sdl style guide
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1. English Incorrect Correct Select the staff group or Se debe seleccionar el Seleccione el grupo de routing set for which grupo de personal ode personal o de rutas para el que tasks should be created rutas para el que se desea desea crear tareas crear tareas SDL Translation Guide European Spanish 9 You should save your changes before Deberia guardar los cambios antes de Guarde los cambios antes de continuar proceeding continuar Make sure you specify a Aseg rese de especificar Especifique un nombre v lido valid name un nombr v lido e Subjunctive tenses The subjunctive tenses are very important in Spanish not using them when required would impoverish the text When using the subjunctive form seleccionara seleccionase it is recommended to use the form seleccionara since it is more acceptable in some Latin American countries e Infinitive When translating menu options buttons and dialog boxes in software use the infinitive form See Translation of dialog boxes menus and buttons on page 25 English Incorrect Correct Open menu option Abierto Abrir Save As menu option Guarde como Guardar como e Future English technical manuals tend to use the future tense where in Spanish the present tense would be more appropriate Avoid using the future tense in such Cases English Incorrect Co2. DL INTERNATIONAL e nabling global business TRANSLATION STYLE GUI DE EUROPEAN SPANISH SDL International http www sdlintl com June 2002 Table of contents I INTRODUCTION 1 Scope 2 Importance of corporate style ll GENERAL LINGUISTIC CONSIDERATIONS 1 Technical writing 6 A Syntax and semantics 7 Positive versus negative constructions 7 Active versus passive constructions 7 Logical sentence structure 7 Transitive and intransitive verbs 9 Tenses and modes 9 Optional plural 10 Possessive adjectives 10 Use of prepositions 11 Common errors to avoid 11 B Consistency 12 C Personifications 12 Orthographical and typographical conventions 13 A Abbreviations 13 Rules and typical abbreviations 13 Symbols and units of measurement 14 Acronyms 15 B Punctuation and orthographical marks 16 Commas 16 Hyphens and dashes 16 Quotation marks 17 Periods 17 Colons 17 Slashes 17 C Use of upper and lower case 17 D Numerals 18 Currencies 18 Dates 18 Decimal and thousand separator 18 Time format 18 Paper sizes millimeter conversions 18 Paper sizes names 19 F Bulleted lists and tables 19 Terminology 20 A Terminology lists 20 B Common terms 21 Translation of key names 21 Translation of common UI terms 22 False friends 23 Common mistakes 24 lll TRANSLATION GUIDELINES 25 Software translation 25 SDL Translation Guide European Spanish 2 A Translation of dialog boxes menus and buttons 25 B
3. SDL Translation Guide European Spanish 13 When a word has an accent this is kept in the abbreviation Word Incorrect Correct Note A word can also be abbreviated by contracting it for example agte for agente cia for compa a etc The following table contains a list of common abbreviations Word Abbreviation capitulo cap cuenta cta ejemplo ej Estados Unidos EE UU etc tera etc Hora minutos segund hr min seg or s os linea lin y x ft maximo max fark m nimo m n e n mero n or n m por ejemplo p ej primer primera primer 1 1 2 1 9 o p gina p g p rrafo p rr referencia ref segundo segunda 2 2122 tel fono tel tel f or tfno tiempo tpo Symbols and units of measurement When using symbols or units or measurement a space needs to be inserted between the number and the corresponding symbol or unit Please use a non breaking space to avoid splitting the figure and the symbol or unit over two lines SDL Translation Guide European Spanish 14 English Incorrect Correct 5cm 53 53 53 96 The following table contains a list of common units Word Abbreviation cent metro cm gigabyte GB hercio Hz kilogramo kg kilohercio kHz kil metro km litro l meg
4. billion to mean mil millones is spreading Common mistakes The following common mistakes should be avoided English Incorrect Correct back up to apoyar realizar una copia de seguridad click to hacer clic sobre hacer clic en default por defecto predeterminado invalid invalido no valido run correr ejecutar scalability escalabilidad posibilidad de ampliaci n successfully con xito correctamente support to soportar ser compatible con admitir customer support soporte de cliente servicio al cliente technical support soporte t cnico asistencia t cnica view visualizar ver the Internet el la Internet Internet no article SDL Translation Guide European Spanish 24 Ill Translation Guidelines 1 Software translation This section provides some general linguistic guidelines for the translation of the components that make up a software application When translating software you should Maintain a style that is as clear and precise as possible Simple structures aid comprehension Avoid literal translations Follow the target language conventions and try to make the translated text sound natural Ensure consistency within the software and with related software products Use terminology that is consistent with the operating system Windows Mac etc Adjust capitalization to target language standards
5. 2 Orthographical and typographical conventions This section covers a set of orthographical and typographical conventions that should be taken into account when writing Spanish texts They are particularly relevant to the translation of technical texts A Abbreviations Rules and typical abbreviations In general abbreviations should be avoided unless length restrictions mean the full term cannot be used If an abbreviation is required the following rules should be taken into account When the last syllable or syllables are cut in order to abbreviate a word the abbreviated word cannot end in a vowel Word Incorrect Correct Elemento Ele Elem Words should not be abbreviated by omitting only one letter Word Incorrect Correct N mero N mer N m When a syllable with more than one consonant needs to be cut all consonants before the vowel need to be included in the abbreviation In words with cc only the first c is included in the abbreviation Word Incorrect Correct Parrafo Par Parr Detecci n Detecc Detec Abbreviated words are followed by a period unless the abbreviation is an established technical symbol such as measures or monetary symbols If the abbreviation includes superscript letters the period goes before these letters Word Incorrect Correct Post meridiem pm p m Metro m m N mero n n
