Book Translation

Use this skill when the user wants to translate a book, chapter, or other long-form document into another language.

Before you translate (collect constraints)

Ask for (or infer from context) the minimum required details:

• Target language and locale (e.g. fr-FR vs fr-CA)
• Audience and reading level (general, academic, YA, technical)
• Tone and style (literal, literary, businesslike)
• Scope (entire book vs specific chapters/sections)
• Output format (Markdown, plain text, bilingual, chapter-per-file)
• Terminology preferences (terms to keep in the source language, preferred translations)
• Whether to translate code blocks / inline code (default: do not translate code)

Workflow

1) Ingest the source

• If the user provides a PDF:

  • Determine whether the PDF has extractable text or needs OCR (scanned images).
  • Extract the text in reading order.
  • Remove repeated headers/footers where possible.
  • Keep page numbers or section markers so the translation can be traced back to the source.

• If the user provides text (or Markdown):

  • Preserve structure (headings, lists, numbering, quotes).
  • Preserve markup (Markdown syntax, links, emphasis).

2) Build a translation glossary

Create a short glossary of:

• Proper nouns (people, places, organizations)
• Technical terms
• Recurring phrases

If there are ambiguous terms, present 2–3 options and recommend one for consistency.

3) Translate in chunks

Translate section-by-section to maintain coherence and avoid drift:

• Preserve headings and numbering
• Preserve citations, footnotes markers, and references
• Keep code blocks and inline code unchanged unless explicitly asked

4) Quality pass

Run a consistency pass:

• Terminology consistency (glossary adherence)
• Names and capitalization
• Locale-appropriate punctuation/typography
• Flag unclear/ambiguous sentences and provide alternatives

5) Deliverables

Provide:

• The translated text (in the requested output format)
• A short “translation notes” section including glossary decisions and any open questions

Output defaults

• Default output is Markdown (if structure is present).
• If the user wants a bilingual version, output “Original” and “Translation” per section.

Book Translation Skill

This skill guides translation of book content for The Interactive Book of Prompting at prompts.chat.

Overview

The book has 25 chapters across 7 parts. Translation requires:

1. MDX content files - Full chapter content in src/content/book/{locale}/
2. JSON translation keys - UI strings, chapter titles, and descriptions in messages/{locale}.json

Prerequisites

Before starting, identify:

• Target locale code (e.g., de, fr, es, ja, ko, zh)
• Check if locale exists in messages/ directory
• Check if src/content/book/{locale}/ folder exists

Step 1: Copy Turkish Folder as Base

The Turkish (tr) translation is complete and well-tested. Copy it as your starting point instead of translating from English:

mkdir -p src/content/book/{locale}
cp -r src/content/book/*.mdx src/content/book/{locale}/
cp src/components/book/elements/locales/en.ts src/components/book/elements/locales/{locale}.ts

⚠️ IMPORTANT: After copying, you MUST register the new locale in src/components/book/elements/locales/index.ts:

1. Add import: import {locale} from "./{locale}";
2. Add to locales object: {locale},
3. Add to named exports: export { en, tr, az, {locale} };

This is faster because:

• Turkish and many languages share similar sentence structures
• All JSX/React components are already preserved correctly
• File structure is already set up
• You only need to translate the prose, not recreate the structure

Step 2: Translate MDX Content Files

Edit each copied file in src/content/book/{locale}/ to translate from Turkish to your target language.

Process files one by one:

Chapter List (in order)

| Slug | English Title | |------|---------------| | 00a-preface | Preface | | 00b-history | History | | 00c-introduction | Introduction | | 01-understanding-ai-models | Understanding AI Models | | 02-anatomy-of-effective-prompt | Anatomy of an Effective Prompt | | 03-core-prompting-principles | Core Prompting Principles | | 04-role-based-prompting | Role-Based Prompting | | 05-structured-output | Structured Output | | 06-chain-of-thought | Chain of Thought | | 07-few-shot-learning | Few-Shot Learning | | 08-iterative-refinement | Iterative Refinement | | 09-json-yaml-prompting | JSON & YAML Prompting | | 10-system-prompts-personas | System Prompts & Personas | | 11-prompt-chaining | Prompt Chaining | | 12-handling-edge-cases | Handling Edge Cases | | 13-multimodal-prompting | Multimodal Prompting | | 14-context-engineering | Context Engineering | | 15-common-pitfalls | Common Pitfalls | | 16-ethics-responsible-use | Ethics & Responsible Use | | 17-prompt-optimization | Prompt Optimization | | 18-writing-content | Writing & Content | | 19-programming-development | Programming & Development | | 20-education-learning | Education & Learning | | 21-business-productivity | Business & Productivity | | 22-creative-arts | Creative Arts | | 23-research-analysis | Research & Analysis | | 24-future-of-prompting | The Future of Prompting | | 25-agents-and-skills | Agents & Skills |

