Language reference: any deviation fails a string in most cases: Oxford English–Sindhi Dictionary, Chief Editor: Siraj-ul-Haque Memon, Oxford University Press, Karachi, Pakistan, http://www.crulp.org/sed/ (Online Sindhi Dictionary).
Where these sources allow more than one solution, follow this guide.
Informative: Oxford English–Sindhi Dictionary, Chief Editor: Siraj-ul-Haque Memon, Oxford University Press, Karachi, Pakistan, An English-Sindhi dictionary [Paperback]: Dulamal. Bulchand, University of Michigan Library, USA, Sindhi Glossary of Common Words.
Calendar/Era: Gregorian (localized), Hijri (Arabic Lunar)
First Day of the Week: Monday
First Week of the Year: the week that contains January 1
Separator: /
Default Short Date Format: dd/MM/yy, example 17/03/11
Default Long Date Format: dddd, dd MMMM, yyyy and dd MMMM yyyy, example Thursday, 25 August, 2011 and 25 August 2011
Additional Short Date Format 1: N.A, example N.A
Additional Short Date Format 2: N.A, example N.A
Additional Long Date Format 1: N.A, example N.A
Additional Long Date Format 2: N.A, example N.A
Leading Zero in Day Field for Short Date Format: yes
Leading Zero in Month Field for Short Date Format: yes
No. of digits for year for Short Day Format: 2
Leading Zero in Day Field for Long Date Format: yes
Leading Zero in Month Field for Long Date Format: n/a
Number of digits for year for Long Day Format: 4
Date Format for Correspondence: dd/MM/yyyy, example 17/03/2011
When the weekday must be mentioned, use [weekday], dd mmmm yyyy.
d is for day. The number of ds sets the format: d = digits without leading zero, dd = digits with leading zero, ddd = abbreviated day name, dddd = full day name.
M is for month. M = digits without leading zero, MM = digits with leading zero, MMM = abbreviated name, MMMM = full name.
y is for year. yy = two digits, yyyy = four digits.
Never use this address information in examples as fictitious information.
Address format: 1. Full Name [Title/First Name Middle Name Last Name], 2. Full Address [House Number/Street Number/Mouhalla/Post Office Address/Sector], 5. City [Village/District] Name, 6. Postal Code, 7. Country
Example address: عبدالغفور ڀٽي 04 گلبرگIII الہور 54810 پاکستان
Local Postal Code Format: XXXXX. Pakistani city postal codes use digits only.
Check for sensitive or potentially offensive content in maps, flags, country/region, city and language names, art and graphics, and cultural content such as encyclopedia text with historical or political references.
Check maps and other graphic representations of countries and regions for accuracy and existing political restrictions.
Recheck country/region, city and language names for every release, even when previously approved. Use the most up-to-date Sindhi list.
Check the appropriateness of cultural content, clip art and other visual representations of religious symbols, body and hand gestures.
In a complex sentence, only the first noun part of the first clause stays first in Sindhi. The second part of the first English clause goes at the end of the last clause, and all remaining clauses are reversed.
Example: )+( اڪبر پنهنجي ملڪ جي نمائندي طور تي، بحیثیت مسلمان، شریڪ ٿیڻ چاهي ٿو.
Localized text must read as if originally written in Sindhi. Keep it accurate, correct and clear.
Avoid wordiness and word-by-word translation.
Accuracy: translate all English text. Omit or add text only for a specific reason, and check it with the project team. The translated text must reflect product functionality correctly.
Localization: adapt translated text to the local language, customs and localization standards. Use Sindhi names rather than English, for example Edward -> Hamid, New York -> Islamabad. Do not translate every word. Use the style natural for Sindhi.
Consistency: use terminology consistently within one component and across components (software, help, documentation), and in most cases across products. Keep style and register consistent. Translate similar phrases consistently.
Acronyms are words made from the initial letters of major parts of a compound term: WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get), OLE (Object Linking and Embedding), RAM (Random Access Memory).
Acronyms are not common in Sindhi, although some western acronyms have been transliterated: OPEC is written and pronounced in Sindhi as اوپیک.
Keep the acronym as it is in English, followed by the translation in parentheses in full form. For example, spell RAM as is and follow it with ریم.
