Clear and concise writing is paramount, especially when your content aims for a global audience. Following writing recommendations, like those found in style guides, is crucial for creating content that is not only easily understood but also effectively localized and translated. This guide focuses on key writing tips, drawing inspiration from principles often seen in resources like the Microsoft Style Guide, to help you craft content that resonates worldwide and translates seamlessly.
Core Principles for Writing Globally-Friendly Content
To ensure your message is clear across different languages and cultures, adopt these fundamental writing practices:
Prioritize Simplicity and Conciseness
Write short, simple sentences. Lengthy and complex sentences with multiple clauses are difficult to parse and translate. Aim for brevity and clarity. If a sentence feels convoluted with numerous commas, consider breaking it down. Instead of one complex sentence, opt for two or more shorter sentences to convey the same information more effectively.
Utilize lists and tables for complex information. Dense paragraphs can overwhelm readers and translators. Transform complex sentences or lengthy paragraphs into easily digestible lists or tables. These formats enhance readability and simplify the translation process by presenting information in a structured and organized manner.
Enhance Clarity with Specific Words
Incorporate that and who for sentence structure clarity. These words act as signposts, clarifying the relationships between different parts of a sentence. For example, instead of “Inspect database to verify all tables, data, and relationships were correctly migrated,” write “Inspect the database to verify that all tables, data, and relationships were correctly migrated.” Similarly, use “who” to clearly define relative clauses. “Select the checkbox of each folder that you want to sync…”
Include articles like the for noun identification. Articles are small words but play a significant role in sentence structure. They help both human readers and translation software accurately identify nouns and modifiers. For instance, distinguish between “Empty container” and “The empty container.” The article the clarifies you are referring to a specific container.
Use verbs in headings and UI labels for clarity. In situations where brevity might compromise understanding, especially in headings and user interface labels, include verbs. Clarity should always take precedence. For example, instead of “Access denied,” use “Access is denied.” The verb is provides a complete and unambiguous message.
Maintain Cultural Sensitivity and Avoid Ambiguity
Employ sentence-style capitalization. Unless you’re dealing with proper nouns, trademarks, or product names, stick to sentence case. This means capitalizing only the first word of a sentence and proper nouns. This capitalization style is generally clearer and more consistent across languages.
Steer clear of idioms, colloquialisms, and culture-specific references. Figurative language, expressions unique to a culture, and references specific to a region can cause confusion for non-native English speakers and pose significant challenges for localization. Always consider the global implications of your word choices. Assume your audience may not be familiar with your country’s specific cultural or historical context.
Reduce modifier stacks for easier comprehension. Long strings of modifying words can be perplexing, even for native English speakers. Simplify these constructions. For example, rephrase “With an extremely well thought-out Windows migration project plan, your migration will go more smoothly” to “Your migration will proceed more smoothly if you have a project plan that’s well thought out.” This revised sentence is easier to understand and translate.
Favor active voice and indicative mood. In most writing, active voice is clearer and more direct. Use imperative mood specifically for instructions and procedures, giving direct commands.
Keep adjectives and adverbs close to the words they modify. The placement of modifiers is crucial for sentence clarity. Pay particular attention to words like only, ensuring they are positioned precisely to modify the intended word and avoid ambiguity.
Limit the use of coordinate conjunctions. Avoid linking too many phrases or clauses with conjunctions like and, or, and but. Ideally, limit yourself to linking no more than two. Sentences with excessive conjunctions can become convoluted and harder to follow.
Additional Tips for Machine Translation Optimization
Writing with machine translation (MT) in mind can significantly improve translation accuracy, especially for technical documentation, instructions, and high-value content that may not undergo professional localization. Consider these guidelines:
Adhere to Standard English Grammar
Use conventional English grammar and punctuation. While maintaining a friendly tone is important, prioritize grammatically correct and accurate English. This foundation is crucial for effective machine translation.
Utilize simple sentence structures. Whenever feasible, construct sentences following the standard subject-verb-object order. This structure aligns well with how machine translation algorithms process language, leading to more accurate results.
Maintain Terminology Consistency
Employ one word per concept, consistently. Avoid using synonyms to refer to the same concept or feature. Conversely, do not use the same word to denote different concepts. Consistency in terminology is vital for machine translation to accurately interpret and translate your content. Create a glossary if necessary to manage key terms.
Minimize sentence fragments. While sentence fragments can be stylistically effective in certain contexts, they can be challenging for machine translation to process accurately due to their lack of complete grammatical structure.
Exercise Caution with -ing and -ed Word Endings
Use words ending in –ing with care. Words ending in –ing can function as verbs, adjectives, or nouns. Ensure the sentence structure and surrounding words clearly indicate the intended role of the –ing word to avoid misinterpretations by machine translation.
Use words ending in –ed with care. Similarly, words ending in -ed can be modifiers or parts of verb phrases. Clarify their role through sentence structure and the strategic use of additional words. Several techniques can help:
- Add a determiner: Include articles like a, an, the, this before or after the –ed word. Example: “They have an added functionality.”
- Add a form of the verb be: Use forms of be to clarify the verb phrase. Example: “Configure limits for the backup that are based on the amount of storage space available.”
- Split the sentence: Break down complex sentences to isolate the –ed word’s function. Example: “Configure limits for the backup. These limits should be based on the amount of storage space available.”
- Rewrite to avoid the –ed word: Rephrase the sentence to eliminate potential ambiguity altogether. Example: “Configure limits for the backup. Base the limits on the amount of storage space available.”
Control Abbreviations and Acronyms
Use only common abbreviations. Stick to widely recognized abbreviations such as USB. For less common abbreviations or acronyms, ensure they are defined in a glossary. Consult with localization experts to verify if an acronym is generally understood or requires definition for a global audience.
By adhering to these writing tips, inspired by style guide principles and with a focus on clarity and global accessibility, you can create content that is not only well-understood by a broad audience but also optimized for efficient localization and accurate machine translation. This approach ensures your message effectively reaches and resonates with a global readership.
