Latvian (Latvia) style guide

Voice and register

• Be warm and relaxed. Natural, less formal, grounded in honest conversation.
• Be crisp and clear. Get to the point. Write for scanning first, reading second. Keep it simple.
• Be ready to lend a hand. Anticipate real needs and give good information at the right time.
• Keep the audience in mind. Technical terms for technical audiences, common words and phrases for consumers.
• Write short, easy-to-read sentences.
• Avoid the passive voice. It is hard to read and understand quickly.
• Be pleasant. Make the text appropriate for the audience and subject, and as enjoyable to read as possible.
• Avoid slang. Be careful with colloquialisms. A conversational tone is acceptable, but stay professional.
• Avoid overuse of company, brand, and product names and logos. Refer to names correctly.
• Avoid the corporate we, as in We’re proud to introduce… or We want you to know. Keep the focus on you, the reader.
• Keep the style clear, friendly, and concise. Use everyday conversational language, not formal technical language.
• Match the style and grammatical structures of the source. Consider the audience and intent of the text.
• Choose words that are not standard translations where that keeps the intent, while staying with approved terminology.
• Do not translate literally. Latvian is a very traditional language, so little can be done to sound modern, but make translations active and friendly.
• Use suggestive forms (varat darīt) instead of imperative (dariet) where possible.
• Avoid long and complex sentences. Split a complicated sentence into two or more. Break it up with parentheses, a semicolon instead of a comma, or a dash.
• Avoid double negatives: use tas ir svarīgi instead of tas nav mazsvarīgi. The double negative is grammatically correct and unavoidable in some contexts.

Flexibility

• Modify or rewrite translated strings so they sound natural to Latvian customers. Understand the whole intention of the sentences, paragraphs, and pages, then rewrite as if writing the content yourself. Remove unnecessary content.
• Follow these steps to change your password. -> Lai nomainītu paroli, veiciet šādas darbības:
• Play around to see what works best for you. -> Izmēģiniet vairākas iespējas, lai uzzinātu sev piemērotāko.

Functional equivalence

• Aim for functional equivalence, not formal equivalence. The target text must function for the target audience as the source does for the original audience.
• Make the translation sound natural, as if written in Latvian. Review rhythm, phrasing, and style. Change the word order and use different parts of speech as appropriate.
• We got the address book server successfully. -> (-) Adrešu grāmatas serveris sekmīgi iegūts. -> (+) Adrešu grāmatas serveris sekmīgi sasniegts. The literal translation of got makes the sentence senseless. The correct sense is reached. English get has many meanings; choose the one that fits the context.
• The calendar group "{2}" is not empty. -> (-) Kalendāru grupa {2} nav tukša. -> (+) Kalendāru grupas {2} lauks nav tukšs. In Latvian group is not a container that can be empty. The added word field or value makes the sentence meaningful.
• Set to false if you want to have an email sent out to the assignee when a task is canceled. -> (-) Iestatiet vērtību kā aplamu, ja vēlaties, lai, atceļot uzdevumu, lietotājam, kuram tas ir piešķirts, tiktu nosūtīts e-pasts. -> (+) Iestatiet vērtību kā aplamu, ja vēlaties, lai uzdevuma saņēmējam tiktu nosūtīts e-pasta ziņojums, tiklīdz uzdevums tiek atcelts. An email message is meant here, not email as a service. Translate email as e-pasta ziņojums in such contexts to avoid ambiguity.

Words and phrases to avoid

• You are in control: not Kontrole ir jūsu rokās, use Jūs vadāt. kontrole is used for inspection or checking, and jūsu rokās is idiomatic.
• necessary to carry out: not nepieciešams veikt, use jāveic
• check: not izpildīt pārbaudi, use pārbaudīt
• put in order: not savest kārtībā, use sakārtot
• utilize: not ekspluatēt, utilizēt, use lietot
• subsequent: not sekojošais, use nākamais
• provided below: not zemāk minētais, use nākamais, šis
• give/provide guidance, give/provide information: not sniegt palīdzību/nodrošināt informāciju, use palīdzēt, informēt
• identify: not identificēt, use noteikt
• retry: not atkārtot mēģinājumu, use mēģināt vēlreiz
• perform action: not izpildīt darbību, use paveikt
• exist: not eksistēt, use pastāvēt, būt
• have an opportunity: not būt iespējamam, use varēt
• at the given moment: not dotajā momentā, use pašlaik
• provided that: not ar nosacījumu, ka, use ja
• in order to, with the aim of: not ar mērķi/nolūku, use lai
• as a result: not kā rezultātā, use tādējādi, tā
• To help prevent extra charges, keep this off.: not Lai palīdzētu novērst papildu izmaksas, šo līdzekli turiet izslēgtu., use Lai izvairītos no papildu izmaksām, izslēdziet šo līdzekli.
• Your PC is at risk of infection and needs you to take action.: not Jūsu dators ir pakļauts inficēšanās riskam, un jums ir jārīkojas., use Dators var tikt inficēts, tāpēc jums ir jārīkojas.
• sorry: not atvainojiet, piedodiet, use diemžēl
• Avoid trendy slang. It seems forced, is hard to localize, and may not make sense to a broader audience. In marketing or explanatory text, but not in UI commands, commonly used slang is acceptable.
• Correct tone: Apskatiet sava drauga jaunos fotoattēlus -> incorrect tone: Parādiet savas foršākās bildes. Too much jargon.
• Please wait while Windows copies the files to your computer. -> (+) Lūdzu, uzgaidiet, kamēr Windows iekopē failus datorā.
• Use please judiciously: only when the customer is asked to do something inconvenient, is asked to wait, or the software is to blame. Consider a thank you later in the scenario.
• Use please whenever its absence would read as curt.
• Please select Next to continue. -> (-) Lai turpinātu, lūdzu, atlasiet Tālāk. -> (+) Lai turpinātu, atlasiet Tālāk.
• Please wait while the server is working on that. -> (-) Uzgaidiet, kamēr serveris apstrādā jūsu pieprasījumu. -> (+) Lūdzu, uzgaidiet, kamēr serveris apstrādā datus.
• Unable to save using the specified format. Please select another format. -> (+) Nevar saglabāt, izmantojot norādīto formātu. Lūdzu, atlasiet citu formātu.
• Use please if the user has gone out of their way to be helpful, for example by joining a feedback program or filing a bug report.
• To improve your experience, please participate in the customer feedback program. -> (+) Lai uzlabotu lietošanas iespējas, lūdzu, iesaistieties klientu atsauksmju programmā.
• Use sorry (diemžēl) only in error messages that warn about serious problems, for example data loss, the user cannot continue, or the user must get help from a technical representative.
• Do not apologize if the issue occurred during normal functioning of the program, for example waiting for a network connection.
• We’re sorry, the service isn’t available right now. -> (-) Pašlaik pakalpojums nav pieejams. -> (+) Diemžēl pašlaik pakalpojums nav pieejams. Here diemžēl is needed because its absence would read as curt.
• Sorry, the maximum number of subscribed members has been reached. -> (-) Atvainojiet, bet ir sasniegts abonēto dalībnieku maksimālais skaits. -> (+) Diemžēl ir sasniegts maksimālais abonēto dalībnieku skaits. atvainojiet is not appropriate for this context.
• Avoid idiomatic and colloquial expressions. Idioms confuse non-native speakers and take extra time to translate.
• Kill two birds with one stone -> (+) Nošaut divus zaķus ar vienu šāvienu
• Avoid surprising or humorous word choices, slang, and sarcasm. Puns and coined phrases are hard to interpret.
• Avoid acronyms and abbreviations, except where the meaning is obvious. Use them sparingly and define them in context.
• Acronyms can cause syntactical problems: an acronym standing in the dative case cannot show the case ending, because acronyms have no grammatical endings in Latvian.
• The Latvian acronym EK is used for European Community, European Commission and European Movement.
• Avoid jargon, coining words, and applying new meanings to common words. If you must use such terms, define them near the beginning of every section or article. Jargon is often based on metaphor or US business practice, for example kontrole, misija, limits, agresīvs.
• Anglicisms do not sound friendlier. Avoid them.
• innovative: not inovatīvs, use jauna veida, novatorisks
• additionally: not papildus, use arī
• creative: not kreatīvs, use radošs
• Avoid redundancy. Omit needless words. Do not use two or three words where one will do. Saving space matters on smaller screens and UIs.
• Do not add descriptors or extra words unless they are needed for a fluent, contemporary translation.
• categorize, group, install: not veikt kategorizēšanu, veikt grupēšanu, veikt instalēšanu, use dalīt kategorijās, grupēt, instalēt. Simple verbs such as instalēt beat constructions with veikt plus a noun.
• In the case of a damaged disk, you must save the file to another location (for example, a different drive).: not Gadījumā, ja disks ir bojāts, jums fails jāsaglabā citā vietā (piemēram, citā diskā)., use Ja disks ir bojāts, fails ir jāsaglabā citā vietā (piemēram, citā diskā). A literal translation of in the case of is redundant in Latvian. Omit it and use only a conditional clause. The first version also has the unnecessary personal pronoun jums.
• If this does not work…: not Ja ar šīm darbībām problēmu neizdodas novērst…, use Ja tas nelīdz…
• Make the mouse easier to use: not Padarīt peli vieglāk lietojamu or Peles vieglākas lietošanas nodrošināšana, use Vieglāka peles lietošana or Kā atvieglot peles lietošanu. A page title requires a nominative noun construction.
• Avoid repeating the same word or words with the same root in one sentence or paragraph. Review each window and remove duplicate words and statements. Be explicit where necessary, but do not explain what goes without saying.
• Choose the location where you want to save the file. -> (-) Izvēlieties vietu, kur vēlaties saglabāt failu. -> (+) Izvēlieties vietu, kur jāsaglabā fails.
• Your accounts require Outlook to be activated as a device administrator to ensure security requirements are met. -> (-) Jūsu konti pieprasa Outlook aktivizēšanu par ierīces administratoru, lai nodrošinātu drošības prasību izpildi. -> (+) Lai tiktu izpildītas drošības prasības, jūsu kontiem ir nepieciešama programmas Outlook kā ierīces administratora aktivizēšana.

