target length is more than a couple of characters longer than the source, which it almost always will be...) However, I don't find actually working in it to be too much of a hindrance apart from the QA.

Although I'd say Phrase is better, one thing I really hate about Phrase is that I now have about ten different logins for it, mostly variations on my name, and it's never clear which one actually corresponds to which agency. Granted this could be solved by me writing them down somewhere, but I find it annoying that I should have to do that (and I tend to forget since, in the moment, I'm thinking about getting into the project, setting things up, replying to emails to confirm the project, etc.) If you're going to use Phrase, then for goodness' sake assign translators usernames that include your agency's name or initials or SOMETHING in them so we don't have to cycle through a dozen trying to find the right one.

Phrase vs. Crowdin | Did you try the Term Morphology Editor

Luca Tutino — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 13:31:00 +0000

Forum: Localization
Topic: Phrase vs. Crowdin
Poster: Luca Tutino
Post title: Did you try the Term Morphology Editor

Hi Zea, I agree with your remarks. I also have two questions:

[quote]Cristina Feletto wrote:
- What drives you crazy?
[/quote]

[quote]Zea_Mays wrote:
Phrase: (...) the live QA feature which slows down work considerably (never enable it!); false positive QA findings en masse like endings or parts of words (which you're often forced to dismiss en masse too, leading to potentially overlooking real issues) - a careful setup of this feature is key.
[/quote]
I read that applying the new "Term Morphology Editor" tool, available only for Phrase and memoQ, should greatly improve this. It is an expensive tool, so I am not sure I would use it, but I will certainly not consider it if it does not deliver on the promises. Do you know if the extensive QA issues occur on a project developed with or without the TME?

[quote]Zea_Mays wrote:
Crowdin: (...) Concordance/TM lookup has still no shortcuts AFAIK
[/quote]
I found it useful to place it under F3 via AutoHotkey. It is an easy workaround if you have AHK. I hope it helps.

Phrase vs. Crowdin | Phrase wins for now

Zea_Mays — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 15:23:00 +0000

Forum: Localization
Topic: Phrase vs. Crowdin
Poster: Zea_Mays
Post title: Phrase wins for now

[quote]Cristina Feletto wrote:

If you’ve translated or reviewed in either (or both) of these tools, I’d love to hear your honest thoughts:

- What do you love about them?
- What drives you crazy?
- How do they handle key features like Concordance/TM lookup, segment filtering, QA checks, tag handling, and in-context previews?
- If you had to work in one of them every day, which UI/UX would you prefer and why?

[/quote]

A few thoughts that just come to mind (no complete list):

- What do you love about them?
Phrase: once you're familiar with the tool, I'd say it's among the better ones for translators (I don't know how it's from a PM perspective).

Crowdin: The shared comment feature actually working, where translators, project managers and clients can discuss issues and questions.

I also like Smartling (good shared comment feature too, useful preview feature), but it takes some time to familiarize with it.

- What drives you crazy?
Phrase: The tendency to continously change the UX, often disimproving it; the live QA feature which slows down work considerably (never enable it!); false positive QA findings en masse like endings or parts of words (which you're often forced to dismiss en masse too, leading to potentially overlooking real issues) - a careful setup of this feature is key.

Crowdin: The UX in general (it's improving but it's partly quite confusing; Search and Replace feature (it's improving); Concordance/TM lookup has still no shortcuts AFAIK; automatic completion feature not working (or I didn't manage to get it working); confusing matches that are often also hard to read.

- How do they handle key features like Concordance/TM lookup, segment filtering, QA checks, tag handling, and in-context previews?
Phrase: partly ok, see also above.
Crowdin: still improving

- If you had to work in one of them every day, which UI/UX would you prefer and why?
Phrase: UI more intuitive and clear, useful shortcuts and menus; UX sometimes a bit frustrating. (see above)

Phrase vs. Crowdin | Thorough and careful project setup is more important than platform name

Luca Tutino — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 11:47:00 +0000

Forum: Localization
Topic: Phrase vs. Crowdin
Poster: Luca Tutino
Post title: Thorough and careful project setup is more important than platform name

I strongly agree with what has been said before, but much more important in my experience is the thorough preparation and the right setup of the tools operated by the Client/PM side.
The availability of export/import options is just one among many that most clients tend to limit, forget or forbid, with the effect of hindering and slowing, if not degrading, the work of the translators.
A major problem is that such wrong choices are too often set in stone. On the contrary, my advice is to always request a feedback on this matter and followup accordingly as much as possible.

