Inkipedia:Policy/Translation
The Splatoon series is primarily produced in Japan and is officially localized in many different languages across different regions. As Inkipedia is an English language wiki aiming to document all Splatoon related information, it is necessary to translate non-English material to ensure full and accurate documentation. Unaltered transcriptions of the non-English material are expected alongside the English translation. English translations of alternate-language names are additionally displayed on the wiki as supplemental material.
General guidelines
Translation refers to translating content from one language to another as accurate to the source material as possible, while localization refers to translation done with the intent of adapting the content to fit the target language's cultural context a bit better; ie. Kuma-san's English translation would be "Mr. Bear" whereas the name's English localization per official material is "Mr. Grizz".
See the list of official localizations here; when adding material in languages that the main Splatoon series games are not localized into, editors must provide a source confirming its status as official material, or else it will be removed from the wiki (ie. Portuguese).
Please note that while the English localization is known to not be completely faithful to its Japanese source material, this is the English-language Splatoon wiki that primarily reflects English media and subsequently the English localization choices. Despite how editors may view the "canonicity" of localized Splatoon information on the wiki, all localized Splatoon information is considered official material to this wiki, and therefore we have a due diligence to reflect it objectively. Notes about localization discrepancies or lost-in-translation nuance are very welcome, but please treat all official Splatoon media as properly official and accurate on Inkipedia.
You may see terms such as "NoA English" used in wiki discussion; "NoA" refers to Nintendo of America, the regional division of Nintendo that handles the North American English localization of the Splatoon series, contrast the European English localization by Nintendo of Europe (NoE). Please note that "NoE [language]" is not considered a language on its own, and the localization should be referred to as the "EU [language]" release.
The term "romanized" refers to transliteration of words from languages that use non-Latin scripts into English-readable words via the Latin alphabet.
Translation of paratextual content such as promotional material generally is a lower priority than translation of in-game content.
When translating outside of the names in other languages section, in-universe terms should be substituted with their English equivalent.
In general, words or phrases from other languages should be italicized in articles. Phrases from other languages should generally not be included in the format of "term (original term in other language)" ie. "squid (イカ, ika). Inkipedia as a wiki lists alternate localization equivalent terms primarily in the dedicated "names in other Languages" section; please avoid the "official English name (source language name)" ie. "Shiver (フウカ, fūka)" listings in lead format seen on other wikis. An exception is made in cases when a term lacks an official English equivalent, in which case the lead should include the following formatting: "alternate-language name (English translation)" ie. "うすしお vs コンソメ vs のりしお (Lightly Salted vs. Consommé vs. Salted Seaweed)".
Etymology section guidelines
Etymology refers to the linguistic history and meaning of a word or phrase; as the Splatoon series frequently employs wordplay and pop culture references in the various character, gear and stage names, documenting the related etymology provides further insight to the topics at hand. Handling etymology is by its nature somewhat speculative, but as the goal is to explain terms' meaning and relevance the practice is encouraged on Inkipedia.
Etymology sections should be the last section placed within an article, unless notes and/or references sections are present in which case it should be the penultimate section.
When referencing a term/phrase to explain general usage in etymology sections, please italicize the term/phrase in question, ie. "a squid is a type of marine animal".
The etymology section on an article should briefly highlight the English version of the terms at hands' etymology first, then alternate localizations' equivalent terms and etymologies in a subsection underneath called the names in other languages section. Internal names (names found exclusively within the games' files rather than in-game or in promotional material) should be noted in a separate subsection called internal names underneath the names in other languages subsection.
Etymological descriptions should be brief and to the point, explaining what terms mean especially in cases of there being pop culture references at play; there's no need to list related words' entire linguistic evolution. Links to Wiktionary or other online dictionaries are encouraged; in cases of retrieving a word's definition or etymology from a particular source, please add the source as a citation in that section. In cases where a term's etymology is very self-evident or otherwise not in need of explanation, editors may decide with consensus to truncate the etymology section to just a name in other languages section.
Here's an example page showing how to place an etymology section with all its components per the guidelines found on this policy page.
Handling names in other languages
A subject's alternate-language official terminology is added to an article via the localized name template. Noted within it are the subject's alternate-language term and that alternate term's translation to English, as well as its related etymology.
Translations should aim to be as precise as possible, but not approach fan-localizations. In cases of idioms, the idiom should be listed as its English equivalent whenever possible.
Alternate localizations' terminology may only be used in lead sections of an article in the format "Alternate-language subject term (English translation of subject name)" in cases where there is no official English equivalent.