Word choice

• Use approved terminology for key terms, technical terms, and product names.
• Use approved synonyms, that is interchangeable terms, where they do not confuse the user. They avoid repetition and sound natural. You can also use short variants of terms and abbreviations, unless abbreviations cause syntactical problems.
• Use synonyms for words that are not terms: descriptive adjectives, adverbs, verbs, particles, and conjunctions. Make sure the synonym matches the context and style.
• before -> līdz, pirms, iekams (especially in a sentence with a negative verb)
• why -> kāpēc, kādēļ
• for the sake of -> dēļ, labad
• exciting -> interesants, aizraujošs, neparasts, saistošs
• application, app, program -> lietojumprogramma, programma
• refuse, reject -> atteikties, noliegt, noraidīt
• spam -> surogātpasts, nevēlamais e-pasts, nevēlamais komerciālais e-pasts
• weblog, blog -> tīmekļa žurnāls, emuārs
• ink, digital ink -> rokraksts, ciparrokraksts
• method -> paņēmiens, metode
• start -> startēt, palaist
• use -> lietot, izmantot
• Check approved terminology for the use of synonyms.
• Prefer the simpler alternative to a formal term.
• recommend: formal rekomendēt, simpler ieteikt
• additionally: formal turklāt, papildus, simpler arī
• control: formal kontrolēt, simpler pārvaldīt, vadīt depending on the context
• Use short, simple words spoken in everyday conversation. They are friendlier, save space on screen, and read faster.
• Use shortened or short everyday words as long as the context is clear and the short form does not cause misunderstanding.
• Do not use a different target term when an established and approved term exists.
• Be careful with acronyms. They shorten the text but make it less friendly and harder to understand. English uses acronyms freely, Latvian does not. English acronyms may be unclear to the average user, so brevity can cost comprehensibility.
• Acronyms have no case endings, so their grammatical role in running text can be unclear, especially outside the nominative. Acronyms are therefore not a recommended way to convey the voice in Latvian.
• Acronyms are acceptable in table headings and drop-down menu items under space restrictions.
• disk -> disks. Any area of storage formatted with a file system and having a drive letter: a hard disk, USB drive, or another type of disk.
• drive -> diskdzinis. Any hardware device that reads data from and writes data to disks.
• app -> programma. Use programma instead of lietojumprogramma. lietotne, used as a translation of application, is not a shortened form of lietojumprogramma and is not approved terminology.
• message -> ziņojums. Use it as a shortened form of e-pasta ziņojums if the context is clear and the short form does not cause misunderstanding.
• email -> e-pasts. Use e-pasts instead of elektroniskais pasts.
• mail -> pasts. Use pasts instead of e-pasts only if the context is clear and the short form does not cause misunderstanding.
• Use everyday words. Avoid words you would not use in everyday conversation. Imagine explaining the task over a friend's shoulder.
• Crashes happen. The power goes out. The network goes down. -> do Avārijas mēdz notikt. Var nodzist elektrība. Var pazust savienojums ar tīklu. -> don't Avārijas mēdz notikt. Var gadīties elektroenerģijas padeves traucējumi. Var rasties tīkla bojājumi. Avoid overly technical language and technical details irrelevant to the general user.
• Word can't complete this action because too many files are open. -> do Word nevarēja izpildīt šo darbību, jo bija atvērts par daudz failu. -> don't Operācija nevarēja tikt izpildīta. Avoid the passive voice where the subject is defined. The passive voice is more appropriate in clauses without a subject.
• Use short, plain words. To show simple and easy procedures, use simple sentences and phrases, minimal text, and everyday words.
• Avoid very long words. They lead to truncations.
• Use the language that customers use.
• Localize interjections neutrally. Find a more formal equivalent or omit the phrase completely.
• We're having trouble opening this page.: not Mums ir problēmas ar šīs lapas atvēršanu., use Nevar atvērt šo lapu.
• Do not invent words or apply new meanings to standard words. Some terms, such as hacker, are already part of everyday speech.
• start -> startēt, palaist. Sāknēt (boot) is the old term. Do not use it. Otherwise follow the source text and use approved terminology.
• In everyday language people vary their word choice rather than use standardized phrasing. Consistency for consistency's sake is not a goal.
• Choose words with a clear meaning.
• Download the Data Gateway Management client and then install it on your machine. -> (-) Lejupielādējiet datu vārtejas pārvaldības klientu un tad instalējiet savā datorā. -> (+) Lejupielādējiet datu vārtejas pārvaldības klientu un pēc tam instalējiet savā datorā. tad has several meanings, at that time and after that, and is ambiguous.

Word-for-word translation

• Avoid word-for-word translation. Literal translation without understanding the paragraph or page sounds stiff and unnatural, and may turn customers away.
• Split the text into different sentences where that simplifies the translation. Omit descriptors to make the text snappier.
• There’s a better way -> correct Taču ir arī ērtāks veids. -> incorrect Taču ir labāks ceļš.
• If your professor has a PDF version of the handouts or case studies, you can save the files directly to your OneDrive or OneNote notebook. -> correct Ja pasniedzējam izdales vai citi materiāli ir PDF formātā, varat saglabāt failus tieši savā OneDrive vai OneNote piezīmju grāmatiņā. -> incorrect Ja jūsu profesoram ir izdales vai citu materiālu PDF versija, jūs varat saglabāt failus tieši savā OneDrive vai OneNote piezīmju grāmatiņā.
• Aside from working together, OneDrive also makes it easy to share spring break photos, your band’s latest recording, a class video, or anything else you want to show your friends. -> correct Pakalpojumā OneDrive var ne tikai kopīgi strādāt, bet arī ērti kopīgot brīvlaikā uzņemtos fotoattēlus, savas mūzikas grupas jaunākos ierakstus, stundā uzņemto video vai jebko citu, ko vēlaties parādīt draugiem. -> incorrect Varat ne tikai kopīgi strādāt OneDrive, bet arī vienkārši kopīgot pavasara brīvlaikā uzņemtās fotogrāfijas, mūzikas ansambļa jaunākos ierakstus, stundā uzņemto video vai ko citu, ko vēlaties parādīt draugiem.
• Be a presentation machine -> correct Vienmēr esiet gatavs prezentācijai -> incorrect Esiet prezentāciju mašīna
• Check out more tips on how to save time and enhance your presentations in our blog post -> correct Skatiet mūsu emuāra rakstā citus ieteikumus par to, kā ietaupīt laiku un uzlabot savu prezentāciju -> incorrect Iepazīstieties ar citiem ieteikumiem par to, kā taupīt laiku un uzlabot savu prezentāciju, kas atrodas mūsu emuāru vietnē

Sample voice text: focusing on the user action

• Focus on the action the user needs to take, so choices and next steps are obvious.
• The password isn’t correct, so try again. Passwords are case-sensitive. -> Parole nav pareiza, tāpēc, lūdzu, mēģiniet vēlreiz. Paroles ir reģistrjutīgas. Give a short, friendly message letting the user know they need to try again.
• This product key didn’t work. Check it and try again. -> Produkta atslēga nedarbojas. Lūdzu, pārbaudiet to un mēģiniet vēlreiz. Ask casually and politely to check it and try again. Use the present tense, except when the message refers specifically to a past event.
• All ready to go -> Viss sagatavots, lai sāktu A casual, short message that setup has completed. Do not translate this literally. A literal translation makes no sense for the Latvian user.
• Would you like to continue? -> Vai vēlaties turpināt? The second-person pronoun is not needed in Latvian because the verb form expresses the second person.
• Give your PC a name—any name you want. If you want to change the background color, turn high contrast off in PC settings. -> Piešķiriet datoram nosaukumu pēc saviem ieskatiem. Ja vēlaties mainīt fona krāsu, datora iestatījumu sadaļā izslēdziet augsta kontrasta iestatījumu. Address the user directly in the imperative mood. The second-person pronoun is not needed because the verb form expresses it.

Sample voice text: explanatory text and providing support

• The updates are installed, but Windows Setup needs to restart for them to work. After it restarts, we’ll keep going from where we left off. -> Atjauninājumi ir instalēti, bet, lai tie darbotos, ir jārestartē Windows uzstādīšanas programma. Pēc tās restartēšanas turpināsim no tās vietas, kur palikām. The language is natural, the way people talk. The tone is reassuring, letting the user know we are doing the work. we gives a more personal tone.
• If you restart now, you and any other people using this PC could lose unsaved work. -> Ja restartēsit tūlīt, jūs un citi šī datora lietotāji varat zaudēt nesaglabāto darbu. Clear and natural, telling the user what will happen if the action is taken.
• This document will be automatically moved to the right library and folder after you correct invalid or missing properties. -> Kad izlabosit nederīgos rekvizītus vai ievadīsit trūkstošos, šis dokuments tiks automātiski pārvietots uz pareizo bibliotēku un mapi. Informative, telling the user clearly and directly what will happen.
• Something bad happened! Unable to locate downloaded files to create your bootable USB flash drive. -> Radās sarežģījumi! Nevar atrast lejupielādētos failus, lai izveidotu palaižamu USB zibatmiņas disku. Short, simple sentences tell the user what has happened.

Sample voice text: promoting a feature

• Picture password is a new way to help you protect your touchscreen PC. You choose the picture—and the gestures you use with it—to create a password that’s uniquely yours. -> Attēlparole ir jauns veids, kā aizsargāt datoru, kam ir skārienekrāns. Izvēlieties attēlu un žestus, kas jālieto kopā ar to, lai izveidotu savu unikālo paroli. The em dash suits English but not Latvian. In Latvian separate the final clause from the main clause with a comma, not an em dash.
• Let apps give you personalized content based on your PC’s location, name, account picture, and other domain info. -> Ļaujiet, lai programma piedāvā personalizētu saturu, ņemot vērā datora atrašanās vietu, nosaukumu, konta attēlu un citu domēna informāciju. In Latvian an English acronym in a case other than nominative or possessive is not appropriate in running text, because acronyms have no case endings. PC is also not used in everyday Latvian speech, so it blocks understanding without adding familiarity.