6. Hot keys 26 C Accelerator keys 26 D Status and error messages 26 2 Help translation 27 A User interface elements 27 B Headings and links 28 C Table of contents index and glossary 28 D Footnotes in Windows based rtf help files 30 3 Documentation translation 30 A Section and chapter titles 30 B Common manual titles 31 C Cross references to other manuals chapters or sections 31 D Glossaries 33 E Indexes 33 H Copyright information and publication date 33 4 Multimedia translation 34 A Target audience and style 34 B Length restrictions 34 C What is translatable in the script 35 IV REVIEW GUIDELINES 36 1 Revision marks 36 SDL Translation Guide European Spanish 3 Introduction 1 Scope The purpose of this Translation Style Guide is to establish grammar style and terminology guidelines for SDL internal staff and freelance translators editors and proofreaders with regard to the language preferences to be used in English to Spanish translations that are carried out for or by SDL International This guide is organized in three main sections General Linguistic Considerations Provides a set of linguistic guidelines and addresses problematic issues in translation from English into Spanish Translation Guidelines Provides company guidelines and industry standards for the translation of software help files software documentation and multimedia projects Each section concentrates on the specifics of that particula
7. Numerals Currencies Currency symbols should be placed after the number and are separated by a space Use a non breaking space English Incorrect Correct 15 000 15 000 15 000 Dates Dates should be written in the day month and year format No capital is used for the month If numbers are used hyphens or slashes should be used to separate them Note It is recommended to leave the article out before the years 2000 2001 etc The Spanish Academy RAE does however accept the use of the article if the year appears on its own as in Primera versi n editada en el 2002 Decimal and thousand separator Use the comma as a decimal separator without a space Use the period as a thousands separator English Incorrect Correct 1 50m 1 50 m 1 50 m 15 000 users 15 000 usuarios 15 000 usuarios Note In Mexico and some Central American countries the English format is followed In Spanish the 0 cannot be dropped in decimal numbers below 1 However it should be avoided when it is the only decimal digit in the number English Incorrect Correct 5m 5m 0 5 m 3 0 3 0 3 Time format The traditional format is the 24 hour clock To separate hours minutes and seconds a colon or period can be used Paper sizes millimeter conversions SDL Translation Guide European Spanish 18 Inches Millimeters 3 x 7 inch
8. Buscar Ctrl B Note Before changing accelerator keys the client must be consulted as many clients request accelerator keys be left as in English D Status and error messages Error messages translation must be concise Use the impersonal form and avoid the passive voice English Incorrect Correct Error saving file Error guardando archivo Error al guardar archivo Error doing Error al hacer algo something Error editing Error editando Error de edici n Error doing Error de noun something File in use Se est usando el archivo Archivo en uso SDL Translation Guide European Spanish 26 Cannot delete file No puede borrar el archivo No se puede borrar el archivo The following message is displayed on the screen El siguiente mensaje es mostrado en la pantalla En la pantalla se muestra el siguiente mensaje When text is cut or copied Cuando el texto es copiado o pegado Al copiar o pegar texto Avoid using the word imposible to translate the phrases Impossible to do something or Unable to do something English Incorrect Correct It is impossible to Imposible restablecer No es posible restablecer la reconnect conexi n conexi n Unable to save Imposible guardar No se puede guardar 2 Help translation On line help files are technical documents containin
9. The translator should refer to the localization kit notes and any instructions provided by the client to see whether a Spanish translation is available and should be used Do not make up a translation of the title If no title is available maintain the English original or paraphrase it in Spanish SDL Translation Guide European Spanish 31 References to chapter or section titles should be set in upper case no italics or between quotes SDL Translation Guide European Spanish 32 English Incorrect Correct See XXX User s Guide Para obtener mas Para obtener mas informaci n for more information informaci n consulte la consulte la gu a del usuario de Gu a del usuario de XXX XXX If title is not available in Spanish See Appendix A Consulte el Ap ndice A Consulte el ap ndice A Troubleshooting on Soluci n de problemas Soluci n de problemas en la page 10 en la p gina 10 p gina 10 D Glossaries Unless the term is a proper name or a software option name entries must start with lower case E Indexes When translating index entries a consistent translation is extremely important to avoid creating separate entries duplicates In most cases typographic quotes cannot be used in indexes Do not use quotes at the beginning of an index entry as this affects the sorting order When translating software options buttons menus etc in index entries the op
10. between quotation marks the period goes inside them English Incorrect Correct Topics that contain the Temas que contienen la Temas que contienen la palabra word contact palabra contacto contacto No topics found No se ha encontrado No se ha encontrado ning n ning n tema tema Periods Periods should be followed by one space only In a sentence ending with a term within quotation marks or brackets the period should go outside the closing quotation mark or bracket See above Colons Use colons to introduce lists and procedures Do not use colons to introduce tables sections or illustrations Unless the sentence starts on the next line use lower case after the colon Slashes Slashes can be used to separate two alternatives In Spanish slashes are not so common o and tend to be replaced by the conjunction o C Use of upper and lower case In Spanish capitals are only used for the first word of a sentence caption heading and title and for proper nouns The first letter of the following software interface elements should also be capitalized commands dialog box titles options buttons and menu names unless otherwise stated The following terms are not capitalized in Spanish Adjectives referring to nationalities SDL Translation Guide European Spanish 17 Names of days and months Languages Accents on capital letters are always required D
