# Cultural Adaptation Profiles Locale profiles for cultural deep-adaptation. Loaded on demand by `blog-localize` and by `blog-multilingual` during the adaptation pass. This file is the single source of truth, do not duplicate it elsewhere. Each profile covers: address form (formality), example brands and companies to substitute in, currency and pricing conventions, statistics sources to prefer, legal references to swap, CTA tone, and idiom notes. ## DACH (Germany, Austria, German-speaking Switzerland) **Locales:** `de-DE`, `de-AT`, `de-CH`. - **Formality:** B2B and tech: `Sie` (formal). Lifestyle, gaming, D2C: `du` (informal). Pick one and use it consistently for the entire post. SaaS for SMB defaults to `du`; enterprise SaaS defaults to `Sie`. - **Brand examples to swap to:** MediaMarkt, Saturn, Otto, Zalando (retail), Lidl, Aldi (grocery), Deutsche Bank, ING (finance), SAP, Siemens (B2B tech). For Austria: Spar, Hofer, BAWAG. For Swiss: Migros, Coop, UBS. - **Currency:** EUR for DE and AT, CHF for CH. Format: `1.234,56 EUR` (DE/AT) or `CHF 1'234.56` (CH). - **Statistics sources to prefer:** Statista (Germany scope), Bitkom, Bundesnetzagentur, Destatis (Statistisches Bundesamt), HWWI, ifo Institut, Bertelsmann Stiftung. Avoid US-only Pew or Nielsen unless explicitly framed as US comparison. - **Legal references to swap:** CCPA to DSGVO (GDPR in DACH-speak), FTC to Bundeskartellamt, FCC to Bundesnetzagentur. Accessibility law is jurisdiction-specific: DE BGG, AT BGStG, CH BehiG. Keep ADA when the claim is specifically about US compliance. - **CTA tone:** Informational, never imperative. Prefer "Jetzt entdecken", "Mehr erfahren", "Kostenlos testen". Avoid "Buy now", "Sign up today" style. Trust signals (data protection, GDPR compliance) outperform urgency. - **Idiom notes:** Compound nouns are normal; don't break them. "Game-changer" becomes "Wendepunkt" or specific concrete claim. "Best practices" stays in English. ## Francophone (France, Quebec, Belgium-FR, Switzerland-FR) **Locales:** `fr-FR`, `fr-CA`, `fr-BE`, `fr-CH`. - **Formality:** Default `vous` for almost all professional content. `tu` only for B2C lifestyle aimed at under-30 audiences. France business culture is markedly more formal than US. - **Brand examples to swap to:** Carrefour, Auchan, Leclerc, FNAC (retail/electronics), Orange, SFR (telecom), BNP Paribas, Société Générale (finance), Dassault, Capgemini (B2B tech). Quebec: Hydro-Québec, Desjardins, Couche-Tard. - **Currency:** EUR for `fr-FR` and `fr-BE`, CHF for `fr-CH`, CAD for `fr-CA`. Format: `1 234,56 EUR` (NBSP as thousands separator). Quebec writes CAD as `1 234,56 $` with the symbol after. - **Statistics sources to prefer:** INSEE, Médiamétrie, IFOP, BVA, ARCOM (formerly CSA), Statistique Canada (for fr-CA), Eurostat (for fr-FR European context). - **Legal references to swap:** CCPA / GDPR -> RGPD, FTC -> DGCCRF, ADA -> loi du 11 février 2005. Quebec adds Loi 25 (privacy) and Loi 96 (French language). - **CTA tone:** Polite, restrained, value-focused. "Découvrez", "En savoir plus", "Essayer gratuitement". Avoid "Achetez maintenant" unless e-commerce flash-sale context. Quebec accepts slightly more direct CTAs than France. - **Idiom notes:** "Workflow" stays English in tech contexts. "Brand" often translated as "marque". Be careful with Quebec vs. France vocabulary differences (e.g., "courriel" vs. "email", "fin de semaine" vs. "weekend"). ## Hispanic (Spain vs. LATAM) Hispanic markets split sharply. Do not conflate `es-ES` with `es-MX` or generic `es`. If a user writes `es`, ask which market or require explicit neutral Spanish mode. ### Spain (`es-ES`) - **Formality:** `tú` for B2C and most digital content. `usted` only for highly formal B2B (banking, legal). "Vosotros" exists; LATAM doesn't use it. - **Brand examples:** El Corte Inglés, Mercadona, Carrefour España (retail), Telefónica/Movistar, Vodafone España (telecom), Santander, BBVA (finance), Inditex/Zara, Iberdrola (B2B). - **Currency:** EUR. Format: `1.234,56 EUR`. - **Sources:** INE (Instituto