1# Translation Workflow Details
2 
3This file provides detailed guidelines for each workflow step. Steps are shared across modes:
4 
5- **Quick**: Translate only (no steps from this file)
6- **Normal**: Step 1 (Analysis) → Translate
7- **Refined**: Step 1 (Analysis) → Step 2 (Draft) → Step 3 (Review) → Step 4 (Revision) → Step 5 (Polish)
8- **Normal → Upgrade**: After normal mode, user can continue with Step 3 → Step 4 → Step 5
9 
10All intermediate results are saved as files in the output directory.
11 
12## Step 1: Content Analysis
13 
14Before translating, analyze the source material. Save analysis to `01-analysis.md` in the output directory.
15 
16### 1.1 Content Summary
17 
18- What is this content about? What is the core argument?
19- Author background, stance, and writing context
20- Purpose and intended audience of the original
21 
22### 1.2 Terminology
23 
24- List technical terms, proper nouns, brand names, acronyms
25- Cross-reference with loaded glossaries
26- For terms not in glossary, determine standard translations
27- Record in a terminology table
28 
29### 1.3 Tone & Style
30 
31- Formal or conversational? Humor, metaphor, cultural references?
32- What register is appropriate for the translation given the target audience?
33 
34### 1.4 Translation Challenges
35 
36Identify what may cause difficulty in translation:
37 
38- **Comprehension gaps**: Terms or references that target readers may not understand — note what explanation is needed
39- **Figurative language**: Metaphors, idioms, expressions that don't translate literally — note intended meaning and target-language approach (interpret / substitute / retain)
40- **Structural challenges**: Long complex sentences, wordplay, puns, or humor that needs creative adaptation
41 
42**Save `01-analysis.md`** with:
43```
44## Content Summary
45[Core argument, author, context, purpose]
46 
47## Terminology
48[term → translation, ...]
49 
50## Tone & Style
51[assessment]
52 
53## Translation Challenges
54- [term/passage] → [challenge type] → [suggested approach]
55- ...
56```
57 
58## Step 2: Assemble Translation Prompt
59 
60Main agent reads `01-analysis.md` and assembles a complete translation prompt using [references/subagent-prompt-template.md](subagent-prompt-template.md). Inline the following from analysis:
61 
62- **Target style**: Resolved style preset + source voice assessment from §1.3
63- **Content background**: Summary from §1.1
64- **Glossary**: Merged glossary with analysis-extracted terms from §1.2
65- **Translation challenges**: All challenges from §1.4
66 
67Save to `02-prompt.md`. This prompt is used by the subagent (chunked) or by the main agent itself (non-chunked).
68 
69## Step 3: Initial Draft
70 
71Save to `03-draft.md` in the output directory.
72 
73For chunked content, the subagent produces this draft (merged from chunk translations). For non-chunked content, the main agent produces it directly.
74 
75Translate the full content following `02-prompt.md`. Apply all **Translation principles** from SKILL.md.
76 
77## Step 4: Critical Review
78 
79The main agent critically reviews the draft against the source. Save review findings to `04-critique.md`. This step produces **diagnosis only** — no rewriting yet.
80 
81### 4.1 Accuracy
82 
83- Compare each paragraph against the original
84- Verify facts, numbers, dates, proper nouns
85- Flag content accidentally added, removed, or altered
86- Check terminology consistency with glossary
87 
88### 4.2 Native Voice
89 
90- Flag sentences that read as "translated" rather than "written" — unnatural word order, calques, stiff phrasing
91- For CJK targets: check for unnecessary connectives (因此/然而/此外), passive voice abuse (被/由/受到), noun pile-ups, over-nominalization
92- Flag metaphors translated literally that sound unnatural in the target language
93- Check emotional connotations are preserved, not flattened
94- Note where sentence restructuring would improve readability
95 
96### 4.3 Notes & Adaptation
97 
98- Are translator's notes accurate, concise, and genuinely helpful?
99- Flag missed comprehension challenges that need notes, and over-annotations on obvious terms
100- Were translation strategies from `02-prompt.md` followed?
101- Do cultural references work in the target language?
102 
103**Save `04-critique.md`** with:
104```
105## Accuracy
106- [issue]: [location] — [description]
107 
108## Native Voice
109- [issue]: [example] → [suggested fix]
110 
111## Notes & Adaptation
112- [add/remove/revise]: [term/passage] — [reason]
113 
114## Summary
115[Overall assessment: X critical issues, Y improvements]
116```
117 
118## Step 5: Revision
119 
120Apply all findings from `04-critique.md` to produce a revised translation. Save to `05-revision.md`.
121 
122Read `03-draft.md` and `04-critique.md`, fix all accuracy issues, rewrite unnatural expressions, adjust notes, and improve flow.
123 
124## Step 6: Polish
125 
126Save final version to `translation.md`.
127 
128Final pass on `05-revision.md` for publication quality:
129 
130- Read the entire translation as a standalone piece — does it flow as native content?
131- Smooth remaining rough transitions
132- Ensure consistent narrative voice and style throughout
133- Final terminology consistency check
134- Verify formatting is preserved correctly
135 
136## Subagent Responsibility
137 
138Each subagent (one per chunk) is responsible **only** for producing the initial draft of its chunk (Step 3). The main agent assembles the shared prompt (Step 2), spawns all subagents in parallel, then takes over for critical review (Step 4), revision (Step 5), and polish (Step 6).
139 
140## Chunked Refined Translation
141 
142When content exceeds the chunk threshold and uses refined mode:
143 
1441. Main agent runs analysis (Step 1) on the **entire** document first → `01-analysis.md`
1452. Main agent assembles translation prompt → `02-prompt.md`
1463. Split into chunks → `chunks/`
1474. Spawn one subagent per chunk in parallel (each reads `02-prompt.md` for shared context) → merge all results into `03-draft.md`
1485. Main agent critically reviews the merged draft → `04-critique.md`
1496. Main agent revises based on critique → `05-revision.md`
1507. Main agent polishes → `translation.md`
1518. Final cross-chunk consistency check: terminology, narrative flow, transitions at chunk boundaries
152