11. queried If there is more than one translation for the same software option escalate the problem to the project s lead translator or project manager Keep a record of inconsistencies and how you ve dealt with them until a final answer is provided B Headings and links The preferred style for headings in help files is nominal but infinitives can also be used as far as this is done consistently throughout the help The infinitive might in fact be the only option for translating some English gerunds English Incorrect Correct Generating tasks Generando tareas Generaci n de tareas Quitting the program Saliendo del programa Salir del programa gt gt The phrase How to in a title should be rendered in Spanish as C mo with no question marks However the systematic use of this phrase should be avoided The nominal or infinitive form is preferred English Incorrect Correct How to generate tasks C mo generar tareas C mo generar tareas Translation of headings should be consistent Consistency in this context must be maintained at two levels Semantic level One English heading can only have one translation in the target text That is if Generating tasks is translated once as Generaci n de tareas it should always be translated as such Grammatical level One English construction can have only one translation in the target text That is if the c
12. s Control Ctrl Control Ctrl Down Abajo Keypad numeric keypad numpad Teclado num rico End Fin Enter Return Escape Esc Intro numeric keypad Entrar Escape Esc Num Lock Bloqueo num rico Bloq Num Pause Pausa Print Screen Imprimir pantalla Impr Pant Scroll Lock Bloqueo de desplazamiento Bloq Despl Shift May sculas May s Movement keys Teclas de movimiento Delete Del Suprimir Supr End Fin SDL Translation Guide European Spanish 21 Home Inicio Insert Ins Insertar Insert Page Down Avanzar pagina Av Pag Page Up Retroceder pagina Re Pag Arrow keys Teclas de direcci n Down arrow key Flecha abajo Left arrow key Flecha izquierda Right arrow key Flecha derecha Up arrow key Flecha abajo Translation of common UI terms The following table contains a list of translations for common UI terms English Spanish check box casilla de verificaci n Close button bot n Cerrar command push button bot n de comando context menu menu contextual control menu menu de control dialog dialog box cuadro de di logo disabled option opci n no disponible drop down list lista desplegable field campo grayed button bot n atenuado Maximize button bot n Maximizar menu bar barra de men s
13. script should be adapted to meet those expectations This usually means naturalizing cultural references and eliminating anything potentially controversial in the target culture Special attention should be paid to Humour and puns A play on words is often not translatable so do not hesitate to avoid translating some and add others if possible providing that no vital information is missed Try to keep the same level of humour as the original Songs and poems Sing the songs to the music and make sure the amount of syllables in poems is the same as the original Always check at the beginning of the project whether the meaning of the lyrics is vital for playing the game Characters Study and understand the characters Understanding who these characters are mannerism personality style etc will determine the language they use Always bear in mind that the text is a script The choice of words and syntax should reflect a spoken style as opposed to the written style of technical manuals The target text should also be easy to pronounce Reading the text aloud might help to find stumbling blocks Listen to yourself saying the words and check whether you would actually say something like that in a real conversation Where the pronunciation may not be clear or when several pronunciations are possible for one word e g foreign places names scientific words or other words of Latin or Greek origin etc add a Pronunciation column
14. Adjust language to target language conventions For example the use of exclamation marks in English is more common than in other languages Keep your translation as short as possible without this resulting in a loss of meaning If length restrictions apply it is recommended to remove prepositions and articles first and if also needed to abbreviate trying to keep the abbreviated word as meaningful as possible When using abbreviations it is important to be as consistent as possible for example if the word agente is once abbreviated as agte use this abbreviation all along the software when required Too much abbreviation should be avoided since the final text can be meaningless A Translation of dialog boxes menus and buttons Use the infinitive to translate dialog box titles menu options and buttons The translation of the dialog box title should correspond to the menu option that opens it For instance if the menu option is Enviar imagen the dialog box that opens up should also be called Enviar imagen and not Envio de imagen In cases where the menu option has been abbreviated the dialog box title should be explicit and not abbreviated English Incorrect Correct Send menu Envie Enviar Send dialog box title Env o Enviar When there is more than one word in a dialog box title menu or button every word tends to be capitalized in English Such capitalization should be avoide
15. Customer Support contacts need to be knowledgeable about your systems the Software functionality and the business processes Los contactos de servicio t cnico del cliente deben conocer los sistemas las funciones del software y los procesos empresariales Los contactos de servicio t cnico del cliente deben conocer los sistemas las funciones del software y los procesos empresariales When a conjunction joins two parts of an element in a series and this element is followed by a second conjunction a comma must be used before the last conjunction English Incorrect Correct This will enable Customer Support to investigate and attempt to identify reproduce and verify the defect Esto permitira que el servicio t cnico investigue el problema intente identificarlo y reproducirlo y verifique el defecto Esto permitira que el servicio t cnico investigue el problema intente identificarlo y reproducirlo y verifique el defecto Use commas with introductory phrases and before and after phrases that use adverbs such as no obstante sin embargo as pues por el contrario por lo tanto etc English Incorrect Correct However you must replace the center plane Sin embargo debera reemplazar la placa central Sin embargo debera reemplazar la placa central Use a comma to separate subordinate phrases
