Bambara style guide

This brief supplement covers terminology and text handling. It is not a complete grammar. Apply the shared localization review and house voice; adaptations are acknowledged in credits.

Local usage

Avoid abbreviations that readers cannot expand. Use an abbreviation only when it is established and familiar to the intended audience. Write an unfamiliar expression in full and keep its approved translation consistent. Do not manufacture an acronym to make a label fit.

Use established metric symbols and preserve their case. Keep protected product names and filename extensions intact. Shorten surrounding prose before changing a name or removing a condition.

Character and interface review

Preserve Bambara letters such as ɛ, ɔ, ɲ and ŋ, including their capitals Ɛ, Ɔ, Ɲ and Ŋ. Test copying, searching and display with the actual text; a visually similar replacement is not the same letter. See scripts and typography.

Have a proficient Bambara reviewer check terminology and natural phrasing. Review full messages with substituted values and enough space for unabbreviated wording. A string that fits only after an unfamiliar acronym is introduced needs another edit.