This introduces a term and gives the user time to get familiar with a new term. Do the same with acronyms and sometimes abbreviations.
Some acronyms stay in English and are neither translated nor transliterated when the acronym is so well established as an English word that it has been standardized as such, or when transliterating it would produce an unacceptable word in Sindhi.
In documentation it is acceptable to present acronyms fully in English, followed by the full spelling in English: ANSI (American National Standards Institute).
In software UI such as dialogs and menus, consider spacing constraints. When space does not permit the practice above, use the English acronym alone: ANSI.
Application and product names are often trademarked and are rarely translated. Feature names are occasionally trademarked too, for example IntelliSense™.
Before translating any application, product or feature name, verify it is translatable and not protected.
Translate frequent errors in a technical way so users understand the error message and the steps to fix it.
en Show or hide an image: incorrect - تصویر کي لڪایو یا ڏیکاریو., fix (+) نقش کي لڪایو یا ڏیکاریو. The incorrect version was made on transliteration bases.
en To resolve this problem, enter a valid product key.: incorrect -هن مسئلي کي حل ڪرڻ الء، هڪ صحیح مصنوعه جي ڪلید داخل ڪریو., fix (+) هن مسئلي کي حل ڪرڻ جي الء، صحیح مصنوعه ڪلید داخل ڪریو. The incorrect version misplaces phrases and words.
Standardized translations appear across this guide. The most relevant topics: the importance of standardization, standard phrases in error messages, copyright notice.
Translate menu names and Ribbon tab names consistently in all localized products. The same US term takes the same translation in every localized application. Approve any exception with the Sindhi terminologist.
Translate menu items and Ribbon tabs using nouns in the nominative case. Where a noun is impossible, use a verb in the infinitive or another part of speech.
Translate command names consistently in all localized products. Approve any exception with the Sindhi terminologist.
Command names translated as verbs stay in the infinitive: en Save -> محفوظ, en Cut -> ڪٽیو, en Paste -> جوڙیو
Many command names are translated as nouns, always in the nominative case: en List -> فهرست, en Break -> روڪ
Use consistent terminology and language style in all dialog boxes, not only within the application you localize, and keep them consistent with other localized applications. This matters most for common dialog boxes found in several applications, for example en Spelling -> بجي
Translate the main titles of dialog boxes as nouns wherever possible.
Dialog box options group headings can be grammatically connected to the options they represent.
Dialog box tabs are usually nouns, always in the nominative case.
Button names: translate verbs as verbs, en Cut -> ڪٽیو, en Remove -> هٽایو
Translate nouns as nouns: en Help -> مدد, en Keyboard -> کلیدی تختہ
The same applies to other parts of speech: en General -> عام رواجي
Exceptions: en Cancel -> رد ڪرڻ, en New -> نیا
List titles and list elements in drop-down lists and tables cannot be grammatically connected and take no inflection. Still make them as grammatically connected as possible: adjectives take the same gender (feminine, neutral or masculine) as the nouns they modify.
Translate English verbs with an imperfective or perfective Sindhi form, depending on whether the action is repetitive or single: en Update ID -> تازه کریں ID
A status bar message is an informational message about the active document, a selected command, or any active or selected interface item. It appears in the status bar at the bottom of the window after the user chooses a menu, a command or another item, or starts a function.
Status bar messages refer to actions being performed or already complete.
In English, status bar messages take different forms by the information they convey. In Sindhi, follow the format below for menu and command status bar messages.
en Edit (menu) -> (+) تدوین; en Contains editing commands -> (+) تدوین ڪاري حڪمن تي ٻڌل آهي.
en Copy to Folder... (menu) -> (+) فولڈر میں نقل کریں۔۔۔; en Copies the selected items to a new location -> (+) نئین واقعي جاء تي چونڊ شین کي نقل ڪري ٿو.
en New (command) -> (+) نیا; en Creates a new document -> نئین دستاویز ڪري ٿو.
en Make object visible? -> (+) شيء کي مرني بڻائڻ آهي؟
en Word is converting the document. Press Esc to stop. -> (+) Word دستاویز کي بدالئي رهیو آهي. روڪڻ الء Esc دٻایو.
