This guide is not a list of terms, a grammar reference, or a course on how to write for a technical audience. It is expected that every translator who works on translation/localization projects is familiar with the fundamentals of translation and knows where to obtain reference material.

Localization style guides for source and target languages are the key to ensuring linguistic consistency. A localization style guide is a reference guide in which standards for regulatory compliance and culturally appropriate translations are achieved.

Localization style guides include company-specific product names, jargon, buzzwords, grammar rules and other style considerations such as any special formatting notes regarding spacing, fonts, hyphenation, capitalization, etc.

1. THIS STYLE GUIDE

1.1 Purpose of the style guideThe purpose of the style guide is to unify standards, to ensure consistency throughout the project, improve quality and streamline the localization processes.

1.2 General instructionsRefer to the style guidelines provided, glossaries/terminology lists, reviewed translation memories and any other recommended reference material while localizing L-Com content.

1.3 Reference materialCheck the list of reference materials and language-influencing institutions that are well-recognized in Latin America (dictionaries, grammar books, online material, other respectable bodies, government agencies, organizations influencing your language). In case of more reference materials in place for Latin American Spanish, the list is prioritized based on applicability for this project:

Microsoft Language Portal

http://www.microsoft.com/language/es/es/search.mspx

Acronym Finder http://www.acronymfinder.com/

Eurodicautom (European Commission Translation Service)

http://iate.europa.eu/iatediff/switchLang.do?success=mainPage&lang=es(Please note that this is mostly for European Spanish)

Bolsa de nombres propios

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/transl_es/plataforma/pagina/bolsanp/indice.htm

Diccionario de informática, telecomunicaciones y ciencias afines

http://books.google.es/books?id=31cagl0wNzEC&pg=PA147&lpg=PA147&dq=end-of-line+station%2Bestacion%2Blinea&source=web&ots=5GD-pqAYV9&sig=5ulRTw3Ism6Jb4qyj6ouYdHaJ24&hl=es&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Dictionary and search engine

http://www.webopedia.com/

OSHA General Terms Dictionary

http://www.osha.gov/dcsp/compliance_assistance/spanish/osha_general_terms_ensp.html

English Longman dictionary

http://tradu.scig.uniovi.es/anton.html

1.4 Respectable Language InstitutionsOfficial language standards for Latin American Spanish can be found on the following web pages:

Real Academia Española www.rae.esDiccionario Panhispánico de dudas

http://buscon.rae.es/dpdI/

La Página del Idioma Español   

http://www.elcastellano.com/diccio.html

Fundeu (Español urgente)

http://www.fundeu.es

Symbol List http://buscon.rae.es/dpdI/apendices/apendice3.html

2. ORTHOGRAPHY

2.1 CapitalizationLatin American Spanish capitalization does not follow English rules. In LA Spanish, only the first word in a title is capitalized, compared with all major words in English.

English Spanish

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Service Level Editor Editor de niveles de servicioAgent and Work Group Performance

Desempeño del agente y del grupo de trabajo

Generally, capital letters are used when referring to commands, menus, dialog boxes, modes, buttons, etc. Only the first word of the UI element should be capitalized.

English Spanishthe Add button el botón AgregarSave As menu menú Guardar como

Only proper nouns and product names are capitalized (see below for translation of product names).

English SpanishL-Com L-ComWeb (noun) Webwebsite sitio webUSB Ranger® USB Ranger®

Months and languages are not capitalized, unless they appear as the first word in a sentence.

English SpanishJanuary eneroSpanish españolDecember: fiscal year end Diciembre: cierre de año fiscal

2.2 Punctuation

2.2.1 Hard spacesThe hard space or non-breaking space is a specialspace character used by a word processor that forbids an automatic line breaking at its position.Generally, and unless otherwise specified, insert a non-breaking space (CTRL+SHIFT+SPACEBAR or Alt+0160):

- between a value and a measurement unit, such as: 20 m2.

- between capítulo or anexo and its number or letter.

- between a unit of measure or currency and the number that goes with it.