Phrase vs. Crowdin | Interoperability

Li-Hsiang Hsu — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 09:09:00 +0000

Forum: Localization
Topic: Phrase vs. Crowdin
Poster: Li-Hsiang Hsu
Post title: Interoperability

I am not going to tell you which CAT tool provider is preferable, but...IMO, the interoperability of a CAT tool is a crucial feature for agencies that outsource jobs to freelance translators. It offers great flexibility in task allocation, eliminating the need to verify whether a translator is proficient in a specific piece of software. Simply make the translation materials available to translators, by allowing them to download the source or bilingual text in a compatible format and to work with their preferred editing tool. This is the simplest way to manage a translation project in my view.

Furthermore, the possibility for a translator to work outside a cloud environment is very essential, too, as it allows to preserve translator’s productivity. Generally, cloud-based CAT tools can’t match locally installed software in terms of editing ease and speed. Consequently, using a cloud-based editing tool often slows down the translator's workflow and reduces their productivity. This is a crucial point to consider if you want your translators to maintain their productivity within an optimal working environment.

Phrase vs. Crowdin | Resources

CafeTran Trainer — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 08:53:00 +0000

Forum: Localization
Topic: Phrase vs. Crowdin
Poster: CafeTran Trainer
Post title: Resources

[quote]Siontrans wrote:

Whichever platform you choose, translators should have the option to download the project, work offline in their preferred CAT tool, and upload the completed translation back to the platform.

Sion
[/quote]

They should also be able to download any resources like glossaries (termbases) and TMs.

Phrase vs. Crowdin | Phrase and Crowdin

Siontrans — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 07:55:00 +0000

Forum: Localization
Topic: Phrase vs. Crowdin
Poster: Siontrans
Post title: Phrase and Crowdin

Whichever platform you choose, translators should have the option to download the project, work offline in their preferred CAT tool, and upload the completed translation back to the platform.

Sion

Phrase vs. Crowdin

Cristina Feletto — Sat, 05 Sep 2026 01:56:00 +0000

Forum: Localization
Topic: Phrase vs. Crowdin
Poster: Cristina Feletto

Hi everyone,

I’m a client-side PM currently evaluating Phrase vs. Crowdin for our software, support content, and multimedia localization.

Since translator adoption and experience directly impact quality and turnarounds, we want to make sure we choose a platform that linguists actually enjoy working in.

If you’ve translated or reviewed in either (or both) of these tools, I’d love to hear your honest thoughts:

- What do you love about them?
- What drives you crazy?
- How do they handle key features like Concordance/TM lookup, segment filtering, QA checks, tag handling, and in-context previews?
- If you had to work in one of them every day, which UI/UX would you prefer and why?

Thanks in advance for sharing your daily workflow experiences!

[Edited at 2026-09-05 01:56 GMT]

[Edited at 2026-09-05 01:57 GMT]

Tricks with analysis and wordcounts? | Another trick

MoonMartin — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 09:08:00 +0000

Forum: Localization
Topic: Tricks with analysis and wordcounts?
Poster: MoonMartin
Post title: Another trick

Another trick to lower invoices is to use MT to cover for a lower fuzzy price, but without previous consent deciding that high fuzzies are not based on the regular price for new words, but on the discounted MTPE price.
Example:
a) 100 words of 95-99% x 0.1 euros per word x 20% of full price = 2 euros
Agreed MTPE discount is 50% of full price (0.1 euros) = 0.05 euros
b) 100 words of 95-99% x 0.05 euros per word x 20% of full price = 1 euro

I discovered this after several months (trust) and a quick estimation was a loss of several thousand euros.
What is strange is that some other accounts at this reputable bureau used a), not b).

