Agent skill
kobo-translation
Translation and localization guidelines for KoboToolbox content in French, Spanish, and Arabic. Use when translating KoboToolbox materials including: (1) Academy courses and educational content, (2) User interface text and documentation, (3) Support articles, (4) Marketing materials, (5) Form building terminology, or (6) XLSForm technical terms. Covers tone, pronouns (tú/usted, tu/vous), gender-inclusive language, and official translations for brand terms and UI elements.
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SKILL.md
KoboToolbox Translation & Localization
Overview
Translate KoboToolbox content in French, Spanish, and Arabic with consistent terminology, appropriate tone, and cultural adaptation.
📹 For Video Subtitles/Transcripts: If you're translating SRT subtitle files, use the kobo-translation-srt skill extension which includes all base rules plus subtitle-specific guidelines for character limits, spoken language, and chunked translation.
Translation approach:
For NEW FILES (full translation):
- Translate the complete source document provided
- Use consistent terminology for reliable, repeatable translations
- Follow all guidelines in this skill document
For UPDATES (diff-based translation):
- You will receive ONLY the changed content from the source document
- Translate ONLY what is provided between the markers
- Do NOT translate anything outside the markers
- Do NOT add explanations or extra content
- Output ONLY the translated version of the diff content
- The system will automatically merge your translation with the existing translated file
Why diff-based? LLMs are non-deterministic, so re-translating an entire document produces slightly different results each time, creating "translation noise" in git diffs. By translating only actual changes, we preserve manual reviewer improvements and reduce unnecessary churn.
🚨 CRITICAL: Pre-Translation Checklist
BEFORE starting translation, read these reference files:
- brand-terminology.md - For server names, Question Library, Formbuilder, and ALL brand terms
- ui-terminology.md - For button names, tabs, and capitalization rules
Common mistakes to avoid:
- ❌ Translating server names incorrectly (missing articles or adding extra words)
- ❌ Not including English term on first reference for Formbuilder
- ❌ Missing capital article for "Question Library" / "La bibliothèque de questions" / "La biblioteca de preguntas"
- ❌ Not capitalizing UI terms like "Brouillon" / "Borrador"
- ❌ Using "de" article when it shouldn't be there in French data management terms
Quick Reference
Translation types:
- OFFICIAL - Must use EXACT translation character-for-character (brand terms, UI elements, XLSForm terms)
- Preferred - Can adapt for context (general terminology, course content)
Key principles:
- ALWAYS check brand-terminology.md FIRST before translating any brand-related terms
- Prioritize localization over literal translation
- Use gender-inclusive language
- Maintain consistency with KoboToolbox UI
- Apply appropriate formality level (vous/tu, usted/tú)
Common Translation Pitfalls
⚠️ Brand Terms - Most Frequent Errors
| ❌ WRONG | ✅ CORRECT | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Spanish: Servidor Global de KoboToolbox | Servidor Global | Do NOT add "de KoboToolbox" |
| Spanish: Servidor de la Unión Europea | Servidor con sede en la Unión Europea | Use full official name |
| French: serveur KoboToolbox mondial | Le serveur KoboToolbox mondial | Must include definite article "Le" (capitalized) |
| French: serveur Union européenne | Le serveur KoboToolbox Union européenne | Include article AND "KoboToolbox" |
| Spanish: la biblioteca de preguntas | La biblioteca de preguntas | Capital "L" for brand feature |
| French: la bibliothèque de questions | La bibliothèque de questions | Capital "L" for brand feature |
⚠️ First Reference Rule - Frequently Missed
Formbuilder MUST include English on first reference:
| Language | First Reference | Subsequent Uses |
|---|---|---|
| Spanish | editor de formularios de KoboToolbox (Formbuilder) | editor de formularios |
| French | l'interface de création de formulaires KoboToolbox (KoboToolbox Formbuilder) | interface de création de formulaires |
⚠️ UI Capitalization - Often Forgotten
| Term | ❌ Wrong | ✅ Correct |
|---|---|---|
| Draft (FR) | formulaire brouillon | formulaire Brouillon |
| Draft (ES) | borrador | Borrador (when in UI context) |
⚠️ French Article Usage
| Concept | ❌ Wrong | ✅ Correct | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data management | gestion de données | gestion de données | NO article for general concept |
| Managing your data | gérer vos données | gérer vos données | ✓ Correct |
| Projects and data section title | Gestion de projets et de données | Gestion de projets et données | NO "de" before "données" in compound titles |
Translation Workflow
Step 0: MANDATORY First Step
🔴 STOP! Before translating anything:
- Identify all brand terms in the source text (KoboToolbox, servers, Question Library, Formbuilder, etc.)