16. Minimize button bot n Minimizar option button bot n de opci n pull down menu menu desplegable SDL Translation Guide European Spanish 22 radio button bot n de radio or bot n de opci n Restore button bot n Restaurar scroll arrow flecha de desplazamiento scroll bar barra de desplazamiento select to seleccionar shortcut key spin box tecla de m todo abreviado cuadro de numero status bar barra de estado tab ficha title bar barra de t tulo Toggle button bot n Alternar tool bar barra de herramientas tooltip Y informaci n sobre herramientas False friends The following table contains some general and IT false friends English Incorrect Correct abort abortar anular ignore ignorar omitir actual actual real enter to entrar introducir report reporte informe assume to asumir suponer scenario escenario ejemplo supuesto caso balance to balancear equilibrar consistent consistentente coherente consist of to consistir de constar de SDL Translation Guide European Spanish 23 cover to cubrir abarcar recoger eventual eventual final out of service fuera de servicio no funciona billion billon mil millones USA But bill n UK although due to American influence the use of
17. abit Mb megabyte MB megahercio MHz metro m mil metro mm Acronyms If the English acronym is kept in the Spanish text it should be followed by the full English text in italics and between brackets This should be introduced by the phrase del ingl s and followed by a translation or paraphrase in Spanish Management lider del mercado English Incorrect Correct It s the industry leading Es la soluci n de CRM Es la soluci n de CRM del CRM solution Customer Relationship ingl s Customer Relationship Management gesti n de relaciones con los clientes l der del mercado Once the acronym has been explained in the document it will be used by itself Acronyms in Spanish have no plural The indication of plural is usually given by the proceeding determiner article or adjective English Incorrect Correct To request the CD Para solicitar los CD Para solicitar los CD ROM SDL Translation Guide European Spanish 15 ROMs call B Punctuation and orthographical marks ROMs llame llame This section contains an overview of Spanish punctuation rules to help avoid a number of common mistakes Commas Commas are used to separate series of three or more elements In Spanish the comma before the conjunction should not be used when the conjunction joins the last two elements in a series English Incorrect Correct
18. d in Spanish and only the first word should be capitalized English Incorrect Correct Save As Guardar Como Guardar como Pages Numbers Numeros de Pagina Numeros de pagina SDL Translation Guide European Spanish 25 B Hot keys Hot keys are letters that are underlined in the name of a user interface element for example in the File menu option the letter F is normally underlined When working with hot keys follow these guidelines If possible the hot key should be the first letter of the user interface name or as close to the beginning as possible Use Windows standard hot keys if the application runs in Windows Avoid using the letters j q p and g in lower case as hot keys unless they are Windows standards as the result is visually confusing Do not use accented or special characters as hot keys Do not use the same letter as a hot key more than once within the same logical unit for instance within the same menu panel or dialog box C Accelerator keys Accelerator keys are used to access an option quickly without using the mouse They are a combination of the Control key and another key Translation of accelerator keys should be consistent with the standards used in the operating system In the following examples translations are correct for the Windows operating system English Incorrect Correct Open Ctrl O Abrir Ctrl O Abrir Ctrl A Find Ctrl F Buscar Ctrl F
19. e inicie una sesi n en el sistema Use of prepositions The following table contains some prepositions which are often used or translated incorrectly English Incorrect Correct Add in Agregar en Agregar a The button in the window El bot n en la ventana El bot n de la ventana Under Special on the main menu Bajo la opci n Especial en el ment principal En la opci n Especial del menu principal From the Options menu Desde el men Opciones En el men Opciones Copy to file Copiar al archivo Copiar en el archivo Avoid using the same preposition for verbs that collocate with a different preposition English Incorrect Correct To process information sent to or by the server Para procesar la informaci n proveniente o enviada desde el servidor Note Provenir collocates with de Para procesar la informaci n proveniente del servidor o enviada por ste A common mistake is to delete a required preposition to avoid what is called deque smo in Spanish incorrect use of de que English Incorrect Correct Make sure the system is off As gurese que el sistema esta apagado As gurese de que el sistema esta apagado An error message notifies the system is down Un mensaje de error informa que el sistema no funciona Un mensaje de error in
20. e software and other project components The first step in terminology development is extracting the source English terms This will usually be the job of a terminologist but if translators are asked to create a term list they should follow these guidelines The term list should include technical terms product specific terms and product names General terms should also be included if they have more than one translation or meaning depending on the subject matter or if they are used repeatedly throughout the source text Software options i e menus buttons etc should not be included in terminology lists Terms should be entered in the terminology list in the singular form and in lower case unless they are product names proper nouns etc In the case of verbs they SDL Translation Guide European Spanish 20 should be entered in the infinitive form followed by comma and then to e g backup to Once the English terminology list is created and approved by the client it needs to be translated To do this client glossaries if available should be referred to together with operating environment glossaries and glossaries from previous relevant projects B Common terms Translation of key names The following table contains a list of common keyboard terms and corresponding Spanish translation English Spanish Alt Alt Backspace Retroceso Caps Lock Bloqueo may sculas Blog May