The explanation for b) was that the fuzzy match originated from MTPE and should therefore be considered as MT.
Which it definititely is not. When MT is edited to become a "human translation" the benefit of MTPE discount is already exhausted and the edited segment is considered as a "human translation".

[Redigerad 2026-09-04 09:13 GMT]

Tricks with analysis and wordcounts? | How can Phrase MT decide fuzzy percentage?

MoonMartin — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 08:57:00 +0000

Forum: Localization
Topic: Tricks with analysis and wordcounts?
Poster: MoonMartin
Post title: How can Phrase MT decide fuzzy percentage?

Posted elsewhere here:

I have seen several dubious uses of MT and analysis in Phrase.

Example 1:
Previous translations of segments have a lower fuzzy rate than Phrase MT.
These often have higher fuzzy rates although the "translation" isn't as good as the previous human translation.
Consequently the analysis shows higher fuzzy rates than if it would just use previous TMs.
It generates smaller sums on invoices and often more work for the translators.
It avoids the general consensus that MTPE word price is an agreed percentage of the full price for human translation of new words.
This can amount to several hundreds of thousands of euros less being invoiced, depending on the source text and workload.

Example 2:
A job with a few segments has one segment of 100 words translated with MT and the fuzzy rate is 80%.
How does the MT evaluate that the rate is 80%. It doesn't refer to any segments in the TM.
It creates an invoice of 100 words x 0,1 euros per word x 50 % MT discount = 5 euros,
instead it creates an invoice of 100 words x 0,1 euros per word x 35% fuzzy discount = 3.5 euros.

Tricks with analysis and wordcounts? | yes

Gregor Trebec — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 07:22:00 +0000

Forum: Localization
Topic: Tricks with analysis and wordcounts?
Poster: Gregor Trebec
Post title: yes

From my experience agencies try to cheat (also) on the wordcount, yes. I've had an agency that stated in the job ad even 500 words less than actual. And that is no mistake. It is deliberate.

Tricks with analysis and wordcounts? | Added experiences

MoonMartin — Thu, 03 Sep 2026 13:37:00 +0000

Forum: Localization
Topic: Tricks with analysis and wordcounts?
Poster: MoonMartin
Post title: Added experiences

Nobody?
It's hard to notice this, but when a job takes more time than your experience and gut feeling tells you, you should look into it.
The other irregularity I've noticed is to apply a lower agreed MPTE rate on high fuzzies.
If the gut feeling tells you smth is wrong, check the PO. All fuzzies are regular, not MTPE.
Myself I discovered it about half a year later and the loss was staggering. I trusted them, but at a point in time they changed the payment without any notice.
Beware.

[Redigerad 2026-09-03 13:37 GMT]

How do I know which type of contents the different variables for dynamic contents relate to? | Just ignore them

MoonMartin — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 07:01:00 +0000

Forum: Localization
Topic: How do I know which type of contents the different variables for dynamic contents relate to?
Poster: MoonMartin
Post title: Just ignore them

I just omit the quotes. No need to translate them if they aren't part of HTML etc.
Some change the font for that part instead. Much neater.

And shouldn't jump link be translated as fästpunktslänk?

[Redigerad 2026-09-02 07:06 GMT]

Tricks with analysis and wordcounts?

MoonMartin — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 06:58:00 +0000

Forum: Localization
Topic: Tricks with analysis and wordcounts?
Poster: MoonMartin

Hello!
Have any of you experienced that MT translations are moved in to another TM and then presented as high fuzzies in the analysis to avoid paying the going rate for editing MT?

How do I know which type of contents the different variables for dynamic contents relate to? | Handling placeholders and variables in software localization

Rodolfo Abachi — Sun, 10 May 2026 13:38:00 +0000

Forum: Localization
Topic: How do I know which type of contents the different variables for dynamic contents relate to?
Poster: Rodolfo Abachi
Post title: Handling placeholders and variables in software localization

Great discussion! Adding to what Daryo and Sergei have already explained:

When dealing with software localization (especially Adobe products), there are generally three types of variable markers you'll encounter:

1. Named placeholders like {name} or {0} - these are NEVER translated. They represent dynamic values that the application inserts at runtime. Keep them exactly as they appear.