- Open brand-terminology.md and verify EXACT translations
- Check ui-terminology.md for any UI elements (buttons, tabs, page names)
- Note any terms requiring "English + translation" on first reference
Step 1: Identify Content Type
Formal communications (server announcements, formal emails):
- French: Use "vous", addressee "Cher utilisateur, Chère utilisatrice"
- Spanish: Use "usted", addressee "Estimado usuario/a"
User Interface:
- French: Use formal "vous" and "votre"
- Spanish: Use informal "tú"
Courses and educational content (INCLUDES SUPPORT ARTICLES):
- French: Use formal "vous" (even for individuals)
- Spanish: Use informal "tú", "ustedes" for plural
- Examples:
- FR: "Les utilisatrices et utilisateurs débutant(e)s"
- ES: "Se te dirigirá" (neutral, not "serás dirigido/a")
Support articles:
- French: Use formal "vous"
- Spanish: Use informal "tú"
- Apply gender-inclusive language throughout
Informal communications (social media, blogs):
- Context-dependent
- Generally use "vous"/"usted" for semi-formal
- May use "tu"/"tú" for very informal contexts
Video subtitles/transcripts (SRT files):
- Use the kobo-translation-srt skill extension
- All base rules apply PLUS subtitle-specific adaptations
- Key differences:
- XLSForm terms: English only (no translations due to character limits)
- Character limits: 35-42 characters per line ideal, 50 max
- Natural spoken language (more conversational than written)
- Chunked translation approach to preserve context
- Same formality levels as educational content (vous/tú)
Step 2: Check Terminology Category
🚨 Brand and product terms → See brand-terminology.md
- OFFICIAL translations must be used EXACTLY (KoboToolbox, Academy, User Plans, servers, Question Library, etc.)
- Pay special attention to:
- Server names (require articles in French, specific wording in both languages)
- Question Library (requires capital article in both languages)
- Formbuilder (requires English + translation on first reference)
- KoboCollect app name format
Form building and XLSForm → See form-building-terms.md
- Many terms must include English + translation in parentheses
- Video subtitles: English only (character limits)
- Examples: list_name (nom de la liste), cascading select (Sélection en cascade)
Question types and appearances → See question-types.md
- Question appearances in written content: English + translation
- Example: "vertical, picker (sélecteur), rating (notation)"
UI terminology → See ui-terminology.md
- OFFICIAL translations, capitalize per UI
- Common UI terms: FORMULAIRE/FORMULARIO, DONNÉES/DATOS, Brouillon/Borrador
- Flag any needed corrections in tracker
Data collection terms → See data-collection-terms.md
- Preferred translations, adapt for context
- Special rules for management, submissions, data collection
Documentation website terms → See documentation-terminology.md
- Preferred translations for Help Center content
- Support articles, Getting started patterns, UI element descriptions
Course and learning platform → See course-terminology.md
- Preferred translations
- Context-specific adaptations allowed
Step 3: Apply Gender-Inclusive Language
French:
- Use parenthetical markers: "utilisateur(rice)s", "débutant(e)s"
- Use double forms: "Les utilisatrices et utilisateurs"
- Course subtitles: "Vous serez redirigé(e)"
Spanish:
- Strongly prefer neutral constructions: "Se te dirigirá" instead of "serás dirigido/a"
- Use double forms for nouns: "los/as usuarios/as", "las/os participantes"
- When no neutral option exists, use masculine: "los usuarios"
- Apply throughout: Every mention of users/people should be inclusive
Arabic: [To be specified based on project needs]
Step 4: Handle Technical Terms
XLSForm and form building terms that must stay in English:
- Written content: English followed by translation in parentheses on first use
- Video subtitles: English only
- Examples:
- list_name (nom de la liste)
- XML values (valeurs XML)
- data column name (nom du champ)
Cascading select components: Always include English + translation approach:
"Pour chaque liste d'options, remplissez la colonne list_name (nom de la liste)."
