translation-style

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.