# Adding translated subtitles to site setting names
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/adding-translated-subtitles-to-site-setting-names/396962
**Category:** Translations
**Tags:** site-settings
**Created:** [February 25, 2026, 1:05am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/adding-translated-subtitles-to-site-setting-names/396962 "2026-02-25T01:05:49Z")
**Posts on this page:** 3
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Moin](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Moin)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2026, 1:05am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/adding-translated-subtitles-to-site-setting-names/396962/1 "2026-02-25T01:05:49Z")
Continuing the discussion from [AI settings without descriptions result in no non-English information about the settings](https://meta.discourse.org/t/ai-settings-without-descriptions-result-in-no-non-english-information-about-the-settings/373346):
Maybe this is a problem not limited to the AI Plugin but something that deserves a more general discussion.
In the past year words that are shown capitalized in the names of site settings were added. For example
> S3 use CDN URL for all uploads
I understand how this improves readability for English-speaking users. However, I’m concerned that this creates a growing gap between the experience of English-speaking and non-English-speaking administrators.
If descriptions are omitted entirely, this becomes even more problematic. The name might be considered “beautiful enough” and therefore sufficient - but for users who do not understand English well, that means there is effectively no accessible information at all.
I understand why setting names are not translatable. It avoids misunderstandings and ensures that administrators can share a setting name and reliably find it via search in “All Site Settings,” regardless of interface language. I actually appreciate that consistency.
However, since setting names are untranslated, they are often not meaningful to non-English speakers. In practice, the description becomes their primary source of understanding.
This is where the gap becomes visible: non-English admins rely on the description, while the setting name mainly serves as a search term for them. For English-speaking users, however, improved readability allows the setting name itself to become a central element of the interface.
I mentioned this in another discussion:
> [@Site setting "view change history" button and touch devices](https://meta.discourse.org/t/site-setting-view-change-history-button-and-touch-devices/377399/5):
>
> It is interesting how much focus there is on the names of the settings. Since they are not currently translated, they are, in my experience, mainly relevant for searching.
The ‘upcoming changes’ interface makes setting names even more prominent by using them as headings. This makes the interface feel only partially translated.
About a year ago, I suggested adding translated names for site settings as subtitles:
> [@DEV: Ensure all site settings have a keyword entry](https://meta.discourse.org/t/dev-ensure-all-site-settings-have-a-keyword-entry/344861/14):
>
> I had something like this in mind:
>
> 
>
> Though that would require quite a bit of space. So maybe a which shows the translation on hover or tap and hold would fit better.
>
> But then, users who do not understand English would have a similar chance of understanding what “Number of flags from other users before being warned” refers to and who will be warned.
Maybe we need something like this to close the gap and provide non-English users with a comparable experience.
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### Author:  [@mcwumbly](https://meta.discourse.org/u/mcwumbly)
#### Post date: [February 25, 2026, 2:43am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/adding-translated-subtitles-to-site-setting-names/396962/2 "2026-02-25T02:43:41Z")
I need to load a bunch of prior history into my head to fully wrap my head around this problem and our options here, but my gut feeling is that we probably _should_ translate setting names, now that we’ve shifted emphasis to make them more human readable.
I realize that likely leads to other problems that’d need to be solved, and that it might take some time to unravel it all, though.
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### Author:  [@Moin](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Moin)
#### Post date: [March 18, 2026, 11:33pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/adding-translated-subtitles-to-site-setting-names/396962/4 "2026-03-18T23:33:54Z")
Another example where untranslated setting names, instead of descriptions, are used as the main interface element:
> [@Easily create Support categories using the discourse-solved plugin](https://meta.discourse.org/t/easily-create-support-categories-using-the-discourse-solved-plugin/398338/1):
>
> 
A solution that works similarly to the config pages which have translateable heading might be an easier improvement than translating setting names in general.
While on “all site settings” the names are always in English
 
The config page offers the same settings with something close to translated names
 