Studio culture & creative process / DIJION
Turkish and English interface copy: the same task in two languages
A translation checklist covering action, state and terminology consistency, longer text and locale-specific formatting.
Translating a button’s words does not guarantee the same expectation in both languages. Save, Send and Confirm describe different outcomes. Start with the person’s task and the operation result rather than isolated vocabulary. Preserve the same behavioral promise in each language.
Create a small terminology guide
In an illustrative content app, a draft, publication and record are different things. Use consistent terminology across screens and note when an English word needs different Turkish translations according to context. Include the usage boundary as well as the translated term.
Scroll the table horizontally to see all columns.
| Türkçe | English | Usage boundary |
|---|---|---|
| Taslağı kaydet | Save draft | Does not publish content |
| Gönder | Send | Starts delivery to a recipient |
| Seçimlerimi onayla | Confirm my choices | Applies the current preferences |
| Yeniden dene | Try again | The retry behavior must be defined |
Translate status and errors with their context
Saved is appropriate only when the expected persistence really succeeded. Connection lost does not explain every server error. Give the translator the screen, trigger, reason for any length constraint and expected next action. A context-free string list can collapse different tasks into the same word.
Allow for length and locale-specific formats
W3C’s internationalization explanation distinguishes designing for language support from localizing for a particular audience. Dates, numbers and plurals are interface content too. Check Turkish casing, including i and ı. Do not remove important meaning simply to fit a fixed-width container.
Preserve the task during language changes
After switching languages, the person should remain in the equivalent article, record or form step. A language preference change should not discard drafts or reset consent choices. If a translation is unavailable, explicitly design that situation rather than silently sending the person elsewhere. Verify that internal links follow the current language too.
Translation quality checks
- Complete the same core task end to end in both languages.
- Review loading, empty states, errors, help and accessible names.
- Exercise long headings, larger text and narrow viewports.
- Check date, number, plural and language annotations.
The final review should go beyond spelling. Ask what action the person expects and what the system actually does in each language. These examples provide a starting terminology guide, not a universal translation list for every product.