Writing for a Global Audience
by Marci Bethel

Why write for a global audience?

• Some of your customers may be outside the U.S.
• Your materials may be read by non-native speakers of English
• You need to make it easy to do business with your company

Top 10 Things to Consider

• Humor
• Noun strings
• Passive voice
• Contractions
• Metaphors
• Graphics and color
• Text in graphics
• Grammar and syntax
• Vocabulary and usage
• Special characters
• Expansion space

Humor

Don't even think about it. Humor rarely translates.
 

Noun Strings

Long strings of nouns confuse readers.

• Before and after examples:
  • Find the glare screen bracket peg adjuster screw
  • Find the screw that adjusts the bracket peg for the glare screen
• The longer sentence is easier to understand
• Noun strings are the second-biggest issue encountered by translators!

Passive Voice

Passive voice is more difficult for non-native English speakers to understand.

• Active voice is "stronger."
• Active voice results in shorter sentences.
  • The dog bit the man. (active voice)
  • The man was bitten by the dog. (passive voice)

Contractions

Contractions seem "friendly" in the U.S., but can be confusing elsewhere

• Not all languages use verbal contractions
• Contractions make translation more difficult
• If you must use contractions, provide a "map" for translation vendors
  • won’t = will not
  • should’ve = should have

Metaphors & Cultural References

Colorful phrases that are instantly recognizable in the U.S. are meaningless or confusing to a global audience

• Big Apple (New York City)
• Networking 101 (Networking Basics)
• pigskin (football)
• brown-bag (bring your own lunch)
• Avoid nicknames, holidays, legends

Graphics & Color

• Use culturally neutral graphics
• Avoid hands, animals, religious symbols
• Use androgynous figures for humans
• Use "natural mappings" for colors
  • red, green, or yellow for apples
  • red and orange for fire
  • yellow for the sun

Text in Graphics

Avoid text in graphics, if you expect your work to be translated. If it's unavoidable, then

• Provide source files, if possible
• Use a plain background, to avoid the requirement for air-brushing after translation
• Avoid 3D and other special effects, especially in animated graphics
• Leave plenty of expansion space (more later)

Grammar & Syntax

Use simple sentences of about 16 words.

• Delete all unnecessary words.
• Use bulleted lists.
• Place position-specific words correctly.
  • You need only one; not You only need one.
• Use "which" and "that" correctly
  • These are the rules, which I follow.
    (I follow all of the rules.)
  • These are the rules that I follow.
    (I follow some of the rules and ignore the rest.)
• Avoid abbreviations and acronyms, except industry-accepted terms.
• Avoid the "slash" for and and or
  • Jane/Jim will drive to the event. (Does that mean both of them, or does it mean one or the other?)
• Avoid and/or
• Write out dates (5/9/04 can mean either the 9th of May or the 5th of September)
• Avoid forming a possessive with an apostrophe; use the "of" form instead
  the index of the book; not the book’s index
• Use it’s and its correctly
  • it’s = it is
  • its = belonging to it
• If your audience is Japanese, use the "soft imperative" (direct orders can be considered rude)
• Be sure the power is on; not Turn on the power.

Vocabulary & Usage

• Do not use "domestic" to mean the U.S.
• Avoid words that have multiple meanings.
  • Does invalid mean not valid or infirm?
• Avoid male and female; use man and woman if you must refer to gender.
• Use translation only for language; for data, use conversion.

Words to Re-examine

Be certain to use these words correctly, or your translations will be incorrect and awkward.

• affect, effect
• agree to, agree with
• alternate, alternative
• assure, ensure, insure
• anticipate, expect
• augment, supplement
• can, may
• complement, compliment
• compose, comprise
• continuous, continual
• discrete, discreet
• disinterested, uninterested
• due to, because of
• its, it’s
• oral, verbal
• since, because
• whether, if

Special Characters to Avoid

• # for pound
• $ for currency
• " for ditto or inches
• ' for feet
• ? for help
• — for commas or parentheses

Expansion Space

Keep in mind that the same content in a different language will expand. Allow 15% expansion space, then add additional space depending on the number of characters:

1-10 characters              100-200%
11-20 characters              81-100%
21-30 characters              61-80%
31-50 characters              41-60%
51-70 characters              31-40%
71 or more characters      30%

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