In cases of languages that use non-Latin scripts, quick romanization of the alternate names are provided to aid with pronunciation:
- For Japanese, please use the Hepburn romanization standards.
- For Mandarin/Simplified Chinese, please use the Hanyu Pinyin romanization standards. Spacing should be partitioned based on lexical word boundary.
- For Cantonese/Traditional Chinese, please use the Jyutping standards. Spacing should be added between each Hanzi. Tones should be noted via 1-6 numerical tone markings, without use of superscript. If the given word is typically spoken with a tone change in context, use the actual changed tone instead of the dictionary tone.
- For Korean, please use the Revised Romanization of Korean standards.
- For Russian, please use the street and road sign romanization standards.
In cases where an official transliteration has been provided in some way (typically within promotional material), it should be added to the names in other languages section under the related romanized cell alongside other romanizations, accompanied by a source.
When romanizing a term/phrase in names in other languages sections, please italicize the term/phrase in question. When adding additional non-Latin script terms in the meaning section of a names in other languages table, please add it in the following format: "source-language term (romanization, "English meaning")" ie. イカ (ika, "squid").
Translation notes sections
Oftentimes alternate language Splatoon terminology contains unique puns, pop culture references or other nuance; in cases where a brief etymological description isn't enough, the best way to note this information is through the use of a translation notes section at the bottom of the names in other languages template. To do so, add a translation notes subsection within the etymology section, and use the following wikicode to add a note:
<ref group="notes">Translation note text</ref>
For the note to display properly, the translation notes section must contain the following wikicode:
{{note list}}
Translation notes added via notes in this manner serve to elaborate on etymological nuance; this should be separate from trivia contents.
Please refrain from adding information on how alternate localizations' content differs from the English version in trivia sections unless deemed exceptional; a listing in the names in other languages section typically suffices for such.
Handling internal names
While not a separate "language" per se, the internal names found within the game files often differ from their standard "front-facing" names in interesting ways. Most internal names contain a mix of English and Japanese within abbreviated codenames, and as such brief explanations of said codenames are apt. Internal names may be added below the names in other languages section in a dedicated internal names section via the internal names template.
Please ensure internal names added to the wiki do not conflict with our leaks policy.
How to handle material that has no official English translation
In cases of official material not having an official English translation, fan translations of the material are accepted to the wiki if they have been vetted for accuracy. Fan translations of unlocalized material that can be presumed to receive an official localized release later (such as fan translations of the manga) are not acceptable.
In cases of newly released official material where there is a gap in time between the announcement and the English-language equivalent announcement, the wiki may document the material exclusively via the at-the-time available terms. For example, if a new stage has been revealed exclusively via Japanese promotional material then Inkipedia may document it exclusively via calling the stage by its Japanese name. Please avoid speculative translations or fan-made localizations in these instances.
Please use the localized Source template to mark when a subject lacks an equivalent English localization.
What not to do
Usage of machine translation is not allowed on Inkipedia. Machine translation refers to translations obtained via AI-powered machine learning services (eg. Google Translate, Microsoft/Bing Translator, Babbel); while machine translation can be helpful to at a glance get the gist of text in another language, it fundamentally cannot ever be considered accurate enough for an encyclopedia that aims for accurate documentation. Inkipedia's large editing community is lucky enough to be made up of many different people knowledgeable in many different languages, ranging in skill levels from amateur enthusiasts to professional translators to native speakers, so usage of machine translation is not necessary. As such, all text is expected to be free of machine translation on the wiki.
If you are not fluent in the language at hand, please trust other translators more experienced than you to handle things you're unsure of. If in doubt, feel free to leave messages on the appropriate talk pages and/or our Discord server.
Machine transcription (usage of machine translation services or other software to retrieve text from images for copy and pasting purposes) is dispreferred, but still allowed; please only use this method if you are a fluent reader of the language at hand and thus can verify there are no typos in the transcription you are aiming to add to the wiki. Please do not use machine transcription services to add official text materials to Inkipedia if you are not at all able to read the language at hand.
If editors are found to be knowingly adding machine translations against this policy they will be warned, as the behavior is considered disruptive and unhelpful to encyclopedia building. If such edits persist after a warning, the editor may be blocked from editing the wiki.
To request a translator handle or double-check the alt-language contents, simply mark an article or section with the translation needed template, or ping the appropriate role in the Inkipedia Discord server.
Knowledge of the languages at hand is something editors are free to disclose in their edit summaries or userpages. In general, assume in good faith that translation-related edits are being made genuinely; if you think a translation or transcription added to the wiki is inaccurate but can't easily confirm it yourself, leave messages on the topic requesting others more fluent to double-check the related edits' accuracy.
