Turkish Translation Notes

Turkish (tr) Translation Notes

Translation Choices and Adjustments

During the translation process, several conscientious choices were made to ensure the Turkish text appropriately conveys the intended meaning while being natural to native speakers.

Important Translation Choices

1. “Secret” Translation

Choice: Consistently translated as “gizli mesaj” (secret/private message) rather than just “sır” (secret).

Reasoning: While “sır” is the literal Turkish translation of “secret”, it carries strong connotations of personal, intimate, or hidden information in everyday Turkish usage. This doesn’t align with the technical, neutral meaning intended by Onetime Secret.

Precedent from Translation Guide: The English translation guide provides a Danish example that directly parallels our Turkish decision:

Danish Translation:

CORRECT: “Beskeder” (messages)

INCORRECT: “Hemmeligheder” (secrets)

Reasoning: While “Hemmeligheder” is a literal translation of “Secrets”, it carries connotations of personal or hidden information in everyday Danish usage that don’t match the intended meaning.

Turkish follows the same pattern:

CORRECT: “gizli mesaj” (secret/confidential message)
INCORRECT: “sır” (personal secret)

Usage Examples:

✅ “3 yeni gizli mesajınız var” (You have 3 new secret messages) - neutral, technical
❌ “3 yeni sırrınız var” (You have 3 new secrets) - sounds too personal/intimate

This choice emphasizes that the content is a message with confidential information rather than a deeply personal secret.

2. “Burn” Translation

Choice: Translated as “yak” (to burn) maintaining the metaphor from English.

Reasoning: Creates a strong mental image of permanent deletion rather than using more generic terms like “sil” (delete).

3. “Passphrase” vs “Password” (CRITICAL DISTINCTION)

Onetime Secret makes an important distinction between two security concepts that must be consistently maintained across all translations.

Password (Account Authentication):

Turkish: “parola” or “şifre”
Context: Used exclusively for logging into user accounts
Examples: “Hesap parolası”, “Giriş şifresi”, “Parolayı sıfırla”

Passphrase (Secret Protection):

Turkish: “güvenlik ifadesi” or “erişim ifadesi”
Context: Used when creating or accessing protected secrets (not for account access)
Examples: “Güvenlik ifadesi ile koru”, “Görüntülemek için güvenlik ifadesini girin”

Why This Matters: This distinction is critical for security clarity. Users need to understand that:

Password = credentials to access their Onetime Secret account
Passphrase = an optional extra layer of protection for individual secrets

Precedent from Other Languages:

Bulgarian: “парола” (password) vs “ключова фраза” (key phrase)
Danish: “adgangskode” (access code) vs “adgangssætning” (access sentence)
Spanish: “contraseña” vs “frase de seguridad” (security phrase)

Updated Choice:

password → “parola” or “şifre” (account login)
passphrase → “güvenlik ifadesi” (secret protection)

4. Status Terms

Terms in the STATUS section were carefully translated to maintain their technical meaning while being natural in Turkish:

“Expiring soon” → “Yakında sona erecek” (approaching its end soon)
“Orphaned” → “Sahipsiz” (without an owner)
“Securing” → “Güvenli hale getiriliyor” (being made secure)

5. Formal Address

Choice: Use formal “siz” form rather than informal “sen”.

Reasoning: Maintains professional tone appropriate for a security-focused application. While some modern Turkish software uses “sen” to be friendly, Onetime Secret’s brand values (authentic, professional yet approachable) are better served by the respectful “siz” form.

Application Context:

Professional users (IT teams, corporate support teams)
Diverse age range of recipients (18-80)
Security-focused context requires trust and professionalism

Brand Voice in Turkish

The Onetime Secret brand voice must be consistently maintained across the Turkish translation:

Core Values

Authentic and transparent (Özgün ve şeffaf) - Use clear, honest language
Patient and focused (Sabırlı ve odaklı) - Provide helpful explanations without overwhelming users
Efficient without sacrificing quality (Kaliteden ödün vermeden verimli) - Be concise but complete
Professional yet approachable (Profesyonel ama ulaşılabilir) - Balance formality with warmth

Communication Principles in Turkish

Adapt technical detail based on user context
Balance friendliness with reliability
Prioritize clarity over casual language
Use patient, helpful tone even when explaining complex concepts

Turkish-Specific Considerations

Avoid overly bureaucratic language while maintaining professionalism
Use clear, direct sentences (Turkish can become verbose - resist this)
Technical terms should remain consistent and clear
Maintain warmth through respectful language, not informality

UI Text: Active vs Passive Voice in Turkish

Active, Imperative Voice (“Bir şey yap” - Do something)

Buttons (Düğmeler):

✓ Değişiklikleri kaydet (Save changes)
✓ Dosyayı sil (Delete file)
✓ Mesajı gönder (Send message)
✓ Gizli mesaj oluştur (Create secret)

Menu items (Menü öğeleri):

✓ Ayarları görüntüle (View settings)
✓ Yeni klasör oluştur (Create new folder)

Passive or Declarative Voice (“Bir şey oldu” - Something happened)

Status messages (Durum mesajları):

