| name | translation-style |
| description | Translation style guide for German (de) and Alman (al) content in the Alman repo. Use when translating, reviewing, or editing any German or Alman text — site pages, spec i18n blocks, UI strings, or examples. |
Translation style
Principles for all German (de) and Alman (al) text in this project: the
spec i18n blocks, the About page, UI strings, and any future localized
content.
No language purism
This project does not pursue language purism. We are not the Goethe-Institut.
- Write the German that is actually used in practice — contemporary German as
found in real tech writing, product copy, and everyday usage — not textbook
or "Reindeutsch" purist German.
- Avoid purist coinages when a loanword or anglicism is the established term.
This applies especially to technical vocabulary.
| Prefer (used in practice) | Avoid (purist) |
|---|
| Open Source | quelloffen |
| Website | Netzauftritt, Internetpräsenz |
| Repository | Quellcodeverwaltung (as a translation of "repo") |
| Benchmark | Vergleichstest, Leistungsvergleich |
| Feature | Funktionalitätsmerkmal |
| Link | Verknüpfung, Verweis |
| E-Mail | elektronische Post |
- The test: what would a German developer or a mainstream German tech
publication write today? If Duden lists the anglicism and real usage prefers
it, use it.
- This is not a license for Denglisch. Where the native word is the normal
everyday term (herunterladen, Anwendung, Einstellungen in UI contexts),
use it. Follow practice, not ideology, in either direction.
Fidelity
- Translate the English source faithfully: same content, same structure, no
additions, omissions, or editorializing.
- Keep the
de and al versions structurally parallel to each other. The
Alman About page renders a word-level diff against the German one, so
divergence beyond the grammar differences breaks the diff.
Alman grammar compliance
- Only the
al text uses Alman grammar; the de text is Standard German.
- The
al text must comply with the Alman spec itself: invariant die/ein,
genitive der (or von die), invariant -e adjective endings, resolved
preposition-article contractions, relativizer das (with die accepted),
singular sie for generic persons.
- Quoted Standard German forms (e.g. der/die/das cited as examples) are
mentions, not uses — they stay as-is and are exempt from linting.
- After editing spec
i18n blocks, regenerate the documents with
uv run python -m alman.build. Validate Alman site content with
uv run pytest tests/test_site_content.py.