en Datasheet View -> (+) ڪوائف شیٽ منظر
en Done -> (+) مڪمل
The US product often phrases messages differently though they mean the same. Avoid this in Sindhi. Use one standard translation.
en Press F1 to get Help / If you want Help press F1 / To get Help press F1 -> (+) مدد حاصل ڪرڻ الء F1 دٻایو
en Not enough memory / Insufficient memory / There is not enough memory -> (+) ناڪافي میموري
en Save changes to %1? / Do you want to save changes to %1? -> (+) 1% تي تبدیلیون محفوظ ڪرڻ چاهي ٿو.
Error messages are sent by the system or a program to report an error the user must correct for the program to keep running. They can prompt the user to act or report an error that requires rebooting the computer.
Use consistent terminology and language style. Do not translate messages as they appear in the US product.
Standardize standard phrases. The US sometimes uses different forms for the same thing.
Use present tense examples in the translations.
en Cannot … / Could not … -> (+) نه ٿو ڪري سگهي.. and (+) نه ٿو ڪري سگهي....; example (+) فائل نه ٿو کولي سگهي.... (Present), فائل نه کلي سگهیو. )Past(
en Failed to … / Failure of … -> (+) ناڪام ٿي ویو بطرف... and (+) ناڪام از....
en Cannot find … / Could not find … / Unable to find … / Unable to locate … -> (+) ڳولي نه ٿو سگهي., (+) ڳولي نه ٿو سگهیو......, (+) ڳولڻ ۾ نااهل......., (+) ڳوال ڪرڻ ۾ نااهل......; example )+(فائل ڈهونڈ نہیں سکتا۔۔۔ (Present), فائل ڈهونڈ نہیں سکا۔۔۔)Past(, )+(فائل ڈهونڈنے میں نااہل۔۔۔۔, فائل تالش کرنے میں نااہل۔۔۔
en Not enough memory -> (+) ڪافي میموري نه آهي
en Insufficient memory -> (+) ناڪافي میموري
en There is not enough memory -> (+) ڪافي میموري موجود نه آهي
en There is not enough memory available -> (+) ڪافي میموري دستیاب ناهي
en ... is not available / ... is unavailable -> (+) ........ دستیاب ناهي and (+) ....... دستیاب ناهي.
For messages with placeholders, find out what replaces the placeholder so the sentence stays grammatical.
%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.
The keyboard is the primary input device for text input. Most actions can also be performed with the keyboard, for accessibility and efficiency. You use keys, key combinations and key sequences.
In English, references to key names such as arrow keys, function keys and numeric keys appear in normal text, not in small caps.
English key name, Sindhi (Pakistan) key name: Alt, Alt
Underlined or highlighted letters in menu options, commands or dialog boxes mark access keys, also called hot keys. They run commands and perform tasks more quickly.
Slim characters such as I, l, t, r, f may not be used as hot keys.
Characters with downstrokes such as g, j, y, p, q may not be used as hot keys.
Extended characters may not be used as hot keys.
An additional letter in brackets after the item name may not be used as a hot key.
A number in brackets after the item name may not be used as a hot key.
A punctuation sign in brackets after the item name may not be used as a hot key.
Duplicate hot keys are not allowed when no other character is available.
Assigning no hot key when no more characters are available is not allowed, even for minor options.
English chapter titles usually begin with How to …, Working with … or Using …. Use the same pattern for Sindhi.
No literal or word-by-word translation. The target must read as an original, simple and understandable.
No American idioms, jargon, acronyms or abbreviations that the Sindhi market would not readily understand.
Alert your contact when something seems unsuitable for the market, either too American or culturally inappropriate.
Translate all related titles consistently. In a few cases adopt a different solution, for example infinitives only, when that improves consistency and understandability.
en What's New in <product name> -> )+( نیا کیا ہے در >product name<
en Getting Started with <product name> -> )+( شروع در>product name<
Copyright protection is granted to any original work of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression from which it can be perceived, reproduced or communicated.
en Portions Copyright(c) 2002 SRS Labs, Inc. -> )+( Copyright(c) 2002 SRS Labs, Inc حص