Lingotek Translation runs on top of Polylang, which means it inherits Polylang's taxonomy-based language storage in term_taxonomy and term_relationships, then layers its own document and workflow state into wp_postmeta entries like _lingotek_document_id, _lingotek_phase, and _lingotek_last_modified. The default Lingotek admin lists documents one screen at a time, with filters that reset between sessions.

SleekView reads the Lingotek postmeta alongside Polylang's term taxonomy and exposes each document with current phase, target languages, last-modified, and assigned translator as columns. Filters like phase = in-review, or stale-since-March, or target = de_DE, become saved views that match the way a real localization team thinks.

Edits to phase or notes write back through Lingotek's own API where available, so the workflow stays consistent with what the hosted Lingotek dashboard sees. The grid is an audit layer, not a parallel system of record.

Lingotek's strength is its hosted translation workflow with phases, translators, and review steps. Its weakness, from the WordPress operator's chair, is that those phases live partly in the hosted dashboard and partly in wp_postmeta keys that the default plugin admin paginates without a meaningful filter. A localization manager running a content sprint across five target languages needs to see every document and every phase in one place, not two browser tabs.

Reading the _lingotek_* postmeta directly, joined with Polylang's language taxonomy, gives that surface inside WP admin. Saved views like in-review-for-French or stalled-over-fourteen-days load with one click, translators get scoped CSVs of their assigned documents, and site owners can report monthly throughput without manual screenshots of the hosted dashboard. Inline phase edits route through the Lingotek API, so the hosted system stays the source of truth and the grid never becomes a parallel database.

The result is faster sprints, clearer handoffs, and an audit trail that any new team member can read in five minutes.