- between any items that should not be divided onto separate lines.

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2.2.2 CommasBefore the conjunctions y (and) and o (or) no comma should be placed when they are used to link two related elements in a sentence.

When a conjunction joins two parts of an element in a series and the element is followed by another conjunction, a comma must be used before the last conjunction.

English SpanishIt can answer incoming calls, outcoming calls, and provide information.

Puede responder llamadas entrantes y salientes, y brindar información.

Use commas with introductory phrases, and before and after adverb phrases such as: por tanto, por consiguiente, así pues, ahora bien, sin embargo, como quiera que, con todo, por el contrario.

English SpanishHowever, information is subject to change.

Sin embargo, la información está sujeta a cambios.

Commas should not separate the subject from its verb or the verb from its object.

2.2.3 Apostrophes and Quotation MarksApostrophes (‘ ’) are rarely used in Latin American Spanish. Due to technical reasons and to avoid issues during file compilation, when apostrophes appear in the source text, it is recommended to:- remove them in the target text or- keep the same type of apostrophes used in source text

In Latin American Spanish, curly quotation marks (“ ”) are used.When combining straight and curly quotation marks, straight ones must be placed within curly quotation marks.

No space should be left between the quotation marks and the first and last word of the string they contain.

In some cases, the use of straight quotes (rather than curly quotation marks) may be necessary due to compilation issues. This should be confirmed with the project manager before starting the project.

2.2.4 BulletsBullet lists as sentences with no conjugated verb:

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They start with a capital letter but no punctuation mark at the end.

English SpanishYou can perform the following:

Copy to a New Location

Paste in a different location

Puede realizar lo siguiente:

Copiar a nueva ubicación

Pegar en una ubicación distinta

Bullet lists as full sentences or paragraphs:They start with capital letter and end with a period mark at the end.

English SpanishTo exit this wizard, click OK. Para salir de este asistente,

haga clic en Aceptar.Follow the following rules:

Never write down your password.

Never share your password with anyone.

Siga las normas que se indican a continuación:

Nunca escriba la contraseña en papel.

Nunca comparta la contraseña con nadie.

Single words or phrases as bullet lists:They start with capital letter but no punctuation mark at the end.

English SpanishThe following options are available:

Copy and Paste Delete

Las siguientes opciones están disponibles:

Copiar y pegar Eliminar

2.2.3 Colons/SemicolonsThe word following a colon within a sentence should NOT be capitalized unless:

- The colon introduces a quotation or is part of a letter salutation.

- After the colon, the sentence continues in a different line.E.g.Nota:

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No utilice la misma dirección IP ni el nombre del host de una conexión LDAP anterior.

- To separate a word or a phrase and its concept. After colon, lower case is used.E.g.Numeración binaria: sistema que utiliza como cifras exclusivamente el 0 y el 1.

2.2.4 Double spacesIn English double spaces are used after a period while in Latin American Spanish a single space is used.After colons, only one space is used. After completing a document, perform a global search and replace to ensure that there are no double spaces after punctuation marks.

2.2.5 Brackets and parenthesesNo space should be left between the brackets and the first and last word of the string they contain.Punctuation marks are placed outside the closing bracket.Square brackets should be placed inside brackets.

E.g.- (Se necesita una licencia para la cantidad máxima requerida de llamadas SIP [Protocolo de inicio de sesiones] simultáneas).

2.2.6 Periods- In Latin American Spanish only one space is used after a

period.- Periods are written outside brackets and quotation marks.- No period is written after exclamation or interrogation

marks.- When abbreviations are placed at the end of a sentence,

the period of the abbreviation will replace final period, i.e. only one period is used in these cases.E.g. Se eliminarán de forma permanente todos los usuarios, los perfiles, las salidas, etc.

- No period is used at the end of titles, articles or chapters.

2.2.7 DashesThe Em dash (raya or guión largo) is used to set off a parenthetical phrase within a sentence or to set off a phrase at the end of a sentence for the greatest emphasis.