✓ Değişiklikler kaydedildi (Changes saved)
✓ Dosya silindi (File deleted)
✓ Ödeme reddedildi (Payment declined)
✓ Gizli mesaj yakıldı (Secret burned)

Notifications (Bildirimler):

✓ 3 yeni mesaj (3 new messages)
✓ İndirme tamamlandı (Download complete)
✓ Sunucu kullanılamıyor (Server unavailable)

System states (Sistem durumları):

✓ Yükleme devam ediyor (Upload in progress)
✓ Bağlantı kesildi (Connection lost)
✓ E-posta adresi bulunamadı (Email address not found)

Examples in Context

Form submission:

Button (active): “Değişiklikleri kaydet”
Status (passive): “Değişiklikler başarıyla kaydedildi”

File upload:

Button: “Dosya yükle”
Status: “Yükleme tamamlandı”

Secret creation:

Button: “Gizli mesaj oluştur”
Status: “Gizli mesaj oluşturuldu”

Encoding Considerations

Turkish Character Issues

The Turkish translation file had numerous encoding issues where Turkish characters were represented as Unicode escape sequences:

Turkish characters and their Unicode sequences:

ı (dotless i) → \u0131
ğ (g with breve) → \u011f
ü (u with diaeresis) → \u00fc
ş (s with cedilla) → \u015f
ç (c with cedilla) → \u00e7
ö (o with diaeresis) → \u00f6
İ (capital I with dot) → \u0130

Resolution: These encoding issues should be fixed to use proper UTF-8 encoding for better readability and maintenance.

Summary of Changes to the Turkish Translation

1. Encoding Fixes

Corrected numerous encoding issues where Turkish characters (ı, ğ, ü, ş, ç, ö) were represented as Unicode escape sequences.

2. Semantic Improvements

Improved consistency in terminology throughout the interface
Ensured technical terms maintained their specific meaning in translation
Enhanced natural flow of Turkish sentences

3. Section Completions

Completed translation of previously untranslated sections including STATUS, FEATURES, and account management areas
Ensured interface components have appropriate Turkish equivalents

4. Contextual Adaptations

Adapted certain phrases to better fit Turkish language patterns
Maintained the security-focused terminology in ways that would be familiar to Turkish users

Key Terminology Reference

Core Concepts

English	Turkish	Context/Notes
secret (noun)	gizli mesaj	The confidential content being shared; emphasizes message vs personal secret
one-time	tek kullanımlık	Single-use nature of the service
burn (verb)	yakmak / yak	Strong metaphor for permanent deletion
link	bağlantı / link	URL that provides access to a secret

Security & Authentication

English	Turkish	Context/Notes
password	parola / şifre	Account login credential only
passphrase	güvenlik ifadesi	Secret protection only (NOT account login)
encryption	şifreleme	Process of encoding secrets
encrypted	şifrelenmiş	State of being encoded
secure	güvenli	State of protection
private	özel / gizli	Confidential
confidential	gizli	Private/secret information

User Interface Elements

English	Turkish	Context/Notes
share a secret	gizli mesaj paylaş	Main action
create account	hesap oluştur	Registration
sign in	giriş yap	Authentication
dashboard	kontrol paneli	User’s main page
settings	ayarlar	Configuration page
feedback	geri bildirim	User comments

Status Terms

English	Turkish	Context/Notes
received	alındı	Secret has been viewed
burned	yakıldı	Secret was deleted before viewing
expired	süresi doldu	Secret no longer available due to time
created	oluşturuldu	Secret has been generated
active	aktif	Secret is available
inactive	pasif / etkin değil	Secret is not available
expiring soon	yakında sona erecek	Approaching expiration
orphaned	sahipsiz	Without an owner
securing	güvenli hale getiriliyor	Being made secure

English	Turkish	Context/Notes
expires in	… içinde sona erer	Time until unavailable
day/days	gün	Time unit
hour/hours	saat	Time unit
minute/minutes	dakika	Time unit
second/seconds	saniye	Time unit

Actions & Buttons

English	Turkish	Context/Notes
submit	gönder	Form submission (active voice)
cancel	iptal et	Negative action (active voice)
confirm	onayla	Positive action (active voice)
copy to clipboard	panoya kopyala	Utility action
continue	devam et	Navigation
back	geri	Navigation
save	kaydet	Preserve changes
delete	sil	Remove item

Account & Plans

English	Turkish	Context/Notes
account	hesap	User profile
email	e-posta	User identifier
subscription	abonelik	Paid service
plan	plan	Service tier
customer	müşteri	Paying user
colonel	yönetici / admin	Administrator role (highest privileges)

Error Messages

English	Turkish	Context/Notes
error	hata	Problem notification
warning	uyarı	Caution notification
oops	Hata! / Hay aksi!	Friendly error intro

Translation Goals

The primary goal was to create a translation that:

Feels natural to Turkish speakers
Precisely conveys technical concepts
Maintains security focus of the Onetime Secret application
Uses consistent terminology for key concepts like “secret messages,” “burning,” and “security features” throughout the interface

Special attention was given to maintaining the security-focused terminology in ways that would be familiar to Turkish users while ensuring the interface remains accessible and professional.