Outer-Wilds-SK-Translation-Mod/docs/glossary.md

Glossary / Slovník — Outer Wilds SK

Fixed Slovak renderings for proper nouns and recurring terms, so names stay identical everywhere in assets/Translation.xml. Follow this file when translating; propose changes here (not ad-hoc in the XML).

Status: place names & proper nouns reviewed and locked (2026-07-20, the "go risky" pass — planet names are translated, not kept in English). Rows still marked ❓ review need the Slovak-speaking review pass before they are final; 🔒 locked rows are settled unless there's a strong reason. The UI/menus translation in Translation.xml has been re-passed to match the locked terms.

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0. Tone & register (locked)

• Address the player informally — ty, not vy. Outer Wilds has a warm, around-the-campfire tone; the Hearthians are your friends. Use ty / informal imperatives (e.g. "Pozri sa", not "Pozrite sa") throughout menus, prompts, and dialogue.
• UI casing mirrors the source. The game bakes capitalization into the strings (many buttons are ALL-CAPS in the data), so ALL-CAPS English → ALL-CAPS Slovak; otherwise sentence case. Fixed proper names (Skaut, Signáloskop, Dvojča Popolu, …) keep the capitalization given in this glossary.
• Keep the source's voice per speaker. Nomai text is formal and precise; Hearthian dialogue is casual. Register can shift by speaker, but the player is always addressed as ty.
• Diacritics always — á ä č ď é í ĺ ľ ň ó ô ŕ š ť ú ý ž. Never strip them.

1. General rules

• Never edit <key>. Translate only <value>. (See CLAUDE.md.)
• Preserve inline markup verbatim: <color=…>…</color>, <i>…</i>, entities < > &. Translate the words, keep the tags and the exact color names (lightblue, orange, …).
• Keep speaker prefixes verbatim: POKE:, CLARY:, SOLANUM:, etc. — do not translate or reorder the label.
• Declension: Slovak inflects. A glossary entry gives the base (nominative) form; decline it naturally in context (na Drevenom kozube, z Temného tŕnia, do Krehkej dutiny). Keep the stem/spelling from this table so search-and-replace stays reliable. Nomai is the one exception — see below.
• Character names are kept in English (they're geology terms — Hornfels, Slate, Gabbro, Riebeck, Feldspar, Chert, Esker, Hal, Gossan, Marl, Tuff, Tephra, Galena, Moraine, Rutile, Spinel, Mica, Porphy, Arkose…). Decline where natural: Gabbrovi, s Riebeckom, Hala.

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2. Peoples & beings

English	Slovak	Status	Notes
Nomai (species & individual)	Nomai	🔒	Indeclinable — keep spelling Nomai in every case (sg. = pl.). It's an alien species name; leave it as-is.
Hearthian(s)	Kozubčan (sg.), Kozubčania (pl.)	🔒	From kozub (→ Drevený kozub). Adj. kozubčiansky.
the Owlks (DLC, fan term)	Soví človek (sg.), Soví ľudia (pl.)	🔒	The game never names them; "owl-people".

3. Celestial bodies & places

Decision (locked, "go risky"): place names are translated, including the home planet and moons — not kept in English.

English	Slovak	Status	Notes
the Sun	Slnko	🔒
Sun Station	Slnečná stanica	🔒
Timber Hearth (home planet)	Drevený kozub	🔒	Home planet. Demonym Kozubčania derives from kozub.
The Attlerock (moon)	Skalka	🔒	Diminutive of skala — mirrors the "a little rock" pun.
Brittle Hollow	Krehká dutina	🔒
Hollow's Lantern (moon)	Lampáš	🔒
Hourglass Twins	Presýpacie dvojčatá	🔒	Ember + Ash together.
Ember Twin	Dvojča Uhlíka	🔒	Matched pair with Dvojča Popolu (uhlík ↔ popol).
Ash Twin	Dvojča Popolu	🔒	Drives Projekt Dvojčaťa Popolu (§4).
Giant's Deep	Obrova hlbina	🔒
Dark Bramble	Temné tŕnie	🔒	bramble = tŕnie.
The Interloper (comet)	Votrelec	🔒
Quantum Moon	Kvantový mesiac	🔒
White Hole / Black Hole	biela diera / čierna diera	🔒	Lowercase (common noun).
Black Hole Forge	Zlieváreň čiernej diery	🔒	"Foundry" — forges the warp cores; industrial, not medieval (vyhňa rejected).
The Stranger (DLC)	Cudzinec	🔒
Echoes of the Eye (DLC title)	Ozveny Oka	❓	Translate in prose; may keep English as a store/product title.

4. Story, projects & artifacts

English	Slovak	Status	Notes
the Eye of the Universe	Oko vesmíru	🔒	Short form: Oko. Keep any color markup around "Eye".
the Eye (short)	Oko	🔒
Eye Signal	signál Oka	🔒
Ash Twin Project	Projekt Dvojčaťa Popolu	🔒	Matches Dvojča Popolu (§3).
the Vessel (Nomai ship)	Plavidlo	🔒
Warp Core	warpové jadro	🔒
Advanced Warp Core	pokročilé warpové jadro	🔒
Ghost Matter	prízračná hmota	🔒
the Nomai statue	socha Nomai	🔒
supernova	supernova	🔒
the time loop	časová slučka	🔒

5. Tools, UI & systems

English	Slovak	Status	Notes
ship log	lodný denník	🔒
Rumor Mode (ship log)	režim fám	🔒
Map Mode (ship log)	režim mapy	🔒
Signalscope	Signáloskop	🔒	Device name (treated as a proper name, capital S).
Little Scout / Scout	Malý Skaut / Skaut	🔒	The camera probe; capital S. Decline Skauta, Skautom.
Scout Launcher	Odpaľovač Skauta	🔒
the Translator (Nomai)	Prekladač	🔒
Autopilot	autopilot	🔒
Landing Camera	pristávacia kamera	🔒

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6. Resolved decisions (2026-07-20 review)

1. Planet names → translated (not kept in English). ✅
2. Nomai → indeclinable, kept as-is (alien species name). ✅
3. UI length — not a concern: the text display supports variable lengths. ✅
4. DLC titles — translate in prose (Ozveny Oka, Cudzinec); keep English only where a string functions as a store/product title. ✅ (Echoes of the Eye the DLC title still ❓ in §3 for that reason.)

7. Still open

• Echoes of the Eye as a product/menu title — translate everywhere, or keep English on title/store strings? (Prose already uses Ozveny Oka.)
• Terms that will surface in the dialogue and ship log phases and aren't fixed yet: the Vessel interior locations, the Hanging City, the Sunless City, the High Energy Lab, the Quantum Shrine, DLC props (Slide Reel → Kotúč diapozitívov, Vision Torch → Fakľa vízií, the Artifact → Artefakt), etc. I'll raise these as we hit each category.