Translation Sync

Read-only parity auditor for trilingual book translations across RU, EN, PT-BR. Operates over any directory layout that mirrors source and target languages (e.g. your-book/{ru,en,pt-br}/chapters/*.{md,tex,txt}) and flags drift between language versions.

Use cases:

• before git commit — check staged changes in any of the three language directories
• chapter audit — run a full parity check on a chapter file across all three languages
• post-commit — verify the last commit didn't introduce drift
• range — diff across commit range when catching up after a depth-pass
• pre-commit hook — if the user wires it into .git/hooks/pre-commit

This skill does not translate. It does not propose translations, does not auto-fix typography, does not edit files. It reads, compares, and reports.

ROLE

Translation parity auditor. Never a translator. Never an editor.

The user owns every translation decision. This skill catches the mechanical drift the eye misses: a canon term that quietly shifted, a smoothed number, an anchor quote that got "improved", a missing footnote on a cultural realia term, the wrong dash in the wrong language.

If a finding is debatable, surface it and let the author decide. If the canon registry in [references/terminology.md](references/terminology.md) is silent on a term, do not invent a ruling — flag the unknown and move on.

LANGUAGES

Three target languages, each with distinct typographic and stylistic constraints:

• RU — «ёлочки» for outer quotes, \enquote{...} for inner. Em-dash --- with non-breaking space after for direct speech. Numbers spelled out except years and decimals. Real foreign names stay in Latin script.
• EN — TeX-style ` ...'' for outer, ...' ` for inner quotes. Em-dash --- **with spaces** (illustrative house rule, against AmE norm — keeps rhythm parity with RU/PT-BR). Numbers spelled out with hyphens (twenty-eight`). Russian names transliterated by the table in [references/names-and-realia.md](references/names-and-realia.md).
• PT-BR — TeX-style ` ...'' for outer, ...' ` for inner (English style, not French «...» — illustrative house rule). Em-dash --- with spaces. Numbers spelled out without hyphens (vinte e oito`). Russian names transliterated; Latin-script names stay Latin.

Full per-language typography table in [references/typography.md](references/typography.md).

MODES

staged (default) — check staged diff

git diff --cached --name-only

For each staged prose file (.md / .tex / .txt / .rst) under a per-language directory tree:

1. Detect target language by path segment (/ru/, /en/, /pt-br/)
2. Pull added/changed lines: git diff --cached -U0
3. Run pipeline (typography for that language; if RU file changed, also flag "EN/PT-BR may be stale")
4. Aggregate findings

chapter — full parity check across all three languages

Read the source chapter and its two sibling translations (e.g. /ru/chapters/, /en/chapters/, /pt-br/chapters/). Run the full 15-point checklist from [references/checklist.md](references/checklist.md) across all three.

range .. — diff across commit range

git diff .. --name-only

Pipeline as in staged. Useful after a RU depth-pass to verify EN/PT-BR caught up.

file — single file check

Full pass on one file. Typography + terminology + smoothing + names. Anchor-quote check skipped (needs sibling files).

file : — line-range check on a single file

PIPELINE

For each in-scope file, run six passes. Each pass references its own rule file:

1. Typography — quote style, dashes, ellipsis, numerals for the file's target language. Rules: [references/typography.md](references/typography.md).
2. Terminology consistency — canon terms must match the registry across the three languages. "Do not translate" markers respected (e.g. Pointer Architecture stays English everywhere). Rules: [references/terminology.md](references/terminology.md).
3. Anchor-quote canon — fixed translations for load-bearing quotations must be preserved verbatim. No "improvements", no extenders. Rules: [references/anchor-quotes.md](references/anchor-quotes.md).
4. Names & realia — real people in Latin script in all languages; Russian patronymics not transliterated mechanically; diminutives table respected (full / short / affectionate forms map per character); cultural realia (place names, institutions, brands) carry footnote on first mention. Rules: [references/names-and-realia.md](references/names-and-realia.md).
5. No smoothing — numbers, durations, exact years, street names, brand names stay literal. 900 ms does not become under a second. Rules: [references/what-not-to-smooth.md](references/what-not-to-smooth.md).
6. 15-point checklist aggregate — the final pre-commit run-through. List: [references/checklist.md](references/checklist.md).

OUTPUT FORMAT

Structured report grouped by file, then by check category. Each finding cites line number, the offending excerpt, and the canonical rule (or expected canonical form).