Core Translation Principles
Localization over literal translation:
- Adapt idioms and expressions naturally
- Maintain technical accuracy
- Ensure clarity for new users
Consistency:
- Use same term for same concept throughout
- Align with KoboToolbox UI terminology
- Flag UI terminology corrections in tracker
Formatting:
- Maintain spacing, paragraphs, structure when possible
- Use concise sentences
- Follow target language punctuation conventions
- Avoid slang: "gonna" → "going to"
- Convert HTML heading tags to markdown format:
<h2>→##,<h3>→###, etc. - Preserve all other HTML tags and attributes (iframe, section, etc.)
- Keep markdown link syntax intact
- Don't translate image paths or URLs
Acronyms:
- First use: Full translation followed by acronym in parentheses
- If no common translated acronym exists, use English acronym
- Example FR: "l'Agence des Nations Unies pour les réfugiés (HCNUR)"
- Example ES: "Agencia de las Naciones Unidas para los refugiados (ACNUR)"
Plain language:
- Technical content must be beginner-friendly
- Avoid unnecessary jargon
- Prioritize clarity
Natural language flow:
- Don't force English sentence structure
- Adapt word order to target language conventions
- Use natural expressions, not literal translations
Common Translation Patterns
HTML and Markdown Elements
Preserve HTML structure:
- Keep all HTML tags intact EXCEPT heading tags:
<iframe>,<section>, etc. - IMPORTANT: Convert HTML heading tags to markdown headings:
<h1>→#(markdown h1)<h2>→##(markdown h2)<h3>→###(markdown h3)<h4>→####(markdown h4)- Example:
<h2>Why KoboToolbox is unique</h2>→## Por qué KoboToolbox es único
- Maintain non-heading attributes:
dir="rtl",id,class,style, etc. - Do NOT translate HTML attributes or parameters
Metadata and front matter:
- Preserve "Last updated" lines with dates and GitHub links
- Format:
**Last updated:** <a href="[github-url]" class="reference">[date]</a> - Keep the GitHub URL and class unchanged
- Do NOT translate "Last updated" text - keep in English
Links and cross-references:
- Preserve markdown link syntax:
[Text](url.md) - Internal documentation links (same language): Keep relative links as-is - they automatically resolve to the correct language folder
- Example: In
docs/es/article_a.md, a link[other article](article_b.md)correctly points todocs/es/article_b.md
- Example: In
- Cross-language reference links: Update the path to point to the correct language directory
- From Spanish (
docs/es/), link to:- English:
../en/filename.md→ Example:[Read in English](../en/about_kobotoolbox.md) - French:
../fr/filename.md→ Example:[Lire en français](../fr/about_kobotoolbox.md) - Arabic:
../ar/filename.md→ Example:[اقرأ باللغة العربية](../ar/about_kobotoolbox.md)
- English:
- From French (
docs/fr/), link to:- English:
../en/filename.md - Spanish:
../es/filename.md - Arabic:
../ar/filename.md
- English:
- From Arabic (
docs/ar/), link to:- English:
../en/filename.md - Spanish:
../es/filename.md - French:
../fr/filename.md
- English:
- From Spanish (
- Cross-language link text:
- English: "Read in English"
- French: "Lire en français"
- Spanish: "Leer en español"
- Arabic: "اقرأ باللغة العربية"
- External links (https://...) translate the visible text but keep the URL unchanged
- Example:
[our mission](https://www.kobotoolbox.org/about-us/our-mission/)→ FR:[notre mission](https://www.kobotoolbox.org/about-us/our-mission/)
- Example:
Images:
- Keep image paths unchanged:
 - Do NOT translate image file names or paths
YouTube embeds:
- Update language parameters for target language:
cc_lang_pref=frfor Frenchcc_lang_pref=esfor Spanishcc_lang_pref=arfor Arabichl=fr/hl=es/hl=ar
- Keep all other iframe attributes unchanged
Language-Specific Formatting
Title and heading conventions:
- English: Title case for main headings ("About KoboToolbox: Accessible Data Collection")
- French: Capitalize first word and proper nouns only ("À propos de KoboToolbox : Collecte de données accessible à toutes et tous")
- Spanish: Capitalize first word and proper nouns only ("Acerca de KoboToolbox: Recolección de datos accesible para todas las personas")
- CRITICAL: Always use markdown heading syntax (
##,###) NOT HTML tags (<h2>,<h3>) - Note: Some titles may use h1 (
#), others h2 (##) - follow the source document's pattern
Inclusive language in titles:
- French: "à toutes et tous" (to all, everyone - feminine and masculine)
- Spanish: "para todas las personas" (for all people)
Section headers:
- Use
<h2>or<h3>tags for HTML format, or##/###for markdown - French examples: "Pourquoi KoboToolbox est unique", "Soutenir l'impact à échelle mondiale"
- Spanish examples: "Por qué KoboToolbox es único", "Apoyamos el impacto global"
- Note natural language variations: ES "Apoyamos" (we support) vs EN "Supporting" (present participle)
Arabic (RTL):
- Wrap Arabic content in
<section dir="rtl">tags - Keep heading IDs:
<h1 id="ar"> - Cross-reference links stay OUTSIDE the RTL section
- Arabic titles are placed inside RTL section with proper heading markup
Heading levels:
- Maintain heading hierarchy (h1, h2, h3)
- In Arabic translations, the h1 is inside the RTL section
- Title may be rendered as h2 (##) in some contexts, h1 in others - follow source
French-Specific Rules
"Data collection":
- Default: "collecte de données" (general concept)
- Specific project data: "collecte des données"
- Not: "collecte de données d'enquête"
"Submission/Record/Response": Context-dependent, see data-collection-terms.md for full guide:
- Use "soumission" for data management contexts, UI, Data table
- Use "réponse" or "formulaire" when less technical, avoid confusion
"Upload":
- Primary: "importer"
- Context: "envoyer" (e.g., send a form)
- Not: "télécharger"
"View" (UI):
- "mode" (mode Tableau, mode Carte)
- Not: "affichage" or "aperçu" for UI elements
Website terms:
- "site web" not "site Internet"
- "web" lowercase: "formulaire web Enketo"
Verbs with object pronouns:
- French naturally places pronouns before verbs: "les rend" (makes them)
- Don't force English word order
"Getting started with…" translation pattern:
- DO NOT translate as "Débuter avec" (awkward in French)
- Instead, adapt for context: "Découvrir…", "Introduction à…", "Pour commencer avec…"
- Example: "Getting started with KoboToolbox" → "Introduction à KoboToolbox" OR "Découvrir KoboToolbox"
"Press" (button):
- Use "appuyer sur" (not "presser")
- Example: "appuyer sur le bouton Soumettre"
"Let's go ahead and…" simplification:
- Simplify and omit "Let's go ahead"
- Example: "Let's go ahead and add the question" → "ajoutons la question"
- NOT: "allons-y et ajoutons la question"
Spanish-Specific Rules
"Management":
- Data/case management: "manejo" (manejo de datos, manejo de casos)
- Teams/projects: "gestión" (gestión de equipos, gestión de proyectos)
"Collect" (data):
- Use "recolectar" not "recopilar"
Gender-neutral when possible:
- Prefer "Se te dirigirá" over "serás dirigido/a"
- Use masculine when no neutral option: "los usuarios"
Natural word order:
- Spanish sentence structure may differ from English
- Example: "makes data accessible" → "permite que los datos sean accesibles" (not literal translation)
