Localization: meaning, context, and review

Preserve what the source says while making the translation read naturally. Rewrite sentence order, idioms, and forms of address when the target language requires it. Keep factual claims, conditions, warnings, and uncertainty intact.

Before translating

• Identify the audience, product, platform, locale, and writing system.
• Establish the form of address for each surface: interface, help, marketing.
• Read the string's context, translator comments, and related messages.
• Check the product glossary and the current localized interface. Translation memory is evidence of previous usage, not proof that a suggestion is correct.
• Record missing terminology and ambiguous source text for review.

For a locale without an established rule, document the decision with a worked example. Do not invent rules by filling a template from assumptions.

Preserve the message

Translate meaning rather than word order. A familiar local expression can replace an idiom if it preserves the intent. When no suitable equivalent exists, use plain language. Never turn a literal date, duration, measurement, or place into a different fact because it sounds more familiar.

Adapt fictional examples only when the task permits it. Keep real names, locations, quotations, legal text, and numerical claims faithful to the source. If the source is wrong, flag the error and correct it through the source owner.

For marketing, preserve the emotional purpose without importing another company's personality, mission, or product promises. For instructions, keep the conditions, action, and result clear. Error messages stay calm and useful.

Protect the string format

• Preserve placeholder identifiers, format specifiers, escapes, and markup. Move placeholders only when the format permits reordering.
• Do not infer the grammar of a variable from one sample value. Check likely substitutions, empty values, mixed scripts, and all supported plural forms.
• Preserve the destination of a link unless a verified equivalent translation exists. Translate the visible label separately from a URL or resource key.
• Distinguish command shortcuts from access keys. Check the target keyboard layout, collisions, and platform conventions in the running product.
• Do not translate a product name or make a verb from it without an explicit naming rule. Check the approved name for the target language.

Numbers, units, and display space

Use locale-appropriate display conventions without changing stored data or code examples. A unit conversion requires a correct value and corresponding unit. Do not translate only the unit after a variable whose value still uses the original unit. Let the product's formatter handle dynamic values.

Allow room for text expansion. Test long translations in the actual component, including narrow windows and enlarged text. Do not remove meaning or insert an ellipsis merely to conceal truncation. Shorten the wording or fix the layout.

Use a descriptive verb for an action label. Apply the destination's casing convention to new labels; preserve existing labels exactly when quoting them. Use sentence case for new FontLab English labels.

Review before release

1. Compare the translation with the source for omissions and changed claims.
2. Read the translation alone for natural syntax and consistent tone.
3. Check terminology, placeholders, plural forms, punctuation, and links.
4. Inspect the translated screen, keyboard interaction, and text expansion.
5. Have a proficient reviewer resolve new terminology and record the decision.

A style guide needs examples and reviewed decisions. Remove unanswered template questions from published rules. Keep a short record of intentional deviations so a later translator does not undo them as apparent mistakes.