21. eminders dialog box displays the following reminders El cuadro de di logo Notificaciones y avisos muestra los siguientes avisos El cuadro de di logo Notificaciones y avisos muestra los siguientes avisos Avisos establecidos para m Avisos establecidos para el usuario actual Avisos establecidos para m Avisos establecidos para el usuario actual Reminders set for me Reminders that are set for the current user Avisos recibidos Avisos que ha recibido el usuario Avisos recibidos actual Avisos que ha recibido el usuario actual Reminders received Reminders that were received by the current user Note As in the example above the English text may not be consistent in punctuation or sentence structure These inconsistencies should not be replicated in the Spanish 3 Terminology This section is divided into two main sections The first one explains the importance of terminology lists and deals with how to create them The second one focuses on some common terms in localization and their recommended translation A Terminology lists The purpose of creating terminology lists is twofold To maintain consistency during translation To build up a database of terms that can be used for upgrades of the project or as a reference in other projects Terminology lists may be provided by the client or created by SDL Either way it is essential to follow them when translating th
22. enarse en m ltiples idiomas languages idiomas Usingthisfeaturesis La utilizaci n de esta La utilizaci n de esta funci n optional funci n es opcional es optativa B Consistency It is extremely important to be consistent in the way things are translated The more consistent translations are the better the quality The work required during revision future updates etc will also be significantly reduced Consistency not only applies to terminology but also to sentence structure Recurring text elements like headings sub headings step by step instructions etc should have a similar structure Phrases which occur more than once in a document e g Related Topics should be translated identically throughout the document Similarly the translation of dialog boxes should correspond to the translation of the commands that open them C Personifications Personifications are frequently used in English documentation and should be avoided in Spanish Instead it is recommended to use an impersonal form English Incorrect Correct SDL Translation Guide European Spanish 12 This checklist outlines Esta lista de verificaci n En esta lista de verificaci n se the steps in setting up resumelos pasos parala resumen los pasos para la Personal Accounts in configuraci n de cuentas configuraci n de cuentas XXX 2000 personales en XXX 2000 personales en XXX 2000
23. es 90 x 178 mm 4 x 8 inches 102 x 204 mm 54 x 5 inches 133 x 146 mm 5 x 8 inches 133 x 203 mm 57 8 x 8 V inches 148 x 210 mm A5 7 x 9 inches 178 x 229 mm 8 x 11 inches 216 x 280 mm 11 x 16 inches 297 x 420 mm A3 8 Y x 11 inches 210 x 297 mm A4 Paper sizes names Inches Millimeter Letter 8 x 11 inches Carta 216 x 279 mm Legal 8 x 14 inches Oficio 216 x 356 mm Ledger 11 x 17 inches Registro 279 x 431 mm Executive 7 x 10 inches Ejecutivo 184 x 267 mm Envelopes Sobres F Bulleted lists and tables Regardless of the source language convention the format used in the translation of bulleted lists and tables should be consistent throughout the software documentation or help system Bullet points should start with upper case and end with no period if the list is made up by a series of terms or words that do not constitute a complete sentence However if the list contains complete sentences these should be followed by a period English Incorrect Correct The product box contains two manuals aCD La caja del producto contiene Dos manuales UncCbD La caja del producto contiene Dos manuales Un CD Una tarjeta de registro SDL Translation Guide European Spanish 19 a registration card Una tarjeta de registro The Notifications and R
24. forma de que el sistema no funciona Common errors to avoid This section focuses on some common errors in translation from English into Spanish SDL Translation Guide European Spanish 11 And Or This is sometimes translated as y o when in Spanish o would be enough Effective It should be translated as eficaz inanimate objects or eficiente animate objects but not efectivo Multiple This tends to be translated as m ltiple s This translation is correct but should not be favoured over other Spanish adjectives such as varios diversos etc If possible avoid using m ltiple s Optional Translate as optativo not opcional English Incorrect Correct Type the Name and or Escriba el nombre y o Escriba el nombre o direcci n Address of the Contact direcci n del contacto y del contacto y haga clic en and click Search haga clic en Buscar Buscar A workspace is a Un rea de trabajo es una Un rea de trabajo es una window that enables ventana que permitela ventana que permite la the effective administraci n efectiva administraci n eficaz de los management of items de los elementos elementos Data related to Los datos relacionados Los datos relacionados con las Properties and con las propiedades y propiedades y categor as Categories can be categor as pueden pueden almacenarse en varios stored in multiple almac
25. g instructions and explanations which are used as a reference for the corresponding software application The most common on line help systems are Help System Source files Compiled files Windows Help wtf hpj and cnt hlp and cnt HTML Help html hhk hhc and chm hhp JavaHelp xml and html xml and html no compilation required When translating help files you should Maintain a clear and readable style to enable the end user to quickly retrieve all the information required Beconsistent in the translation of headings and frequently occurring units such as Related topics A User interface elements Software options quoted in the Help must be consistent with the translation provided in the software Examples of software options include menus menu options dialog boxes check boxes buttons and error messages To ensure consistency always use a software glossary when translating the help If none is provided ask your project manager Never translate a software option without checking it against the software glossary SDL Translation Guide European Spanish 27 If the software glossary is not ready or has not been finalized before starting translation of the help leave software options untranslated until the glossary is provided Then check each option against the glossary and add the translation in the help files Inconsistencies in the software glossary should be
