cf-translate

name	cf-translate
description	Translate content into 15+ languages preserving brand voice, citations, and SEO. Three localization levels.
disable-model-invocation	true
argument-hint	[target-language]
effort	high

Content Translation — Multilingual Publishing

Translate publication-ready ContentForge content into 15+ languages while preserving brand voice integrity, citation accuracy, and SEO optimization. Three localization levels let you control the depth of cultural adaptation.

When to Use

Use /contentforge:cf-translate when you need:

• Translated content for international markets (15+ languages)
• Brand-consistent multilingual content that matches your source voice in the target language
• SEO-localized content with keywords adapted for target market search behavior
• Citation-safe translations where URLs, source references, and inline citations remain intact
• Cultural adaptation beyond word-for-word translation (adapted or transcreated levels)

Prerequisite: Content must be produced (or imported) through the ContentForge pipeline first. Raw untreated content should go through /contentforge:create-content before translation.

Supported Languages

Code	Language	Direction	Notes
es	Spanish	LTR	Spain + Latin America variants
fr	French	LTR	France + Canadian French
de	German	LTR	Compound word handling
pt	Portuguese	LTR	Brazil + Portugal variants
it	Italian	LTR
nl	Dutch	LTR
ja	Japanese	LTR	Honorifics and formality levels
zh	Chinese (Simplified)	LTR	Simplified by default, Traditional on request
ko	Korean	LTR	Honorific levels mapped to brand formality
ar	Arabic	RTL	Right-to-left layout considerations
hi	Hindi	LTR	Devanagari script handling
ru	Russian	LTR
pl	Polish	LTR
tr	Turkish	LTR
vi	Vietnamese	LTR	Diacritics preservation

Localization Levels

Literal (Level 1)

Word-for-word structural translation. Preserves the exact document structure, sentence order, and paragraph boundaries. Translates meaning accurately but does not adapt cultural references, humor, or idiomatic expressions.

Best for: Technical documentation, legal disclaimers, regulatory content, data-heavy research papers.

Adapted (Level 2) — Recommended

Cultural adaptation with structural fidelity. Adjusts cultural references (dates, currencies, idioms, humor) to resonate in the target market while preserving the original content structure and argument flow.

Best for: Articles, blog posts, whitepapers, marketing content for established global brands.

Transcreated (Level 3)

Reimagined for the target market. Preserves the core message and intent but rebuilds the content to feel native in the target language. May restructure sections, replace examples, and adjust tone for maximum local impact.

Best for: Advertising copy, brand storytelling, thought leadership targeting specific regional audiences.

Required Inputs

Minimum Required:

• Source Content -- Google Drive URL, file ID, or local .docx path (must be ContentForge output)
• Target Language -- Language code from the supported list (e.g., es, fr, de)
• Brand -- Brand profile name (must exist, source language profile required)

Optional:

• Localization Level -- literal, adapted, or transcreated (defaults to adapted)
• Regional Variant -- Specify when multiple variants exist (e.g., es-latam, pt-br, fr-ca)
• Target Keywords -- Override SEO keywords for target market (auto-researched if not provided)
• Glossary Override -- Brand-specific term translations that override defaults

How to Use

Interactive Mode

/contentforge:cf-translate

Prompts you for:

1. Source content (URL or file path)
2. Target language (select from 15 options)
3. Brand profile
4. Localization level (literal / adapted / transcreated)
5. Regional variant (if applicable)

Quick Mode

/contentforge:cf-translate "https://drive.google.com/file/d/ABC123" --lang=es --brand=AcmeMed --level=adapted

Multi-Language Batch

/contentforge:cf-translate "https://drive.google.com/file/d/ABC123" --lang=es,fr,de,pt --brand=AcmeMed --level=adapted

Queues translations for all specified languages and processes them sequentially.

