Contents. Preface... xiii Acknowledgments... xvii. Chapter 1 Introduction to Global English... 1

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1 Contents Preface... xiii Acknowledgments... xvii Chapter 1 Introduction to Global English... 1 What Is Global English?... 2 Why Global English?... 2 Benefits of Global English for Professional Writers and Editors... 3 The Cardinal Rule of Global English... 4 Global English and Language Technologies... 5 Machine-Translation Software... 5 Translation Memory... 7 Controlled-Authoring Software... 8 Practical Considerations for Implementing Global English Prioritize the Guidelines Build a Relationship with Your Localization Staff Eliminate Non-essential Information Insert Explanations for Translators Frequently Asked Questions about Global English What is the relationship between Global English and controlled English? Do the Global English guidelines make all sentences clear and easy to translate? Does following these guidelines lead to an increase in word counts? Typographical Conventions... 16

2 iv Contents Chapter 2 Conforming to Standard English Introduction Be logical, literal, and precise in your use of language Use nouns as nouns, verbs as verbs, and so on Don t add verb suffixes or prefixes to nouns, acronyms, initialisms, or conjunctions Use standard verb complements Don t use transitive verbs intransitively, or vice versa Use conventional word combinations and phrases Don t use non-standard comparative and superlative adjectives Use the only with definite nouns Use singular and plural nouns correctly Other Guidelines That Pertain to Standard English Useful Resources Chapter 3 Simplifying Your Writing Style Introduction Limit the length of sentences Consider dividing shorter sentences Use a verb-centered writing style Keep phrasal verbs together Use short, simple verb phrases Avoid unnecessary future tenses Simplify other unnecessarily complex tenses Limit your use of passive voice Consider defining, explaining, or revising noun phrases An Overview of Noun Phrases Consider defining or explaining noun phrases Consider revising noun phrases Always revise noun phrases that contain embedded modifiers Use complete sentences to introduce lists Avoid interrupting sentences Program code, error messages, tables, and figures... 58

3 Contents v Adverbs such as however, therefore, and nevertheless Other short sentence interrupters Avoid unusual constructions The get passive Causative have and get In that Need not Inverted sentences Avoid ambiguous verb constructions Based on Require + an infinitive Appear + an infinitive Has or have + past participle + noun phrase Has or have + noun phrase + past participle Must be, must have, and must have been Write positively Chapter 4 Using Modifiers Clearly and Carefully Introduction Place only and not immediately before whatever they are modifying Only Not Clarify what each prepositional phrase is modifying If the prepositional phrase starts with of, then do nothing If the prepositional phrase modifies a verb phrase, consider moving it If a prepositional phrase modifies a noun phrase, consider expanding it into a relative clause If readers and translators can determine what the prepositional phrase is modifying, then do nothing When necessary, insert a translation note Clarify what each relative clause is modifying Use that in restrictive relative clauses... 87

4 vi Contents 4.5 Consider moving anything that modifies a verb to the beginning of the clause or sentence Participial phrases In order to Adverbial phrases Clarify ambiguous modification in conjoined noun phrases Consider using identical grammatical structures in each noun phrase Consider inserting an article after the conjunction Consider reversing the order of the noun phrases Consider using an unordered list Consider using a compound sentence Consider repeating a preposition Consider inserting a translation note Chapter 5 Making Pronouns Clear and Easy to Translate Introduction Make sure readers can identify what each pronoun refers to It They Them Its Their Don t use this, that, these, and those as pronouns Don t use which to refer to an entire clause Chapter 6 Using Syntactic Cues Introduction Don t use a telegraphic writing style In a series of noun phrases, consider including an article in each noun phrase Use that with verbs that take noun clauses as complements Use that in relative clauses

5 Contents vii 6.5 Clarify which parts of a sentence are being joined by and or or Revise past participles Revise past participles that follow and modify nouns Revise past participial phrases that follow commas Revise adjectives that follow nouns Use to with indirect objects Consider using both... and and either... or Consider using if... then Make each sentence syntactically and semantically complete Chapter 7 Clarifying ING Words Introduction Revise -ING words that follow and modify nouns Revise -ING words that follow certain verbs Revise dangling -ING phrases Punctuate -ING phrases correctly Hyphenate -ING words in compound modifiers Eliminate unnecessary -ING phrases and -ING clauses Revise ambiguous -ING + noun constructions Revise ambiguous to be + -ING constructions The Grammar of -ING Words Gerund, Adjective, or Noun? ING Clauses ING Phrases Some Contexts in Which -ING Words Are Unambiguous

