unfoldingWord® Translation Notes are open-licensed exegetical notes that provide historical, cultural, and linguistic information for translators. It provides translators and checkers with pertinent, just-in-time information to help them make the best possible translation decisions.
If you want to download the UTN to use, go here: [https://www.unfoldingword.org/utn](https://www.unfoldingword.org/utn). UTN is also included in [tS](https://ufw.io/ts) and [tC](https://ufw.io/tc).
The first two options require you to clone the repository to your computer first. You may do this on the command line or using a program such as SmartGit. After making changes to the files you will need to commit and push your changes to the server and then create a Pull Request to merge them to the `master` branch.
Alternately, you may [download the master branch as a zip file](https://git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_tn/archive/master.zip) and extract that locally. After editing you would need to use the upload file feature in DCS to get your changes ready for a Pull Request.
This is the recommended way to edit the TSV files. tC Create is a web-based application that you can access [here](https://create.translationcore.com). NOTE: you need to have a Door43 account in order to use tC Create.
If you only need to change a word or two, this may be the quickest way to make your change. See the [protected branch workflow](https://help.door43.org/en/knowledgebase/15-door43-content-service/docs/46-protected-branch-workflow) document for step by step instructions.
**Note:** You must be careful not to delete any tab characters when editing with this method. Also, you CANNOT manually input the tab characters using the tab bar on your keyboard, because DCS will save them as spaces and not as tab separators. The best way to insert tab separators is by copying and pasting tab characters from an existing tNote.
The UTN are structured as TSV files to simplify importing and exporting into various formats for translation and presentation. This enables the tNs to be keyed to the original Greek and Hebrew text instead of only a Gateway Language translation.
A Tab Separated Value (TSV) file is like a Comma Separated Value file except that the tab character is what divides the values instead of a comma. This makes it easier to include prose text in the files because many languages require the use of commas, single quotes, and double quotes in their sentences and paragraphs.
The UTN are structured as one file per book of the bible and encoded in TSV format, for example, `01-GEN.tsv`. The columns are `Book`, `Chapter`, `Verse`, `ID`, `SupportReference`, `OrigQuote`, `Occurrence`, `GLQuote`, and `OccurrenceNote`.
* An [RC link](https://resource-container.readthedocs.io/en/latest/linking.html) can resolve to a specific note like this: `rc://en/tn/help/tit/01/01/swi9`.
* For certain notes, this field represents the display text for notes that do not relate to a specific word or phrase in the text. There are two such cases in the tN:
*`OccurrenceNote` - The Markdown formatted note itself. For example, `Paul speaks of God’s message as if it were an object that could be visibly shown to people. Alternate translation: “He caused me to understand his message” (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]])`
* All tNotes should reference ONLY a single translationAcademy article. If a second article needs to be referenced, an additional tNote should be added.
* All tNotes should reference one of the “Just-in-Time” articles from translationAcademy, i.e., those with file names beginning with “figs-” or “grammar-” “translate-” or “writing-.”
* The ULT term/concept being discussed in each Note should be in **bold type**, NOT in “quotation marks.”
* Only use quotation marks to indicate suggested translations. Do not precede the suggestion with the word “that” (which turns them into indirect quotes) i.e., You could say that “they were planning to assassinate him.” Corrected to: You could say, “they were planning to assassinate him.”
* It is not enough to enclose “for example” in commas mid sentence and follow it with an example, i.e., You can say this with an active form, for example, “Mordecai found out what they were planning.” Corrected to: You can say this with an active form such as “Mordecai found out what they were planning.” Another example might include: You can say this with an active form, and you can say who did the action. For example, you can say, “Then the king’s servants investigated Mordecai’s report and found out that it was true.”
* Do NOT include a period at the end of the “Alternate translation:” fragment at the end of a tNote. The “Alternate translation” should be formatted as a floating sentence fragment immediately followed by the translationAcademy hyperlink (if applicable), i.e., Alternation translation: “in the presence of Yahweh” (See: Metaphor)
* When composing tNotes using tC Create, all hyperlinks should be typed in “Markdown” mode instead of “Preview” mode. Hyperlinks entered in Preview mode will not be saved in their proper format.
* Scripture references within the same book should be referenced using both chapter and verse, separate by a colon, i.e. 3:16. To use this same example, the proper hyperlink format places the hyperlink text in brackets [3:16] immediately followed by the link itself in parentheses (../03/16.md). There should not be a space between the brackets and the parentheses.
* The file name in the SupportReference field MUST be an exact match for the hyperlink at the close of the tNote. If they do not match, the link will not work properly.
To learn the philosophy of how to translate these notes please see the [Translate the translationNotes](https://gl-manual.readthedocs.io/en/latest/gl_translation.html#gltranslation-transtn) article in the [Gateway Language Manual](https://gl-manual.readthedocs.io/).
* Remember: the `GLQuote` column *is not required* to be filled out. Only use this field if it is helpful during the translation process. The software that processes the tNs will use alignment data to identify which words in your GL translation the individual notes refer to.
The section above on [Editing the tNs](https://git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_tn#editing-the-utn) may give you ideas on what software to use. Of course, you can also convert the TSV files into another format, do the translation, and then convert them back to TSV files (just ensure the IDs are preserved if you do this). Follow [Translate Content Online](https://help.door43.org/en/knowledgebase/15-door43-content-service/docs/41-translate-content-online) to get a copy of this repository to begin your work.
As a translator of UTN into a GL, you may need to [add new notes](https://gl-manual.readthedocs.io/en/latest/gl_translation.html#may-i-add-a-note-that-would-help-with-translation-in-my-language). Follow these steps to do this:
2. Fill out each field for the row according to the [UTN TSV Column Description](https://git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_tn#utn-tsv-column-description) above, taking note of these instructions:
* If you don’t know Greek, put the GL text that the note refers to in the `GLQuote` field. Have a reviewer who knows Greek and your GL come back and add the approprate text from the UGNT that the note refers to.
See in Reader
