Communicaid 11 Point Localization Preferences Check List
Please check all that apply and add any additional comments or requests to the ‘Notes’ column.
Localize
Proper Nouns
Company names and product names are
generally not translated; does your company or
product name already have an OFFICIAL
translation?
Acronyms & Abbreviations
Should acronyms and abbreviations be
expanded and explained in the translation?
Should the acronym be changed to match the
correct terms in the translation?
(Example: D.N.A. in English translated as
A.D.N. in Spanish )
Industry Specific Terminologies
Should industry terminologies be localized?
Should the translation offer explanations for
the terms?
(Example: phishing, in vitro)
Number format
Should numbers localized in the appropriate
format of the target language?
(Example: U.S. 1.5 is 1,5 in other countries,
1,200 is 1.200 Furthermore, a U.S. Billion is a
thousand million in UK, and a UK Billion is a
U.S. Trillion)
Dates
Should dates be localized in the appropriate
format of the target language?
(Example: MM-DD-YYYY or DD-MM-YYYY)
Punctuation
Punctuation in foreign languages varies greatly
from what we are used to in English; this point
is more to let you know so when you see
something unfamiliar, you don’t automatically
think to change it so it’s correct according to
the English grammar rules.
Units of measure
The U.S. is one of the few nations that uses a
non Metric system for their units of measure.
Chances are the language into which you are
translating is that of a country that does use a
different system; do you want us to convert the
measurements?
(Example: feet to meters, pounds to Kg)
Currency conversion
Should money amounts be converted into the
local currency?
(Example: USD or Euros)
Do Not
Localize
Notes
Contact information
Is contact information within the content
language specific? Rather, the 800 number that
appears on the bottom, will that number be
answered in the target language? Is there
another number to use?
(Example: phone numbers, websites and
addresses)
References
If the source document references
accompanying products, should we translate
them? This happens most in users’ manuals
that reference a software screen, or the buttons
on the device. Is there a glossary we can refer
to? If not, what is the format you would like to
proceed in? E.g. translation (real button name),
real button name (translation) etc.
(Example: software screens, hardware buttons)
Culturally Sensitive Content
If the source document contains content that is
not understood well in the target culture,
should we replace it with appropriate content in
the translation? Expand or explain?
(Example: catchphrases, taglines, idioms,
cultural traditions e.g. Friday the 13th)
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