Note about translation and tokens

locale/README.md

@@ -14,5 +14,23 @@ If you aren't, you can still contribute! You'll still need a GitHub account, but
 you can just browse to your language's file here,
 click 'Edit', and edit each translated string.
 
+## Translating Strings
+
+Let's look at an example line from `en.js`:
+
+```javascript
+no_results: "Couldn't locate a place named '{name}'"
+```
+
+The word in brackets, `{name}`, should **not** be translated into a new
+language: it's replaced with a place name when iD presents the text. So
+a French translation would look like
+
+```javascript
+no_results: "Impossible de localiser l'endroit nommé '{name}'"
+```
+
+## License
+
 Contributions to translations are under the same liberal
 license as iD itself, [wtfpl](http://www.wtfpl.net/).