Set up your source file for translation

In the early 1990s, there was a sharp surge in demand for consumer products. As a result, many organizations have released the first set of relevant standards. An example of this is ISO Guide 37:1995. Almost at the same time, international trade flourished, prompting manufacturers to focus on multilingual documents.

Faced with this trend, the European Union issued the "Machinery Directive" in 2006.

The Directive aims to establish a common level of safety for machinery that is put on the market or put into use by all Member States. More specifically, the Directive states: “Each machine must be accompanied by instructions for the use of the official language of the European Union or the language of the Member State on which the machine is placed on the market and/or in use.” (Article 1.74)

According to the directive, symbols and pictograms should be preferred, and written instructions should be clear, easy to understand and concise, and most importantly, suitable for non-professional users. Therefore, writing a product description for translation means first setting the source text so that translation or localization can proceed smoothly.

Here are some considerations to help you set up your source content and prepare for translation and localization.

Source content

The first step is to accurately determine your target audience to provide the most useful content. Focus on the information that users in their target audience need most. For example, if it is a directory or website translation, you may need a shorter or revised version. Specific sections should include information about customer support or how to contact a nearest sales representative.

In some cases, (technical) documents may also require auxiliary materials. For example, when writing a user document, you might also have to translate the warning label. The same is true for information in the software user interface.

Design and layout

If your document is written around pictograms and icons, it's best to use pictures and pictures at a glance. For example, for a mechanical device, you can use an exploded view, number each part on the drawing, and display a legend with numbers below the image.

Never create a document that completely displays the information for each part on the image, as your translator may not be able to access the text for translation at all.

This is especially important when localizing software documentation. First, decide if you should prepare a localized screenshot. If you decide to do so, the project must start with a screenshot of the translation software and then provide a localized screenshot to the translator. If you don't do this, in some cases, the translator will not be able to get the source text locked in the drawing.

Always provide a large blank area in the image to accommodate the text and draw the reader's attention. Translations in some languages ​​will become longer, while translations in other languages ​​will become shorter. For example, English to Italian translation will be 15-20% more words than the source text. This means you need to focus on font size and margins as well as images and graphics, as well as boxes and labels in the graphical user interface.