Translation

Wire is busy learning new languages, and you can help us by contributing to the translations in our Crowdin localization projects:

Formal vs. informal address

Our tone of voice is friendly and informal:

Words should create the impression of one person (Wire) speaking with another (“you” the reader) as a friend.

In languages that distinguish between the formal and informal address forms, use the formal. In German, for example, use Sie, not Du.

Platform terminology

If you’re translating Wire to your native language, make sure to familiarize yourself with the official localizations for the operating system to ensure you use the correct platform terminology for your locale.

For example, the location sharing feature in Wire uses terms that are related to similar features in mobile operating systems. You can use this to your advantage when deciding how to translate Wire for your language.

In the English version of iOS, a force-touch on the Maps app reveals the Send My Location command. In the German version of iOS, the command is translated as Standort senden. So for the German version of the location sharing feature, Wire uses the word “Standort” for location, although other options such as “Ort” or “Lage” might seem equally appropriate.

Using terms consistently helps to ensure that Wire users enjoy a seamless experience on each supported device and platform.

This principle is especially important when referring to system settings and other operating system dialogs. Make sure to verify your translations with the terms used in the localized version of the operating system.

Terminology resources

If you don’t have access to a device in the language, check public resources provided by the device manufacturer or software developer to verify the official terms.

For example, to verify terminology for iOS, you might visit support.apple.com and search for a term such as “location sharing”.

Many articles are available in multiple languages, so you can select an article from the search results and switch to a different language to verify the localized language equivalents, for example:

Microsoft international terminology

Microsoft provides a searchable database of international terminology for all of its products at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/language.