MDX Translation Guidelines

1. Preserve all JSX/React components - Keep <div>, <img>, className, etc. unchanged
2. Preserve code blocks - Code examples should remain in English (variable names, keywords)
3. Translate prose content - Headings, paragraphs, lists
4. Keep Markdown syntax - ##, **bold**, *italic*, [links](url)
5. Preserve component imports - Any import statements at the top

Step 3: Translate JSON Keys

In messages/{locale}.json, translate the "book" section. Key areas:

Book Metadata

"book": {
  "title": "The Interactive Book of Prompting",
  "subtitle": "An Interactive Guide to Crafting Clear and Effective Prompts",
  "metaTitle": "...",
  "metaDescription": "...",
  ...
}

Chapter Titles (book.chapters)

"chapters": {
  "00a-preface": "Preface",
  "00b-history": "History",
  "00c-introduction": "Introduction",
  ...
}

Chapter Descriptions (book.chapterDescriptions)

"chapterDescriptions": {
  "00a-preface": "A personal note from the author",
  "00b-history": "The story of Awesome ChatGPT Prompts",
  ...
}

Part Names (book.parts)

"parts": {
  "introduction": "Introduction",
  "foundations": "Foundations",
  "techniques": "Techniques",
  "advanced": "Advanced Strategies",
  "bestPractices": "Best Practices",
  "useCases": "Use Cases",
  "conclusion": "Conclusion"
}

Interactive Demo Examples (book.interactive.demoExamples)

Localize example text for demos (tokenizer samples, temperature examples, etc.):

"demoExamples": {
  "tokenPrediction": {
    "tokens": ["The", " capital", " of", " France", " is", " Paris", "."],
    "fullText": "The capital of France is Paris."
  },
  "temperature": {
    "prompt": "What is the capital of France?",
    ...
  }
}

Book Elements Locales (REQUIRED)

⚠️ DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP - The interactive demos will not work in the new language without this.

Translate the locale data file at src/components/book/elements/locales/{locale}.ts:

• Temperature examples, token predictions, embedding words
• Capabilities list, sample conversations, strategies
• Tokenizer samples, builder fields, chain types
• Frameworks (CRISPE, BREAK, RTF), exercises
• Image/video prompt options, validation demos

Then register it in src/components/book/elements/locales/index.ts:

import {locale} from "./{locale}";

const locales: Record<string, LocaleData> = {
  en,
  tr,
  az,
  {locale},  // Add your new locale here
};

export { en, tr, az, {locale} };  // Add to exports

UI Strings (book.interactive.*, book.chapter.*, book.search.*)

Translate all interactive component labels and navigation strings.

Step 4: Verify Translation

1. Run the check script:

   node scripts/check-translations.js
   

2. Start dev server and test:

   npm run dev
   

3. Navigate to /book with the target locale to verify content loads

Reference: English Translation

The English (en) translation is complete and serves as the base template for all new translations:

• MDX files: src/content/book/*.mdx — copy this files to src/content/book/{locale}/*.mdx
• JSON keys: messages/en.json → book section — use as reference for structure

Recommended Workflow

1. Copy src/content/book/*.mdx to src/content/book/{locale}/*.mdx
2. Copy the "book" section from messages/en.json to messages/{locale}.json. Translate these in multiple agentic session instead of single time (token limit may exceed at once)
3. Edit each file, translating English → target language
4. Keep all JSX components, code blocks, and Markdown syntax intact

Quality Guidelines

• Consistency: Use consistent terminology throughout (e.g., always translate "prompt" the same way)
• Technical terms: Some terms like "AI", "ChatGPT", "API" may stay in English
• Cultural adaptation: Adapt examples to be relevant for the target audience where appropriate
• Natural language: Prioritize natural-sounding translations over literal ones