Sample voice text: providing how-to guidelines

• To go back and save your work, select Cancel and finish what you need to. -> Lai atgrieztos un saglabātu savu darbu, atlasiet Atcelt un pabeidziet iesākto. The second-person pronoun is not needed in Latvian because the imperative verb expresses the grammatical meaning.
• To confirm your current picture password, just watch the replay and trace the example gestures shown on your picture. -> Lai apstiprinātu pašreizējo attēlparoli, noskatieties atkārtojumu un izpildiet attēlā parādītos žestus. The tone is simple and natural. Do not overload the user. Tell them only what they need to make a decision.

Inclusive language

• Comply with local language laws.
• Use plain language: straightforward, concrete, familiar words. Prefer a two-syllable word over a three-syllable one, and several clear words over one complicated term.
• Be careful naming cities, countries, or regions. Make sure they are not politically disputed. In examples covering several regions use equivalent references. Do not mix countries with states or continents.
• Represent diverse perspectives and circumstances in text and images. Show people from all walks of life in a wide variety of professions, educational settings, locales, and economic settings.
• Do not generalize or stereotype people by region, culture, age, or gender, not even with a positive stereotype. For job roles choose names reflecting a variety of gender identities and cultural backgrounds.
• Do not use profane or derogatory terms.
• Do not use slang that could be considered cultural appropriation.
• Do not use terms that may carry unconscious racial bias, or terms associated with military actions, politics, or controversial historical events and eras.
• hang -> stop responding; uzkaras -> pārtrauc reaģēt, vairs nereaģē
• guru -> expert; guru, specs, profs -> eksperts, speciālists
• pow wow -> meeting; pasēdēšana -> sanāksme
• guys; ladies and gentlemen -> colleagues; everyone; all; zēni; dāmas un kungi -> kolēģi, visi, ikviens
• brown bag session -> lunch and learn; learning session; pamācīšanās pusdienu pauzē -> mācību sesija
• mother or father -> parent; māte vai tēvs -> vecāks

Avoid gender bias

• Use gender-neutral alternatives for common terms. Avoid compounds containing gender-specific terms (vīrietis, sieviete) wherever possible.
• The general form for professions is masculine singular. Do not write pārdevējs(-a), which makes the text less readable.
• spēkavīrs -> stiprs cilvēks. Avoid words with direct references to gender if the text might refer to anyone.
• skolnieki/skolnieces -> skolēni. Use words with the general inclusive meaning.
• For generalizations use plural noun forms, for example cilvēki, personas, studenti.
• Do not use gendered pronouns (viņa, viņas, viņš, viņam) in generic references. Instead rewrite to the second person (jums) or savs, or generalize: use tas nav nepieciešams instead of viņam tas nav jādara.
• Rewrite the sentence with a plural noun and pronoun.
• Use demonstrative pronouns instead of personal pronouns, for example šis dokuments instead of viņa dokuments.
• Refer to a person's role, for example lasītājs, darbinieks, klients.
• Use persona or indivīds.
• If the user has the appropriate rights, he can set other users' passwords. -> A user with the appropriate rights can set other users' passwords.; Ja lietotājam ir piemērotas tiesības, viņš var iestatīt paroles citiem lietotājiem. -> Lietotājs ar piemērotām tiesībām var iestatīt citu lietotāju paroles.
• A developer needs access to servers in his development environment, but he doesn't need access to the servers in Azure. -> Developers need access to servers in their development environments, but they don't need access to the servers in Azure.; Izstrādātājam ir nepieciešama piekļuve serveriem viņa izstrādes vidē, taču viņam nav nepieciešams piekļūt Azure serveriem. -> Izstrādātājiem ir nepieciešama piekļuve serveriem savās izstrādes vidēs, taču tiem nav nepieciešams piekļūt Azure serveriem.
• When the author opens her document …. -> When the author opens the document ….; Kad autore atver viņas dokumentu.. -> Kad autors atver savu dokumentu...
• To call someone, select his name, select Make a phone call, and then select his number. -> To call someone, select the person's name, select Make a phone call, and then choose the number you'd like to dial.; Lai kādam piezvanītu, atlasiet viņa vārdu, atlasiet “Veikt tālruņa zvanu” un pēc tam atlasiet viņa numuru. -> Lai kādam piezvanītu, atlasiet personas vārdu, atlasiet “Veikt tālruņa zvanu” un pēc tam izvēlieties attiecīgo tālruna numuru.
• Do not use constructions like viņš/viņa and viņam(-i).
• When writing about a real person, use the pronouns that person prefers, whether viņš, viņa, viņi, or another pronoun. Gendered pronouns such as viņš, viņa, viņam, viņai are fine for real people who use them.
• Use gender-neutral verb forms as much as possible. Avoiding gender-specific verb endings is not always possible in Latvian. Look for alternatives, for example the simple past instead of the present perfect: use es aizmirsu paroli instead of es esmu aizmirsis(-usi) paroli.
• Latvian grammar rules take priority over gender-neutral expression in a conflict. Use masculine gender singular where the perfect tense is needed.
• Created by user {0} -> Created by {0}; Izveidojis(-usi) lietotājs(-a) {0} -> Izveidoja {0}

Accessibility

• Focus on people, not disabilities. Do not use words that imply pity, such as (persona) kuru skārusi (slimība) or kas cieš no. Preferably do not mention a disability unless it is relevant.
• handicapped -> person with a disability; invalīds -> persona ar invaliditāti
• normal person; healthy person -> person without a disability; normāla persona, vesels cilvēks -> persona bez invaliditātes
• Use generic verbs that apply to all input methods and devices. In procedures and instructions avoid verbs that make no sense with alternative input methods used for accessibility.
• Click -> Select; Noklikšķiniet -> Atlasiet
• Keep paragraphs short and sentence structure simple. Aim for one verb per sentence. Read text aloud and imagine it spoken by a screen reader.
• Spell out words like un, plus, and aptuveni. Screen readers can misread special characters such as &, +, and ~.

Abbreviations

• Abbreviate words in the UI, mainly button and option names, only for lack of space.
• Truncation with a period: Formatēšana => Format., skatīt => sk.
• Initial capitals: Domain Name Server => DNS
• Abbreviations usually end with a consonant.
• Extended characters are preserved in the abbreviated form of a word.
• If a sentence ends with an abbreviation, do not add another period after the abbreviation's period.
• Avoid abbreviations in software or documentation unless they are conventional abbreviations normally used in Latvian. Use unconventional abbreviations only when there is no space for the spelled-out form. Make any unavoidable unconventional abbreviation conform to the Latvian language standards.
• Do not create new abbreviations even when space allows, if the existing abbreviation is clear and frequent. dok. is the common abbreviation for dokuments and must not become doku., dokum., dkmt., or dmt.
• attēls -> att.
• dokuments -> dok.
• eksemplārs -> eks.
• ieskaitot -> iesk.
• lappuse -> lpp.
• miljons -> milj.
• nodaļa -> nod.
• pielikums -> piel.
• piemēram -> piem.
• pulksten -> plkst.
• skatiet -> sk.
• šā gada -> š.g.
• tas ir -> t.i.
• valoda -> val.
• vienskaitlis -> vsk.
• Do not abbreviate words of only one syllable.
• Avoid acronyms and abbreviations unless the meaning is obvious, as in St. Petersburg. Use them sparingly and define them in context. The Latvian acronym EK stands for both Eiropas Kopiena and Eiropas Komisija.
• Use utt., u.t.j.p. and u.c. carefully. Well-known abbreviations can save space, but do not use these in the middle of a sentence as a connector between its parts.
• Services in charge of raw materials such as ink, paper, etc. -> Dienesti, kas nodrošina izejmateriālus, piemēram, tinti, papīru un citus materiālus.
• utt. at the end of an example may be deleted, because calling something an example already shows the listing is incomplete. If used, these abbreviations are not preceded by a comma.

Acronyms

• Acronyms are words made from the initial letters of major parts of a compound term: WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get), DNS (Domain Name Server), HTML (Hypertext Markup Language).
• Write acronyms with all capital letters.
• Do not localize English IT acronyms into a Latvian acronym. They stay in English: DDC/CI (Display Data Channel Command Interface) protocol -> protokols DDC/CI
• Translate an acronym with a spelled-out form where an approved Latvian translation exists.
• LCD -> šķidro kristālu displejs
• LAN -> lokālais tīkls or LAN
• URL -> vienotais resursu vietrādis or vietrādis URL
• Unlocalized acronyms stay as they are: HTML -> HTML; SQL -> SQL; XML -> XML; ICMP -> ICMP; POP -> POP; WAP -> WAP
• Acronyms have no case endings, so the reader may miss their syntactical role, especially in the locative or dative. Use another sentence construction for clarity: put the acronym in the nominative or possessive case, or use a full Latvian word or phrase if one exists.
• Alternatively precede the unlocalized acronym with an appropriate modifier in the appropriate grammatical case.

Adjectives

• Latvian single adjectives have gender, number, and case. Localizing a single adjective correctly is impossible without context, or where the context needs masculine and feminine, plural and singular, or several case forms at once. This happens in elliptical menus and concatenated strings.
• In those cases localize the adjective with a verb or noun, use the masculine singular, or ask the developers whether concatenation can be avoided.
• New -> Jauns
• Unknown -> Nezināms
• Write the names of colors in feminine, because krāsa is feminine.
• Be careful with comparative and superlative degrees. They are not used with all adjectives. Incorrect use of the comparative or superlative is a grammar mistake.
• Add a personal touch -> wrong Personiskāks profils -> correct Personisks profils. Incorrect use of the comparative degree with personisks.
• Do not overuse possessive adjectives or the possessive pronouns jūsu, mūsu when translating English you and our.
• Click your mouse. -> + Noklikšķiniet ar peli. -> - Noklikšķiniet ar jūsu peli. -> - Noklikšķiniet ar savu peli.

