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.
• Narrator gender (locked): the player-character is canonically genderless, but Slovak past tense forces a gender. Use masculine for the player's first-person log/dialogue voice (Našiel som, Videl som, Vypustil som). Named characters take their English gender where given (Solanum = feminine; Coleus = masculine); the singular-they travelers (Riebeck, Feldspar, Gabbro, Esker, Chert) default to masculine.

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.
• Brand / title names stay in English (verbatim): the game title Outer Wilds, the space program Outer Wilds Ventures, and "the Outer Wilds" on the Planetary Chart poster. They're the actual named brand in the game (like a company name — you wouldn't translate "SpaceX"). Inflect the surrounding Slovak, not the name: v hre Outer Wilds, podporuješ Outer Wilds Ventures.
• 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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5b. Ship-log locations & DLC terms (locked, 2026-07-20)

Named places and recurring terms from the ship log. Descriptive location names not listed here are translated literally (River Lowlands → Riečne nížiny, Northern Glacier → Severný ľadovec, Fire Chamber → Ohňová komora, …).

English	Slovak	Notes
The Hanging City	Visuté mesto	Brittle Hollow's Nomai city.
The Sunless City	Bezslnečné mesto	Ember Twin's Nomai city.
Orbital Probe Cannon	Orbitálne delo sondy	Modules: Riadiaci / Štartovací modul, Modul sledovania sondy.
Cinder Isles (DLC)	Vyhorené ostrovy
High Energy Lab	Vysokoenergetické laboratórium
White Hole Station	Stanica bielej diery
Gravity Cannon	Gravitačné delo
Tower of Quantum Knowledge / Trials	Veža kvantového poznania / Veža kvantových skúšok
Quantum Shrine	Kvantová svätyňa	Quantum X → kvantový/-á/-é X throughout.
Construction Yard	Stavenisko
Nomai Mines / Grave / Shipwreck	Bane / Hrob / Vrak lode Nomai	X Nomai (indeclinable).
Escape Pod (1/2/3)	Únikový modul (1/2/3)
the Vessel	Plavidlo
anglerfish	udicovka (pl. udicovky)	The Dark Bramble monster fish.
Nomai shuttle	raketoplán Nomai
astral body	nebeské teleso
slide reel (DLC)	kotúč diapozitívov
vault (DLC)	trezor	vault seal → pečať trezoru.
the Prisoner (DLC)	Väzeň	An Owlk (Soví človek).
Vision Torch / Artifact (DLC)	Fakľa vízií / Artefakt
mural	nástenná maľba
clan	klan	Nomai social group.
star system	hviezdna sústava	vs. slnečná sústava = solar system.
pilgrimage	púť	Solanum's journey to the Quantum Moon.
Nomai character names	kept in English	Solanum, Poke, Clary, Coleus, Melorae, Cassava, Yarrow, Pye, Conoy, Bells, … Decline the surrounding Slovak, not the name.

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.