Translation

Language copy vs live copy

Both duplicate a branch and both maintain a relationship, so they are easy to confuse. The distinction is what the relationship is for:

• Live copy (MSM) — same language, structural inheritance. Global English → UK English.
• Language copy — different language, translation relationship. English → French.

They compose. A common enterprise shape is a language master translated into language copies, with MSM live copies beneath each for regional variants:

/content/wknd/language-masters/en     <- authored here
/content/wknd/language-masters/fr     <- language copy (translated)
/content/wknd/ca/fr                   <- live copy of language-masters/fr
/content/wknd/fr/fr                   <- live copy of language-masters/fr

Translate once into the language master; roll out to every market using that language.

Translation projects

Creating a language copy generates a translation project, which is the unit of work:

1. Create the language copy from the References rail — choose target languages and whether to create a new project or add to an existing one.
2. A translation job is created inside the project, listing the pages and assets to translate.
3. Start the job. Content is extracted and sent to the configured translation provider.
4. Track status — the job moves through Draft, Submitted, Translation in progress, Ready for review, Approved, Complete.
5. Review and accept. Returned translations land in the language copy for review before publishing.

Two translation styles exist:

• Machine translation — immediate, cheap, lower quality. Good for internal or low-stakes content.
• Human translation — content is sent to a vendor via a connector, returns after a real turnaround.

Connectors for major vendors are available; AEM ships a machine-translation option out of the box for testing.

Translation rules

Not everything on a page should be translated. A CSS class, a path, a numeric setting must not be sent to a translator — and if it is, you will get a French CSS class back.

Translation rules declare which properties of which resource types are translatable. They are edited at Tools → General → Translation Configuration and stored as configuration in the repository:

<node resourceType="wknd/components/byline">
  <property name="name" translate="true"/>
  <property name="cssClass" translate="false"/>
</node>

Updating already-translated content

When the source changes after translation, you do not start over. Re-running the language copy update creates a new translation job containing only what changed. The translation memory held by the provider means unchanged strings are not re-translated or re-charged.

If the language copy is also a live copy target, MSM rollout and translation interact: rollout brings structural changes, translation brings language. Getting the ordering right — usually roll out first, then translate the new content — avoids translating content that is about to be overwritten.

What to watch

• Assets too. Translation projects can include DAM assets and their metadata, not just pages.
• Tags have their own translation handling; a tag's title is translatable while its ID is not.
• Content Fragments translate as structured content, field by field — a real advantage over translating rendered pages.