Articles

• Latvian has no articles, but certain rules convey the meaning of the English definite and indefinite articles.
• Reproduce the definite article with the definite ending of the adjective, where the adjective relates to the noun preceded by the article, or with the demonstrative pronoun. Avoid pronouns in technical texts and software products.
• Reproduce the indefinite article with the indefinite endings of adjectives, where the adjective relates to the noun preceded by the article.
• The Taskbar is adjustable and can be "hidden" from view until you need it to select an open program tab. -> Uzdevumjoslu var pielāgot un paslēpt līdz brīdim, kad tā būs nepieciešama, lai atlasītu atvērtu programmas cilni.
• You can change the size of the open program tabs so they don't take up as much space on the Taskbar. -> Atvērto programmas ciļņu lielumu varat mainīt, lai cilnes uzdevumjoslā neaizņemtu tik daudz vietas.
• Use product names and untranslated feature names without definite or indefinite articles.

Capitalization

• English often capitalizes the first characters of words in titles and names, and sometimes the middle characters. This is an error in Latvian text.
• Move Down… -> + Pārvietot lejup -> - Pārvietot Lejup
• AutoArchive -> + Automātiskā arhivēšana -> - Automātiskā Arhivēšana -> - AutoArhivēšana
• In titles follow the normal Latvian capitalization rules unless instructed otherwise.
• If a UI string appears as part of another string, capitalizing the first word is sufficient.
• Select Save As and close the window -> + Atlasiet Saglabāt kā un aizveriet logu -> + Atlasiet “Saglabāt kā” un aizveriet logu
• English short explanations in parentheses often start with a capital letter. In Latvian start such text with a lowercase letter, unless the text in brackets is a full sentence.
• Keep existing driver (Recommended) -> + Saglabāt esošo draiveri (ieteicams) -> - Saglabāt esošo draiveri (Ieteicams)
• Do not capitalize names of days, months, languages, nationalities, or adjectives derived from country names.
• Write the personal pronouns jūs, jūsu, jums… and tu, tavs, tev… with an initial lowercase letter, except in correspondence.
• Never capitalize common nouns unless they are the first word in a sentence or title.

Compounds

• Keep compounds understandable and clear. Avoid overly long or complex compounds. Compounds that are hard to understand diminish usability.
• The meaning of a compound word may differ from the meaning of a phrase made of the same components. Use the correct form.
• User name -> phrase Lietotāja vārds -> compound Lietotājvārds. The phrase means the user's name or surname; the compound means a unique name that identifies a user account.
• In very rare cases a hyphen links parts of a compound word.
• email -> e-pasts. The hyphen links parts of a compound word.

Conjunctions

• English starts a sentence with a conjunction to convey an informal tone and style.
• In Latvian do not start a sentence with the conjunction un or bet.
• And this is where you go to turn off or lock your computer. -> incorrect Un šeit datoru var izslēgt vai slēgt. -> correct Šeit datoru var izslēgt vai aizslēgt.
• Avoid the ampersand & in translations. Localize it as the conjunction un, unless it is part of a name that cannot be localized.
• The plus sign + with the meaning and is acceptable where it matches the style of the text, for example in headings: pictures+camera -> attēli + kamera

Gender

• All Latvian nouns and pronouns are either masculine or feminine. Several verb forms, for example the perfect tenses, also imply the gender. Adjectives and numerals always agree with the noun.

Genitive

• Do not attach a genitive -s or -a to trademarked product names. It could be read as a modification of the name.
• Use this setting to enable or disable SharePoint Newsfeed. -> (+) Izmantojiet šo iestatījumu, lai iespējotu vai atspējotu SharePoint jaunumu plūsmu. -> (-) Izmantojiet šo iestatījumu, lai iespējotu vai atspējotu SharePointa jaunumu plūsmu

Grammatical form consistency

• Follow the rules for Latvian verb tenses and use verb forms consistently. Use the same tense and verb form for all options listed in a group.
• Two grammatical forms exist for the indicative mood, active voice, second-person plural, simple future: endings -āsiet/-āsit, -īsiet/-īsit, -ēsiet/-ēsit, -osiet/-osit, -ūsiet/-ūsit, as in saglabāsiet/saglabāsit, rediģēsiet/rediģēsit, rakstīsiet/rakstīsit, ievietosiet/ievietosit.
• Both forms are grammatically correct, but use only one consistently in the entire localized product. Use only the shortest form: -āsit, -ēsit, -īsit, -osit, -ūsit.
• Keep grammatical form consistent in all items of a list or menu: verb tense, grammatical case of nouns, grammatical voice, and other forms. The same rule applies to tab names of one dialog box.
• In this article: - Overview - Create an alert for a list or library - Create an alert for a folder, file, or list item - Subscribe to an RSS Feed for a list or library - Subscribe to an RSS Feed for a view -> inconsistent Šajā rakstā: - Pārskats - Kā izveidot brīdinājumu par sarakstu vai bibliotēku - Brīdinājuma izveide par mapi, failu vai saraksta vienumu - Saraksta vai bibliotēkas RSS plūsmas abonēšana - Abonējiet skata RSS plūsmu -> consistent Šajā rakstā: - Pārskats - Saraksta vai bibliotēkas brīdinājuma izveidošana - Mapes, faila vai saraksta vienuma brīdinājuma izveidošana - Saraksta vai bibliotēkas RSS plūsmas abonēšana - Skata RSS plūsmas abonēšana
• Parallelism requires words and phrases with the same function to have the same form.
• Use parallel language whenever you express ideas of equal weight, and for UI elements parallel in function: headings, labels, lists, page titles.
• Make all items similar in length and form, and use the same part of speech. For example make them all begin with a verb, all use a noun-verb-adjective structure, or all be single-word imperative verbs.
• Use parallel construction for items in lists and all labels for check boxes and options in a group. All item labels begin with the same type of word, a verb or a noun, and use singular or plural nouns consistently.
• Select entire word Format drawing canvas -> do Atlasiet veselus vārdus Formatējiet zīmēšanas pamatni -> don't Veselu vārdu atlasīšana Formatējiet zīmēšanas pamatni
• Music Video Share Listen -> (-) Mūzika Video Koplietot Klausīties -> (+) Mūzika Video Koplietošana Klausīšanās. Music and Video are nouns but Share and Listen are verbs. Transform the verbs into the deverbal nouns Koplietošana and Klausīšanās.
• To start a game -> Spēles sākšana
• To save a game -> Spēles saglabāšana
• To change game options -> Spēles opciju mainīšana

Localizing colloquialism, idioms, and metaphors

• Replace a source colloquialism with a Latvian colloquialism only if it is a perfect and natural fit for that context.
• Translate the intended meaning rather than the literal wording, but only where the meaning is an integral part of the text that cannot be omitted.
• Omit the colloquialism where that does not affect the meaning of the text.
• A little humor is acceptable but must be used very carefully. Use the colloquialisms and humor of the English in specific situations such as Getting Started experiences, Product Tours, and Setup screens.
• Avoid colloquialisms and idioms that might be offensive or too expressive. Avoid old-fashioned expressions like Ak tu tētīt!. Be mindful of cultural considerations and globalization.
• Source text with humor may be tagged or carry contextual comments describing the colloquialism in plain terms.
• We’ve hit a snag… -> Neliela aizķeršanās…
• Bummer… -> Sasodīts!
• Working on it… Bear with us. -> Pašlaik meklējam risinājumu… Lūdzu, nedaudz uzgaidiet.

Modifiers

• Add modifiers, that is descriptions of the object the name refers to, before the names of objects, menus, commands, dialog box elements, icons, and other elements. English text generally has no such modifiers.
• Modifiers are especially necessary where the whole phrase must be declined. Decline only the modifier and leave the name in the form used in the user interface.
• Click Save -> Noklikšķiniet uz Saglabāt
• Select Save from the File menu -> Izvēlnē Fails atlasiet komandu Saglabāt or Izvēlnē Fails atlasiet Saglabāt
• Watch strings with placeholders, where the placeholder is replaced by a variable that may not come in the appropriate case form. Add a modifier, separate the placeholder from the rest of the text with quotation marks or a colon, or both.
• Use modifiers before unlocalized product names where the name stands in a grammatical case other than nominative, possessive, or instrumental, or where the verb connected to it must agree with the gender and number of the noun.
• Omit the modifier where the product name is preceded by a grammatically related preposition that clearly conveys the syntactical relationship.
• Descriptors, usually the main words from the translation, can be added to carry the declination. Omit them under length restrictions, for example in UI, or for fluency. Do not omit a descriptor where that creates ambiguity.
• Download files from Windows Update -> Lejupielādēt failus no Windows Update

Nouns

• Latvian nouns have two genders, feminine and masculine, and two grammatical numbers, singular and plural.
• Noun functions in the sentence are subject, attribute, predicate together with a link verb, adjunct, supplement, and object.
• A common noun refers to anything or anybody as an example of what the word denotes, and may refer to the whole class of subjects.
• A proper noun is distinguished on grammatical and semantic grounds and is written with an initial capital letter.
• In localized software use deverbal nouns with the -šana suffix for system status, ongoing processes, and similar.
• Saving the file -> Faila saglabāšana
• Latvian is highly inflected: nouns have six declensions with seven grammatical cases in each: nominative, genitive or possessive, dative, accusative, locative, instrumental, and vocative. Special rules govern letter transformations in these forms.
• Noun inflections depend on the noun function and syntactical relationship in the sentence, and on grammatical number.
• Form noun plurals by adding the respective plural ending. Some nouns occur only in singular or only in plural.
• file -> fails, faili; menu -> izvēlne, izvēlnes; program -> programma, programmas
• Nouns used only in the singular are singularia tantum: video -> video; radio -> radio; audio -> audio; management -> pārvaldība; software -> programmatūra; hardware -> aparatūra
• Nouns used only in the plural are pluralia tantum: beigas, the principal form of tikšanās, durvis
• Translate English phrases that allow both singular and plural at once with the plural form only, to avoid confusing noun and verb endings.
• Fill in the field(s) .. -> (-) Aizpildiet lauku(s) -> (+) Aizpildiet laukus
• Where possible use the plural to signify both singular and plural, or use phrases like one or more or at least one. Translate these as vismaz viens.
• Use the plural in parentheses (s) only under length restrictions. Do not add a hyphen in parentheses before the plural ending.
• To add one or more rows to a table,… -> (-) Lai tabulai pievienotu rindu(as)… -> (+) Lai tabulai pievienotu vismaz vienu rindu…

Numbers

• Write the numbers 0 to 9 as words only in running text: You have seven unanswered calls, not You have 7 unanswered calls.
• In tables and other places where the numbers 0 through 9 are standalone text, write them as numerals.

