--- name: translation-synthesis description: Stage 6a translation generator — produce structure-preserving verse-aligned English from Greek, adversarially reviewed against PD witnesses. Skipped when a versification-candidate witness is successfully versified via the Stage 6 fast path. allowed-tools: Bash(python3:*), Bash(sqlite3:*), Bash(pi:*), Bash(find:*), Bash(wc:*), Bash(ls:*), Bash(bash:*), Bash(git:*), Bash(jq:*), Read, Write, Edit, Grep, Glob --- # Translation Synthesis (Stage 6a) Generate a structure-preserving English translation aligned 1:1 with the Greek reference system. This skill is the **Stage 6a owner** — the first half of Stage 6. **Stage 6a is conditional.** Before this skill runs, the orchestrator attempts the **witness versification fast path** (`/versify try-witness`). If a `versification-candidate` witness is successfully versified (100% coverage, 1:1 mapping), that witness becomes the versified edition and Stage 6a is skipped entirely. Stage 6a runs when: - No witness is classified as `versification-candidate` - All versification-candidate witnesses fail automated versification (segment count mismatch, reference mismatch, coverage < 100%) - The orchestrator explicitly requests fresh generation When Stage 6a does run, the generated translation is the primary English content for that text. ## Quick Status Generated translation chapters: !`find ${LYCEUM_TEXTS_DIR:-output/texts} -path '*/versification/chapter_*.json' 2>/dev/null | wc -l` Texts with generated translations: !`find ${LYCEUM_TEXTS_DIR:-output/texts} -path '*/versification/chapter_01.json' 2>/dev/null | xargs -I{} dirname {} | xargs -I{} dirname {} | sort -u | wc -l` ## Commands - `/translation-synthesis run [work]` — Generate or regenerate the verse-aligned translation for one text - `/translation-synthesis review [work]` — Re-run adversarial review on existing generated translations - `/translation-synthesis status [work]` — Summarize generation progress, review verdicts, and known issues Target: $ARGUMENTS --- ## Owned Responsibilities ### Owns - Stage 6a translation generation - structure-preserving English output (one segment per Greek segment) - adversarial review against PD witness translations - generation metadata (model, timestamp, witness used) - review reports with issues and verdicts ### Does not own - PD witness collection (Stage 5 — translation-witness) - structural validation and DB import (Stage 6b — versify) - interlinear/gloss generation (Stage 8) - final ship promotion (Stage 10) --- ## Witness Versification (Fast Path) Before Stage 6a generation runs, the orchestrator invokes `/versify try-witness [work]` to attempt the fast path. This is documented here for context — the actual logic lives in the versify skill. ### When the fast path succeeds - A `versification-candidate` witness was found in the witness catalog - Its references map 1:1 to Greek segments - Coverage is 100% - The witness is imported as the versified edition - **Stage 6a is skipped** — no translation is generated - The witness still gets a **validation pass** (checked for empty segments, reference integrity, completeness) via `/versify try-witness` ### When the fast path fails - No `versification-candidate` exists, OR - All candidates fail automated versification - **Stage 6a runs normally** — generate a fresh translation with adversarial review - Then Stage 6b validates and imports the generated translation ### What this means for this skill - This skill's `run` command is only invoked when the fast path has already failed - All generation requirements, adversarial review, and quality standards still apply - The fast path does not change how generation works — it only determines whether generation happens at all --- ## Generation Requirements The generated translation MUST be: 1. **Structure-preserving**: exactly one English segment per Greek segment (verse, sentence, or unit) 2. **Faithful**: accurate to the Greek meaning, segment-by-segment — no paraphrasing across boundaries 3. **Learner-readable**: clear, natural English that helps learners understand what the text says 4. **Consistent**: recurring Greek terms get consistent English equivalents where reasonable 5. **Labeled**: output includes model name, timestamp, and witness translator