The En dash (signo menos) is used to indicate ranges of numbers —for example, inclusive values, dates, times, or reference numbers. No spaces are used around the en dash in this case. Also use an en dash to represent a minus sign.

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In most cases where English uses dashes, colons, commas, or parentheses will suffice in Latin American Spanish. If the sentence is too long, create a new sentence.

English Incorrect Spanish Correct SpanishAuthentication — Access Rights

Authentication — Derechos de acceso

Autenticación: derechos de acceso

When pasting text — as in the case of a Word document — make sure to select the entire text.

Al pegar — como en el caso de un documento Word, asegúrese de seleccionar todo el texto.

Al pegar texto (como en el caso de un documento Word), asegúrese de seleccionar todo el texto.

In some cases when translating software, replacing the dash with a colon does not apply. In this case, the dash should be maintained and each element must be capitalized. Most of these instances are available in the glossary, but please raise a query if in doubt.

English Incorrect Spanish Correct SpanishRouting Point Service Level - Trend

Nivel de servicio del punto de enrutamiento: tendencia

Nivel de servicio del punto de enrutamiento - Tendencia

General and Duration-Based Behaviors - Summary

Comportamiento: general y basado en duración: resumen

Comportamiento - General y basado en duración - Resumen

2.2.8 SlashesWhen there are options between slashes, the first letter after the slash should be in lower case.

E.g. Seleccionar/deseleccionar todo

Forward slashes are mostly used. Backward slashes are used as a path separator as in C:\Archivos de programa\Adobe\InDesign

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1. GRAMMAR

3.1 AccentuationThe use of accented capital letters is mandatory according to the Latin American Spanish grammar rules.

E.g. Índice, CAPÍTULO

Do not use accented letters in directory paths. For example:

English SpanishC:\User Directory\Reports\Losses\

C:\Directorio de usuario\Informes\Perdidas

3.2 HyphenationIn English, the hyphen is reserved for use between elements of compound words. However in Spanish, compound words are translated as one single word or as separate words, without a hyphen.

English SpanishWeb-based tool herramienta basada en Webpre-defined predefinidomulti-user multiusuario

3.3 Compound nounsIn English compound words are hyphenated, while in Spanish they are written as a single word or as separate words. Prefixes such as sub-, ultra-, intra-, pre-, etc. are not separated by a hyphen. They are joined to the major word.

English Spanishsub-title subtítulomulti-site sitios múltiples

3.4 PrepositionsPreposition use will be governed by Spanish grammar rules.Spanish has many different prepositions with different uses.The most common mistakes in IT field are the following:

Preposition ‘de’ will not be used between the item and its name.

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English SpanishDelete button botón BorrarProperties dialog box cuadro de diálogo Propiedades

Recognized key names (as they appear in the keyboard) will be written in upper case and with no preposition ‘de’.

English SpanishCtrl tecla CtrlEnter tecla Intro

However, generic key names will be written in lower case with preposition ‘de’.

English SpanishBackspace key tecla de retrocesoTab key tecla de tabulación

3.5 Incorrect expressionsGrammar construction para + noun should be avoided if it can be replaced by a fin de/para + verb.

English Incorrect Spanish Correct SpanishKeep this information for future use

Conserve esta información para uso posterior.

Conserve esta información para usarla posteriormente.

For more information will be translated as para obtener más información, and not para más información.

English Incorrect Spanish Correct SpanishFor more information about this product, see Chapter

Para más información sobre este producto, consulte el capítulo

Para obtener más información sobre este producto, consulte el capítulo

Possessive adjectivesIn English there is a tendency to overuse possessive adjectives while in Spanish they are rarely used.

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English Incorrect Spanish Correct SpanishA mark will appear on your document.

Aparecerá una marca sobre su documento.

Aparecerá una marca sobre el documento.

A and One are not always translated as ‘uno’, as they may refer to ‘any’. In this case, they should be translated as: algún, alguna, ningún.

English Incorrect Spanish Correct SpanishIf you do not want to print a file...

