Is there a reason to use the ICU plural syntax for locales without plurals?

Question

I noticed that a few locales have only one form of (cardinal) plural defined by the CLDR. Here are a few examples of popular languages without plurals:

• Chinese
• Indonesian
• Japanese

Supposing the following English ICU message string:

You have {count, plural, =0 {no unread messages} one {# unread message} other {# unread messages}}.

Is there any value in translating the plural ICU syntax to these languages? For example in Chinese:

Plural Syntax 您有{count, plural, other {#}}條未讀消息。

Or since there is no plural, should we recommend translators to simply use the variable instead like this:

Variable Syntax 您有{count}條未讀消息。

I tested two libraries (GlobalizeJs and FormatJs) and both seem to work with both syntaxes.

Is there any known issue in interchanging these syntaxes?

Would it be safe for most libraries to recommend using the variable syntax for locales without plurals?

Answer 1

There is no value to keep the plural marker. The =0 case should say 沒有, though.