26. ilarly the use of the second person singular to address the reader should be avoided in Spanish Instead the third person singular should be used but the pronoun usted should not be used explicitly If the sentence structure requires the inclusion of this word it should be replaced by el usuario or a similar phrase adequate in the context English Incorrect Correct If you want to Si deseas continuar Si desea continuar proceed Si desea usted continuar Note There are some texts where the use of the second person singular might be desired for instance computer games where the target audience age and more informal stylistic approach seem to call for the use of the tu form Note Do be consistent in the way you address the reader Overall style should be clear and concise to help readability Literal translations should be avoided as they impair comprehension and make the target text sound unnatural Ideally the translated text should be easy to read convey the same information as the English and be able to pass as a text originally written in the target language The following guidelines are intended to help the translator to create a text which takes the conventions of Spanish technical documents into account and ensures maximum clarity for the reader SDL Translation Guide European Spanish 6 A Syntax and semantics Positive versus negative constructions Use positive con
27. imilarly when the user is asked to perform certain actions in the software application the different steps should also be presented in a logical order 1 e menu command dialog box title dialog box controls English Incorrect Correct Use the Special Para etiquetar los dos Para etiquetar los dos horarios Generate Labels option horarios automaticamente utilice la to label the two autom ticamente utilice opci n Generar etiquetas del schedules la opci n Especial ment Especial automatically Generar etiquetas SDL Translation Guide European Spanish 7 Note Try to maintain the order of the English sentences to increase translation memory TM performance However do not hesitate to link several short sentences together or to separate sentences if required SDL Translation Guide European Spanish 8 Transitive and intransitive verbs Avoid using transitive verbs as intransitive verbs English Incorrect Correct This option allows you Esta opci n le permite Esta opci n le permite copiar to copy in the copiar en el Portapapeles la selecci n en el Clipboard Portapapeles Tenses and modes English tenses do not always correspond to the equivalent tense in Spanish e Gerunds translation of ing form In English gerunds tend to be used in section titles and subtitles in the documentation and help where Spanish prefers the nominal form of a verb or if i
28. in the script for the client to approve one style prior to recording Use of formal or informal form of address has to be agreed with the client from the beginning of the project Note Even though the script text will often not show on the screen correct spelling is vital as it makes it easier for the actors to read the script without hesitation Always spell check your files B Length restrictions The original script usually matches an image sequence The localized version must convey the same message synchronizing throughout with the image sequence To check that the length is right read your translation aloud against the original audio file When doing this bear in mind that your translation will be acted so read your SDL Translation Guide European Spanish 34 text at a reasonable speed This might take a bit of time but proves to be very effective in the long run as it prevents the need of retranslating shortening sentences during the recording session Another way to check the length of each file is to count syllables and make sure the localized version is not longer or shorter than the original Nevertheless this method should be used in conjunction with the one above as it is not 100 reliable The same amount of syllables might not be spoken at the same speed in different languages It should be determined at the project s kick off meeting whether the translation has to be lip synched If so the lines that charac
29. le as part of the on line help ensure translation is consistent with the rest of the help files Make sure that entries are not capitalized in Spanish unless they are proper names trademarks etc SDL Translation Guide European Spanish 29 D Footnotes in Windows based rtf help files Entries similar to these ones will appear as footnotes if Windows help files are translated in rtf id_intro Do not translate Introduction Represents the entry in the help table of contents Must exactly match the topic title it is associated with It can start in upper case K welcome print quality Represents the key word in the help index As an index entry a K footnote must start with a meaningful word Use lower case for these keywords A Introduction Do not translate 3 Documentation translation The translation of software documentation should be approached in much the same way as help files The factors governing it are again consistency with the software and a clear style A Section and chapter titles Use the noun without article to translate section and chapter titles The guidelines given for the translation of help headings are also applicable here see Headings and links on page 28 Always use a software glossary when translating documentation and check all software options against it The following table contains preferred translations for common terms in documentatio
30. n English Spanish Appendix Ap ndice Caution Precauci n Chapter Capitulo Contents Indice Figure Ilustraci n or Figura when it refers to numbered figures consulte la figura 2 1 Guidelines Directrices Hint Sugerencia Important Importante Index Indice alfab tico SDL Translation Guide European Spanish 30 Note Nota Section Secci n Table of contents ndice Tip Sugerencia Topic Tema Troubleshooting Soluci n de problemas Warning Advertencia See X Consulte X See also Y Consulte tambi n Y See See also Y in index V ase V ase tambi n Y entries For details on For Para obtener m s more information on informaci n sobre When words such as cap tulo or ap ndice are mentioned in the text they should be in lower case and preceded by the article i e Consulte el capitulo 10 B Common manual titles Unless otherwise specified by the client the following manual titles should be translated as follows English Spanish Getting Started Gu a de introducci n Tutorial Gu a de aprendizaje User s Guide Gu a del usuario Reference Guide Gu a de referencia Training Manual Gu a de formaci n Installation and Gu a de instalaci n y Configuration Guide configuraci n C Cross references to other manuals chapters or sections References to other documentation should be set in italics