Si no desea imprimir un archivo…

Si no desea imprimir ningún archivo…

Regarding the English construction article + noun1 + noun2, literal translation in Spanish must be avoided: article + noun1 + de + noun2

English Incorrect Spanish Correct SpanishTo change a file description

Para cambiar una descripción de archivo

Para cambiar la descripción de un archivo

2. COUNTRY STANDARDS

4.1 Acronyms and abbreviationsAcronyms are not translated unless there is an equivalent translation in Spanish which is accepted worldwide.E.g. CPU (unidad de procesamiento central).

The recognized translation will be added between brackets the first time the acronym appears in a manual chapter or in a help topic. Thereafter, only the acronym will be used.The explanation of acronyms will not be added in titles, headers or indexes.

If an article is required before the acronym, the article must agree with the first word of the translated acronym. E.g. la CPU

Acronyms in Spanish do not take plural form, it is indicated by the article.

English Incorrect Spanish Correct Spanishthe APIs las APIs las API

Acronyms do not use a final period, while abbreviations do.

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It is recommended to use full words at the beginning of sentences, rather than abbreviations.

The following abbreviations are accepted:

Months: en., feb., mar., abr., may., jun., jul., ag., sept., oct., nov., dic.Days: lun., mar., miér., jue., vier., sáb., dom.

4.2 Format of numbersNumbers from zero to nine should be spelled out in Spanish, unless used in a technical context.

English SpanishGoes from 1 active section to 2 active sections.

Pasa de una sección activa a dos secciones activas.

A non-breaking space should be used between the numeric value and the corresponding measurement unit.

No space should be left between the number and the percentage sign.

4.3 Decimal and thousand separatorSpanish uses different separators than English:

A comma should be used as the decimal separator.

E.g. 0,56

A period should be used as the thousand separator.

E.g. 21.354

Do not use the thousands separator with numbers representing years (2002), page numbers, postal codes and addresses, laws, lotteries, etc.

4.4 Date The short date format in Spanish is dd/mm/yyyy. E.g. 3/2/2010

For days and months ranging from 1 to 9, there is no need to add a preceding zero. Unless it is necessary for technical reasons, such as computerized forms, or for security reasons, to avoid modifying dates in legal or commercial documents.

The long date format in Spanish is 3 de febrero de 2010.

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Months are written in lower case and preposition “de” is added between day and month, and month and year.

4.5 TimeIn Spanish the time format generally used is 24 hour.

English Spanish4:30 PM 16:30 h

4.6 CurrenciesUnless otherwise specified, currencies should not be converted to other currencies; the source currency will be used in the translation.Currency signs should be placed before the amount, when they are not expressed in letters, and no space should be left in between.

Please refer to ISO standard currency symbols (http://www.iso.org/iso/support/currency_codes_list-1.htm).

4.7 MeasurementUnless otherwise specified, values expressed in the source text should be kept in the target text, they should not be localized.

Check the international measurement symbols: http://buscon.rae.es/dpdI/SrvltConsulta?lema=s%EDmbolo

English Spanish2 in 2 in2" 2 in12 ft 12 ft

Measurement unit abbreviations do not take final dot.

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3. TERMINOLOGY

5.1 Do Not Translate Terms (DNT)Characters or symbols in HTML code will not be translated.

Symbol HTML Code Character Name© © símbolo de copyright® ® símbolo de

marca registradaé (and other HTML entities)

é e acentuada

The following items will NOT be translated:

Product Names Proper Names URL addresses Protocol Acronyms Protocol Names (unless they have a recognized translation

in Spanish) Joined words that belong to programming language

(routepoint, chatqueue) Underscored words (CCR_HOME) Command lines (from OS: pagefileconfig, <b>show

running-config</b>) Hardcode specific strings Special Characters and Concatenations (\t [tab character]; \

n [new line]) Tags (<TITLE>, <IMG>, <A>, <\A>

5.2 Common TermsTranslation of common terms:

English Spanishhost host (n) / hospedar (v)routing enrutamientorouter enrutadorhost PC computadora hostclient-server cliente servidorinterface interfazswitch conmutadorfirewall firewallsupport (v) admitir/ser compatible consupport (n) soporte/asistenciaWeb (www) Web (upper case, noun)web (adjective) web (lower case)

