Enhance Translation Documentation Based on Quality Review

[delano]

This ticket was created based on a recent translation update for onetimesecret.com which added ES translation:
onetimesecret/onetimesecret.com#59

Translation Quality Review Findings

I've completed a comprehensive review of the translation quality for the main onetimesecret.com website. Here are the key findings and recommendations:

Current Locale Quality Ratings

Locale	Rating	Status	Notes
🇫🇷 French	3/3 (Great)	✅ Production-ready	Excellent consistency, proper formality
🇩🇪 German	2/3 (Passable) → 3/3	✅ Fixed	Had 2 formality inconsistencies (now corrected)
🇬🇧 English	3/3 (Great)	✅ Fixed	Had 1 empty value (now filled)

Key Findings

Structural Completeness:

• All three locales maintain identical structure (165 translation keys each)
• No missing keys across any locale
• Proper JSON structure and formatting

Terminology Consistency:

• ✅ Technical terms properly localized (GDPR→DSGVO/RGPD)
• ✅ Legal terminology culturally appropriate
• ✅ "Passphrase" handled correctly (German: "Passphrase", French: "phrase de passe")
• ✅ Professional role titles well-translated

Issues Found & Fixed:

1. German: 2 instances mixing informal "du/dein" with formal "Sie/Ihre" (fixed in PR)
2. English: Missing translation for "Data Residency" (fixed in PR)

Recommendations for Translation Documentation

1. Revise Formal Translation Glossary

The docs should include a glossary page with these critical terms:

English	German (de)	French (fr)	Spanish (es)	Notes
Secret	Geheimnis	secret	secreto	Core product term
Passphrase	Passphrase	phrase de passe	frase de contraseña	Security feature
Link	Link	lien	enlace	Core functionality
Data Residency	Datenresidenz	Résidence des données	Residencia de datos	Compliance feature
GDPR	DSGVO	RGPD	RGPD	Legal compliance
Privacy Policy	Datenschutzerklärung	Politique de confidentialité	Política de privacidad	Legal document
Self-destructing	Selbstzerstörend	auto-destructible	autodestructible	Core feature

2. Update Translation Style Guide

Add specific sections covering:

• Formality Levels:

  • German: MUST use formal "Sie/Ihr/Ihre" consistently (never mix with "du/dein")
  • French: MUST use formal "vous/votre/vos" consistently
  • Spanish: MUST use formal "usted/su" consistently
  • Rationale: Professional B2B security service requires consistent formality

• Technical Term Handling:

  • Some English tech terms may remain in target language if commonly used (e.g., "Passphrase" in German)
  • Legal acronyms MUST be properly localized (GDPR→DSGVO/RGPD/etc.)
  • Product name "Onetime Secret" remains unchanged across all locales

• Tone Consistency:

  • Professional but approachable
  • Security-focused without being alarmist
  • Clear and accessible language (avoid overly complex terminology)

3. Add Translation Quality Checklist

For each new locale translation, reviewers should verify:

• Consistent formality level throughout (no mixing formal/informal)
• All 165+ translation keys present and filled
• Technical terms match glossary
• Legal terms culturally appropriate for target region
• Compliance acronyms properly localized (GDPR, HIPAA, etc.)
• No untranslated English fragments
• Professional role titles appropriate for locale
• Date/time formats follow locale conventions

Recommended Next Languages (Priority Order)

High Priority:

1. 🇪🇸 Spanish (es) - HIGHEST PRIORITY

   • 460M+ native speakers globally
   • Large market in Latin America and Spain
   • Similar Romance language structure to French
   • Growing cybersecurity awareness in Spanish-speaking markets
   • Action: Consider es-ES (European) vs es-MX/es-LA (Latin American) variants

2. 🇯🇵 Japanese (ja)

   • Major technology market with high privacy awareness
   • Japan has strict data residency requirements (Perfect Cloud Act concerns)
   • Strong B2B software adoption
   • Considerations: Requires careful formality levels (keigo system)

3. 🇵🇹 Portuguese (pt-BR)

   • Brazil is largest economy in Latin America (250M+ Portuguese speakers)
   • LGPD (Brazilian GDPR equivalent) creates compliance demand
   • Growing tech sector
   • Action: Focus on pt-BR (Brazilian) variant initially

Medium Priority:

4. 🇨🇳 Chinese Simplified (zh-CN) - Large market, complex requirements
5. 🇮🇹 Italian (it) - EU market with GDPR needs
6. 🇳🇱 Dutch (nl) - Strong data privacy culture
7. 🇵🇱 Polish (pl) - Large EU market

Documentation Tasks

• Update `/translations/glossary/` page with standardized term translations
• Expand `/translations/guide/` with formality requirements
• Add translation quality checklist
• Document the i18n file structure for contributors
• Add examples of good vs. bad translations
• Create templates for new locale submissions

References

• All translations are located in: `src/i18n/ui/*.json`
• i18n configuration: `config/astro/i18n.ts`
• Supported languages currently: en, fr, de, es
• Total translation keys: 165 per locale

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Related PR: The German formality fixes, English empty value fix, and Spanish locale addition are included in PR #59 for the main repo.