6 viii Contents Chapter 8 Punctuation and Capitalization Introduction Punctuation and Capitalization as Syntactic Cues Punctuation and Translation Memory Ampersands Colons Commas Use commas to prevent misreading Use commas to separate main clauses Consider using a comma before because Consider using a comma before such as Double Hyphens Em Dashes Whenever possible, use a separate sentence instead Consider other ways of eliminating em dashes Make sure the sentence would be grammatical if the em dash phrase were omitted Don t use em dashes as a formatting device Don t use em dashes to set off cross-references Don t use em dashes to set off definitions Don t use em dashes to set off examples Don t use em dashes to set off non-restrictive relative clauses Don t use an em dash to introduce a complete sentence Don t use an em dash to introduce an -ING phrase Approved uses for em dashes Equal Signs Hyphens Consider hyphenating noun phrases Use hyphens consistently in the noun and adjective forms of multi-word verbs Parentheses Make sure readers can understand what parentheses are intended to indicate

7 Contents ix Make parenthetical information grammatically independent Whenever possible, put parenthetical information in a separate sentence Eliminate unnecessary parentheses Eliminate parenthetical comments that impede readability Don t use (s) to form plural nouns Approved uses for parentheses Quotation Marks Don t use quotation marks to represent inches or feet Don t use quotation marks for metaphors Don t use quotation marks for technical terms Semicolons Don t use semicolons to separate clauses When necessary, use semicolons to separate items in a series Slash Submit unavoidable joined terms to your localization coordinator Use or instead Separate the joined terms with and or with a comma Eliminate unnecessary synonyms Slash Used in and/or Use a, b, or both Use any of the following or one or more of the following Use only or or only and Revise more substantially Capitalization Capitalize proper nouns Capitalize user-interface labels as they are capitalized in the interface Don t capitalize common nouns When necessary, use capitalization to improve readability

8 x Contents Establish clear lines of communication with localization coordinators Recommended Reading Chapter 9 Eliminating Undesirable Terms and Phrases Introduction to Controlling Terminology Tools for Controlling Terminology Where to Store Deprecated Terms Researching Terminology Issues Eliminate trademark violations Eliminate obsolete terms Eliminate internal terms Eliminate text strings that indicate errors in a source file Eliminate repeated words and phrases Eliminate incorrect technical terms Eliminate variant spellings Eliminate orthographic variants Eliminate terms from other varieties of English Eliminate obscure foreign words Eliminate unnecessary Latin abbreviations Eliminate other non-technical abbreviations Eliminate clipped terms Eliminate certain contractions Eliminate unusual non-technical words Eliminate other unnecessary synonyms Eliminate wordy phrases Eliminate idioms Eliminate certain idiomatic phrasal verbs Eliminate colloquialisms Eliminate metaphors Related Guidelines

9 Contents xi Appendix A Examples of Content Reduction Introduction Example Example Example Example Appendix B Prioritizing the Global English Guidelines Introduction Prioritized for Translation by Human Translators Prioritized for Non-Native Speakers of English Prioritized for Machine Translation Appendix C Revising Incomplete Introductions to Unordered Lists Introduction Modal Verb Separated from Main Verbs Infinitive Marker to Separated from Infinitives Relative Pronoun Separated from the Rest of Some Relative Clauses Preposition Separated from Its Objects Subject of Infinitives Separated from the Infinitives Subject Separated from Verbs Verb Separated from Its Direct Objects Interrupted -ING Phrase Gerund Separated from Its Objects Appendix D Improving Translatability and Readability with Syntactic Cues Preface Introduction What Are Syntactic Cues? Benefits of Syntactic Cues Facilitating analysis

10 xii Contents Facilitating prediction Resolving ambiguities Benefits of syntactic cues for non-native speakers of English Caveat Scriptor: Let the Writer Beware! Considerations Regarding the Use of Syntactic Cues There are different degrees of ambiguity and of sensitivity to ambiguity Context does not prevent misreading The reading process differs according to purpose For some types of texts, syntactic cues might not be very helpful Integrating Syntactic Cues into Your Documentation Processes Conclusion Glossary Bibliography Index