DeepL Translator: Plain/Polite feature for Japanese

Owned by Damian Rozmiarkowski (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Jul 16, 2024 by Damian Rozmiarkowski
2 min read

Introduction

The DeepL Translator API comes with the so-called formality feature which you can use to adjust the tone of your translation, when using machine translation. 

In DeepL, the formality feature uses the labels informal and formal by default, for the languages it supports. In contrast, the labels plain and polite are used for the Japanese language. Please read the related articles to learn more about the formality feature in the DeepL API.

How does the formality feature work for Japanese in XTM Cloud?

  1. To use the formality feature for machine translation in an XTM Cloud project, you first need to start using DeepL Translator. For more information about enabling and setting up machine translation, see How to enable and set up machine translation (MT).

  2. Once you have finished configuration, create a XTM Cloud project.

  3. In the Machine translation section, select the Use DeepL Translator checkbox.

  4. In the Glossaries and formality dropdown, select Advanced options.

  1. The Formality dropdown displays three options to choose from:

  • Default → automatic choice.

  • More → polite tone.

  • Less → plain tone.

IMPORTANT!

As you can see, XTM Cloud does not change the UI wording in the Formality dropdown, for Japanese. Instead, to produce the plain tone, you simply select “Less”. For the polite tone, select "More".

  1. Save your changes and create the project.