31. on is complete All information in the source text should be conveyed in the target text There should not be any missing sections or sentences Pay special attention to minor details for instance the omission of the word not completely changes the meaning Make sure there are no mistranslations Make sure all numbers addresses names etc are correct and have been spelled correctly Correct any typos or grammatical mistakes Make sure the text reads well and the style is adequate for the register and audience As a rule of thumb anything that can be interpreted as a stylistic preference should not be changed Only change something if it is wrong or makes the text difficult to read 1 Revision marks See file proofing pdf SDL Translation Guide European Spanish 36
32. onstruction Gerund noun as in Generating tasks is translated once as Noun de noun as in Generaci n de tareas it should always be translated as such and not for instance as Verb Noun as in Generar tareas Links and cross references to other help topics must match corresponding topic titles exactly That is if you click on the How to create a table link the topic that opens should be titled How to create a table and not for instance How to create tables C Table of contents index and glossary You should ensure that all headings in the table of contents match the translation of the headings found on the individual help files SDL Translation Guide European Spanish 28 All index entries have to be consistent with the terminology used in the help files Make sure that entries are not capitalized in Spanish unless they are proper names trademarks software options etc Try to consider the index usability For example if the English entry Editor tab is translated as ficha Editor the Spanish index becomes less useful as most users searching information on the Editor tab will look for editor not ficha Similarly check and delete if necessary entries that do not add any value to the index because they are too similar to one another for instance crear informes and creaci n de informes See Indexes on page 33 If there is a glossary fi
33. r type of translation Review Guidelines Provides a set of recommendations that should be taken into account when reviewing translations carried out by other translators It also contains a set of revision marks to be used when reviewing translations 2 Importance of corporate style Using and observing the SDL International corporate style is vital to Project an image of professionalism and reliability Promote quality and consistency across projects and clients Minimize costly revisions It is imperative that both internal translators and freelancers adhere to these guidelines so that all manuals and online texts translated or reviewed for or by SDL International have consistent style good readability and stylistic quality Adhering to the SDL Translation Style Guide will also ensure linguistic consistency across a pool of translators on any one project This will in turn ensure that no extra resources have to be allocated during revision helping to deliver on time within budget Some of SDL s clients have their own set of linguistic guidelines Where this is the case these guidelines will be provided to translators together with the project material for translation Where there are differences or contradictions the client s preferences if correct take priority over those in this guide For any linguistic issues not covered in the client guidelines the SDL Translation Style Guide is to be referred to The general orthog
34. raphical and grammatical rules for Spanish obviously remain untouched by the SDL Translation Style Guide Important Some of the examples of usage that appear in the Incorrect column are correct from a linguistic point of view but are to be avoided in favour of the phrase or term featured in the Correct column SDL Translation Guide European Spanish 4 Important Unless otherwise stated the translations provided are based on Windows standards and intended for use in Windows based applications SDL Translation Guide European Spanish 5 Il General linguistic considerations 1 Technical writing One of the first things to consider in technical writing is the target audience As a translator you should consider who will be reading the document you are translating Is the document intended for the general public If not what organization do your readers work for What is your readers occupation profession or field What information do they need to get from your document What is their knowledge of the topic Translation should be adapted depending on the answers to these questions As a general rule the register should be kept formal English texts tend to lapse into quite a colloquial style that should be avoided in Spanish English Incorrect Correct Now you know what Ahora ya sabe qu Ya dispone de los to do if you want to hacer conocimientos necesarios para Sim
35. rrect This section will describe the procedure to install the machine Esta seccion describira el procedimiento de instalaci n del equipo En esta secci n se describe el procedimiento de instalaci n del equipo Optional plural The optional plural represented by the letter s between brackets as in item s can be used in software if such use is due to length restriction issues However it should be avoided whenever possible In documentation and help files the singular and plural forms of the noun should be used instead Alternatively the Spanish plural form can be used as it is the less specific option English Incorrect Correct Select the item s you want Seleccione los elemento s que desee Seleccione el elemento o los elementos que desee Or Seleccione los elementos que desee Possessive adjectives The common use of possessive adjectives in English should be avoided in Spanish and instead the definite article should be used English Incorrect Correct SDL Translation Guide European Spanish 10 Launch your application Inicie su aplicaci n Inicie la aplicaci n You need to run these last two commands each time you log into your system Debe ejecutar estos dos ltimos comandos cada vez que inicie una sesi n en su sistema Debe ejecutar estos dos ltimos comandos cada vez qu