Nacional de Estadística), CIS, IAB Spain, Comscore España, Eurostat. - **Legal:** RGPD (GDPR), AEPD (data protection authority), CNMC (competition), Ley General de Publicidad. - **CTAs:** Direct but warm. "Descubre", "Empieza ahora", "Pruébalo gratis". ### LATAM (Mexico `es-MX`, Argentina `es-AR`, Colombia `es-CO`) - **Formality:** `tú` general default. Argentina uses `vos` (voseo). Colombia mixes `tú` and `usted` depending on region. Mexico is consistently `tú`. - **Brand examples (MX):** Walmart México, Liverpool, Coppel, Telcel, BBVA México, Bimbo. (AR): Mercado Libre, Banco Galicia. (CO): Éxito, Bancolombia, Rappi. - **Currency:** Local. MXN (`$1,234.56 MXN`), ARS (`$1.234,56`), COP (`$1.234 COP`). Use whole-peso COP examples unless a source explicitly uses centavos. Always specify the currency code; bare `$` is ambiguous. - **Sources:** INEGI (MX), DANE (CO), INDEC (AR), Comscore LATAM, IAB LATAM. - **Legal:** LFPDPPP (MX), Ley 1581 (CO), Ley 25.326 (AR). PROFECO (MX consumer protection). - **CTAs:** Warm, direct, relationship-building. "Descubre cómo", "Únete gratis", "Empieza hoy". ## Japanese (Japan, `ja-JP`) - **Formality registers:** Three to know. `desu/masu` (polite, default for most published content). `de aru` (declarative, used in serious essays, white papers). Casual forms (`da`, plain verbs) for blog posts aimed at consumer audiences. Pick one register and stay in it. - **Honorifics:** Use `-san` when referring to people. Companies take `sama` in formal contact contexts but not in editorial body. - **Brand examples:** Aeon, Ito-Yokado, Don Quijote (retail), Rakuten, Mercari (e-commerce), NTT Docomo, SoftBank (telecom), MUFG, SMBC (finance), Sony, Toyota, Hitachi (B2B), LINE, PayPay (payments). - **Currency:** Yen, no decimals. Prefer `1,234円` in body copy or `JPY 1,234` in finance-style contexts. - **Sources:** Statistics Bureau of Japan (Soumusho), METI, Nikkei research, Dentsu reports, Macromill, Recruit Works Institute, Mitsubishi Research. - **Legal:** APPI (Act on Protection of Personal Information), JFTC (Japan Fair Trade Commission), METI guidelines. - **CTAs:** Soft, indirect, group-oriented. Avoid imperative tone. Prefer phrases that emphasize benefit, ease, or community ("everyone is using it" angles). Hard urgency converts poorly. - **Idiom notes:** English loanwords (katakana) are common in tech copy but should be reserved for established terms. Avoid inventing new katakana words. Numbered lists work well; rhetorical questions are less common than in EN. ## Custom-Locale Template When the target locale lacks a profile here, build one inline. Required fields: ```yaml locale: # e.g. nl-NL, pl-PL, sv-SE, tr-TR formality: default: notes: brand_examples: retail: [..., ...] finance: [..., ...] telecom: [..., ...] b2b_tech: [..., ...] currency: code: format: sources_preferred: - - legal_references: privacy: competition: advertising: cta_tone: style: avoid: [...] idiom_notes: ``` Quick research pass to fill the template: 1. Search `[country] official statistics agency` for the sources block. 2. Search `[country] data protection authority` for the legal block. 3. Pull the top 3 retailers and top 3 banks from a recent business press article. 4. Read 2-3 native blog posts in the target market to calibrate `formality.default` and `cta_tone.style`. Save custom locale profiles outside this shared skill reference, for example in a project-local `.claude/blog-locale-profiles/.md` file or in the task output. Do not append runtime profiles to this file. ## Profile Selection Logic Used by `blog-localize` (Phase 1) and `blog-multilingual` (Phase 4): 1. Exact locale match (`de-CH`, `fr-CA`, `es-MX`). 2. Language-only fallback only for unambiguous editorial markets (`de`, `fr`, `ja`). Treat `es`, `pt`, `zh`, and any language spanning materially different legal, currency, or script markets as ambiguous unless the user requests explicit neutral mode. 3. Regional grouping (e.g., DACH for any `de-*`, LATAM for any `es-*` other than `es-ES`). 4. Custom-locale template if no match.