Language Switcher and Google Translate

As mentioned in the previous article, Languages and Manual Translations, there are different options available to you when it comes to translating your site, you can: 

• Manually translate all content
• Use Google Translate for translating your content
• Or use a combination of both, manually translating some content while also using GTranslate to fill in any gaps

When we refer to Google Translate, we are referring to machine translation, which is defined as the automated method of translating text from one language to another without human involvement. 

This process has improved significantly over time and continues to evolve, however, there are rare circumstances where machine translation takes something out of context which can affect the meaning of the content.

This article will focus on the Language Switcher & Google Translate dashboard tile, which allows administrators to configure the following language options:

• Configuring machine translations for incomplete translations
• Adding other (non-installed) languages to language picker
• Adjusting machine translations for search results

Configuring language settings and Google translate

By default, all installed languages will automatically show in the language picker; however, sometimes incomplete or missed manual translations my confuse your end users.

To ensure there are no gaps in translations:

1. From the Dashboard, click the System Configuration tile
2. Click the Language switcher & Google translate tile
3. Installed Languages (click the menu option on the left)
   1. Each installed language will be displayed here
      1. Show in language switcher, by default this box will be checked for each installed language
      2. Incomplete translation, check this box "fill-in the gaps" for any content not manually translated
      3. Click Save configuration when done
4. Google Translate Languages (click the menu option on the left)
   1. This setting allows you to take advantage of Google translations without installing the selected language(s). It's important to note however, this is only translating content that has not manually been translated already and Stacks is not responsible for the availability or accuracy of these translations. 
      1. Show in language switcher, check the box beside each language to include in the language switcher drop-down in the top menu
      2. Click Save configuration at the bottom of the page when done
5. Translation Overrides (click the menu option on the left)
   1. To reduce the impact of incorrect translations on content that is not managed within Stacks, you can override the machine translation on search results to maintain the original language and context
      1. Use only Google Translate for Front-end, when checked manual translations will be ignored and only Google translations will be seen
      2. Search Results
         1. Disable machine translation on search results, starters and detail records, check this box to disable machine translations for search results
      3. Bento Search Results
         1. Disable machine translation on Bento search results, check this box to disable machine translations for bento search results
      4. Facets
         1. Disable machine translation for Facets, check this box to disable machine translations of facets
      5. Click Save configuration when finished