Professional Translation Skill

Provide professional, high-quality translation using Claude's native language understanding and generation capabilities.

Overview

This skill enables accurate, context-aware translation between languages while preserving:

• Technical terminology

• Code blocks and syntax

• Markdown formatting

• Cultural appropriateness

• Original tone and intent

Translation Workflow

Step 1: Analyze Source Content

Before translating:

• Identify the source language (if not explicitly provided)

• Understand the content type (technical documentation, article, UI text, etc.)

• Note any technical terms, code blocks, or special formatting

• Determine the appropriate tone and style

Step 2: Perform Translation

Apply professional translation principles:

Accuracy:

• Preserve the exact meaning of the original text

• Maintain technical accuracy, especially for domain-specific content

• Keep numerical values, dates, and proper nouns appropriate for the target locale

Fluency:

• Produce natural, idiomatic text in the target language

• Avoid literal word-for-word translation

• Use appropriate sentence structure for the target language

Format Preservation:

• Keep all Markdown syntax exactly as-is (headings, lists, links, etc.)

• Preserve code blocks completely unchanged

• Maintain image references and paths

• Keep HTML/JSX tags and attributes unchanged

• CRITICAL for MDX - Bold/Italic spacing:

• Always add a space after bold or italic before the next character

• Example: Text: word → Ensure space after the second **

• Correct: 粗体： 文字 (space after ** )

• Wrong: **粗体：**文字 (no space, will break MDX rendering)

• This is especially important for non-Latin languages (Chinese, Korean, Japanese)

• Apply to all bold/italic patterns: ... , ... , ... , ...

Technical Terms:

• For widely recognized technical terms (API, HTTP, Git), keep in English or use standard translations

• For product names and brand names, keep original

• Use target language conventions for technical documentation

Step 3: Language-Specific Guidelines

Chinese (Simplified - zh):

• Use simplified Chinese characters (简体中文)

• Technical terms: Keep English when widely used (e.g., API, SDK) or use standard Chinese translations

• Punctuation: Use Chinese punctuation (。、，！？) for text, but keep English punctuation in code

• Tone: Professional and clear, use 您 for formal contexts

French (fr):

• Use proper French accents (é, è, à, ô, etc.)

• Technical terms: Use standard French translations when they exist (e.g., "ordinateur" not "computer")

• Tone: Maintain formal "vous" unless context clearly indicates informal tone

• Numbers: Use French formatting (space for thousands: 1 000 not 1,000)

Korean (ko):

• Use appropriate honorific level (formal 합니다 style for documentation)

• Technical terms: Common terms stay in English, but use Korean for general concepts

• Tone: Professional and respectful

• Mixed script: Acceptable to mix Korean with English technical terms

English (en):

• Use clear, professional English

• Follow US spelling conventions unless specified otherwise

• Technical terms: Use industry-standard terminology

• Tone: Professional but accessible

Step 4: Quality Check

Before delivering translation:

• Verify all code blocks remain unchanged

• Check that Markdown formatting is preserved

• Ensure technical terms are handled consistently

• Confirm the translation reads naturally in the target language

• Validate that links, images, and references still work

Output Format

Present translations clearly:

For single translations: Provide the translated text directly, maintaining all original formatting.

For multiple languages: Use clear section headers to separate each language:

English (en)

[Translated content]

中文 (zh)

[Translated content]

Français (fr)

[Translated content]

한국어 (ko)

[Translated content]

Special Cases

Code Comments

• Translate comments inside code blocks only if explicitly requested

• Default: Keep code (including comments) unchanged

Mixed Content

• For content mixing multiple languages, preserve the intentional multilingual parts

• Only translate what should be translated

Cultural References

• Adapt idioms and cultural references to equivalent concepts in target language

• When no equivalent exists, provide a culturally neutral translation that preserves meaning

Acronyms and Abbreviations

• Keep widely-known acronyms in original form (HTML, CSS, API, REST, etc.)

• Spell out and translate acronyms specific to the source language

Examples

Example 1: Technical Documentation

Source (en):

Getting Started

Install the package using npm:

```bash npm install my-package ```

The API provides three endpoints for data retrieval.

Target (zh):

快速开始

使用 npm 安装该包：

```bash npm install my-package ```

该 API 提供三个数据检索端点。

Example 2: Preserving Technical Terms

Source (en): "The React component uses hooks for state management."

Target (zh): "该 React 组件使用 hooks 进行状态管理。"

Target (fr): "Le composant React utilise des hooks pour la gestion d'état."

Target (ko): "React 컴포넌트는 상태 관리를 위해 hooks를 사용합니다."

Example 3: Markdown Preservation

Source:

Note: This is important.

See documentation for details.

Translation maintains exact same structure:

注意： 这很重要。

详情请参阅文档。

Best Practices

• Context is key: Understanding the content type and audience improves translation quality

• Consistency: Use the same translation for recurring terms throughout a document

• Natural flow: Prioritize readability in the target language over literal translation

• Preserve intent: Maintain the original purpose and tone of the content

• Ask when uncertain: If target language or specific terminology is unclear, ask for clarification

Notes

• This skill uses Claude's native multilingual capabilities, no external translation APIs required

• Translation quality benefits from understanding the full context of the content

• For very large documents, consider translating section by section to maintain quality

• Always preserve code, links, and formatting exactly as they appear in the source