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English SpanishKB/Kb/MB/Mb, etc. KB/Kb/MB/Mb, etc.backup copia de seguridadIP address dirección IPcache caché (do not use article, if

article is necessary use "la memoria caché")

trunk troncal/enlace troncallink enlacetab fichalog (n) registroreport (n) informeclick clic

Some words have more than one acceptable translation depending on the grammar function and the context.

English Spanishsource fuente/origenopen abrir (v) / abierto (adj.)view vista (n) / ver (v)Access path Acceder a la ruta / Ruta de

accesodisplay pantalla (n) / mostrar (v) /

visualización (n)

4. STYLE

6.1 TenseThe imperative tense in English will be translated as the imperative tense in Spanish, and not as the infinitive.

English Incorrect Translation Correct TranslationPress F3 Presionar F3 Presione F3

In documents and user guides, chapter titles, sections and epigraphs using the imperative tense in English will be nominalized in Spanish.

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English Incorrect Translation Correct TranslationEdit Texts Editar textos / Edite

textosEdición de textos

The use of a gerund is very common in English. A gerund is used to express an idea in progress; that is why it is used so much in titles and epigraphs in user guides. Gerunds will be nominalized in Spanish.

English Incorrect Translation Correct TranslationPrinting a Graphic on Page

Imprimir / Imprimiendo un gráfico en una página

Impresión de un gráfico en una página

However, a gerund will be used in Spanish to refer to an action taking place at that precise moment.

English Correct TranslationOpening page, please wait… Abriendo página, espere…

Usually, the gerund marks the action of the verb with an adverbial quality: andaba corriendo or llegó cantando. Avoid using gerunds to mark a noun with an adjectival quality as in the following examples:

English Correct TranslationTo select consecutive files or folders, hold down the CTRL key while click the desired items.

Para seleccionar archivos o carpetas que son consecutivos, mantenga presionada la tecla CTRL haciendo clic en los elementos que desee.

Filter action links, each containing Filter associations.

Vínculos de acciones de filtrado, cada uno de los cuales contiene asociaciones a Filtros.

6.2 Passive/active voiceIn Spanish, the passive voice is not used as frequently as in English. Instead, a reflexive verb construction is much more prevalent.

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English Incorrect Spanish Correct SpanishThe file is generated byvirus and has beenremoved.

El archivo fue generado por un virus y se ha eliminado.

Un virus ha generado elarchivo y éste se haeliminado.

This option is chosenby selecting…

Esta opción es elegida seleccionando…

Esta opción seeligeal seleccionar…

In order to avoid the passive voice, the impersonal style can be also used. This style is highly recommended in software translation, particularly in error messages:

English Correct SpanishFile cannot be opened No se puede abrir el archivoNo user data found No se encontraron datos de

usuarios

6.3 Formal/informal tone Formal tone will be used throughout.

English Incorrect Translation Correct TranslationSelect the desired option.

Selecciona la opción deseada.

Seleccione la opción deseada.

6.4 Country-specific styleAppropriate professional marketing language and correct technical terms must be used for general public accessibility. Sentences must be concise and clear.The aim is to produce an impression that the sentences were written in the target language.

In technical and IT files, too long or subordinated sentences should be avoided. Impersonal style is preferred.

6.5 Localization-specific styleCommands, menus, dialog boxes, checkboxes, modes and buttons names are localized following the Spanish grammar rules mentioned above.Shortcuts keys and combinations of keystrokes will also be localized.

6.5.1 File namesFile names and file extensions should not be localized.

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The translation of paths depends on the localization of the operating system. For instance, if the OS is in Spanish, there are certain paths that will be translated such as those included in the hard unit disc (C:\Archivos de programa\Adobe\Acrobat) and others that will remain in English (C:\Documents and Settings\All Users)

6.6 Trademarks and namesTrademarks and product names are kept in English. No article will be placed before these names.

6.6.1 Business titlesTeam names, degrees and job positions will be translated and the first letter of each content word will be capitalized.

