I’m setting up a Discourse community for users in Japan and have noticed several translation issues in the Japanese interface. I’m not a native speaker of Japanese, but I’ve been teaching at a Japanese university for over three decades, and these stood out immediately when I was using the platform to set up a dummy profile in Japanese. Please check with native speakers of Japanese; I think they will agree.
Issues Found
1. Location field
- Current: 場所 (basho - “place/spot”)
- Problem: Too literal - sounds like a physical location (filming location, venue)
- Better: 居住地 (kyojūchi) or 地域 (chiiki) for “where you live”
- Where to find: User menu → Profile → Edit (Profile tab)
2. Optional field markers
- Current: オプション (opushon - English loanword)
- Problem: Unnatural when Japanese has a proper word
- Better: 任意 (nin’i) - the standard Japanese term
- Where to find: User menu → Settings → Profile tab, appears after “氏名” field
3. Birthday field
- Current: 生年月日 (seinengappi - “birth year, month, day”)
- Problem: Field only accepts month/day, not year
- Better: 誕生日 (tanjōbi - “birthday”)
- Where to find: User menu → Settings → Profile tab
4. Summary page
- Current: 要約 (yōyaku - “summary/abstract”)
- Problem: Vague - summary of what?
- Better: 統計 (tōkei) or 使用状況 (shiyō jōkyō) to clarify it shows statistics/usage
- Where to find: User menu → Summary (tab/link in user profile navigation)
5. Missing translation
- “Notify when someone shares a link to one of my posts” appears in English
- Suggested: 投稿へのリンクが共有されたときに通知する
- Where to find: User menu → Settings → Notifications → 通知 section
Context
I suspect that these translation issues stem from translators (even if native speakers) working from spreadsheets without seeing the actual interface. For example, “Location” → 場所 makes sense as a dictionary translation, but in the context of a user profile next to “Name” and “Email,” it should indicate residence/region (居住地や地域).
I’m happy to provide screenshots or additional detail if needed.