What It Does

RC-Translator automatically detects and translates foreign-language messages in your chat window. When someone types in French, German, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, or any of the other supported languages, the addon identifies the language and translates it — either inline in your chat frame or in a dedicated translation chat window.

No external services, no API keys, no internet connection required. Everything runs locally using built-in dictionaries with over 156,000 translation entries covering game terminology, common chat phrases, slang, and everyday conversation.

Features

Automatic Language Detection

The addon uses multiple detection methods to identify foreign languages in real time:

Script detection for non-Latin alphabets — instantly recognizes Cyrillic (Russian), Hangul (Korean), CJK (Chinese/Japanese), Hiragana, and Katakana
Marker word detection for Latin-script languages — distinguishes between French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian, Swedish, Filipino, and Latin American Spanish
Dictionary-based detection as a fallback — compares words against all loaded dictionaries to find the best match
Displays detection confidence percentage and method so you know how reliable the translation is

Translate Any Language to Any Language

RC-Translator isn't limited to translating everything into English. Set your source and target languages however you want:

Auto-detect → English: The default. Foreign messages get translated to English automatically.
Auto-detect → French: Playing on a French server? Set French as your target and all non-French messages get translated for you.
Spanish → German: Lock both source and target for specific translation pairs.
English → Japanese: Use the outgoing translation feature to type in English and get the Japanese translation to paste into chat.

The addon translates through English as a pivot language, so any combination of the 13 supported languages works.

Inline Chat Translation

When auto-translate is enabled, foreign messages are automatically translated directly in your chat frame. You'll see the translated text with a colored tag showing the source language, word count, and detection confidence. The original message stays visible so you can always see what was actually said.

Every foreign message also gets a clickable [T] button appended to it. Click it at any time to translate that specific message into the dedicated Translation Chat window for a clearer view.

Translation Chat Window (IM Window)

A standalone translation window that shows incoming and outgoing translations in a clean, scrollable layout:

Incoming pane: Shows the original message, the sender's name, the translated text, detected language, target language, and confidence level
Outgoing pane: Type a message, hit Send, and see the translation into your target language. Click the [T] button on the translated text to copy it to your chat input for sending
Dual language pickers: Choose source (or Auto-detect) and target language right from the IM window — no need to open settings

Foreign Word Highlighting

Foreign words in chat are highlighted with gold-colored clickable links. Hover over a highlighted word to see what language it was detected as. Click it to see the translation. This makes it easy to pick out foreign words at a glance even when you don't have auto-translate enabled.

Supported Languages (13 Languages, 156,000+ Entries)

Full Blizzard game data dictionaries (~15,000 entries each):

French (frFR)
German (deDE)
Spanish (esES)
Latin American Spanish (esMX)
Portuguese (ptBR)
Russian (ruRU)
Korean (koKR)
Simplified Chinese (zhCN)
Traditional Chinese (zhTW)

Extended dictionaries:

Italian (itIT) — 9,300+ entries
Japanese (jaJP) — 9,000+ entries

Community dictionaries:

Filipino (Tagalog) — 1,200+ entries
Swedish — 800+ entries

Dictionaries include WoW-specific terminology (spell names, item names, zone names, class/race names, profession terms, dungeon/raid names), common chat phrases, gaming slang, and everyday conversation vocabulary.

Custom Dictionary

Add your own translation entries to any language. If the built-in dictionary is missing a word or you want to override a translation, add it through the settings panel. Custom entries are saved per-profile and persist across sessions. You can also remove custom entries at any time.

Dictionary Sharing

Share your custom dictionary entries with other players who have RC-Translator installed. Send your custom entries for any language to party, raid, or guild members with one click. When you receive shared entries, a popup shows you what's being offered and lets you accept or decline.

Ignore List

Maintain a list of words that should never be translated or flagged as foreign. Gaming abbreviations like "dps", "lfg", "brb", "afk" are ignored by default. Add or remove words from the ignore list in settings.

Quick Translate Box

A text input field in the settings panel where you can type or paste any text and instantly see the translation. Useful for quick lookups without needing to wait for someone to type in chat.

Translate Last Messages

One-click buttons to translate the last message or the last 5 messages received. Handy when you join a group and want to catch up on what was said before you arrived.

Profile System

Create multiple translation profiles with different settings. Each profile saves its own target language, auto-translate preference, enabled channels, custom dictionary, and ignore list independently. Switch between profiles from the settings panel — useful if you play on servers with different primary languages.

Channel Filtering

Choose exactly which chat channels get translated. Enable or disable translation for: Say, Yell, Party, Raid, Guild, Officer, Whisper, General/Trade channels, Instance Chat, and Emote. Each channel can be toggled independently.

Minimap Button

A draggable minimap button for quick access:

Left-click: Open the settings panel
Right-click: Toggle auto-translate on/off
Drag: Reposition around the minimap edge
Tooltip shows current status, active language, and dictionary stats
Can be hidden in settings if you prefer slash commands

Slash Commands

/rct — Open settings panel
/rct auto — Toggle auto-translate
/rct im — Open/close the Translation Chat window
/rct t [text] — Quick translate text to your target language
/rct lang [code] — Change target language (e.g., /rct lang fr)
/rct last [n] — Translate the last n messages
/rct stats — Show dictionary statistics
/rct langs — List all available languages
/rct help — Show all available commands

Appearance Options

Customizable translation text color with a color picker
Toggle detection info display (confidence %, detection method)
Toggle showing the original message alongside translations
Show or hide the minimap button

Who Is This For?

Players on multilingual servers where guild chat, trade chat, or party chat includes multiple languages
Players who group with people from other regions through cross-realm, LFG, or battlegrounds
Non-English speakers who want to translate English chat into their own language
Anyone who's ever seen a message in chat they couldn't read and wished they knew what it said

Installation

Drop the RC-Translator folder into your Interface/AddOns directory
Reload your UI or restart the game
The minimap button appears automatically — left-click to open settings
Set your target language and enable auto-translate

No configuration required to get started. The default settings (auto-detect → English, all channels enabled) work for most players out of the box.

Compatibility

WoW Classic (MoP Remix / Classic Era / Season of Discovery)
Lightweight: all dictionaries load on demand, no external dependencies
No API calls, no internet required — fully offline translation
Compatible with other chat addons (Prat, ElvUI, etc.)

RC Translator