Prepositions

• Use prepositions correctly. Under the influence of the English source many translators omit them or change the word order.
• Starting or ending a sentence with a preposition is acceptable.
• No Latvian preposition marks a formal style. The preposition priekš, sometimes used for time and place in colloquial speech, is bookish, obsolete, and suits expressive texts. Use pirms instead.
• Your license expired one year ago. -> incorrect Jūsu licences derīguma termiņš beidzās priekš viena gada. -> correct Jūsu licences derīguma termiņš beidzās pirms viena gada.
• priekš is not acceptable for expressing purpose. It is too slangy.
• Use prepositions for their correct purpose and with nouns in the grammatical case the Latvian grammar rules require.
• Avoid two successive prepositions. They make the text hard to understand.
• The message could not be sent to the address related to this username due to an error. -> incorrect Kļūdas dēļ uz ar šo lietotājvārdu saistīto adresi nevarēja nosūtīt ziņojumu. -> correct Uz adresi, kas saistīta ar lietotājvārdu, kļūdas dēļ nevarēja nosūtīt ziņojumu.
• with user-oriented theme -> incorrect ar uz lietotāju vērstu dizainu -> correct ar lietotājvērstu dizainu
• with down arrow -> incorrect ar uz leju vērstu bultiņu -> correct ar lejupvērstu bultiņu
• Use the preposition uz to describe clicking a button, icon, tab, menu, or menu item. Use no preposition to describe clicking a field or the desktop. There the accusative may be used.
• click the button -> + noklikšķiniet uz pogas -> - noklikšķiniet pogu (inappropriate accusative) -> - noklikšķiniet ar pogu (incorrect use of ar)
• Do you want it to be placed on the desktop? -> + Vai vēlaties, lai mape tiktu novietota darbvirsmā? -> - Vai vēlaties, lai mape tiktu novietota uz darbvirsmas? Inappropriate use of uz.
• To describe selecting a UI item preceded by the descriptor, use the dative case without any preposition. Use the dative also for a descriptively named UI item, for example izvēlne.
• Where the descriptor is missing or unknown, or the UI item is an unlocalized word or phrase, use the preposition pie between the verb pieskarieties and the UI item.
• Tap File -> incorrect Pieskarieties Fails -> correct Pieskarieties pie Fails
• Tap the OK button -> incorrect Pieskarieties pie pogas Labi -> correct Pieskarieties pogai Labi
• Tap the menu item -> incorrect Pieskarieties pie izvēlnes -> correct Pieskarieties izvēlnei

Pronouns

• Use the polite form of you (jūs) in translated software and documentation. Do not capitalize it, except in a letter.
• Use the singular ending with verbs and other grammatically related words, because software and help texts address only one user at a time.
• Avoid overusing the personal pronoun jūs and possessive pronouns when translating English you and your.
• Where needed to convey the meaning correctly, imply the doer of the action with the verb ending instead of a personal pronoun.
• You can open the file by double-clicking... -> Failu varat atvērt, veicot dubultklikšķi...
• Follow these steps in order to change your password: -> (-) Izpildiet šīs darbības, lai mainītu savu paroli. -> (+) Lai nomainītu paroli, rīkojieties šādi:
• Usually the second person is implied by the verb ending and the personal pronoun is omitted.
• Use the first person (I, me, my) to let users tell the program what to do, but do not overuse it. Do not translate every I, me and mine, to avoid unnatural and redundant text.
• Avoid third-person references to the user. They convey a formal, impersonal tone.
• You can change when new updates get installed. -> (-) Lietotāji var mainīt laiku, kad tiek instalēti atjauninājumi. -> (+) Varat mainīt laiku, kad jāinstalē atjauninājumi.
• Choose one of these schemes or make your own. -> Izvēlieties kādu no šīm shēmām vai izveidojiet savējo.
• Remember my password -> Atcerēties manu paroli
• Tell me when a new Bluetooth device tries to connect to my PC -> Paziņot man, tiklīdz jauna Bluetooth ierīce mēģina sazināties ar manu datoru
• We recommend that you back up your files on a regular schedule. -> (-) Lietotājiem ieteicams regulāri dublēt failus. -> (+) Iesakām regulāri dublēt failus.
• We strongly discourage you from installing these codec packs. -> (-) Lietotājiem nav ieteicams instalēt šīs kodeku pakotnes. -> (+) Nav ieteicams instalēt šīs kodeku pakotnes.
• We can't find a printer. Do you want to add one? -> Nevar atrast printeri. Vai vēlaties kādu pievienot?
• The information we collect won't be used to personally identify you. -> (-) Savāktā informācija netiks izmantota, lai personiski identificētu lietotāju. -> (+) Mēs neizmantosim savākto informāciju, lai jūs identificētu.
• If the pronoun is used, write it with a lowercase letter.
• You are now connected to the internet. -> Jūsu datorā tagad ir izveidots savienojums ar internetu.
• After you restart your computer, a dialog box is displayed. -> (-) Kad esat restartējuši datoru, parādās dialoglodziņš. -> (+) Kad esat restartējis datoru, tiek parādīts dialoglodziņš.

Punctuation

• Punctuation supports the voice. It is not a substitute for good word choice.
• Split a too complicated sentence into two or more. Consider parentheses, a semicolon instead of a comma, or a dash. Punctuation can help rephrase a translation and make it a bit playful.
• Lai tā nenotiktu, varat mēģināt bloķēt piekļuvi atsevišķām šūnām. -> Bloķējiet piekļuvi atsevišķām šūnām — un tā nenotiks.
• Do not put a space before quotation marks, colons, semicolons, exclamation points, or question marks.
• If items in a bulleted list are preceded by an introductory phrase, it ends with a colon.
• Whether or not the US source list items end with a period, Latvian list items never end with a period unless they are complete sentences or the final item of the list.
• Use commas according to the Latvian grammar rules.
• Use colons after the words that introduce a numbered or bulleted list, and between equal parts of a sentence.
• Begin the text after a colon with a lowercase letter, unless it starts a new paragraph. In some cases use one word followed by a period, and start the next part of the sentence with a capital letter.
• Tip: Do the following -> Padoms. Rīkojieties šādi. or Padoms: rīkojieties šādi.
• Where such a phrase recurs, use the same construction consistently throughout the text.
• A colon may also separate concatenated variables from the rest of the text.
• To debug a [document], proceed as follows. -> Veiciet tālāk minētās darbības, lai atkļūdotu šo elementu: dokuments.
• Do not use colons or periods after column headings.
• Latvian uses three dash characters: the hyphen, the en dash, and the em dash.
• Use the hyphen to divide words between syllables, to link parts of a compound word, and to connect the parts of an inverted or imperative verb form. Latvian also uses it in postal codes.
• email -> e-pasts. The hyphen links parts of a compound word.
• Jānis Bērziņš-Krūmiņš -> Jānis Bērziņš-Krūmiņš. The hyphen separates a surname of two equal parts.
• LV-1011 -> LV-1011. The hyphen is used in Latvian postal codes.
• English uses the en dash as a minus sign, usually with spaces before and after. Latvian uses the short hyphen - instead, with no spaces around the mathematical sign: 500-200=300
• The exception is mixed numbers and letters in a mathematical expression. There use spaces around the mathematical signs: 90 cm x 120 cm
• Latvian punctuation rules do not distinguish the em dash (U+2014, ALT+150) from the en dash (U+2013, ALT+151). Where a dash is needed, use the en dash for consistency.
• Do not confuse a dash with the hyphen (U+002D). A dash is longer and has a space before and after it. Using a dash instead of a hyphen or the reverse is an error.
• Always use the en dash – in number ranges, without spaces around it: 30–50 cm
• The broadcast name must be between 1–32 characters. -> Apraides nosaukumā ir jābūt 1–32 rakstzīmēm. An en dash indicates a range. A nonbreaking space goes between the number and its descriptor so the two do not appear on different lines.
• Use the em dash only to set off a parenthetical element or introduce an element that is not essential to the meaning. In Latvian the dash structures the sentence, marks a clause that sums up previous clauses, and divides parts of a sentence clearly.
• For UI content use the en dash – where possible. The em dash — takes up more UI space and may cause formatting issues.
• General Latvian grammar rules use the ellipsis mainly to express emotional attitude or experience, to mark pauses in speech, or to show that an unexpected event follows.
• Menu titles and command names need no punctuation mark at the end. If the command leads to a dialog box, use an ellipsis (x…).
• Keep the ellipsis where English uses it when translating menu items: Save as… -> Saglabāt kā…
• An ellipsis often marks an action in process: Backup Files... -> Dublē failu...
• Use periods in all cases described by the Latvian grammar rules.
• Formatting -> Formatēšana => Format. Shortening with a period.
• See -> skatīt => sk. Shortening with a period.
• If a sentence ends with an abbreviation, do not add another final period after the abbreviation's period.
• For further information about XXX, see page 50. -> (+) Plašāku informāciju par XXX skatiet 50. lpp. -> (-) Plašāku informāciju par XXX skatiet 50. lpp..
• Always use periods after ordinal numbers.
• Do not put a period at the end of a check box name, whether or not the English ends with one. The exception is a check box label that is a complete sentence.
• Always end messages in dialog boxes and error messages with a period or another punctuation mark, even where the English source does not.
• Use quotation marks when referring to the names of appendixes, chapters, and sections in cross references.
• US source strings may surround software references with English quotation marks. In Latvian do not use double quotation marks or any special punctuation for a software item within text, unless it is hard to distinguish from the surrounding text and makes the sentence hard to understand.
• Double quotation marks are also permitted in concatenated strings, where a variable in a wrong case form is inserted into a message at runtime.
• Do not use quotation marks for these items if they already have bold or italic formatting.
• To debug a [document], proceed as follows. -> Lai atkļūdotu elementu ''dokuments'', veiciet šādas darbības.
• Tap Skip if you want to check your voicemail by calling instead. -> Pieskarieties pogai Izlaist, ja vēlaties pārbaudīt balss pastu zvanot. The translation of the UI item Skip takes no quotation marks because the element is not merged with the surrounding text. A descriptor makes the sentence grammatically fluent. Under space restrictions the descriptor can be omitted if the meaning is not jeopardized, and the sentence structure can change.
• Where quotation marks are necessary, use double upper curly quotation marks (“xxx”) for software texts and double upper straight quotation marks (''xx'') for online content. Opening curly quotation marks differ from closing ones.
• Normally do not enclose product names and feature names in quotation marks. The only exception is a name with a complex syntactical structure, for example with nouns in the dative or locative case, that makes the whole sentence hard to comprehend.
• For customers who want an even more visual, interactive solution, Power BI for Office 365 includes Power BI sites on Power BI for Office 365. -> (+) Klientiem, kuri vēlas vairāk vizuālu un interaktīvāku risinājumu, pakalpojumā “Power BI pakalpojumam Office 365” ir iekļautas “Power BI vietnes pakalpojumā Power BI pakalpojumam Office 365”. -> (-) Klientiem, kuri vēlas vēl vizuālāku un interaktīvāku risinājumu, pakalpojumā Power BI pakalpojumam Office 365 ir iekļautas Power BI vietnes pakalpojumā Power BI pakalpojumam Office 365.
• Put no space between the parentheses and the text inside them, as in English.
• English short explanations in parentheses often start with a capital letter. In Latvian integrate such text in the sentence structure: start with a lowercase letter and place the period after the closing parenthesis, unless the text in parentheses is a full sentence.
• Sentence to be explained. (Explanation.) -> Paskaidrojamais teikums (paskaidrojošais teksts iekavās).
• Avoid semicolons. Two shorter sentences read better than a single long one.
• Avoid exclamation points. Choose stronger words instead.