Cross-Language Rules
"Disaggregate":
- FR: "désagréger" (not "ventiler")
- ES: "desagregar"
"Case sensitive":
- FR: "sensibles à l'utilisation de majuscules et de minuscules" (not "sensible à la casse")
- ES: "distingue entre mayúsculas y minúsculas"
Organization and context-specific terms:
- "Social impact" → FR: "impact social" / ES: "impacto social"
- "Practitioners" → FR: "praticiens" (context: data collection practitioners = "mختصين في جمع البيانات" in Arabic)
- "Challenging settings" → FR: "environnements difficiles" / ES: "entornos desafiantes"
Adapting metaphors and expressions:
- Don't translate idioms literally
- Example: "accessible to/for" may require restructuring in target language
- French: "rendre accessible" (make accessible) rather than "être accessible à"
Terminology References
For detailed term-by-term translations, consult these reference files:
- brand-terminology.md - Brand terms, product names, user plans (OFFICIAL) - READ THIS FIRST
- form-building-terms.md - Form building, XLSForm, cascading selects (OFFICIAL)
- question-types.md - Question types and appearances (PREFERRED for types, special rules for appearances)
- ui-terminology.md - Formbuilder and KoboCollect UI (OFFICIAL) - READ THIS SECOND
- data-collection-terms.md - Data collection concepts (PREFERRED)
- documentation-terminology.md - Documentation website and Help Center terms (PREFERRED)
- course-terminology.md - Learning platform and course content (PREFERRED)
Translation Decision Tree
START: Do I see ANY of these terms in the source text?
├─ Server names (Global Server, EU Server)?
│ └─ 🚨 STOP → Open brand-terminology.md → Use EXACT translation with articles
│
├─ "Question Library"?
│ └─ 🚨 STOP → Must be "La bibliothèque de questions" / "La biblioteca de preguntas" (capital L)
│
├─ "Formbuilder"?
│ └─ 🚨 STOP → First reference must include English in parentheses
│ ES: "editor de formularios de KoboToolbox (Formbuilder)"
│ FR: "l'interface de création de formulaires KoboToolbox (KoboToolbox Formbuilder)"
│
├─ UI element (button, tab, menu - like DEPLOY, NEW, FORM, DATA)?
│ └─ Check ui-terminology.md → Use OFFICIAL translation → Match UI capitalization
│
├─ Draft / Brouillon / Borrador?
│ └─ Capitalize in UI contexts: "Brouillon" / "Borrador"
│
├─ XLSForm technical term (list_name, cascading select)?
│ └─ Written: English + translation in parentheses
│ Subtitles: English only
│ See form-building-terms.md
│
├─ Question appearance (minimal, picker, rating)?
│ └─ Written: English + translation in parentheses
│ Subtitles: English only
│ See question-types.md
│
├─ Form building or data collection term?
│ └─ Check if OFFICIAL or PREFERRED
│ Apply OFFICIAL exactly; adapt PREFERRED for context
│ See relevant reference file
│
├─ Course or educational content?
│ └─ Use PREFERRED translations
│ Apply appropriate pronoun formality
│ See course-terminology.md
│
└─ Unsure about gender inclusivity?
└─ Use gender-neutral language
FR: vous + parenthetical markers (e)
ES: neutral constructions or tú with "se te"
Enhanced Quality Checklist
Before finalizing translation:
** CRITICAL - Brand & UI Terms:**
- All server names use EXACT translations from brand-terminology.md (with articles!)
- "Question Library" has capital article: "La bibliothèque" / "La biblioteca"
- Formbuilder includes English on first reference
- All UI elements (buttons, tabs) match ui-terminology.md exactly
- UI terms capitalized correctly (Brouillon, Borrador, etc.)
Structure & Formatting:
- HTML heading tags converted to markdown (## for h2, ### for h3, etc.)
