ok that worked. i have created a new translation: source german name, value english name, language english. but why openerp has created a new line with source english name, value english name and language german?

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The translation works fine. A column is provided where you input the translated description. this translated value(descriptiion) is not displayed in the "sales order" when the item is selected. The user preference in this case is the selected language. just to add one more comment. i notice that the codes (eg. units of measure, etc) are in the language of preference.