English SpanishExecutive Director Director Ejecutivo

6.6.2 Department namesUnless otherwise specified, department names will be localized and the first letter of each content word will be capitalized.

English SpanishHuman Resources Department

Departamento de Recursos Humanos

6.6.3 Proper namesProper names used as examples in software or documentation will be localized. Otherwise, they will remain in English.

5. DOCUMENTATION LOCALIZATION

7.1 HeadingsIn documents and user guides, chapter titles, sections and epigraphs using imperative tense in English will be nominalized in Spanish. Only the first word in titles should be capitalized, rather than all major words.No preposition will be added between the word section or chapter and the section or chapter name.E.g. sección Configuración de la red

Books with recognized translations will be localized; otherwise, they will be left in English, a translation may be provided in brackets, but please check with your project manager.

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No final period will be added to headings, chapter titles, and sections.

7.2 IndexesThe Table of Contents is a list of the parts of a document organized in the order in which the parts appear. When creating the document, the table of contents is automatically generated from titles of chapters and sections, so translation is not required, it is an automatic process.Its format in Spanish is determined by the original format in English. It generally includes the number and name of the chapter or appendix and two section levels.

The Index is a list of words or phrases ('headings') and associated pointers ('locators') to where useful material relating to that heading can be found in a document. The index entries appear in the documentation as well as in the Help file, and they must be translated.If the English entry is a gerund, it will be translated as a noun or phrasal noun. If the entry is an infinitive or a noun, it will be translated as a noun or phrasal noun, unless it refers to a command which will be translated as an infinitive.

When translating entries and sub-entries, key words; i.e., option names, menu names, etc. will appear first and then the word menu, option, dialog box, etc. separated by comma.

English Incorrect Translation Correct TranslationPage Setup dialog

diálogo, Configuración de página

Configuración de página, cuadro de diálogo

Document level

nivel de documentos documento, nivel

Main entries and sub-entries will be written in singular and lower case, unless they are proper names, product names or components. No prepositions or punctuation marks will be added.

7.3 Glossary files and alphabetized listsA Glossary will contain a list of words or phrases in English with its corresponding translation in Spanish. They will be written in lower case, unless they are proper names, product names or trademarks.Definitions of entries will take no article at the beginning and they will be as clear as possible.

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7.4 GraphicsGraphics must be localized. If full sentences are used in descriptions, these will start with capital letter and end with a final period. If single words or phrases are used, they will be written in lower case, unless they are proper names, with no ending period.

7.5 Guide namesTitles of Guides and Help documents should be nominalized whenever possible, or the direct interrogative pronoun ‘cómo’ followed by infinitive form should be used.

6. HELP LOCALIZATION

6.1. Interface referencesWhenever it is possible, all software terms must be translated following Microsoft Terminology Database as a reference.If we encounter terms belonging to a particular interface which will not be translated, we leave the term in English with its corresponding translation between brackets.Any formatting in the source text must be applied to the target text.

6.2. Topic titlesTitles of Guides and Help documents should be nominalized whenever possible, or the direct interrogative pronoun ‘cómo’ followed by infinitive form should be used.

English Incorrect Translation Correct TranslationDownloading a document

Descargar un documento

Cómo descargar un documento Descarga de un documento

Jump links will be translated if the page they are directed to are also translated, otherwise, they will be kept in English with the corresponding translation between brackets.

6.3. Cross-referencesWhen referring to another section or chapter, no preposition will be added between the word section or chapter and the section or chapter name. Books with recognized translations will be localized; otherwise, they will be left in English.

English Incorrect Translation Correct TranslationSee Routing Consulte la sección de Consulte la sección

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Point Group Behaviors section.

Comportamientos del grupo de puntos de enrutamiento.

