--- name: Translator last_updated: 2026-06-10T02:17:47Z inherits: - Instance - Object type: class memory_category: Instances tags: - NotCreatable - NotReplicated summary: "The role of a Translator is to manufacture/return strings localized for the viewing player." --- # Class: Translator > The role of a Translator is to manufacture/return strings localized for the > viewing player. ## Description The role of a Translator is to manufacture/return strings localized for the viewing player. It can be used to retrieve display-ready localized text from a [LocalizationTable](/docs/reference/engine/classes/LocalizationTable.md). The source of the [Translator.LocaleId](/docs/reference/engine/classes/Translator.md) property, the set of tables it will search, and the order it will search them in depends on which method was used to create the Translator instance. The input for a Translator is the original development language string and a context, where all or part of the context can be used to find a more precise/situational translation for the source string. The Translator can also be used to manufacture translated strings with inserts (data replacements) which may change order based on the target language. ## Properties ### Property: Translator.LocaleId ```json { "type": "string", "access": "ReadWrite", "security": { "read": "None", "write": "None" }, "serialization": { "can_load": false, "can_save": true }, "thread_safety": "ReadSafe", "category": "Behavior", "capabilities": [ "Basic" ] } ``` The Roblox locale of the output translated strings from this table, for example "en-us" or "es-es." Defaults to "en-us". ## Methods ### Method: Translator:FormatByKey **Signature:** `Translator:FormatByKey(key: string, args: Variant): string` Returns the localized text string in a [LocalizationTable](/docs/reference/engine/classes/LocalizationTable.md) based on its [Translator](/docs/reference/engine/classes/Translator.md) locale, by key. The optional **args** table is used for filling format parameters in the matching text entry. Note that this method will throw an error in the following cases: - If none of the [LocalizationTables](/docs/reference/engine/classes/LocalizationTable.md) available to this [Translator](/docs/reference/engine/classes/Translator.md) include a value for the given key. - If the [format string](/docs/en-us/production/localization/translate-dynamic-content.md) for the key uses numbered parameters and **args** is not an array. - If the [format string](/docs/en-us/production/localization/translate-dynamic-content.md) uses named parameters and **args** is not a table of key-value pairs. - If **args** is missing values for parameters that are used in the matching [format string](/docs/en-us/production/localization/translate-dynamic-content.md). See [Localize with scripting](/docs/en-us/production/localization/localize-with-scripting.md) for more details and usage examples of this function. *Security: None · Thread Safety: Unsafe · Capabilities: Basic* **Parameters:** | Name | Type | Default | Description | |------|------|---------|-------------| | `key` | `string` | | The **Key** value to look up and translate. | | `args` | `Variant` | | To be provided if the **Source** text and translations contain format strings. Will be a Luau table of values **or** key-value pairs, depending on whether the format strings are numbered or named. | **Returns:** `string` ### Method: Translator:Translate **Signature:** `Translator:Translate(context: Instance, text: string): string` Returns the localized text string in a [LocalizationTable](/docs/reference/engine/classes/LocalizationTable.md) based on its [Translator](/docs/reference/engine/classes/Translator.md) locale. This string will be in the context of the provided object, given the provided **Source** text. See [Localize with scripting](/docs/en-us/production/localization/localize-with-scripting.md) for more details and usage examples of this function. #### Context Overrides In some cases, duplicate **Source** strings may have completely different translations in other languages. For example, the English noun "Screen" can indicate both a computer screen and a window screen, but the Spanish translations are completely different: | A | B | C | D | E | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Key | Context | **Source** | Example | **es** | | | | Screen | | Pantalla | | | | Screen | | Mosquitero | | | | | | | In these cases, the first argument to this function — a valid in-game [Instance](/docs/reference/engine/classes/Instance.md) — can be used as a "tie breaker" when multiple GUI objects use the same source string. To implement this, specify the "path" to the [Instance](/docs/reference/engine/classes/Instance.md) you'd like to override as the **Context** value of the translation data: | A | B | C | D | E | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Key | **Context** | Source | Example | es | | | workspace.ComputerScreen.SurfaceGui.TextLabel | Screen | | Pantalla | | | | Screen | | Mosquitero | | | | | | | Then, when calling this function in a script, pass the same [Instance](/docs/reference/engine/classes/Instance.md) as the first argument, followed by the **Source** lookup text as the second argument: ```lua local Players = game:GetService("Players") local LocalizationService = game:GetService("LocalizationService") local success, translator = pcall(function() return LocalizationService:GetTranslatorForPlayerAsync(Players.LocalPlayer) end) if success then local trans = translator:Translate(workspace.ComputerScreen.SurfaceGui.TextLabel, "Screen") print(trans) else warn("Cannot load translator for player!") end ``` *Security: None · Thread Safety: Unsafe · Capabilities: Basic* **Parameters:** | Name | Type | Default | Description | |------|------|---------|-------------| | `context` | `Instance` | | A valid in-game [Instance](/docs/reference/engine/classes/Instance.md) to use for context override as outlined above. Note that this argument can be arbitrary, for example `game`, if you don't require a context override. | | `text` | `string` | | The **Source** text to look up and translate. | **Returns:** `string` — The translated text. ## Inherited Members ### From [Instance](/docs/reference/engine/classes/Instance.md) - **Property `Archivable`** (`boolean`): Determines if an Instance and its descendants can be cloned using - **Property `archivable`** (`boolean`): *(deprecated, hidden)* - **Property `Capabilities`** (`SecurityCapabilities`): The set of capabilities allowed to be used for scripts inside this - **Property `Name`** (`string`): A non-unique identifier of the Instance. - **Property `Parent`** (`Instance`): Determines the hierarchical parent of the Instance. - **Property `PredictionMode`** (`PredictionMode`): - **Property `RobloxLocked`** (`boolean`): A deprecated property that used to protect CoreGui objects. *(hidden)* - **Property `Sandboxed`** (`boolean`): When enabled, the instance can only access abilities in its `Capabilities` - **Property `UniqueId`** (`UniqueId`): A unique identifier for the instance. - **Method `AddTag(tag: string): ()`**: Applies a tag to the instance. - **Method `children(): Instances`**: Returns an array of the object's children. *(deprecated)* - **Method `ClearAllChildren(): ()`**: This method destroys all of an instance's children. - **Method `Clone(): Instance`**: Create a copy of an instance and all its descendants, ignoring instances - **Method `clone(): Instance`**: *(deprecated)* - **Method `Destroy(): ()`**: Sets the Instance.Parent property to `nil`, locks the - **Method `destroy(): ()`**: *(deprecated)* - **Method `FindFirstAncestor(name: string): Instance?`**: Returns the first ancestor of the Instance whose - **Method `FindFirstAncestorOfClass(className: string): Instance?`**: Returns the first ancestor of the Instance whose - **Method `FindFirstAncestorWhichIsA(className: string): Instance?`**: Returns the first ancestor of the Instance for whom - **Method `FindFirstChild(name: string, recursive?: boolean): Instance?`**: Returns the first child of the Instance found with the given name. - **Method `findFirstChild(name: string, recursive?: boolean): Instance`**: *(deprecated)* - **Method `FindFirstChildOfClass(className: string): Instance?`**: Returns the first child of the Instance whose - **Method `FindFirstChildWhichIsA(className: string, recursive?: boolean): Instance?`**: Returns the first child of the Instance for whom - **Method `FindFirstDescendant(name: string): Instance?`**: Returns the first descendant found with the given Instance.Name. - **Method `GetActor(): Actor?`**: Returns the Actor associated with the Instance, if any. - **Method `GetAttribute(attribute: string): Variant`**: Returns the value which has been assigned to the given attribute name. - **Method `GetAttributeChangedSignal(attribute: string): RBXScriptSignal`**: Returns an event that fires when the given attribute changes. - **Method `GetAttributes(): Dictionary`**: Returns a dictionary of the instance's attributes. - **Method `GetChildren(): Instances`**: Returns an array containing all of the instance's children. - **Method `getChildren(): Instances`**: *(deprecated)* - **Method `GetDebugId(scopeLength?: int): string`**: Returns a coded string of the debug ID used internally by Roblox. - **Method `GetDescendants(): Instances`**: Returns an array containing all of the descendants of the instance. - **Method `GetFullName(): string`**: Returns a string describing the instance's ancestry. - **Method `GetStyled(name: string, selector: string?): Variant`**: Returns the styled or explicitly modified value of the specified property, - **Method `GetStyledPropertyChangedSignal(property: string): RBXScriptSignal`**: - **Method `GetTags(): Array`**: Gets an array of all tags applied to the instance. - **Method `HasTag(tag: string): boolean`**: Check whether the instance has a given tag. - **Method `IsAncestorOf(descendant: Instance): boolean`**: Returns true if an Instance is an ancestor of the given - **Method `IsDescendantOf(ancestor: Instance): boolean`**: Returns `true` if an Instance is a descendant of the given - **Method `isDescendantOf(ancestor: Instance): boolean`**: *(deprecated)* - **Method `IsPropertyModified(property: string): boolean`**: Returns `true` if the value stored in the specified property is not equal - **Method `QueryDescendants(selector: string): Instances`**: - **Method `Remove(): ()`**: Sets the object's `Parent` to `nil`, and does the same for all its *(deprecated)* - **Method `remove(): ()`**: *(deprecated)* - **Method `RemoveTag(tag: string): ()`**: Removes a tag from the instance. - **Method `ResetPropertyToDefault(property: string): ()`**: Resets a property to its default value. - **Method `SetAttribute(attribute: string, value: Variant): ()`**: Sets the attribute with the given name to the given value. - **Method `WaitForChild(childName: string, timeOut: double): Instance`**: Returns the child of the Instance with the given name. If the - **Event `AncestryChanged`**: Fires when the Instance.Parent property of this object or one of - **Event `AttributeChanged`**: Fires whenever an attribute is changed on the Instance. - **Event `ChildAdded`**: Fires after an object is parented to this Instance. - **Event `childAdded`**: *(deprecated)* - **Event `ChildRemoved`**: Fires after a child is removed from this Instance. - **Event `DescendantAdded`**: Fires after a descendant is added to the Instance. - **Event `DescendantRemoving`**: Fires immediately before a descendant of the Instance is removed. - **Event `Destroying`**: Fires immediately before (or is deferred until after) the instance is - **Event `StyledPropertiesChanged`**: Fires whenever any style property is changed on the instance, including ### From [Object](/docs/reference/engine/classes/Object.md) - **Property `ClassName`** (`string`): A read-only string representing the class this Object belongs to. - **Property `className`** (`string`): *(deprecated)* - **Method `GetPropertyChangedSignal(property: string): RBXScriptSignal`**: Get an event that fires when a given property of the object changes. - **Method `IsA(className: string): boolean`**: Returns true if an object's class matches or inherits from a given class. - **Method `isA(className: string): boolean`**: *(deprecated)* - **Event `Changed`**: Fires immediately after a property of the object changes, with some