2. Quote delimiters (single vs double quotes) - As Sergei explained, the single quotes often serve as markers for the parser, while the double quotes inside them become visible to the user. When translating to languages that use different quotation conventions (like Swedish, German, or French), the safest approach is to translate ONLY the visible/user-facing text and leave the structural characters (single quotes, curly braces, ^1, etc.) intact.

3. Context markers like ^1, %1, @1 - these are typically ordinal placeholders showing WHERE a value goes. They should NOT be translated.

For the specific case mentioned with Adobe products: I recommend requesting reference screenshots or the rendered UI from the client/LSP whenever possible. This way you can see exactly what the user will see in the final product, making it much clearer what to translate and what to leave unchanged.

Best TM tool to handle PO file? (for a non-tech-savvy translator) | 2010 Question That Just Got Revived

Ade Indarta — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 08:53:00 +0000

Forum: Localization
Topic: Best TM tool to handle PO file? (for a non-tech-savvy translator)
Poster: Ade Indarta
Post title: 2010 Question That Just Got Revived

Wow—seeing this 2010 thread come back to life made my day! Feels like opening a time capsule. 😄 The topic might be outdated now, but it’s a fun reminder of how far tech has come. Nowadays, modern CAT tools can easily handle PO files without any issues. Thanks for the unexpected trip down memory lane!

Best TM tool to handle PO file? (for a non-tech-savvy translator) | Thank you

CafeTran Trainer — Wed, 06 Aug 2025 12:18:00 +0000

Forum: Localization
Topic: Best TM tool to handle PO file? (for a non-tech-savvy translator)
Poster: CafeTran Trainer
Post title: Thank you

Thank you for reporting this. I've created a ticket at CafeTran Freshdesk, quoting the info you kindly provided.

Perhaps you want to share the PO file too?

[Edited at 2025-08-07 06:32 GMT]

Best TM tool to handle PO file? (for a non-tech-savvy translator) | CafeTran and OmegaT

Samuel Murray — Wed, 06 Aug 2025 09:40:00 +0000

Forum: Localization
Topic: Best TM tool to handle PO file? (for a non-tech-savvy translator)
Poster: Samuel Murray
Post title: CafeTran and OmegaT

[quote]CafeTran Trainer wrote:
You can also use CafeTran Espresso to translate PO files — it's fully supported and works seamlessly. [/quote]
I just tested it, and neither OmegaT nor CafeTran handles [b][u]the one most important feature[/u][/b] of PO files: plural forms.

My test file contains this plural definition in the header:
"Plural-Forms: nplurals=3; plural=n%10==1 && n%100!=11 ? 0 : n%10>=2 && n"
"%10<=4 && (n%100<10 || n%100>=20) ? 1 : 2;\n"

And it contains this segment:
#, c-format
msgid "One file removed"
msgid_plural "%d files removed"

And if it worked, it would have asked me to translate "%d files removed" twice, since there are three plural forms. But CafeTrans shows me only "One file removed" and "%d files removed", and only those two translations make it into the final file (so, two plural forms instead of three plural forms).

Even if I manually update the PO file myself and change the segment to:
#, c-format
msgid "One file removed"
msgid_plural "%d files removed"
msgstr[0] ""
msgstr[1] ""
msgstr[2] ""

...then CafeTran still only shows me "One file removed" and "%d files removed", and in the final file the msgstr[2] is removed.

What's more, CafeTran changes the file name (which no client will be happy with) and it doesn't update the file extension from POT to PO.

[Edited at 2025-08-06 09:42 GMT]

Best TM tool to handle PO file? (for a non-tech-savvy translator) | Pairaphrase is wa-a-a-a-a-ay too expensive

Samuel Murray — Wed, 06 Aug 2025 09:27:00 +0000

Forum: Localization
Topic: Best TM tool to handle PO file? (for a non-tech-savvy translator)
Poster: Samuel Murray
Post title: Pairaphrase is wa-a-a-a-a-ay too expensive

[quote]Ronika Kashyap wrote:
PO files can feel really limiting if you’re used to the full feature set of tools like Trados or Wordfast. [/quote]
Whether you are able to use the "full feature set" of Trados or Wordfast does not depend on the file type.

