Multilingual · English first, seven more planned
Languages
Homeowner.org.nz is committed to multilingual content from Day 1. The commitment is constitutional: NZ property transactions matter to everyone who lives here, regardless of their first language, and migrant homeowners (a priority group under the mission) benefit most from content in their own language. English is the only language complete at v0.5. Seven other languages are in planned rollout.
Why multilingual matters
Migrant homeowners in NZ face compounded information asymmetry: unfamiliar legal system, unfamiliar market conventions, unfamiliar cultural expectations. International research (Kermani & Wong 2021, Bikmetova et al. 2023) shows that non-native-language vendors and purchasers systematically lose value in real estate transactions. NZ-specific data does not yet exist — but the pattern is consistent across jurisdictions.
Translating only the marketing copy (while leaving the substance in English) would miss the point. The same content — rules, guides, tools, case studies — must be available in every supported language. This is what "multilingual from Day 1" means: the architecture supports it; the delivery catches up over time.
Supported languages
English (New Zealand)
Code: en
Chinese (Simplified)
Code: zh-Hans
Target: Q2 2026
Chinese (Traditional)
Code: zh-Hant
Target: Q3 2026
French
Code: fr
Target: Q3 2026
German
Code: de
Target: Q4 2026
Spanish
Code: es
Target: Q4 2026
Japanese
Code: ja
Target: Q1 2027
Korean
Code: ko
Target: Q1 2027
How we translate
Legal and technical terminology cannot be translated mechanically. A mistranslated statute name or rule citation in a legal-advice context can be harmful. We therefore apply two principles:
- Human-in-the-loop for all non-English content. AI-assisted first draft accelerates the work; a native-speaker editor with NZ real-estate context reviews every page before publication.
- Authoritative citations stay in English. Verbatim statute quotes on rule pages are the original English text, with translation alongside. Legal text is authoritative only in its original language.
The glossary is the foundation: each NZ property term is defined once, in English, then translated into each supported language. Consistent translation is easier from a controlled term list.
Become a translator
Translation volunteer contribution is planned for v1.0 (Q2 2026). Native speakers of any of the seven planned languages, with some knowledge of NZ property law or practice, will be able to contribute via a structured workflow: translate, review by a second native speaker, editor sign-off, publication.
Until that workflow launches, the pages in each language will be English-only stubs with a clear "planned for [target quarter]" indicator.
Prioritisation logic
The order of language rollout reflects NZ migrant-community size and the information-gap severity in each community. Simplified Chinese is prioritised first after English, reflecting the largest non-English-speaking NZ migrant community. Additional languages (Hindi, Korean, Tagalog, Samoan, Tongan, Te Reo Māori) will be considered in v1.0 based on community need and translation-contributor availability.