Symfony translations not working

Question

I have done the following checklist:

1. created translation file respecting format domain.lang.loader
2. cleared cache
3. checked that language catalogue is created in cache folder

Though in my twig template file,

{{ 'message'|trans }}

never translates.

Where can I look next in order to make translations work?

Is there any chance that Doctrine Translatable Extension that I am using generates some kind of conflicts?

Solution 1

In Symfony 3.0 I had to clear the cache:

php bin/console cache:clear

I see you already did that, maybe it helps other like me.

Solution 2

Have you enabled the Translator service in your config file?

framework:
    translator: { fallbacks: en }

The language catalogue is created in your cache folder irrespective of whether your translator is enabled or not.

Did you try translating in your controller?

$trans = $this->get('translator')->trans('message');

Solution 3

Try to specify domain. If you not specify domain by default it a messages.

{{ 'message'|trans({}, 'some_domain') }} 

Then translations can be found in

• the kernel root directory/Resources/translations directory;
• the kernel root directory/Resources/bundle name/translations directory;
• the Resources/translations/ directory of the bundle.

For example some_domain.fr.yml. Last step is to configure your locale. You can get current locale from request with $request->getLocale()

P.S. try to rm -r app/cache to make sure that the cache is deleted

Solution 4

I could use one of the translations, but not the other and didn't know why. If you have troubles with translations also, read this.

First, standard checklist:

• Make sure you enabled and configured translator.
• Make sure translation is in proper place and follows proper naming convenction ( domain(messages by default).lang_code.file_format ).
• Clear cache using php app/console cache:clear command.
• Try to manually call $this->getRequest()->setLocale('en'); in Controller, also you may try to use $this->get('translator')->trans('Some message'); directly in your Controller.
• If it still doesn't work, make sure BOM isn't in your translated file. That was my case.

Watch out for BOM in the translated file. The translator who translates the yml file used UTF8 which is OK, but editor he used leaved BOM at the beginning of the file. This is dangerous probably because of PHP's UTF8 BOM bug as it adds few invisible characters to first section of your file.

Btw, debugging your translations may be very helpful, too.

Solution 5

According to the Symfony Translations Documentation page, if you are not using a Service Container for your translation purpose, these are simple steps to go:

1. Enable and configure Symfony's translation service.

   • YAML

     framework:
         translator: { fallbacks: [en] }
     

   • PHP

     $container->loadFromExtension('framework', array(
         'translator' => array('fallbacks' => array('en')),
     ));
     

2. Abstract strings (i.e. "messages") by wrapping them in calls to the Translator ("Basic Translation").

   public function indexAction()
   {
       $translated = $this->get('translator')->trans('Symfony is great');
   
       return new Response($translated);
   }
   

3. Create translation resources/files for each supported locale that translate each message in the application.

   Symfony looks for message files (i.e. translations) in the following default locations:

   • the app/Resources/translations directory;
   • the app/Resources/<bundle name>/translations directory;

   • the Resources/translations/ directory inside of any bundle.

     Translation File Name

     The filename of the translation files is also important: each message file must be named according to the following path: domain.locale.loader (e.g. filename: navigation.en.xlf):

     • domain: An optional way to organize messages into groups (e.g. admin, navigation or the default messages) - see Using Message Domains;

     • locale: The locale that the translations are for (e.g. en_GB, en, etc); loader: How Symfony should load and parse the file (e.g. xlf, php, yml, etc).

     • The loader can be the name of any registered loader. By default, Symfony provides many loaders, including:

       • xlf: XLIFF file;
       • php: PHP file;

       • yml: YAML file.

         The choice of which loader to use is entirely up to you and is a matter of taste. The recommended option is to use xlf for translations.

4. Determine, set and manage the user's locale for the request and optionally on the user's entire session.

5. Clear the cache:

   php bin/console c:c
   

---

The Translation Process

To actually translate the message, Symfony uses a simple process:

• The locale of the current user, which is stored on the request is determined;
• A catalog (e.g. big collection) of translated messages is loaded from translation resources defined for the locale (e.g. fr_FR). Messages from the fallback locale are also loaded and added to the catalog if they don't already exist. The end result is a large "dictionary" of translations.
• If the message is located in the catalog, the translation is returned. If not, the translator returns the original message.

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