# Two languages, one source

Every page ships in English and Brazilian Portuguese. The two versions are one page in two renderings, and the process keeps them from drifting apart.

## English first

English is the source of truth, and the order of work follows from it: the English page is written and finished, then translated. A Portuguese page written first has no source, and the English page that follows becomes a translation of a translation.

## Paired by namespace

The two versions share one `namespace`, identical character for character. That key is what connects a page to its translation, so the reader can switch languages on any page. Permalinks are localized: the Portuguese URL is translated and ASCII-folded.

## Written to be translated

The sentence rules serve the pair. Short sentences with simple tenses translate without restructuring, and a sentence that needs no restructuring is a sentence where meaning does not get lost. The vocabulary side is a set of fixed choices: which terms stay in English, and which Portuguese words are avoided.

## Related resources

- [Bilingual pages](/en/documentation/style-guide/conventions/bilingual.md): The full contract for a translation pair.
- [Documentation terminology](/en/documentation/style-guide/writing/terminology.md): The naming rules and the terms that stay in English.
- [Sentence structure](/en/documentation/style-guide/writing/sentence-structure.md): The sentence rules that make pages translatable.