---
name: translation-witness
description: Stage 5 witness-collection skill — gather, normalize, and catalog PD English translations as reference material for adversarial review and interlinear work. Witnesses are never alignment targets; they are displayed in the reader without structural modification.
allowed-tools: Bash(find:*), Bash(ls:*), Bash(curl:*), Bash(jq:*), Bash(git:*), Read, Write, Edit, Grep, Glob
---

# Translation Witness (Stage 5 Reference Material Collection)

Collect and normalize PD English translations as reference material for one target text.

This skill is the **Stage 5 owner** for witness collection.

## Critical Policy

**Witnesses are NEVER alignment targets. Witnesses are NEVER versified.**

Existing PD translations serve as:
- **Adversarial comparison material** during Stage 6a translation generation
- **Contextual sense disambiguation** for Stage 8 interlinear work
- **Optional display alternatives** in the reader (shown as-is, without structural modification)

Witnesses are **NOT**:
- Targets for DP alignment
- Targets for range alignment
- Targets for direct mapping
- Structurally modified to fit Greek segmentation
- Versified or given verse-aligned editions in the DB

**Row view is unavailable for witnesses.** Only versified (generated) translations can render in row view, because row view requires 1:1 structural correspondence with Greek. Witnesses have arbitrary structure.

The generated translation (Stage 6a) is always the primary English content. Witnesses are supplementary reference material.

### Reference-preserving import (Path A)
Witnesses that carry native reference markers matching the Greek reference system may be imported as reader-display editions. This is **not** structural modification — it is parsing what the witness already provides.

Supported import formats (set in catalog `format` field):
- `ref-text-tsv` — `BookName Chapter:Verse\tText` (e.g., John witnesses)
- `ref-bracket-prose` — `[ref] text` with optional headers/comments (e.g., Perrin, Farquharson)
- `structured-json` — `{"segments": [{"ref":"...", "text":"..."}]}` (e.g., Hymn witnesses)
- `chapters-json` — legacy `{"chapters": {"1": [{"verse":1, "text":"..."}]}}` format

Import is blocked (with a warning) if <50% of witness references match Greek references (direct or parent-prefix match).

### What is NOT permitted
- Forcing alignment on witnesses that lack native reference markers
- Splitting or merging witness segments to match Greek granularity
- Creating new reference systems that don't exist in the source text

## Quick Status

Witness dirs: !`find ${LYCEUM_TEXTS_DIR:-output/texts} -path '*/witnesses' -type d 2>/dev/null | wc -l`
English candidate catalogs: !`find ${LYCEUM_TEXTS_DIR:-output/texts} -path '*/sources/english_candidates.json' 2>/dev/null | wc -l`

## Commands

- `/translation-witness gather [work]` — Normalize the available English witness sources into comparable artifacts
- `/translation-witness classify [work]` — Classify witness usefulness by role (adversarial comparison, glossing, display)
- `/translation-witness select [work]` — Choose primary witnesses for each downstream use case
- `/translation-witness status [work]` — Summarize witness coverage and role assignments

Target: $ARGUMENTS

---

## Owned Responsibilities

### Owns
- PD English witness collection and normalization
- Literalness and quality notes per witness
- Role classification (adversarial, glossing, display)
- Witness catalog with provenance

### Does not own
- Translation generation (Stage 6a — translation-synthesis)
- Structural alignment of any kind (Stage 6b — versify)
- Interlinear/gloss generation (Stage 8)
- Source acquisition beyond English witnesses (Stages 1-4)

---

## Witness Role Classes

Each witness should be classified for its usefulness in one or more roles.
These are values for the `roles` array field in catalog.json (e.g. `"roles": ["adversarial-comparison", "reader-display"]`):

### `adversarial-comparison`
- Literal enough to catch errors in the generated translation
- Follows Greek meaning closely (even if style is awkward)
- Useful for detecting mistranslations, hallucinations, omissions
- **Primary role** — at least one witness must qualify

### `glossing-reference`
- Useful for contextual sense disambiguation in Stage 8
- May have good vocabulary choices that inform gloss selection
- Doesn't need to be structurally aligned

### `reader-display`
- Suitable as an optional literary/idiomatic alternative in the reader
- Displayed **as-is** without structural modification
- May segment differently than Greek (that's acceptable for display)

### `versification-candidate`
- Witness has **native reference markers** that match the Greek reference system (same scheme, same granularity)
- Witness segment count is **within 10%** of Greek segment count (after sub-segmentation, if applicable)
- Witness is **literal enough for learner use** — not a loose paraphrase or literary adaptation
- Witness is **public domain**
- Witness text is complete (no missing chapters or sections)

A `versification-candidate` witness may be directly versified by Stage 6 without generating a new translation. This is the **fast path**: if automated versification succeeds (100% coverage, 1:1 mapping with Greek segments), the witness becomes the versified edition and Stage 6a generation is skipped entirely.

**Criteria that disqualify a witness from this role:**
- Reference system doesn't match Greek (e.g., different chapter/verse numbering)
- Segment count diverges by >10% from Greek
- Translation is too literary/paraphrastic (e.g., Pope's Iliad)
- Translation merges or splits segments relative to Greek structure
- Incomplete coverage

A witness can hold `versification-candidate` alongside other roles (e.g., `adversarial-comparison`).

### `limited-use`
- Available but not strongly useful for any of the above
- Document why (too paraphrastic, incomplete, etc.)

### Important note

This classification replaces the old "alignment fitness" classification (direct-match, DP-alignable, range-only, unsuitable). Those categories are obsolete — we no longer align witnesses.

