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Translation Workflow Details

This file provides detailed guidelines for each workflow step. Steps are shared across modes:

Quick: Translate only (no steps from this file)
Normal: Step 1 (Analysis) → Translate
Refined: Step 1 (Analysis) → Step 2 (Draft) → Step 3 (Review) → Step 4 (Revision) → Step 5 (Polish)
Normal → Upgrade: After normal mode, user can continue with Step 3 → Step 4 → Step 5

All intermediate results are saved as files in the output directory.

Step 1: Content Analysis

Before translating, analyze the source material. Save analysis to 01-analysis.md in the output directory.

1.1 Content Summary

What is this content about? What is the core argument?
Author background, stance, and writing context
Purpose and intended audience of the original

1.2 Terminology

List technical terms, proper nouns, brand names, acronyms
Cross-reference with loaded glossaries
For terms not in glossary, determine standard translations
Record in a terminology table

1.3 Tone & Style

Formal or conversational? Humor, metaphor, cultural references?
What register is appropriate for the translation given the target audience?

1.4 Translation Challenges

Identify what may cause difficulty in translation:

Comprehension gaps: Terms or references that target readers may not understand — note what explanation is needed
Figurative language: Metaphors, idioms, expressions that don't translate literally — note intended meaning and target-language approach (interpret / substitute / retain)
Structural challenges: Long complex sentences, wordplay, puns, or humor that needs creative adaptation

Save 01-analysis.md with:

## Content Summary
[Core argument, author, context, purpose]

## Terminology
[term → translation, ...]

## Tone & Style
[assessment]

## Translation Challenges
- [term/passage] → [challenge type] → [suggested approach]
- ...

Step 2: Assemble Translation Prompt

Main agent reads 01-analysis.md and assembles a complete translation prompt using references/subagent-prompt-template.md. Inline the following from analysis:

Target style: Resolved style preset + source voice assessment from §1.3
Content background: Summary from §1.1
Glossary: Merged glossary with analysis-extracted terms from §1.2
Translation challenges: All challenges from §1.4

Save to 02-prompt.md. This prompt is used by the subagent (chunked) or by the main agent itself (non-chunked).

Step 3: Initial Draft

Save to 03-draft.md in the output directory.

For chunked content, the subagent produces this draft (merged from chunk translations). For non-chunked content, the main agent produces it directly.

Translate the full content following 02-prompt.md. Apply all Translation principles from SKILL.md.

Step 4: Critical Review

The main agent critically reviews the draft against the source. Save review findings to 04-critique.md. This step produces diagnosis only — no rewriting yet.

4.1 Accuracy

Compare each paragraph against the original
Verify facts, numbers, dates, proper nouns
Flag content accidentally added, removed, or altered
Check terminology consistency with glossary

4.2 Native Voice

Flag sentences that read as "translated" rather than "written" — unnatural word order, calques, stiff phrasing
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
Flag metaphors translated literally that sound unnatural in the target language
Check emotional connotations are preserved, not flattened
Note where sentence restructuring would improve readability

4.3 Notes & Adaptation

Are translator's notes accurate, concise, and genuinely helpful?
Flag missed comprehension challenges that need notes, and over-annotations on obvious terms
Were translation strategies from 02-prompt.md followed?
Do cultural references work in the target language?

Save 04-critique.md with:

## Accuracy
- [issue]: [location] — [description]

## Native Voice
- [issue]: [example] → [suggested fix]

## Notes & Adaptation
- [add/remove/revise]: [term/passage] — [reason]

## Summary
[Overall assessment: X critical issues, Y improvements]

Step 5: Revision

Apply all findings from 04-critique.md to produce a revised translation. Save to 05-revision.md.

Read 03-draft.md and 04-critique.md, fix all accuracy issues, rewrite unnatural expressions, adjust notes, and improve flow.

Step 6: Polish

Save final version to translation.md.

Final pass on 05-revision.md for publication quality:

Read the entire translation as a standalone piece — does it flow as native content?
Smooth remaining rough transitions
Ensure consistent narrative voice and style throughout
Final terminology consistency check
Verify formatting is preserved correctly

Subagent Responsibility

Each 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).

Chunked Refined Translation

When content exceeds the chunk threshold and uses refined mode:

Main agent runs analysis (Step 1) on the entire document first → 01-analysis.md
Main agent assembles translation prompt → 02-prompt.md
Split into chunks → chunks/
Spawn one subagent per chunk in parallel (each reads 02-prompt.md for shared context) → merge all results into 03-draft.md
Main agent critically reviews the merged draft → 04-critique.md
Main agent revises based on critique → 05-revision.md
Main agent polishes → translation.md
Final cross-chunk consistency check: terminology, narrative flow, transitions at chunk boundaries

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