Translation Is Writing

"Meaning may travel; authorship does not disappear in transit."

Separate the powers

Translation is not a dictionary-shaped transport layer. It chooses rhythm, emphasis, register, and what must remain strange. Those choices create a new authored text even when the source meaning stays fixed.

Let state name the role

Store each translation separately with target language, source fingerprint, author route, prompt version, and state. Never overwrite the original column or collapse all languages into a mutable blob.

Inkwell Today view showing the lower end of a Korean translation card followed by a Japanese translation card, with reviewer-note and Author's Revision panels kept separate. — Each language remains its own authored text: review observes, then the author revision owns the wording.

The convenient overreach

Calling translation mechanical invites silent replacement and erases responsibility for choices. Treating it as authorship makes review, revision, and provenance necessary rather than ornamental.

Authorship invariant. Meaning may travel; authorship does not disappear in transit.

Follow one sentence through four acts

Test “Translation Is Writing” by tracing original authorship, translation authorship, blind review, and author revision. For each act list inputs, outputs, visible evidence, writable fields, and the proof handed forward. One brain may perform two roles at different times; the job and authority must still remain distinct.

Make the judgment

Design a translation row that can answer who wrote what from which exact source. If you cannot answer who chose the final wording in one sentence, provenance is too thin. A note that silently edits text or a stet whose reason disappears changes who holds the pen.

Narrow roles sharpen quality

Giving a reviewer every truth is not always an improvement. Restricting evidence and action makes the naturalness question answerable. The author uses that answer as material while retaining responsibility for the final choice.

Code

Give translations their own authored rows·sql

CREATE TABLE translations (
  entry_id TEXT NOT NULL REFERENCES entries(id),
  lang TEXT NOT NULL,
  text TEXT,
  revised_text TEXT,
  review_notes TEXT,
  review_brain TEXT,
  reviewed_at TEXT,
  stale INTEGER NOT NULL DEFAULT 0,
  updated_at TEXT NOT NULL,
  PRIMARY KEY(entry_id, lang)
);

Separate the powers

Let state name the role

The convenient overreach

Follow one sentence through four acts

Make the judgment

Narrow roles sharpen quality

Code

External links

Exercise

Progress

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