A guide contains several language questions
A title can be written in one language while the programme's audio uses another. A description can have several translations. A subtitle-language listing is another field again. A multilingual importer should preserve these distinctions instead of flattening them into one language value.
XMLTV supports language annotations on text and separately describes programme language and subtitle information. Use the actual source fields, retaining their scope. A guide annotation remains schedule metadata; it is not proof that a particular delivered stream contains a selectable audio or caption track.
Define a fallback that the reader can understand
List the preferred display language, a documented fallback and the treatment of unavailable text. Keep the original language annotation even when the interface falls back. Do not silently label an untranslated synopsis as if it had been translated into the reader's preferred language.
For a hypothetical record with an English title, a Welsh title and only an English description, a Welsh interface might show the Welsh title alongside a clearly identified English synopsis. Another product may prefer to omit the synopsis. Choose deliberately and make that behaviour consistent.
Preserve identity through translation
Use stable programme and source identifiers for merging and correction. Translated titles can vary in spelling and word order, so title equality is a weak basis for assuming two records are the same transmission. Keep time, channel and source context alongside the text.
Review scripts, accented names and right-to-left passages where the intended catalogue needs them. This is a content and presentation review, separate from proving that the file is well-formed XML. Keep a small authorised multilingual sample with the import fixtures.
Verify the displayed result
Inspect records with a full translation set, partial translations and no preferred-language text. Check that sorting, truncation and labels remain understandable. If text is unavailable, report that condition plainly instead of manufacturing a translated description.
Maintain provenance for corrections and translations. A later feed update should not accidentally overwrite a reviewed local correction without an explicit precedence rule. The result is a guide that describes its text honestly and sends playback-language questions to the actual media inventory.
Questions answered
Does a French synopsis prove the audio is French?
No. Guide-text language and programme audio are different fields.
Should translated titles be used as the only merge key?
No. Preserve stable identity, channel and time context rather than relying on title spelling alone.
Sources & further reading
Official references for the subjects discussed. Service terms and device software can change.