What Happens

Phase 1: Source Analysis (1-2 minutes)

• Loads source content and brand profile
• Identifies content type, word count, citation count, SEO keywords
• Detects source language (auto-detected or confirmed)
• Quality Gate: Source must be ContentForge output with quality score >= 7.0

Phase 2: Element Classification (1-2 minutes)

• Separates content into translatable and immutable elements
• Translatable: Body text, headings, meta tags, alt text, CTAs
• Immutable: Citation URLs, DOIs, proper nouns (configurable), brand names, code snippets, email addresses, phone numbers
• Creates element map with translation instructions per element
• Quality Gate: All elements classified, immutable list confirmed

Phase 3: Translation Execution (3-5 minutes)

• Translator Agent (11-translator) processes content section by section
• Applies localization level rules (literal / adapted / transcreated)
• Uses DeepL MCP if available (optional) -- falls back to built-in translation
• Preserves document structure, heading hierarchy, and formatting
• Quality Gate: All translatable elements processed, document structure intact

Phase 4: Brand Voice Mapping (2-3 minutes)

• Loads brand voice mapping from config/multilingual-patterns.json
• Maps source voice characteristics to target language equivalents
  • Example: "authoritative" in English maps to "formal, datos primero" in Spanish
• Applies target language formality defaults
• Adjusts personality markers for cultural appropriateness
• Quality Gate: Brand voice rating >= 8/10 in target language

Phase 5: Citation Preservation Check (1 minute)

• Verifies all citation URLs remain unchanged
• Translates article and book titles in bibliography (preserving original in brackets)
• Confirms inline citation formatting matches source pattern
• Verifies DOIs, ISBNs, and reference identifiers are untouched
• Quality Gate: Zero citation URL changes, zero broken references

Phase 6: SEO Adaptation (2-3 minutes)

• Researches target market keywords (or uses provided overrides)
• Translates meta title (<= 60 chars in target language)
• Translates meta description (<= 155 chars in target language)
• Adjusts keyword density for target language norms
• Generates localized URL slug
• Quality Gate: Meta tags within char limits, keyword density within target range

Phase 7: Target Language Humanization (2-3 minutes)

• Runs Humanizer Agent for target language fluency
• Removes AI telltale phrases specific to target language (loaded from config/multilingual-patterns.json)
• Checks sentence variety (burstiness) against target language norms
• Ensures natural reading flow for native speakers
• Quality Gate: Target language burstiness >= 0.7, zero AI patterns in target language

Phase 8: Quality Verification (1-2 minutes)

• Readability check calibrated for target language (grade level equivalents)
• Brand voice consistency rating (target: >= 8/10)
• Citation integrity confirmation (zero errors)
• SEO keyword density within +/- 0.5% of target
• Back-translation spot check (3-5 key sentences translated back to source for meaning verification)
• Quality Gate: All checks pass, composite translation score >= 8.0/10

Phase 9: Output (1 minute)

• Generates translated .docx with proper formatting
• Delivers via the brand's tracking backend (tracking.backend in the brand profile): Google Drive folder, Airtable attachment, or local filesystem (~/Documents/ContentForge/{brand}/{type}/{YYYY-MM}/{slug}_{lang}.docx)
• Creates translation report with quality metrics
• Adds a translation entry to the tracking backend

Output

Translated Content Package — SYNTHETIC EXAMPLE, fabricated for illustration:

Translation Complete: "AI in Healthcare: 2026 Trends" --> Spanish (es)

Processing Time: 16 minutes
Translation Score: 8.8/10

Localization Level: Adapted
Regional Variant: es (Spain, neutral)

Quality Metrics:
- Brand Voice Consistency: 9.0/10 (authoritative mapped to "formal, datos primero")
- Citation Integrity: 100% (14 URLs unchanged, 14 titles translated)
- SEO Adaptation: 8.5/10 (meta tags localized, keyword density 2.0%)
- Readability: 8.8/10 (Grade 11 equivalent for Spanish)
- Humanization: 9.0/10 (burstiness 0.74, zero AI patterns in Spanish)

Content Stats:
- Source Word Count: 1,947
- Translated Word Count: 2,134 (Spanish typically +10% vs English)
- Citations Preserved: 14/14 (100%)
- Immutable Elements: 23 (all preserved)
- Back-Translation Check: 5/5 sentences verified

Output Location:
Google Drive: ContentForge Output/AcmeMed/es/AI-in-Healthcare-2026-Trends_es_v1.0.docx