36. structions rather than negative ones in order to improve the readability of the Spanish text English Incorrect Correct Do not connect the No conecte el cable de Coloque el interruptor en la power cable before alimentaci n sin antes posici n 0 antes de conectar el setting the switch on haber colocado el cable de alimentaci n the 0 position interruptor en la posici n Q Active versus passive constructions Use active instead of passive constructions whenever possible Passive voice is less commonly used in Spanish Instead the impersonal form should be used this is advisable in error messages see Status and Error messages on page 26 Englisb Incorrect Correct Shift templates can be Las plantillas de turnos Las plantillas de turnos pueden associated with any pueden ser asociadas a asociarse a cualquier grupo de staff group cualquier grupo de personal personal When changing subjects e g as a result of using the active form where the English sentence uses the passive form be careful not to mistranslate English Incorrect Correct Templates are used by Las plantillas utilizan Los asistentes utilizan wizards to improve asistentes para mejorar el plantillas para mejorar el performance rendimiento rendimiento Logical sentence structure Organize information in a logical order Instructions should be given in the order the user has to perform them S
37. t is not possible to use a nominal form an infinitive form The Spanish gerund can and should be used when it appears in a status bar indicating an action in progress see Section and chapter titles on page 30 English Incorrect Correct Section Ten Secci n 10 Generando Secci n 10 Generaci n de Generating Tables tablas tablas Updating table Actualizaci n de tabla Actualizando tabla Note that the Spanish gerund denotes an action in progress which takes place before or at the same time as the main action It is incorrect to use the gerund to denote and action that takes place after the main one English Incorrect Correct The application opens La aplicaci n abre la La aplicaci n abre la ventana the window allowing ventana permiti ndole lo que le permite especificar you to enter data especificar datos datos To view the contents of Para ver el contenido de Para ver el contenido de todas all the resource folders todas las carpetas de las carpetas de recursos including subfolders recursos incluyendolos incluidos los recursos y las and resources recursos y las subcarpetas subcarpetas e Imperatives Use the imperative tense when giving instructions Avoid using the infinitive to translate instructions English expressions with modal verbs or constructions such as make sure you do something should also be translated using the Spanish imperative
38. ters deliver in the target script must have the same length as those in the source script that is they need to start and finish along with the original script Furthermore the text must allow the voice over actor to mimic the movement made in the original for example when the actor closes his lips to say boo the target script must also start with a labial Note A recording session with professional actors is one of the most expensive items in the budget and the studios and actors are very often fully booked It is worth spending time before to ensure optimal efficiency during recording sessions C What is translatable in the script Do not translate comments included in the script as references for the actor or designer In the following fragment the text in italics should not be translated Castle Hackalott was renowned for its famous dragon Gordon the Good Natured lt lt Designer s note Insert screenshot of the Dragon looking friendly gt gt and folk from far and wide would come to Huntingdonshire to see the gentle beast SDL Translation Guide European Spanish 35 IV Review Guidelines This section focuses on guidelines for completing full reviews of translations carried out by other translators The guidelines outlined in the previous pages are to be taken into account when reviewing translations Apart from that the following recommendations should be used as a guide Make sure that the translati
39. that begin a sentence English Incorrect Correct You will be given a login and password to gain access into the system Para acceder al sistema se le proporcionara un ID de inicio de sesi n y una contrase a Para acceder al sistema se le proporcionar un ID de inicio de sesi n y una contrase a Hyphens and dashes In Spanish three types of dash characters are used SDL Translation Guide European Spanish 16 Hyphen gui n Used to divide words at the end of a line e g apli caci n and for compound words e g tedrico practico A hyphenated compound should not be split between lines If possible use a non breaking hyphen Ctrl Shift hyphen Titles should not have hyphenated words En dash signo menos Used as a minus sign with a space before and after ANSI code Alt 0150 Em dash raya Used to enclose comments not syntactically connected to the rest of the sentence Similar to using brackets The use of em dash in the English text does not always warrant its use in the Spanish translation Depending on the context it can be replaced with a comma or brackets ANSI code Alt 0151 Quotation marks In English when the text between quotation marks appears at the end of the sentence the period may appear inside the quotation marks In Spanish the period should go outside the quotation marks However if the whole sentence is
40. tion button or menu name should appear first Prepositions and conjunctions at the beginning or end of second level index entries should be left out in Spanish Index entries only start with a capital letter if the first word is a proper noun or an interface term command menu button etc Do not use articles for index entries English Incorrect Correct End button bot n Finalizar Finalizar bot n the keyboard el teclado teclado Clipboard copyingto Portapapeles copiar al Portapapeles pegar See Table of contents index and glossary on page 28 H Copyright information and publication date Copyright notices tend to be standard texts It is worth checking with the client whether they already have a standard translation If they don t ensure they approve the translation provided SDL Translation Guide European Spanish 33 Publication date and part number information for the translated document should be obtained from the client 4 Multimedia translation The term multimedia translation is used here to refer to the translation of scripts involving visuals and audio Many of the scripts SDL translates are as part of computer games but they can also be videos requiring dubbing Whatever the case the following guidelines are to be followed A Target audience and style The translator has to consider the target users expectation and the culture of the destination country The English
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