- All other HTML tags preserved and unchanged (iframe, section, etc.)
- Internal documentation links kept as relative paths (they auto-resolve correctly)
- Cross-language reference links updated to use directory paths (../en/, ../es/, ../fr/, ../ar/)
- External links: translated text, unchanged URLs
- Image paths unchanged
- YouTube embed language parameters updated (cc_lang_pref, hl)
- Arabic content wrapped in
<section dir="rtl">tags - Heading hierarchy maintained
Language & Style:
- Correct formality level (vous/tu, usted/tú) for content type
- Gender-inclusive language throughout (especially Spanish double forms)
- XLSForm/technical terms follow English + translation pattern
- Consistent terminology (same term for same concept)
- Plain language, beginner-friendly
- Proper acronym handling (full term + acronym first use)
- Target language punctuation conventions
- No slang or colloquialisms
- Natural word order (not forced English structure)
French-Specific:
- "collecte de données" (not "collecte des données" unless specific data)
- "importer" for upload (not "télécharger")
- Gender-inclusive forms used: "utilisatrices et utilisateurs"
- Natural pronoun placement: "les rend" not forced English order
Spanish-Specific:
- "recolectar" for collect (not "recopilar")
- "manejo" for data/case management, "gestión" for teams/projects
- Gender-inclusive: "los/as usuarios/as" throughout
- Neutral constructions preferred: "Se te dirigirá"
- Natural sentence structure adapted from English
Translation Error Examples
Real-World Translation Patterns
Example from actual translations:
Source English: "KoboToolbox makes high quality data accessible to social impact organizations worldwide."
✅ CORRECT French (adapted structure): "KoboToolbox rend les données de haute qualité accessibles aux organisations à impact social dans le monde entier."
✅ CORRECT Spanish (adapted structure): "KoboToolbox permite que los datos de alta calidad sean accesibles para organizaciones de impacto social a nivel mundial."
Key observations:
- French naturally restructures: "makes data accessible" → "rend les données accessibles" (makes the data accessible)
- Spanish restructures differently: "permite que los datos sean accesibles" (permits that the data be accessible)
- Both translations adapt to natural target language expressions rather than forcing English structure
Source English: "Designed by data collection practitioners specifically for challenging settings"
✅ CORRECT French: "Conçu par des praticiens de la collecte de données spécifiquement pour des environnements difficiles"
✅ CORRECT Spanish: "Fue diseñado por personas profesionales de la recolección de datos específicamente para entornos desafiantes"
✅ CORRECT Arabic: "مُصممة من قبل مختصين في جمع البيانات للتعامل مع الظروف الصعبة بشكل خاص"
Key observations:
- Spanish uses gender-inclusive "personas profesionales" instead of literal "practitioners"
- Spanish adds "Fue" (was) for natural past tense flow
- Arabic restructures significantly: "designed... for dealing with difficult circumstances especially"
- All prioritize natural expression over literal translation
Example 1: Server Names
Source: "Most users sign up for an account on our Global KoboToolbox Server."
❌ WRONG Spanish: "La mayoría de los usuarios se registran en nuestro Servidor Global de KoboToolbox."
✅ CORRECT Spanish: "La mayoría de los/as usuarios/as se registran en nuestro Servidor Global."
Errors fixed:
- Removed "de KoboToolbox" (not in official name)
- Added gender inclusivity: "los/as usuarios/as"
❌ WRONG French: "La plupart des utilisateurs s'inscrivent sur notre serveur KoboToolbox mondial."
✅ CORRECT French: "La plupart des utilisatrices et utilisateurs s'inscrivent sur notre Le serveur KoboToolbox mondial."
Errors fixed:
- Added definite article "Le" (capitalized)
- Added gender inclusivity: "utilisatrices et utilisateurs"
Example 2: Question Library
Source: "Build a form using a template from the question library."
❌ WRONG Spanish: "Elabora un formulario usando una plantilla de la biblioteca de preguntas."