[quote]If you're looking for something easier to work with but still professional, you might want to check out Pairaphrase. [/quote]
Their cheapest package is USD 3420 per year. Or, you can buy a 30-day pass for USD 399, but then you're limited to 100 000 words. Hardly something that one would recommend to a freelance translator.

[quote]That said, it’s completely reasonable to ask your client if they can provide the content in a different format like XLIFF or even Word if possible. [/quote]
Sure, you ask them to use a PO2XLIFF converter for you (you can't use it yourself!). But if you break something in the XLIFF file, or translate it in a way that their XLIFF2PO converter can't handle, then their dev department would not be able to figure out how to unbreak it unless they are very clever. Speaking from experience working in such a department and dealing with PO and XLIFF.

Best TM tool to handle PO file? (for a non-tech-savvy translator) | CafeTran Espresso

CafeTran Trainer — Wed, 06 Aug 2025 05:27:00 +0000

Forum: Localization
Topic: Best TM tool to handle PO file? (for a non-tech-savvy translator)
Poster: CafeTran Trainer
Post title: CafeTran Espresso

You can also use CafeTran Espresso to translate PO files — it's fully supported and works seamlessly.

Best TM tool to handle PO file? (for a non-tech-savvy translator) | Easier Alternatives for Handling PO Files

Ronika Kashyap — Tue, 05 Aug 2025 13:00:00 +0000

Forum: Localization
Topic: Best TM tool to handle PO file? (for a non-tech-savvy translator)
Poster: Ronika Kashyap
Post title: Easier Alternatives for Handling PO Files

PO files can feel really limiting if you’re used to the full feature set of tools like Trados or Wordfast. If you're looking for something easier to work with but still professional, you might want to check out Pairaphrase. It supports a wide range of file formats, and while it's more focused on document translation, its interface is much more user-friendly compared to tools like POedit or OmegaT.

That said, it’s completely reasonable to ask your client if they can provide the content in a different format like XLIFF or even Word if possible. Many dev teams default to PO for convenience, but they might not realize it's creating extra work on your side. A quick conversation could save you a lot of trouble.

You can read this blog: [url removed]

How do I know which type of contents the different variables for dynamic contents relate to? | The problem with this kind of texts

Daryo — Wed, 07 May 2025 08:59:00 +0000

Forum: Localization
Topic: How do I know which type of contents the different variables for dynamic contents relate to?
Poster: Daryo
Post title: The problem with this kind of texts

The problem with this kind of texts (i.e. 'translating' software) is that you have in fact a mixture of different types of texts, that must obey each their own rules of syntax.

You have some parts that are 'ordinary/plain text' (in fact alphanumerical strings) meant for human consumption - to be translated any other text.

Then you have some other text that MAY look like 'normal text' but is in fact meant for the machine (a.k.a. the 'coding') - that MUST obey the syntax of whatever programming language was used.

All too often this kind of 'mixed texts' are dumped on people who can't spot the difference, by project managers who themselves are blissfully unaware of it.

Separating the two (what to translate and what must be left EXACTLY as is) is not so simple – it’s really a very specialised niche. If you don't know the syntax of the specific programming language used it's all to easy to 'trash the code' - make it unusable.

How do I know which type of contents the different variables for dynamic contents relate to? | ...

Sergei Leshchinsky — Tue, 06 May 2025 12:53:00 +0000

Forum: Localization
Topic: How do I know which type of contents the different variables for dynamic contents relate to?
Poster: Sergei Leshchinsky
Post title: ...

I would translate
directories '^1' and '^2' were not found
as
directories '"^1"' and '"^2"' were not found
to get as an output
directories "Directory_A" and "Directory_B" were not found

@0, @1, @2 look like just different values to be inserted.

You'd better ask for the convention or get the rendered text for reference. Thus you will see which tags turn into which values.

How do I know which type of contents the different variables for dynamic contents relate to? | Are placeholders always to be kept exactly as in the original text?

