What matters is that the coder has easy access to the translation
database in a way or another _during_ the coding process without
having to refer to a separate file.
Would it count as close enough to "without having to refer" if
access to
the separate file were automated? Go to function (perhaps with
`find-function'), then invoke a hypothetical M-x find-doc-translations
(which would prompt for a function but default to the one at point)
to go
to its bank of docstrings? This would be completely non-intrusive,
and
trivial to implement.