Sentence fragments

• Sentence fragments convey the conversational tone. Use them wherever possible because they are short and to the point.
• Sentence fragments suit the position before bulleted or numbered list items. There they are followed by a colon.
• Use the following steps. -> long form Veiciet zemāk minētās darbības. -> fragment Rīkojieties šādi:
• For more information, see the site referenced below. -> long form Plašāku informāciju skatiet tālāk norādītajā vietnē. -> fragment Skatiet arī šeit:
• stronger password required -> fragment nepieciešama stiprāka parole
• Do not omit the interrogative particle vai at the beginning of an interrogative sentence. Omitting it is a grammar mistake.
• Cancel event? -> (-) Atcelt pasākumu? -> (+) Vai atcelt pasākumu?
• Continue without Undo? -> (-) Turpināt bez atsaukšanas? -> (+) Vai turpināt bez atsaukšanas?

Subjunctive

• Avoid the subjunctive mood in the UI. In some contexts, such as letters and marketing communications, the subjunctive mood can be used.
• Number of characters should not exceed: -> (+) Rakstzīmju skaits nedrīkst pārsniegt: -> (-) Rakstzīmju skaitam nevajadzētu pārsniegt:

Symbols and nonbreaking spaces

• From the logograms of the LVS 8-92 standard character set, these symbols are in general use in Latvian: %, +, -, x, =, <, >, º, §, ±
• Do not use symbols as a substitute for simple words.
• The ampersand & is not used in Latvian to replace the conjunction and. The same applies to the hash character #, which means number in English but is not used in Latvian.
• users & computers, users + computers -> (-) lietotāji & datori -> (-) lietotāji + datori -> (+) lietotāji un datori
• # of users -> (-) # lietotāji -> (+) lietotāju skaits
• Put no space between the number and the percent symbol %.
• Use nonbreaking spaces (Ctrl+Shift+Spacebar or Alt+0160) between words that must not be separated onto different lines. On screen a nonbreaking space looks like a degree symbol ° but prints like a space.
• Use nonbreaking spaces in the long date format: 2022. gada 17. februāris
• Between the shortened first name and the family name: J. Bērziņš
• In temperature designations between the number and degree symbol: 37 ˚C
• In measurement designations between the number and the measurement abbreviation: 5 cm
• In numbers of many digits, to group digits by three, except four-digit numbers: 24 888 459

Syntax

• In English a future form or conditional tense is not used in a time clause or conditional if clause. Future forms become a present tense there.
• In Latvian the tense of the verb in a time clause and if clause always agrees with the tense of the verb in the principal clause. Where the main verb is in the future tense, verbs in subordinate clauses are in the future tense too.
• As soon as I have finished, I will give you a call. -> (-) Tiklīdz es esmu pabeidzis, es jums piezvanīšu. -> (+) Tiklīdz es būšu pabeidzis, es jums piezvanīšu.
• The program will open if you select the icon on your desktop. -> (-) Ja atlasāt darbvirsmā redzamo ikonu, programma tiks atvērta. -> (+) Ja atlasīsit darbvirsmā redzamo ikonu, programma tiks atvērta.
• Word order and the placement of adverbs of place and time differ between the languages.
• English often uses when instead of if in the zero conditional, where the result of the condition is always true. Translate these sentences with the conditional conjunction ja, not kad.
• The basic Latvian word order is Subject, Verb, Object. Word order matters for fluent expression and for correct understanding, especially in complex and compound-complex sentences.
• English places adverbials of time and place at the end of the sentence. Latvian places them at the beginning of the sentence or before the predicate. Using the English word order sounds unnatural and clumsy, and can make the sentence incomprehensible, which is a syntactical error.
• You can change your profile settings at any time if you don't want search engines to index your profile. -> (-) Varat mainīt sava profila iestatījumus jebkurā laikā, ja nevēlaties, lai meklētājprogrammas indeksētu jūsu profilu. -> (+) Ja nevēlaties, lai meklētājprogrammas indeksētu jūsu profilu, jebkurā laikā varat mainīt tā iestatījumus. The English word order makes the sentence clumsy and unnatural, though the meaning stays understandable.
• And this is where you go to turn off or lock your computer. -> (-) Un šeit datoru var izslēgt vai slēgt. -> (+) Šeit datoru var izslēgt vai aizslēgt. Avoid starting a sentence with the conjunction un.
• + {0} to store and access your documents in the cloud from anywhere. -> (-) +{0}, lai neatkarīgi no savas atrašanās vietas varētu saglabāt dokumentus un piekļūt tiem mākonī. -> (+) Pievienojiet krātuvi {0}, lai saglabātu dokumentus un piekļūtu tiem mākonī no jebkuras vietas. In the English text {0} is a storage name and + means add. In Latvian + is not used as a verb meaning add in nonmathematical contexts, and not with the meaning of more.
• Use the information on this page if you need to use POP or IMAP to connect your mailbox. -> (-) Izmantojiet informāciju šajā lapā, ja savienojuma izveidei ar savu pastkasti ir nepieciešams lietot POP vai IMAP. -> (+) Izmantojiet šajā lapā sniegto informāciju, ja savienojuma izveidei ar savu pastkasti ir jālieto POP vai IMAP. The English word order makes the translation ambiguous, back-translated as Use information by entering it in this page.
• Printers are devices that print text and graphics from your computer onto paper. -> (-) Printeri ir ierīces, kas uz papīra izdrukā tekstu un attēlus no datora. -> (+) Printeri ir ierīces, kas uz papīra izdrukā datorā redzamo tekstu un attēlus. Direct translation and the English word order misrepresent the meaning. Text and graphics are printed from the printer, not from the computer.
• When you open a dialog resource that contains ActiveX control(s), you’ll get the following message box before the dialog resource is opened in Dialog Editor: -> (-) Kad atverat dialoga resursu, kas satur ActiveX vadīklas, tiks parādīts šāds ziņojuma lodziņš, pirms dialoga resurss tiek atvērts rīkā Dialogu redaktors. -> (+) Atverot dialoga resursu, kurā ir ActiveX vadīklas, pirms dialoga resursa atvēršanas rīkā Dialogu redaktors tiek parādīts šāds ziņojuma lodziņš. -> (+) Ja atverat dialoga resursu, kurā ir ActiveX vadīklas, pirms dialoga resursa atvēršanas rīkā Dialogu redaktors tiek parādīts šāds ziņojuma lodziņš. Using kad instead of ja. A participial clause may replace the conditional clause.
• Compliance High Priority Policy Processing -> (-) Atbilstības augstas prioritātes politikas apstrāde -> (+) Augstas prioritātes atbilstības politikas apstrāde Incorrect word order makes the translation incomprehensible. Word order is wrong if it hinders correct understanding.
• Allows this application full access to mailboxes acting as users in the organization. -> (-) Ļauj šai lietojumprogrammai pilnībā piekļūt pastkastēm, darbojoties kā organizācijas lietotājiem. -> (+) Ļauj šai lietojumprogrammai, darbojoties kā organizācijas lietotājiem, pilnībā piekļūt pastkastēm. The participle darbojoties must stand next to the noun in the dative case, lietojumprogrammai, to which it refers.
• If mailbox audit logging isn't enabled for a mailbox, you won't get any results for it when you run this report. -> (-) Ja pastkastes auditēšanas reģistrēšana nav iespējota, palaižot šo atskaiti, rezultātus nesaņemsit. -> (+) Ja pastkastes audita reģistrēšana nebūs iespējota, pēc šīs atskates palaišanas rezultātus nesaņemsit. Incorrect word order makes the participial clause palaižot šo atskaiti refer to the wrong clause. It should refer to rezultātus nesaņemsit.
• Give this device policy a friendly name so you can easily find it again later. -> (-) Norādiet šai ierīču politikai draudzīgu nosaukumu, lai vēlāk to varētu viegli atrast. -> (+) Piešķiriet šai ierīču politikai viegli atpazīstamu nosaukumu, lai vēlāk to varētu viegli atrast. The word order makes the first version ambiguous, back-translated as give a name which is friendly to this device policy.

Unlocalized items

• Keep trademarked names, font names, and product names in English.
• A few Latvian words are spelled similarly to the respective English words.
• preferences: the Latvian spelling matches the English word in the nominative case, singular and plural. Other cases take a different ending.
• radio: the spelling matches the English word in all cases and both numbers. Radio is singularia tantum.
• video: the spelling matches the English word in all cases except the plural. English also has the plural videos. In Latvian video is singularia tantum. Its translation depends on the context: for video technology the translation matches the source; for a video clip use videoklips.
• audio: the spelling matches the English word in all cases and both numbers. Audio is singularia tantum.