Fredrik Pettersson — Tue, 06 May 2025 11:54:00 +0000

Forum: Localization
Topic: How do I know which type of contents the different variables for dynamic contents relate to?
Poster: Fredrik Pettersson
Post title: Are placeholders always to be kept exactly as in the original text?

I found out now with the help from a friend in Sweden who is also translator that I should keep the single quotes exactly as they are as they are placeholders.

What about these instances?:

The Media Cache directories '^1' and '^2' were not found or are not writeable.

For a normal Swedish text, I would like to change the single quotes to double quotes. But, as they are placeholders, do you think I should keep them exactly as they are in the original? So that under no circumstances I change the original placeholders?

More examples:

1) The selected file does not contain @0 media used by clip references in one or more sequences.
Here, I translated with
Den valda filen innehåller inte @0medier som används av klippreferenser i en eller flera sekvenser.
I found this sentence already translated at Adobe's help center, so it should be correct. Otherwise, normally, there would have been inserted a hyphen after @0.

2) These @1 clip references will be deleted, and cannot be undone.
Here, I translated with
Dessa @1klippreferenser kommer att tas bort. Detta kan inte ångras.
I found also this sentence already translated at Adobe's help center, so it should also be correct. Otherwise, normally, there would have been inserted a hypen after @1 also here.

Sorry if I use wrong terminology, but isn't placeholders the same as what you call code Sergei?

How do I know which type of contents the different variables for dynamic contents relate to? | Single quotes are "code"

Sergei Leshchinsky — Tue, 06 May 2025 10:10:00 +0000

Forum: Localization
Topic: How do I know which type of contents the different variables for dynamic contents relate to?
Poster: Sergei Leshchinsky
Post title: Single quotes are "code"

These single quotes must not be visible in the final representation as they are "for the computer" to differentiate "processable entities" from the plain text around. The parser (syntax analyzer) simply processes the text inside the single quotes in some pre-defined way to generate the output without those single quotes but with the processed entities from within the single quotes.

As to the style of these single quotes, everything depends on the smartness of the parser. Good parsers understand all types of single quotes (they have different codes in the character set, e.g. ASCII, ANSI or Unicode) as a "generic" single quote and process accordingly. Anyway, there are two options too: 1) using straight quotes while typing (can be batch replaced later by find-replace if needed) OR 2) copying the source segment to target and translating within the original layout preserving those original single quotes.

How do I know which type of contents the different variables for dynamic contents relate to? | Changing inward angled single quotes to straight single quotes for a Swedish text?

Fredrik Pettersson — Tue, 06 May 2025 09:40:00 +0000

Forum: Localization
Topic: How do I know which type of contents the different variables for dynamic contents relate to?
Poster: Fredrik Pettersson
Post title: Changing inward angled single quotes to straight single quotes for a Swedish text?

Thank you Sergei! This is of great help to me.

Maybe a Swedish native language speaker would need to answer my follow-up question, but in general, what do you think - could I use single quotes outside the double-quotes in my translation even though they never appear outside of double-quotes in Swedish texts? For instance, I could change them to straight single-quotes because these inward angled single quotes look weird in a Swedish text:

Hopplänken till målresan är bruten eftersom målresan '"{name}"' har tagits bort.

How do I know which type of contents the different variables for dynamic contents relate to? | Single quotes are "code"

Sergei Leshchinsky — Tue, 06 May 2025 09:04:00 +0000

Forum: Localization
Topic: How do I know which type of contents the different variables for dynamic contents relate to?
Poster: Sergei Leshchinsky
Post title: Single quotes are "code"

Between the single quotes is some placeable text, which includes double quotes.
In the final set-up, it appears as text in double quotes.
E.g.:
... target journey ‘"{name}"’ has been...
renders as
... target journey "autoexec.bat" has been...

{name} should NOT be translated as it is a tag to be replaced dynamically by some meaningful text (filename, user name, etc.) in the rendered UI.

$1 should NOT be translated either as it is a tag for a numeral to be inserted.
E.g.:
Failed to preview $1 files.
renders as
Failed to preview 27 files.

[Редактировалось 2025-05-06 09:12 GMT]