| name | site-i18n |
| description | Translation workflow for the Voxylio site (next-intl). Use whenever site copy changes, a new locale is added, or messages files are touched — covers the key-parity guard, tone rules per language, and the exact files a locale lives in. |
Voxylio site translations
The site (Next.js + next-intl v4) ships in ten locales: en (the
reference), zh-CN, zh-TW, ja, ko, fr, de, es, it,
pt-BR. All copy lives in
site/messages/<locale>.json — components NEVER hardcode user-facing
strings.
Invariants
en.json is the schema. Every locale must expose exactly its
key tree — no missing keys, no extras. Enforced by
node site/scripts/check-messages.mjs (script i18n:check in
site/package.json). Run it after ANY messages change.- Copy changes touch every locale in the same commit. Never leave
a locale behind with stale meaning; translate at the same time.
- Keys are stable identifiers — renaming a key means updating every
locale AND the components using it.
Adding a locale
site/src/i18n/routing.ts — add the code to locales and its
native name to LOCALE_LABELS (the shadcn Select shows endonyms).- Create
site/messages/<code>.json by translating en.json
(full file, same key order).
pnpm --filter site i18n:check then pnpm --filter site build
(prerenders every locale; a missing key fails the build).- Do NOT touch
site/src/i18n/request.ts — it resolves messages
dynamically per locale.
Translation rules
- Tone per language: FR vouvoie on the site (the extension UI tutoie);
ES/IT use tú/tu, PT-BR uses você, DE uses "du"; JA/KO/ZH use the
standard polite register; EN stays neutral-direct. Marketing stays
concrete, never hype.
- The account requirement is part of the copy since v1.7: dubbing needs
a Google sign-in (free plan included). Never reintroduce "no account"
claims; the honest angle is "no card, no quota". Owner decision: never
write "the free plan is enough" — it undersells Pro.
- Product terms NOT translated: Voxylio, Chrome, Chrome Web Store,
GitHub, Pro, DeepL, Polar, shadow DOM, popup, MIT.
- Prices are in USD — the Polar product is USD-based, never advertise
EUR. Local formatting: $7.99 (en/ja/ko/zh), 7,99 $ (fr/es/de/it),
US$ 7,99 (pt-BR). Card figures live in
Pricing.price* keys.
- "65+ languages" claims: keep in sync with
packages/core/src/languages.js (currently 71 entries — the copy
says "more than 65" on purpose; update everywhere at once if the
claim changes).
<accent>…</accent> in Hero.title is a rich-text tag — keep it
wrapping the equivalent words, never translate the tag itself.{date} and other ICU placeholders must survive verbatim.
Where language ALSO appears (outside messages)
- Extension UI strings:
apps/chrome/static/_locales/{fr,en} (chrome
i18n — separate system, French is the source of truth there).
- Store listing:
extension/STORE.md.
- OG/meta:
Meta.* keys per locale (title ≤ 60 chars, description
≤ 160 chars for clean SERP display).