Translation Report:
Google Drive: ContentForge Output/AcmeMed/es/AI-in-Healthcare-2026-Trends_es_translation-report.json

Brand Voice Mapping Examples

The Translator Agent uses config/multilingual-patterns.json to map voice characteristics:

Source Voice (EN)	Spanish (es)	French (fr)	German (de)	Japanese (ja)
Authoritative	Formal, datos primero	Assertif, ton expert	Sachlich, faktenbasiert	Formal keigo, data-driven
Conversational	Cercano, tuteo	Decontracte, tutoiement	Locker, Du-Form	Casual desu/masu
Technical	Preciso, terminologia exacta	Technique, jargon specialise	Fachsprachlich, Komposita	Senmon-teki, katakana loanwords
Witty	Ingenioso, juegos de palabras	Spirituel, jeux de mots	Geistreich, Wortspiel	Witty is rare; use light irony

Immutable Element Handling

These elements are never translated:

Element Type	Example	Handling
Citation URLs	https://doi.org/10.1234	Preserved exactly
Brand names	"ContentForge", "AcmeMed"	Kept in original form
Proper nouns (people)	"Dr. Sarah Chen"	Kept unless transcreated level
Code snippets	config.json	Never translated
Email addresses	[e-mail]	Preserved exactly
Phone numbers	[phone]	Preserved (format may adapt)
Product names	"MedAssist Pro"	Kept in original form
DOIs / ISBNs	10.1038/s41586-024	Preserved exactly

MCP Integrations

Optional (none required)

• Google Drive -- Only needed if the brand's tracking backend is Google Sheets + Drive, or when running in Cowork (sandbox persistence). Local and Airtable backends work without it.
• DeepL -- Machine translation baseline. If a DeepL MCP server is configured in .mcp.json, the Translator Agent uses its output as a starting point and refines for brand voice, cultural adaptation, and SEO. Before recommending a DeepL MCP package, verify it exists and is maintained on npm (npm view <package> version). When unavailable, the Translator Agent handles all translation natively -- this is the default and works fine.

Relative Effort

Literal is the fastest level; adapted adds cultural-adaptation passes; transcreated is the most thorough and may restructure content. Actual time varies with content length, model speed, and MCP availability — do not promise specific durations.

Limitations

• Source content must be ContentForge output (or at minimum, well-structured markdown with citations)
• RTL languages (Arabic) require downstream layout adjustments in CMS/publishing tool
• Transcreation may change content structure significantly -- review recommended
• Regional variants (es-latam vs es-es) affect vocabulary but not pipeline structure
• DeepL free tier has character limits -- monitor usage for high-volume batches

Troubleshooting

"Brand profile not found"

Error: Brand profile "{brand}" not found at
  ~/.claude-marketing/{brand-slug}/Brand-Guidelines/{BrandName}-brand-profile.json
Action: Translation requires a brand profile for voice mapping.
  Run /contentforge:brand-setup "{brand}" first, then retry.

"Source quality score below threshold"

Cause: Source content scored < 7.0 in the original pipeline. Solution: Re-run /contentforge:create-content or /contentforge:content-refresh on the source first.

"Brand voice mapping not found for [language]"

Cause: Target language not configured in config/multilingual-patterns.json. Solution: Check supported languages list. If the language is supported but mapping is missing, update the config.

"Citation count mismatch after translation"

Cause: A citation was accidentally merged or split during translation. Solution: Translator Agent will auto-retry the affected section. If persistent, check for unusual citation formats in the source.

"Meta title exceeds character limit in target language"

Cause: Target language is more verbose than English (common for German, Spanish). Solution: Translator Agent auto-shortens while preserving primary keyword. Review the shortened version.

Related Skills

• /contentforge:create-content -- Produce source content (prerequisite)
• /contentforge:batch-process -- Batch translate multiple pieces
• /contentforge:content-refresh -- Update source before translating
• /contentforge:cf-social-adapt -- Adapt translated content for social platforms

---

Agents: Translator (11-translator), Humanizer (06.5-humanizer); pseudocode reference: utilities/translation-manager.md (prose doc, not a script) Quality Guarantee: Brand voice >= 8/10, zero citation errors, SEO keywords adapted for target market