✅ CORRECT Spanish: "Elabora un formulario usando una plantilla de La biblioteca de preguntas."
Error fixed: Capitalized "L" in "La" (brand feature name)
Example 3: Formbuilder First Reference
Source: "Create a new form using the KoboToolbox Formbuilder."
❌ WRONG French: "Créez un nouveau formulaire en utilisant l'interface de création de formulaires KoboToolbox."
✅ CORRECT French: "Créez un nouveau formulaire en utilisant l'interface de création de formulaires KoboToolbox (KoboToolbox Formbuilder)."
Error fixed: Added English term in parentheses on first reference
Example 4: HTML Headings to Markdown
Source (English with HTML tags):
<h3>Why KoboToolbox is unique</h3>
KoboToolbox is hosted and maintained by the international nonprofit organization...
<h3>Supporting global impact</h3>
KoboToolbox is the most widely used data collection tool...
✅ CORRECT Spanish (converted to markdown):
## Por qué KoboToolbox es único
KoboToolbox es una organización internacional sin fines de lucro...
## Apoyamos el impacto global
KoboToolbox es la herramienta de recolección de datos más utilizada...
❌ WRONG Spanish (keeping HTML tags):
<h3>Por qué KoboToolbox es único</h3>
KoboToolbox es una organización internacional sin fines de lucro...
Error fixed: Converted HTML <h3> tags to markdown ## (since h3 corresponds to ##)
Key observations:
- Always convert HTML heading tags to markdown format
- Maintain the heading level: h1→#, h2→##, h3→###, h4→####
- Keep all other HTML tags (iframe, section, etc.) intact
Example 5: Internal and Cross-Language Links
Source (English file in docs/en/p_codes.md):
# Including P-Codes in the Output Data
[Lire en français](../fr/p_codes.md) | [Leer en español](../es/p_codes.md)
If using cascading lists, please [follow the instructions](cascading_select.md)
for cascading selects.
✅ CORRECT Spanish translation (file in docs/es/p_codes.md):
# Incluir P-Codes en los datos de salida
[Read in English](../en/p_codes.md) | [Lire en français](../fr/p_codes.md)
Si utilizas listas en cascada, por favor [sigue las instrucciones](cascading_select.md)
para selecciones en cascada.
Key observations:
- Internal doc link
cascading_select.mdstays as-is (relative path auto-resolves todocs/es/cascading_select.md) - Cross-language links updated to use directory structure (
../en/,../fr/) - Link text translated appropriately for each language
❌ WRONG Spanish translation:
[Read in English](p_codes.md) | [Lire en français](p_codes_fr.md)
Si utilizas listas en cascada, por favor [sigue las instrucciones](cascading_select_es.md)
Errors:
- Cross-language links don't specify the language directory
- Internal link incorrectly uses
_essuffix instead of relying on relative path
Example 6: Natural Language Flow
Source: "To support our nonprofit users, we provide our tools for free under the Community Plan."
✅ CORRECT French (natural structure): "Pour soutenir nos utilisateurs sans but lucratif, nous fournissons nos outils gratuitement dans le cadre du plan Community."
✅ CORRECT Spanish (natural structure): "Para apoyar a nuestros usuarios sin fines de lucro, proporcionamos nuestras herramientas de forma gratuita bajo el plan Community."
Key observations:
- French: "for free" → "gratuitement" (as adverb, not "pour gratuit")
- French: "under the plan" → "dans le cadre du plan" (in the framework of)
- Spanish: "for free" → "de forma gratuita" (in free form)
- Spanish: "nonprofit users" → "usuarios sin fines de lucro" (different word order)
Notes
Reporting issues: If UI terminology needs correction, flag in comment and record in appropriate tracker or communications channel.
Working document: This is a living guideline. Feedback welcome. More languages and terms will be added.
Reference documents:
- KoboToolbox Academy Course Style Guide
- Essentials Translation Glossary (Master)
- Transifex UI translations
- UN Women Gender Inclusive Language (Spanish)
- Clear Global terminology documents
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