used for comparison The generated translation MUST NOT: - Rearrange clauses across segment boundaries - Merge or split segments - Add explanatory content not in the Greek - Be presented as a historical/literary translation --- ## Adversarial Review Every generated translation batch is reviewed against PD witness translations. ### Review checks 1. **MISTRANSLATION**: meaning that differs from the Greek 2. **HALLUCINATION**: content added that is not in the Greek 3. **OMISSION**: Greek content that was dropped 4. **CLAUSE REARRANGEMENT**: significant reordering away from Greek structure 5. **TERM INCONSISTENCY**: same Greek word translated differently without reason ### Review output Each review produces a JSON object: ```json { "verdict": "pass" | "fail", "issues": [ { "reference": "2.3", "type": "mistranslation", "description": "...", "suggested_fix": "..." } ], "notes": "..." } ``` ### Handling review failures - Issues are logged but translations are kept (human review will catch serious problems) - High issue counts should trigger re-examination - Critical mistranslations should be fixed before proceeding to Stage 6b --- ## Workflows ## `/translation-synthesis run` Generate or regenerate the verse-aligned translation. ### Prerequisites - Stage 5 complete: at least one PD witness available for adversarial comparison - Greek edition segments exist in the database - Workspace has witness information (if using canonical workspace) ### Execution #### Using the generation script directly ```bash # Preview chapter 1 without saving python3 scripts/generate_translation.py --text --chapter 1 --preview # Generate specific chapter python3 scripts/generate_translation.py --text --chapter 1 # Generate all chapters python3 scripts/generate_translation.py --text --all # Resume from a specific chapter python3 scripts/generate_translation.py --text --all --start-chapter 15 ``` #### Execution modes - `--mode api`: Uses ANTHROPIC_API_KEY to call the Anthropic API directly (faster) - `--mode agent`: Spawns pi subprocesses (no API key required, slower) - Auto-detection: uses API mode if key is available, otherwise agent mode #### Adding new texts Currently `generate_translation.py` requires text configuration in its `TEXT_CONFIG` dict. To add a new text: 1. Add entry with `greek_edition_id`, `english_edition_id` (witness), work URN, generated URN 2. Run generation 3. Optionally use `--import` to import directly to DB ### Output location ``` $LYCEUM_TEXTS_DIR//versification/ ├── chapter_01.json ├── chapter_02.json └── ... ``` ### Chapter file format ```json { "chapter": 1, "generated_at": "2026-03-15T04:44:15.458022+00:00", "model": "claude-sonnet-4-20250514", "witness": "Bernadotte Perrin (1919)", "segments": [ {"reference": "1.1", "translation": "..."}, {"reference": "1.2", "translation": "..."} ], "reviews": [ {"verdict": "pass", "issues": [], "notes": "..."} ] } ``` --- ## `/translation-synthesis review` Re-run adversarial review on existing generated translations. Useful when: - New/better PD witnesses have been gathered - Review prompts have been improved - Issues from initial review need re-examination ### Steps 1. Load existing chapter files from `versification/` 2. Load current PD witness(es) 3. Re-run review prompts 4. Update review sections in chapter files 5. Report aggregate pass/fail/issue counts --- ## `/translation-synthesis status` Summarize current state. ### Report includes - Chapters generated vs total expected - Review verdicts (pass/fail counts) - Issue breakdown by type - Outstanding high-severity issues - Readiness for Stage 6b (versify) ### SQL helpers ```sql -- Count Greek segments by chapter SELECT CAST(SUBSTR(reference, 1, INSTR(reference, '.') - 1) AS INTEGER) as chapter, COUNT(*) as segments FROM segments WHERE edition_id = GROUP BY chapter; -- Count generated segments SELECT COUNT(*) FROM segments WHERE edition_id = ; ``` --- ## Important Rules ### Generation is skipped only via the fast path Do NOT skip translation synthesis for ad-hoc reasons like: - "The existing Perrin/Murray/Long translation is good enough" - "This text already has verse numbers" - "It's biblical so we can use KJV/ASV" The **only** legitimate way to skip Stage 6a is via the witness versification fast path (`/versify try-witness`), which