Crowdin

Crowdin is a localization management platform to make a website, app, game and other software universally accessible through translation. The Java Edition uses Crowdin to enable the community to translate the game into its 96 available languages. The Minecraft project in Crowdin is currently owned by Jens Bergensten and managed by Daniel Kaplan, Nathan Adams, Erik Broes, Aleksandra Zając, Tommaso Checchi, Adrian Östergård, and Pär Axelsson.

Bedrock Edition, New Nintendo 3DS Edition, Education Edition and Legacy Console Edition are translated by professional firms rather than Crowdin.

Translation
Minecraft has three sub-projects on Crowdin: the translation of Minecraft: Java Edition ("Minecraft Game Elements"), the Minecraft Launcher and Minecraft Realms. The Minecraft Crowdin project consists of over 96 different languages. Users can contribute to any of the languages listed on the project, and require a Crowdin account to do so.

A user first joining the project is a translator. Translators can contribute to translating Minecraft by first selecting their language of choice, then a non-fully translated subcategory, then translating individual strings. Translators can upvote strings by clicking the "+" button after a listed string, or downvote for strings by clicking the "-" button. The number after the buttons shows the vote count of each string.

In voting mode, all non-validated character strings are displayed by default, where translators can vote for or suggest a translation. Thus, in principle, it has the same function as the translation mode, but is much clearer, where not all character strings are displayed. Which character strings are displayed can be selected via the funnel symbol.

A user can be made a proofreader by the project managers. Proofreaders can approve strings and view hidden strings. However, they cannot vote for strings.

Languages
The list of languages which Minecraft is currently being translated into is displayed on this page. This page also shows languages which are completely translated and which still require translations.

Especially in languages ​​with few translators, some character strings are mis-translated and can therefore have offensive content. Mojang is not responsible for such content. If an error is found in a language, it should not be reported in the issue tracker, but should be addressed directly to Crowdin.

New versions
Each Java Edition version has its own language files, so previous translations which have since been updated can be found in an old Java Edition version.

During the development of a new version of the Java Edition, the original language file is constantly changed by Mojang. Therefore, Mojang is waiting to upload this language file to the translation platform until shortly before the release of the final version, sometimes even afterwards. This means that during the entire months in which the players can already test the development versions, no translation for new texts can yet be made. Development versions therefore always have English texts for all new blocks, objects and other texts.

Only when Mojang has uploaded the new language file can the translation of the new texts begin. Mojang will then have to download the translated voice file at a later date and insert it into the game so that it is delivered to all players.

Uploading and downloading through Mojang happens manually and irregularly. This means that later corrections or improved translations will not come into play immediately, but only when Mojang downloads the language file the next time, which usually only happens again when publishing the next version. This can take several months.

Translation specifications
Mojang has defined some terms in January 2016, which should be the same in all languages ​​and all versions and should not be translated because they are standard Minecraft terms. These include "Creeper", "Enderman" and "Nether". A complete glossary of all specifications is available here.

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