Verbs

• Latvian verbs have three conjugations.
• English forms often do not distinguish command, function name, and description of an ongoing process. Find out what the string really means and translate accordingly.
• Translate an English gerund for a continuous operation, for example system status and other ongoing processes, either with a deverbative noun with the -šana suffix or with an imperfect verb.
• Use simple verb tenses. The easiest tense to understand is the simple present.
• Use the present tense, except when the message refers specifically to an event in the past. Do not use the perfect tense in the passive voice.
• Avoid the future tense unless something really will happen in the future and the simple present will not do.
• The product has been removed from your PC. -> (-) Produkts ir ticis noņemts no datora. -> (+) Produkts ir noņemts no datora.
• Use the active voice, which emphasizes the person or thing doing the action. It is more direct and personal than the passive voice.
• Icons can be arranged by name in alphabetical order. -> (-) Ikonas var tikt sakārtotas pēc nosaukuma alfabēta secībā. -> (+) Ikonas var sakārtot pēc nosaukuma alfabētiskā secībā.
• When a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) or laptop is plugged in... -> (-) Kad tiek pievienots personālais ciparasistents vai klēpjdators… -> (+) Kad esat pievienojis personālo ciparasistentu vai klēpjdatoru…
• Use the passive voice only to avoid a wordy or awkward construction; where the action rather than the doer is the focus; where the subject is unknown; to avoid an awkward reflexive verb; or in error messages where the user is the subject and might feel blamed.
• The new icon appears in the upper-left corner. -> (-) Augšējā labajā stūrī parādās jaunā ikona. -> (+) Augšējā labajā stūrī tiek parādīta jaunā ikona. The passive avoids the reflexive verb parādās, which sounds odd with inanimate objects.
• Avoid reflexive verbs where possible, especially for an inanimate object. Use the passive voice or another grammatical form instead.
• For example, you can use a Chart Web Part to see sales amounts across different teams or geographical regions in a retail organization. -> (-) Piemēram, diagrammas tīmekļa daļu var izmantot, lai mazumtirdzniecības uzņēmumā skatītos dažādu grupu vai ģeogrāfisko reģionu pārdošanas apjomus. -> (+) Piemēram, diagrammu tīmekļa daļu var izmantot, lai mazumtirdzniecības uzņēmumā skatītu dažādu grupu vai ģeogrāfisko reģionu pārdošanas apjomus.
• Automatically opens as a slide show -> (-) Automātiski atveras kā slaidrāde -> (+) Automātiski tiek atvērts kā slaidrāde

Localization considerations

• Adapt the translated text to the local language, customs, and standards.
• The language must have the look and feel of a product originally written in Latvian, with idiomatic syntax and terminology, while keeping terminological consistency high.

Accessibility considerations

• Accessibility options and programs make the computer usable by people with cognitive, hearing, physical, or visual disabilities.
• Hardware and software components engage a flexible, customizable user interface, alternative input and output methods, and greater exposure of screen elements.
• Some accessible products and services are not available in Latvian-speaking markets. Check availability with the appropriate resources.

Applications, products, and features

• Names of applications and products are often trademarked and are rarely translated. Feature names are sometimes trademarked too, for example IntelliSense.
• Instructions for localizing product names containing the prepositions with and for differ from one product name to another.
• Version numbers always contain a period, for example Version 4.2.
• Version numbers are usually part of version strings, but technically they are not the same.
• Product, feature, and component names often sit in version strings as they appear in the software.
• Always translate version strings that contain copyright information. Check approved terminology for the correct translations.

Product names and feature names

• Precede an unlocalized product name with the respective modifier or descriptor where the name stands in a grammatical case other than nominative, possessive, or instrumental, or where the verb connected to it must agree with the gender and number of the noun.
• Omit the modifier where the product name is preceded by a grammatically related preposition that clearly conveys the syntactical relationship.
• Windows encountered a problem installing the driver software for your device -> Instalējot draivera programmatūru jūsu ierīcē, sistēmā Windows radās problēma
• What peripheral devices work with Windows 11? -> Kādas perifērijas ierīces darbojas kopā ar Windows 11?
• The following shows Word 2021. -> Šie attēli attiecas uz Word 2021.
• Synonyms of modifiers are acceptable where they appear in approved definitions.
• Where the source has no descriptor for an unlocalized feature name, take the descriptor from the approved terminology definition. That definition is the first choice.
• Where the same product name covers different modules, use the context and the available product descriptions to choose the right descriptor. Several keywords can indicate the product type and descriptor.
• upload to OneDrive and send a link -> augšupielādēt pakalpojumā OneDrive un nosūtīt saiti. upload and publish usually refer to the service or website, not the installed app.
• Publish on OneDrive -> Publicēšana pakalpojumā OneDrive
• Installing OneDrive -> Programmas OneDrive instalēšana. The word installing usually implies the object is a program.
• Regardless of the capitalization in the source, write translated feature names in lowercase, unless they start with an unlocalized name or an acronym, or refer to a named UI element.
• alerts manager -> brīdinājumu pārvaldnieks
• advanced search -> detalizētā meklēšana
• Admin Approval Mode -> administratoru apstiprināšanas režīms
• ACE Management View -> ACE pārvaldības skats
• Accounting Integration -> grāmatvedības integrācija
• Access Services Administration -> Access pakalpojumu administrēšana
• Normally use no quotation marks around localized product and feature names. The only exception is a name with a complex syntactical structure, for example with nouns in the dative or locative case, that makes the sentence hard to comprehend.
• Microsoft OneNote for iPhone gives you instant access to your notebooks. -> (+) Programma “Microsoft OneNote iPhone ierīcei” sniedz tūlītēju piekļuvi jūsu piezīmju grāmatiņām. -> (-) Programma Microsoft OneNote iPhone ierīcei sniedz tūlītēju piekļuvi jūsu piezīmju grāmatiņām.

Software considerations

• Translate all menus, menu items, commands, buttons, check boxes, and similar UI elements consistently in the localized product.
• Add modifiers, that is descriptions of the object the name refers to, before the names of objects, menus, commands, dialog box elements, icons, and other elements. English text generally has no such modifiers.

Dialog boxes

• Use terminology and a language style consistent across all dialog boxes, in the application you are localizing and in other applications. Applications not localized today may be localized later, so your solutions must work there too.
• This matters most for dialog boxes common to several applications, for example the Options dialog box.
• English dialog box titles are usually the same as the command that opened the box. In Latvian make them nouns, derived from the command verbs into deverbal nouns with the -šana suffix, except for adjectives and questions, which are translated as adjectives and questions.
• Save -> + Saglabāt as command, + Saglabāšana as dialog box title
• New -> + Jauns
• Include in index? -> + Vai iekļaut indeksā?
• Where the command name is not the same as the dialog box title in the US English software, keep the translation close to the original.
• Command: Information -> Informācija
• Dialog box title: Information window -> Informācijas logs
• English often uses imperative verbs in dialog box headers and descriptions of features and options. Use nouns in Latvian.
• Install Windows -> (-) Instalēt sistēmu Windows -> (+) Sistēmas Windows instalēšana. The first is an inappropriate grammatical form for a dialog box title.
• Group titles are usually not grammatically connected to the options that follow. Capitalize the options as usual, and let their language form stay independent of the group title.
• Where the group box title and the options together form a sentence in English, either rephrase the title to make the options grammatically independent, or coordinate the case forms carefully.
• Include with document (group title) -> + Iekļaut dokumentā
• Document properties, Field codes, Comments (options) -> + Dokumenta rekvizītus, + Lauku kodus, + Komentārus
• Treat dialog box tabs like dialog box titles, allowing for length constraints. Keep them consistent with other tabs of the same dialog box and with similar dialog boxes elsewhere.
• The preferred action for dialog box tabs is atlasīt (select/click), even where the English uses something else.
• Click the Edit tab -> Noklikšķiniet uz cilnes Rediģēšana
• Select the Edit tab -> Atlasiet cilni Rediģēšana
• Translate check boxes that work as system commands as infinitive verbs, and those that correspond to nominative titles as nouns in the nominative case.
• Hidden text -> + Slēptais teksts
• Update links -> + Atjaunināt saites
• Do not make full sentences out of groups of check boxes. Check boxes are usually not grammatically connected to the preceding group titles. Capitalize them as usual and keep their form independent of the group title. In the rare cases where they form a sentence with the group title, coordinate the case forms carefully.
• Whether or not the English check box labels end with a period, the Latvian translations never do unless they are complete sentences.
• The preferred actions with check boxes are atzīmēt (check) and noņemt atzīmi, notīrīt (clear, uncheck), whether the text mentions the check box or only the item it applies to.
• To add a component, select its check box. To remove the component, clear the check box. -> Lai pievienotu komponentu, atzīmējiet tā izvēles rūtiņu. Lai noņemtu komponentu, notīriet izvēles rūtiņu.
• Check all subfolders -> Atzīmēt visas apakšmapes
• Uncheck all subfolders -> Noņemt atzīmi no visām apakšmapēm
• Items in a list box or table are not grammatically connected to list box titles or table headings. Capitalize the items as usual and keep their form independent of the title or heading.
• Whether or not the US English list or table items end with a period, the Latvian translations never do unless they are complete sentences.
• Use the same language style for table column and row headings throughout the software. Start them with capital letters and end them with no punctuation mark.
• Where table items are complete sentences, start each with a capital letter and end with a period. Where they are not complete sentences, they may start with a lowercase or capital letter and take no period. Keep the whole column consistent.
• Select your location from the Country list box. -> Sarakstlodziņā Valsts atlasiet savu atrašanās vietu.