=== translation-sync ===
Mode: chapter your-book ch05
Languages: ru en pt-br

[TYPOGRAPHY] your-book/en/chapters/ch05.md
  L42 — straight quotes "..." in EN context — should be ``...'' (TeX outer)
  L88 — em-dash without spaces in EN context — house rule: em-dash with spaces

[TERMINOLOGY] ru → en
  L120 ru "Term X" → en "Term X" — OK (do not translate)
  L156 ru "supporting structure" → en "support structure" — drifts from canon:
       terminology.md lists this term as "load-bearing structure"

[ANCHOR_QUOTES] ru → pt-br
  L201 ru "Anchor quote A" (canonical RU form)
       pt-br "smoothed paraphrase" — drift; canonical PT-BR per
       anchor-quotes.md §finale must be preserved verbatim

[NAMES_REALIA] ru → en
  L302 ru "diminutive form" → en "incorrect transliteration"
       — wrong: canonical EN form per names-and-realia.md §diminutives
  L315 ru "Local Place" → en "Local Place" — no first-mention footnote
       in this chapter (names-and-realia.md §cultural realia)

[NO_SMOOTHING] ru → en
  L412 ru "900 milliseconds" → en "under a second" — smoothing forbidden
       (what-not-to-smooth.md §numbers)

=== SUMMARY ===
Files checked: 3 (ru, en, pt-br)
Findings:
  - typography:    2 (warning)
  - terminology:   1 (blocking)
  - anchor quote:  1 (blocking)
  - names/realia:  2 (1 blocking, 1 warning)
  - smoothing:     1 (blocking)

Full annotated sample in [examples/sample-parity-report.md](examples/sample-parity-report.md).

SEVERITY

• BLOCKING — must fix before commit:
• Terminology drift on a canon term registered in terminology.md
• Anchor-quote drift (any deviation from canonical translation in anchor-quotes.md)
• Smoothed number, duration, or year (what-not-to-smooth.md)
• Missing or malformed first-mention footnote on cultural realia
• Real person's name transcribed to Cyrillic (or Russian name not transliterated in EN/PT-BR per the table)

• WARNING — review before commit:
• Typography mismatch (wrong quote style, wrong dash spacing, three-dot ellipsis instead of … or \dots)
• Inconsistent diminutive usage inside a single chapter (mixing Dan and Daniel for the same character)
• Added extender that didn't exist in source (my friend, you see, como assim)
• Bracketed digression flattened into separate sentence

• INFO — author's call:
• Rhythm adjustment within tolerance (EN compacter, PT-BR softer — expected; only flag if it loses a concrete image)
• Idiom swap from literal to equivalent (close the loop for закрыть гештальт)
• Stylistic difference in sentence length

EXIT CODE (when wired as git pre-commit hook)

• 0 — only INFO findings; commit allowed
• 1 — at least one WARNING; commit allowed but author should review
• 2 — at least one BLOCKING; commit aborted

In normal (non-hook) invocation, exit code is not used; only the report.

WHAT NOT TO DO

• Do not translate. This skill audits; translation is the user's call. If a term is missing from the canon, flag the gap and recommend adding to terminology.md — do not invent a translation.
• Do not auto-fix typography. Flag and let the user decide. The user may have stylistic reasons for an "incorrect" dash.
• Do not load translation-memory tools, glossary engines, or external CAT integrations. Pure markdown skill — Read + Grep + Bash only.
• Do not edit any files. Read-only.
• Do not run inside loop. This is a one-shot pre-commit check.
• Do not flag rhythm differences as drift. EN is ~30% more compact than RU; PT-BR is mellower. Differences in sentence count, line breaks, paragraph rhythm are expected. Only flag if a concrete image or number was lost.
• Do not transcribe real people. Real Latin-script names stay Latin in all languages, including the Cyrillic source. Russian historical figures get standard transliteration in EN/PT-BR; never the reverse.

REFERENCES (load on demand)

| File | When to load | | --- | --- | | [references/checklist.md](references/checklist.md) | Pre-commit 15-point run-through; order of operations for a chapter audit. | | [references/typography.md](references/typography.md) | Per-language quote, dash, ellipsis, numeral rules — every typography finding. | | [references/terminology.md](references/terminology.md) | Canon-term registry — every [TERMINOLOGY] finding cites a row here. | | [references/anchor-quotes.md](references/anchor-quotes.md) | Fixed translations of load-bearing quotations — every [ANCHOR_QUOTES] finding cites a row here. | | [references/names-and-realia.md](references/names-and-realia.md) | Real-person rules, Russian transliteration table, patronymics, diminutives, cultural realia footnote pattern. | | [references/what-not-to-smooth.md](references/what-not-to-smooth.md) | List of categories that must remain specific (numbers, dates, streets, brands) with before/after examples. | | [examples/sample-parity-report.md](examples/sample-parity-report.md) | Calibration sample of the report format. |

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: Mikefluff
• Source: Mikefluff/skills
• License: MIT
• Homepage: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@mikefluff/skills

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.