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Susan Smith, Project Manager
Style guides are a very useful tool when putting together localization projects. The following are examples of content covered in a localization style guide:
- Sentence structure;
- Usage for specific terminology;
- Formats for copyright information, numbers, dates, and measures;
- Punctuation rules;
- Grammar rules;
- Conventions for place names and nouns;
- Terms for software localization;
- Conventions for table of contents, indexing, and callouts; and
- Formatting for documentation.
McElroy has developed a comprehensive template that is used for multiple languages. Each style guide is language specific with some content in English but with rules and examples written in the native language. They are designed to aid translators as well as editors. There are many elements that may be specific to formatting; in that case proofreaders can also use it as a checklist for quality assurance.
All of our guides are written and reviewed by accredited, experienced translators collaborating to produce the best possible documentation. Because of the nature of the evolving world of translation, we continually review and update these documents.
McElroy also allows for client-specific content, and we have worked closely with many of our existing clients to produce a style guide to meet their unique needs.
There are many reasons to take the time and effort to develop a style guide not the least of which is to guarantee consistency over multiple languages and projects. They are also a repository for thoroughly researched terminology, which is especially useful in a collaborative environment.
A very helpful companion document to a style guide is a glossary of terms. A glossary contains specific terms in more of a one-to-one, source language word to target language word structure, which may or may not contain definitions. Here a record can be kept of client-requested terminology for the following reasons:
- Terms that have been previously translated and published;
- Product names;
- Acronyms;
- Locale preferences; and
- Industry preferences.
Both of these tools, the style guide and glossary, should be a part of any comprehensive localization project. For more information on adding this important documentation to your future projects please contact your account manager.