Requiring the README to be written in English

Every day, we review a significant number of plugins, and since last year, we have been receiving many more requests each week. In addition, our team is made up of a diverse group with different languages and alphabets.

For this reason, our team uses English as the official language within the community and for communication with authors during the review process.

As part of the pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party review, we also check the readme.txt file, which contains all the important information about the plugin, such as its name, version, description, authors, and other relevant details. This file is essential for the management and documentation of the plugin, both for developers and users. It also serves as the basis for the plugin’s page published in the directory, which is also visible on wordpress.orgWordPress.org The community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. https://wordpress.org//plugins/.

The plugin directory supports translations using English as the base language. Each plugin can be translated through translate.wordpress.org, offering versions in different languages for both the plugin information and the user interface. For more information, you can refer to the GlotPress documentation.

From now on, we will ask authors to provide the plugin information in readme.txt in English.

The main reasons for this are:

It facilitates reviews and effective communication with the team.
English serves as the base for translating your plugin into different languages. This ensures your plugin can be translated once it’s published.
It unifies the Plugin Directory interface, avoiding the creation of sections in different languages and alphabets.

This decision has been agreed upon by the team with the goal of serving the general interest and making it easier to translate plugins.

Post writen by @davidperez, reviewed by @rabmalin and @frantorres

David Artiss 4:26 pm on July 28, 2025

Is there a specific variation of English that’s required?
- David Perez 9:10 am on August 1, 2025
  
  No, I don’t think so.
Georges 5:51 pm on July 28, 2025

No problem, but translation process is not an easy task. I posted translations in French for my pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party, I also asked to be a translator for it (I’m a French native speaker!), revceived answers telling me it’s OK, but after month still can get my plugin to have translations…… even mine!
- David Perez 9:11 am on August 1, 2025
  
  Hello,
  Did you explain this case to any Team RepTeam Rep A Team Rep is a person who represents the Make WordPress team to the rest of the project, make sure issues are raised and addressed as needed, and coordinates cross-team efforts. of Polyglots?
  https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/
- Dion Hulse 1:09 am on August 4, 2025
  I realise you said you’ve already asked for this, and been denied the status for now due to translation consistency, but I’m going to include this here for others.
  
  If you’re a pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party author, who speaks a language (or who has employees/friends who speak a language), you can apply to have PTE (Project Translator Editor) status granted to those accounts, so they don’t require the GTEGeneral Translation Editor General Translation Editor – One of the polyglots team leads in a geographic region https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/teams/. Further information at https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/handbook/glossary/#general-translation-editor.’s (Global Translator Editors – ie. for all of french) to approve translations.
  
  This does require that you’re able to translate within the limitations that the GTE’s have specified, to ensure that the standards of translation for all users of that language are consistent. For example, with German there’s Formal & Informal, if a user has selected the Formal variant, the desire is for all plugin translations to also be in the formal variant, instead of mix-and-match.
  
  See these guides:
  - https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/handbook/plugin-theme-authors-guide/
  - https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/handbook/plugin-theme-authors-guide/pte-request/
Fernando Tellado 6:48 pm on August 5, 2025

Fíjate que pensaba que ya era así 😀

Me parece lógico, sobre todo porque pasa mucho que pretenden los desarrolladores que los traductores aceptemos textos “traducidos al español” desde su idioma, y sinceramente, no podemos tener traductores voluntarios desde cualquier idioma, es inviable, así que no queda otra que solo aceptar traducciones “del inglés”