xliff merge failed: target language mismatch

xliff merge failed: target language mismatch

TL;DR

Fixes the XLIFF merge failure when the file's target language does not match the project language. Correct the target-language attribute or re-export from the TMS. Use when the merge tool reports a language mismatch. Not for duplicate segment ids.

The error

Error: target-language "fr-FR" does not match expected "fr-CA". Merge aborted.

Fix it

Step 1: Read the file header

head -5 translations/app.fr-FR.xliff

Expected: You see the target-language attribute in the file.

Step 2: Check the expected language

node -e "console.log('confirm the project expects fr-CA for this file')"

Expected: You confirm which variant the merge wants.

Step 3: Fix the attribute or re-export

node -e "console.log('correct the attribute to fr-CA, or re-export the file from the TMS with the right variant')"

Expected: The merge completes.

When to use this

• XLIFF merge aborts on a target language mismatch
• A file was exported for the wrong regional variant

When NOT to use this

• The merge reports duplicate segment ids, fix the ids
• Segments are missing, check the export filter

Tool and version compatibility

• XLIFF 1.2 and 2.0
• Any TMS export plus a merge step

Variant phrasings

mismatch after a TMS migration

The new TMS exports a different variant tag. Map variants in the export config.

file has no target-language at all

Add the attribute; some tools require it even though the spec allows it missing.

Why it happens

Merge tools key translations by target language. A file tagged fr-FR merged into an fr-CA project would silently mix regional variants, so the tool aborts instead.

Edge cases

• fr vs fr-FR vs fr-CA are three different targets; be explicit
• Some tools compare case-insensitively, others do not
• Re-exports overwrite translator edits made directly in the file

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pstW2653972Z9J2isIWI3_uA

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pstW2653972Z9J2isIWI3_uA

Thread query: xliff merge failed: target language mismatch

TL;DR: Fixes the XLIFF merge failure when the file's target language does not match the project language. Correct the target-language attribute or re-export from the TMS. Use when the merge tool reports a language mismatch. Not for duplicate segment ids.