requires: - A witness explicitly classified as `versification-candidate` in the Stage 5 catalog - Automated versification succeeding with 100% coverage and 1:1 mapping - The orchestrator confirming the fast path result before skipping generation If the fast path was not attempted or did not succeed, generation MUST run. ### Per-chapter isolation - Process one chapter at a time - Never mix segments from different chapters in a batch - Save after each chapter to enable resume ### Labeling All output must be clearly labeled as generated: - `generated_at` timestamp - `model` name - `witness` used for comparison - URN includes "generated" marker (e.g., `...generated-eng1`) ### Rate limiting When using API mode, include delays between batches to avoid rate limits. --- ## Lessons Learned ### Why generation is the default (and the fast path is an exception) 1. Pope's Iliad cannot be forced into line-level 1:1 alignment — too literary, wrong structure 2. Townsend's Aesop is too loose for reliable verse alignment 3. Murray's Homer requires range-based fallback with imperfect coverage 4. Long's Meditations required elaborate DP mapping with hand-verified tables 5. Even "verse-aligned" biblical texts have numbering variations Generating a structure-preserving translation eliminates all alignment-mode classification effort for the majority of texts. ### When the fast path works (and why it exists) Some texts have PD translations that are already naturally 1:1 with the Greek: - NT witnesses (ASV, KJV) share the same verse numbering as the Greek — despite occasional variations, automated versification can handle these when the match rate is high enough - Scholarly literal translations of segmented texts (e.g., Perrin's Plutarch with section markers) may already align structurally - The fast path exists to avoid expensive LLM generation when a perfectly good literal PD translation already has the right structure The key insight: the old problems (Pope, Townsend, Murray, Long) were caused by trying to force-align *unsuitable* witnesses. The fast path only attempts versification on witnesses that Stage 5 has explicitly classified as `versification-candidate` — witnesses that are literal, reference-aligned, and structurally compatible. ### What makes a good witness for comparison - Literal scholarly translations catch more errors - Multiple witnesses increase confidence - Literary/idiomatic translations may miss structural issues - Witness doesn't need to be aligned — just readable for comparison --- ## Verification Contract This skill follows the Stage 6a contract. ### Verify - Generated translation has one segment per Greek segment - Adversarial review was performed against at least one PD witness - No cross-chapter contamination - Model/timestamp metadata is present - Issues are documented (even if verdict is "pass") ### Minimum evidence - Chapter files under `versification/` - Each chapter file has `segments` and `reviews` - `generated_at`, `model`, and `witness` fields present ### Pass criteria - 100% structural coverage: every Greek segment has a generated translation - Adversarial review completed for all chapters - No unresolved critical mistranslations blocking Stage 6b - Output is labeled as generated ### Failure examples - Generated translation hallucinates content not in the Greek - Adversarial review was skipped - Segments are merged or split relative to Greek structure - Chapter files missing review data ### Next steps after pass - Proceed to `/versify run ` for structural validation and DB import --- ## Verification After completing this stage, run the automated verification script: ```bash bash scripts/verify_stage_6a.sh "${SLUG}" ``` Exit codes: 0=PASS (advance), 1=FAIL (block), 2=WARN (advance with notes). The orchestrator runs this automatically; when executing manually, check the output for [FAIL] or [WARN] lines. --- ## Key Files | File | Purpose | |---|---| | `scripts/generate_translation.py` | Core generation script | | `$LYCEUM_TEXTS_DIR//versification/` | Generated chapter files | | `.pi/skills/versify/SKILL.md` | Stage 6b (validation/import) | | `.pi/skills/translation-witness/SKILL.md` | Stage 5 (witness collection) | | `docs/text-pipeline-master-plan-2026-03-13.md` | Pipeline architecture |