Comportamientos del grupo de puntos de enrutamiento.

7. SOFTWARE LOCALIZATION

9.1 CapitalizationSpanish capitalization does not follow English rules. In Spanish, only the first word in a title should be capitalized, rather than all major words.

English SpanishService Level Editor Editor de niveles de servicioAgent and Work Group Performance

Desempeño del agente y del grupo de trabajo

Generally, capital letters are used when referring to commands, menus, dialog boxes, modes, buttons, etc.

English Spanishthe Add button el botón Agregar

In some instances when translating software, capitalization may be used in items that are dashed. For example:

English SpanishAgent Results Context - Summary

Contexto de resultados del agente - Resumen

Agent Performance by Queue - Summary (totals)

Desempeño del agente por cola - Resumen (totales)

Proper nouns and product names are capitalized. (See section regarding translation of product names).

English SpanishL-Com L-ComWeb (noun) Webwebsite sitio webUSB Ranger® USB Ranger®

Months and languages are not capitalized, unless they appear as the first word in a sentence.

English SpanishJanuary enero

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English SpanishSpanish españolDecember: fiscal year end

Diciembre: cierre de año fiscal

9.2 File names and file extensionsFile names and file extensions should not be localized.

9.3 Path namesThe translation of paths depends on the localization of the operating system. For instance, if the OS is in Spanish, there are certain paths that will be translated such as those included in the hard unit disc (C:\Archivos de programa\Adobe\Acrobat) and others that will remain in English (C:\Documents and Settings\All Users).

9.4 Verbs/Nouns

In general, menus, dialog boxes, drop-down boxes, buttons are translated in the infinitive with no preposition.

English SpanishOpen file Abrir archivoSelect all Seleccionar todo

Titles of Guides and Help documents should be nominalized whenever possible, or the direct interrogative pronoun ‘cómo’ followed by the infinitive form should be used without interrogative marks.

English Incorrect Translation Correct TranslationDownloading a document

Descargar un documento

Descarga de un documento

How to create team members

¿Cómo crear miembros de equipo?

Cómo crear miembros de equipo

9.5 Length limitationsIf the internationalization process was applied, the following expansion rules should govern.

When the source text is The expansion required is0 -10 characters 101 - 200%. 11- 20 characters 81 - 100% 21 - 30 characters 61 - 80% 31 - 50 characters 41 - 60% 50 - 70 characters 31 - 40%

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When the source text is The expansion required isOver 70 characters 30%

If no engineering process was applied and there are no specific instructions, length limitations should be similar to the source text.

Text expansion is allowed in messages (especially for GUI items).

English Spanishupdate actualizaciónlink vínculo

9.6 Error messages and stringsError messages and strings translation must be as clear as possible.

English Incorrect Translation Correct TranslationFailed to write new definition

No se ha podido escribir la nueva definición.

No se pudo escribir la nueva definición.

File not found No se ha podido encontrar el archivo

No se encontró el archivo.

Impossible to save changes

Imposible guardar los cambios

No se pudieron guardar los cambios.

A write fault occurred.

Ha ocurrido un error de escritura.

Error de escritura

Full sentence with conjugated verb take a final period. Sentences with no conjugated verb do not take a final period.

9.7 Parameters, variables and placeholdersParameters, variables and placeholders must remain in English as these are programming language values. Nevertheless, they can be moved around in the sentence in order to make the translated text understandable.

English SpanishNULL parameter Parámetro NULLtable_name variable Variable table_name<label for="c_texto"> <label for="c_texto">Object {0} found in database {1} item.

Objeto {0} encontrado en el elemento {1} de la base de datos.

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9.8 Special characters

Certain characters, such as the left bracket (<), ampersand (&) and right bracket (>) are reserved by the HTML language to represent special attributes.Symbolic references start with an ampersand, an abbreviation for the symbolic expression, and ends with a semi-colon.E.g. &copy; for ©.Numeric references also start with an ampersand and finish with a semicolon, but between them is a number preceded by a hash (#). E.g. &#169; for ©.

