git:20260629.e4cf32e to git:20260729.2743ee4
17 added, 17 removed. Audit A to A.
# English (en) — voice doctrine
- This file covers every value in `services/*/messages/en.json` and every page under `docs/en/`. English is the source locale — translations derive from these strings. The cross-locale rules live one folder up at [`../../SKILL.md`](../../SKILL.md).
+ This file covers every value in `services/*/messages/en.yml` and every page under `docs/en/`. English is the source locale — translations derive from these strings. The cross-locale rules live one folder up at [`../../SKILL.md`](../../SKILL.md).
## The voice in this language
English Tale prose is calm, opinionated, and direct. The narrator is a peer who has shipped a similar product and is telling you how this one works. Sentences are short to medium. Imperatives carry walkthroughs (`Open Settings > Members and click Invite member.`). The why precedes the what (`To add a person to your organisation, open …`). No marketing, no apology, no `we`.
> **Positive example.** Open **Settings > Members** and click **Invite member**. The new member receives an email link valid for 24 hours and lands in the default role you pick — change it on the form before sending if they should not be a Member.
Three sentences, effect-first, no `simply`, no `please`, no exclamation. The 24-hour expiry is a consequence the reader needs and the page lands it inline rather than promising a "more on this later".
## The drift mode this language slips into
English drifts into corporate-marketing voice. The 12-word strike list catches the most common offenders (`simply`, `easy`, `powerful`, `seamless`, `just`, `please`, `feel free to`, `discover`, `unleash`, `effortlessly`, `straightforward`, `intuitive`). Each one asserts a quality the page should demonstrate instead.
> **Drift.** _Simply click **Save** and you're all set! Feel free to add as many providers as you like._
>
> **Target.** _Click **Save**. The new provider is reachable from agents on the next request — there's no separate rollout step, and existing conversations keep their previous model binding._
The strike list lives in [`packages/ui/src/i18n/tests/locales/en/voice.ts`](../../../../../packages/ui/src/i18n/tests/locales/en/voice.ts) — caught by `voice-strikes`.
## Conventions
See [CONVENTIONS.md](../../CONVENTIONS.md) for the full template; the values below are EN's.
- | Surface | Rule |
- | ------------------------ | ------------------------------------ |
- | Pronoun (informal you) | `you` |
- | Quotation marks (prose) | ASCII `"…"` |
- | Apostrophe (prose) | ASCII `'` |
- | Apostrophe (JSON & code) | ASCII `'` |
- | Dates (prose) | `April 19, 2026` or ISO `2026-04-19` |
- | Dates (code / ISO) | `2026-04-19` |
- | Time (wall clock) | 12-hour: `9 am`, `10:30 pm` |
- | Decimal separator | `.` |
- | Thousands separator | `,` |
- | Currency | `$100` (USD, prefix) |
- | Percent | `5%` |
- | Spelling | n/a |
- | En-dash for ranges | yes: `2010–2020` |
- | Em-dash style | unspaced `a—b` |
+ | Surface | Rule |
+ | -------------------------------- | ------------------------------------ |
+ | Pronoun (informal you) | `you` |
+ | Quotation marks (prose) | ASCII `"…"` |
+ | Apostrophe (prose) | ASCII `'` |
+ | Apostrophe (message file & code) | ASCII `'` |
+ | Dates (prose) | `April 19, 2026` or ISO `2026-04-19` |
+ | Dates (code / ISO) | `2026-04-19` |
+ | Time (wall clock) | 12-hour: `9 am`, `10:30 pm` |
+ | Decimal separator | `.` |
+ | Thousands separator | `,` |
+ | Currency | `$100` (USD, prefix) |
+ | Percent | `5%` |
+ | Spelling | n/a |
+ | En-dash for ranges | yes: `2010–2020` |
+ | Em-dash style | unspaced `a—b` |
## Loanword stance
English is the source. Brands, acronyms, and code identifiers stay as-is (Bucket 1); product vocabulary uses the English form by definition. Where the EN word also lives in DE/FR vocabulary (`workflow`, `dashboard`, `webhook`), the bucket-2 status applies in translation and the EN form is unchanged. The translate-bucket only matters in non-EN languages — there is nothing to translate in EN.
## What ships untranslated
- Brands, acronyms, code identifiers — see [BUCKETS.md](../../BUCKETS.md).
- Role names: `Owner`, `Admin`, `Developer`, `Editor`, `Member`, `Disabled`.
## When the locale-specific test fires
The EN checks live in [`packages/ui/src/i18n/tests/checks/`](../../../../../packages/ui/src/i18n/tests/checks/) and consult [`packages/ui/src/i18n/tests/locales/en/`](../../../../../packages/ui/src/i18n/tests/locales/en/) data.
The most common firings:
- `voice-strikes` — one of the 12 striked words appeared. Strike or rewrite.
- `prose-exclamation` — `!` in prose. Delete; the page already demonstrates the point.
- `status-chatter` — `Updated:`, `New in v…:`, `Coming soon:`, `Note that…`, `TODO:`. Release notes and git carry version history.
> **Sample failure.** `[voice-strikes] voice-strikes — 1 violation: docs/en/platform/agents/concepts.md 42: [en-simply] marketing softener "Simply" — delete; the demonstration carries it`