Error messages

• Error messages are sent by the system or a program to inform the user of an error that must be corrected for the program to keep running. They can prompt an action or report an error that requires rebooting the computer.
• Apply the voice principles so the target translation sounds natural and empathetic, not robot-like.
• Something went wrong. -> Diemžēl radās problēma.
• Not enough memory to process this command. -> Šīs komandas apstrādei nepietiek atmiņas.
• Use consistent terminology and language style in error messages. Do not just translate them as they appear in the US English product.
• Always end a Latvian error message with a punctuation mark, usually the period, even where the English does not. Use question marks for questions. Do not use exclamation points.
• Do not use the first person, except for product personas. Where possible use the generic third person, especially in negative expressions. Where that is impossible, rephrase with nominalizations or similar techniques.
• Unable to save the file -> Nevar saglabāt failu.
• If the agent is mentioned in the US English text, keep it in the translation.
• Word is deleting file [2] -> Word dzēš failu [2].
• Avoid excessive use of personal pronouns in error messages.
• Do you want to .. -> - Vai jūs vēlaties .. -> + Vai vēlaties ..
• Verifying your number… -> Pārbauda jūsu numuru…
• Deleting file [2] -> Dzēš failu [2].
• Use the present tense, except when the message refers specifically to an event in the past. Do not use the perfect tense in the passive voice.
• The product has been removed from your computer. -> (-) Produkts ir ticis noņemts no datora. -> (+) Produkts ir noņemts no datora.
• Word was unable to open the file. -> (+) Programma Word nevarēja atvērt failu.
• Use the target phrases below for the standard phrases. Use another wording where it works better in context.
• Cannot … / Could not … -> Nevar…: Cannot read the item. -> Nevar nolasīt vienumu.
• Failed to … / Failure of … -> Neizdevās…: Failed to send a message. -> Neizdevās nosūtīt ziņojumu.
• Cannot find … / Could not find … / Unable to find … / Unable to locate … -> Nevar atrast…: Could not find field. -> Nevar atrast lauku.
• Not enough memory / Insufficient memory / There is not enough memory / There is not enough memory available -> Nepietiek atmiņas: Not enough memory for Log File -> Žurnālfailam nepietiek atmiņas.; There is not enough memory to publish -> Nepietiek atmiņas, lai publicētu.; Not enough memory available to complete this command. -> Šīs komandas pabeigšanai nepietiek atmiņas.
• ... is not available / ... is unavailable -> … nav pieejams: The linked file is not available. -> Saistītais fails nav pieejams.; The XML source file is unavailable for viewing. -> XML avota fails skatīšanai nav pieejams.
• Find out what will replace a placeholder, so the sentence stays grammatical once it is replaced.
• %d, %ld, %u, %lu mean <number>. %c means <letter>. %s means <string>.
• Checking Web %1!d! of %2!d! means Checking Web <number> of <number>.
• INI file "%1!-.200s!" section means INI file "<string>" section.
• Watch strings with placeholders, where the variable may not come in the appropriate case form. In most cases it comes in the nominative. Add a modifier, separate the placeholder from the rest of the text with quotation marks or a colon, or both.
• We've asked the owner to share |0 with: -> (-) Esam lūguši īpašniekam koplietot |0 ar: -> (+) Esam lūguši īpašniekam kopīgot saiti |0 ar: The placeholder represents a link with no grammatical case, so a descriptor must precede it to convey the accusative.
• Before you can use Open with Explorer, we need to add a cookie to this computer to help operate the service. -> (-) Pirms varat izmantot Atvērt ar Explorer, mums šim datoram ir jāpievieno sīkfails, lai palīdzētu nodrošināt pakalpojumu. -> (+) Lai jūs varētu izmantot komandu Atvērt ar Explorer, mums šim datoram ir jāpievieno sīkfails, kas palīdz nodrošināt pakalpojumu. A descriptor is needed before the command to convey the accusative.
• {0} flow test has been skipped because the MEX metadata from your identity provider did not contain a {1}. -> (-) {0} plūsmas pārbaude tika izlaista, jo jūsu identitātes nodrošinātāja MEX metadatos nebija ietverts šāds vienums: {1}. -> (+) Plūsmas {0} pārbaude tika izlaista, jo jūsu identitāšu nodrošinātāja MEX metadatos nebija ietverts galapunkts {1}. Incorrect descriptor: {1} is a negotiate authentication endpoint, but was read as vienums, which is too broad. Always check string instructions and other resources to choose the most appropriate modifier before a placeholder.
• In Cannot open %s the placeholder %s is replaced with a file name (standard.doc) or an item name (document) in the nominative case. Find a workaround where the case forms cannot be coordinated.
• Cannot open standard.docx. -> (+) Nevar atvērt failu standard.docx.
• Cannot open document. -> (+) Nevar atvērt šo vienumu: dokuments. -> (-) Nevar atvērt dokuments.

Keys

• English writes references to key names, such as arrow keys, function keys and numeric keys, in normal text and sentence-style capitalization, not in small caps.
• Translate key names using the approved glossary translations. Keyboards are not localized in Latvian, so assume users have the English keyboard. Translate key names that do not appear on the physical keyboard.
• Do not capitalize the translations of key names.
• Alt -> Alt
• Backspace -> Atpakaļatkāpes taustiņš
• Break -> Break
• Caps lock -> Caps Lock
• Ctrl -> Control
• Delete -> Delete
• Down arrow -> Lejupvērstā bultiņa
• End -> End
• Enter -> Enter
• Esc -> Esc
• Home -> Home
• Insert -> Insert
• Left arrow -> Kreisā bultiņa
• Num lock -> Num Lock
• Page down -> Page Down
• Page up -> Page Up
• Pause -> Pause
• Right arrow -> Labā bultiņa
• Scroll lock -> Scroll Lock
• Shift -> Shift
• Spacebar -> Atstarpes taustiņš
• Tab -> Tabulēšanas taustiņš
• Up arrow -> Augšupvērstā bultiņa
• Windows key -> Windows taustiņš
• Print screen -> Print screen
• Menu key -> Izvēlnes taustiņš

Keyboard shortcuts

• Keyboard shortcuts are the underlined or highlighted letters in menu options, commands, or dialog boxes that help the user perform tasks more quickly.
• Slim characters such as I, l, t, r, f as keyboard shortcuts: yes, only when no other characters are available. Use slim characters as the first choice among the special options.
• Characters with downstrokes such as g, j, y, p, q as keyboard shortcuts: yes, only when no other characters are available. Use downstroke characters as the second choice among the special options.
• Extended characters as keyboard shortcuts: no.
• An additional letter in brackets after an item name as a keyboard shortcut: no.
• A number in brackets after an item name as a keyboard shortcut: no.
• A punctuation sign in brackets after an item name as a keyboard shortcut: no.
• Duplicate keyboard shortcuts when no other character is available: yes, only when no other characters are available. Use duplicates as the last choice among the special options.
• No keyboard shortcut assigned when no more characters are available, minor options only: no.
• General-audience content says keyboard shortcuts. Localization distinguishes the terms below.
• access key: a subtype of keyboard shortcut. A letter or number the user types to access UI controls that have text labels. Access keys are assigned to top-level controls so the user can move through the UI quickly with the keyboard. Example: F in Alt+F. In UI localization: H&ome. Most access keys are used with the Alt key.
• key tip: the letter or number that appears in the ribbon when the Alt key is pressed. In UI localization the key tip is the last character in the string after the ` character. Example: Home`H
• shortcut key: a subtype of keyboard shortcut. A key the user types to perform a common action without going through the UI. Shortcut keys are not available for every command. Example: Ctrl+N, Ctrl+V. Most shortcut keys are used with the Ctrl key. Ctrl+letter combinations and function keys F1 through F12 are usually the best choices.

Numeric keypad wording

Press any key on your numeric keypad. becomes Nospiediet jebkuru cipartastatūras taustiņu. when that is the required action.

Progress messages

• Keep progress messages brief and friendly. Use verbal phrases, not nominal phrases.
• Installing OneDrive... -> correct Instalē programmu OneDrive... -> incorrect Notiek programmas OneDrive instalēšana...
• Backup Files... -> correct Dublē failus... -> incorrect Notiek failu dublēšana...

English pronunciation

• Pronounce English terms and product names left unlocalized the way they are in English.
• Where Latvian has an established pronunciation for a common term, such as server, use the local pronunciation.
• Adapt pronunciation to the Latvian phonetic system where the original sounds very awkward in Latvian.
• SecurID -> [sı’kjuər aı di:]
• .NET -> [dot net]
• Skype -> [s'kaips], nominative case, masculine if the descriptor is not used. Using a descriptor changes the gender. In spoken Latvian, rather than formal written language, the proper case ending is always added to product names, which are mostly pronounced as in English or transliterated: skaip+s (nominative case).
• Pronounce acronyms like real words, adapted to the local pronunciation.
• RADIUS -> RADIUS
• RAS -> RAS
• ISA -> ISA
• LAN -> LAN
• WAN -> VAN. Latvian has no letter w, and the English w is pronounced as v.
• WAP -> VAP. Latvian has no letter w, and the English w is pronounced as v.
• MAPI -> MAPI
• POP -> POP
• OWA -> OVA. Pronounced like a word in Latvian. Latvian has no letter w, and the English w is pronounced as v.
• Pronounce other abbreviations letter by letter.
• ICMP -> [ī cē em pē]
• IP -> [ī pē]
• TCP/IP -> [tē cē pē/ī pē]
• XML -> [iks em el]
• HTML -> [hā tē em el]
• SQL -> [es kū el]
• URL -> [ū er el]. Not pronounced like a word in Latvian.
• Pronounce www as [vē vē vē], because the letter and sound w does not exist in Latvian and the English w is pronounced as vē when spelled out letter by letter.
• Omit the dot, or read it aloud. If read aloud, pronounce it the Latvian way, as punkts.
• http://www.microsoft.com/lv -> [hā tē tē pē kols divas slīpsvītras vē vē vē punkts maikrosoft punkts kom slīpvītra el vē]
• Most punctuation marks, such as ? ! : ; ,, are implied by the speaker's tone of voice.
• The en dash – emphasizes an isolated element. Pronounce it as a comma, a short pause.
• Pronounce special characters such as / \ ˘ < > + - using the approved Latvian translations.

Tone

• Use a tone appropriate for the text and target audience. An informal, playful, inspiring tone suits most products and games. A more formal, informative, factual tone suits technical content.