Special characters should NOT be localized. In order to avoid mistakes, copy the character in the source text and paste it in the target text.

However, make sure to remove any tags in the text that is not used in Spanish, for example:

English SpanishResearch &amp Development Investigación y desarrollo

9.9 HotkeysHotkeys: A key press combination that sends a command, usually to provide a short-cut to a menu option.

Control key: A key that initiates some kind of physical control action; i.e., line feed, tabs, etc.

Many of these accelerators already have a recognized translation in Spanish. These must be followed.

English SpanishSave As… Guardar como…New… Nuevo…

The same hotkey cannot be assigned to more than one function within the same dialog box.

English SpanishSave GuardarSave As… Guardar como…

In most translation applications hotkeys are indicated by the ampersand symbol (&) placed BEFORE the letter representing the hotkey:

English Spanish&Save &Guardar

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E&xit Sa&lir

8. MULTIMEDIA LOCALIZATION

10.1 Target audience and styleBefore the translation process is started, there are some elements that should be taken into account to meet target audience expectations.

- potential reader location- level of knowledge of potential reader- varieties of Spanish (Spain, Latin America, Mexico)- goal of the translated text (information purpose, marketing

purpose, etc.)

English Spanish of Spain

Spanish of Latin America

Spanish of Mexico

press pulse presione presionelink enlace vínculo enlaceDepartment Apartament

oDepartamento

Departamento

computer ordenador computadora computadora

A formal style will be used in all cases.

10.2 Word orderWord order in Spanish may differ from English.There may be cases in which it is required to modify the word order in Spanish to provide a clearer and more legible message.A common example is in passive voice.

English SpanishAll the calls were answered by the agents.

Los agentes respondieron todas las llamadas.

9. MARKETING LOCALIZATION

11.1 StyleSlogans and marketing phrases must be catchy, to the point, and full of meaning. The translation must reflect the same meaning as the original text.Unless they are trademarks, slogans must be localized.A formal style will be used.

English SpanishFind the right solutions, at the right moment, at the

Encuentre la solución adecuada, en el momento justo y en el

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right place lugar que necesite

11.2 Cultural referencesIn technical and IT fields, there is little use of connectors and subordinators, instead straightforward expressions and impersonal sentences are used.

English Incorrect Translation Correct Translation

There are two SD card slots; one is for the system SD card and is available in two modes, the IP Office mode or the Partner mode.

Se encuentran disponibles dos ranuras de tarjeta SD, una ranura es para la tarjeta SD del sistema y está disponible en dos modos, el modo IP Office y el modo Partner.

Hay dos ranuras para tarjetas SD. Una es para la tarjeta SD del sistema que está disponible en dos modos: IP Office o modo Partner.

The terminology used in these texts is very specific and unique.Sometimes it will be necessary to add explanations to specific terms that might not be well known in the target market.The target audience must be taken into account in order to provide a precise and adequate translation that can be understood and implemented.

10. APPENDIX

12.1 False friends, dos and don’tsTrademarks and product names must not be localized.

Here is a list of common terms that might cause problems in translations:

English SpanishAll right reserved Todos los derechos reservados.Copyright CopyrightWarning Advertenciadrop-down list lista desplegablereport informeapplication solicitudactual realactually en realidadmobile móvilmonitor control/supervisión/monitoreo

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English Spanishvirus virusstore almacenar (v)

12.2 General ConsiderationsIn all instances, glossaries and TMs must be used when doing translations. If no glossaries or TMs are provided for a specific project, please consult with the project manager to confirm whether you can use any other L-Com material that you may have from previous projects. You should ONLY use reference material from other projects if no reference is provided and only after confirmation from the project manager.

If you do not receive reference material, please raise a query to the project manager to see if any are be available.

If there are inconsistencies between the glossary provided and the supplied TM, a query MUST be raised in order to resolve the issue. Please do not hesitate to raise queries when in doubt. The goal is to provide the client with the best translation possible, free of inconsistencies and incorrect terminology.

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