---

## Workflows

## `/translation-witness gather`

Collect and normalize available PD English translations.

### For each witness, record
- Source identity and URL
- Translator and edition metadata
- Publication year and license/PD status
- Literalness notes (how closely it follows Greek)
- Structural notes (how it segments — informational only)
- Quality notes (readability, completeness)

### Output location
```
$LYCEUM_TEXTS_DIR/<slug>/
├── witnesses/
│   ├── perrin-1919.txt
│   ├── long-1862.txt
│   └── ...
├── sources/
│   └── english_candidates.json
```

### Witness file format
Preserve the witness text as-is. Do not force it into Greek segmentation. Include metadata header if useful, but the text should be readable.

---

## `/translation-witness classify`

Classify each witness by role usefulness.

### Evaluation criteria

**For adversarial-comparison:**
- How literal is the translation?
- Does it preserve Greek word order when possible?
- Does it translate idioms literally or paraphrase?
- Can it catch generated translation errors?

**For glossing-reference:**
- Does it have good English equivalents for Greek terms?
- Is vocabulary consistent?
- Could it inform word-level gloss choices?

**For reader-display:**
- Is it readable and natural English?
- Is it complete (no major omissions)?
- Would users find it valuable as an alternative view?

### Output
Add classification to witness catalog (schema v2):
```json
{
  "schema_version": 2,
  "work": "work-slug",
  "witnesses": [
    {
      "id": "perrin-1919",
      "title": "Perrin (1919)",
      "translator": "Bernadotte Perrin",
      "year": 1919,
      "license": "Public Domain",
      "file": "perrin-1919.txt",
      "format": "ref-bracket-prose",
      "roles": ["adversarial-comparison", "reader-display"],
      "literalness": "moderately literal",
      "notes": "..."
    }
  ]
}
```

**Catalog schema v2 rules:**
- `file`: single string, relative to `witnesses/` dir (no `files.json`/`local_file` variants)
- `format`: one of `ref-text-tsv`, `ref-bracket-prose`, `structured-json`, `chapters-json`
- `roles`: flat `[]string` (not nested objects)
- `title`: required — used as edition label in the reader

---

## `/translation-witness select`

Assign witnesses to roles for downstream use.

### Required selections
- **Adversarial comparison (Stage 6a)**: At least one witness must be selected. This is mandatory — Stage 6a cannot proceed without a comparison witness.
- **Glossing reference (Stage 8)**: Optional but recommended. Multiple witnesses improve confidence.
- **Reader display**: Optional. Include if witness adds value for users.

### If no suitable adversarial witness exists
- Document the gap explicitly
- Stage 6a can still proceed, but generated translation confidence is lower
- Consider gathering additional witnesses or proceeding with caution

---

## `/translation-witness status`

Summarize current state.

### Report includes
- Witnesses collected
- Role classifications
- Whether adversarial-comparison witness exists
- Whether Stage 6a and Stage 8 have sufficient reference material
- Gaps or concerns

---

## Reader Display Policy

Witnesses selected for `reader-display` are shown in the Lyceum reader **as-is**, without structural modification.

### What this means
- The witness text keeps its original segmentation
- It may not align 1:1 with Greek segments
- The reader may display it in a side panel or expandable section
- It is clearly labeled as the translator's work (e.g., "Perrin 1919")

### What we do NOT do
- Force witnesses into verse-by-verse alignment with Greek
- Run DP/range alignment to create pseudo-aligned witnesses
- Split or merge witness segments to match Greek
- Create "verse-aligned" versions of literary translations

The generated translation (Stage 6a) provides the verse-aligned English. Witnesses provide context and alternatives.

---

## Priority Texts

Texts where multiple witnesses improve confidence:

| Text | Recommended witnesses |
|---|---|
| Homer (Iliad/Odyssey) | Murray, Butler, additional if available |
| Meditations | Long, Haines |
| Anabasis | Brownson, Dakyns |
| Apology | Jowett, Fowler |
| John | OpenGNT, ASV, KJV as secondary |

---

## Verification Contract

This skill follows the Stage 5 contract.

### Verify
- Witness catalog exists with provenance
- Each witness has `roles` array with at least one classification
- At least one adversarial-comparison witness exists (or gap documented)
- Witnesses are preserved as-is (not structurally modified)

### Minimum evidence
- Witness files under `witnesses/`
- Witness catalog with `roles` assignments
- Classification report

### Pass criteria
- Provenance recorded for each witness
- Role assignments explicit and justified
- Adversarial-comparison witness available for Stage 6a
- No attempts to align or modify witness structure

### Failure examples
- Witnesses collected but roles not assigned
- No adversarial-comparison witness and gap not documented
- Witness text modified to fit Greek structure
- Alignment fitness classified (obsolete pattern)

### Required next steps
After witness collection:
- `/translation-synthesis run <work>` to generate the verse-aligned translation
- Witnesses used for adversarial comparison during generation

---

## Verification

After completing this stage, run the automated verification script:

```bash
bash scripts/verify_stage_5.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 |
|---|---|
| `$LYCEUM_TEXTS_DIR/<slug>/witnesses/` | Witness text files |
| `$LYCEUM_TEXTS_DIR/<slug>/sources/english_candidates.json` | Witness catalog |
| `.pi/skills/translation-synthesis/SKILL.md` | Stage 6a (uses witnesses for comparison) |
| `.pi/skills/versify/SKILL.md` | Stage 6b (validates generated translation) |
| `docs/text-pipeline-master-plan-2026-03-13.md` | Pipeline architecture |
| `docs/reader-reliability-and-translation-accuracy-charter-2026-03-13.md` | Multi-witness motivation |