Arabic Style Guide
Contents What's New?... 4 New Topics... 4 Updated Topics... 4 Introduction... 5 About This Style Guide... 5 Scope of This Document... 5 Style Guide Conventions... 5 Sample Text... 6 Recommended Reference Material... 6 Normative References... 6 Informative References... 6 Language Specific Conventions... 7 Country/Region Standards... 7 Characters... 7 Date... 7 Time... 9 Numbers... 12 Sorting... 26 Geopolitical Concerns... 27 Grammar, Syntax & Orthographic Conventions... 27 Adjectives... 27 Articles... 28 Capitalization... 28 Compounds... 28 Gender... 28 Genitive... 29 Modifiers... 29 Nouns... 30 Prepositions... 30 Pronouns... 30 Punctuation... 30 Singular & Plural... 31 Split Infinitive... 31 Subjunctive... 31 Symbols & Non-Breaking Spaces... 31 Syntax... 32 Verbs... 32 Word Order... 32 Style and Tone Considerations... 32 Audience... 32
Style... 33 Tone... 33 Voice... 33 Localization Guidelines... 34 General Considerations... 34 Abbreviations... 34 Accessibility... 35 Acronyms... 35 Applications, Products, and Features... 36 Frequent Errors... 36 Glossaries... 37 Fictitious Information... 38 Recurring Patterns... 38 Standardized Translations... 38 Unlocalized Items... 38 Using the Word Microsoft... 38 Software Considerations... 38 User Interface... 39 Messages... 41 Keys... 45 Document Translation Considerations... 50 Titles... 50 Copyright... 50
What's New? Last Updated: February 2011 New Topics The following topics were added: Sample Text Country/Region Standards Geopolitical Concerns Style and Tone Considerations Frequent Errors Recurring Patterns Updated Topics The overall Style Guide content was fully updated in February 2011 as part of major Style Guide update project performed for all languages. 4
Introduction This Style Guide went through major revision in February 2011 in order to remove outdated and unnecessary content. About This Style Guide The purpose of this Style Guide is to provide everybody involved in the localization of Arabic Microsoft products with Microsoft-specific linguistic guidelines and standard conventions that differ from or are more prescriptive than those found in language reference materials. These conventions have been adopted after considering context based on various needs, but above all, they are easy to follow and applicable for all types of software to be localized. The Style Guide covers the areas of formatting and grammatical conventions. It also presents the reader with a general idea of the reasoning behind the conventions. The present Style Guide is a revision of our previous Style Guide version with the intention of making it more standardized, more structured, and easier to use as a reference. The guidelines and conventions presented in this Style Guide are intended to help you localize Microsoft products and materials. We welcome your feedback, questions and concerns regarding the Style Guide. You can send us your feedback via the Microsoft Language Portal feedback page. Scope of This Document This Style Guide is intended for the localization professional working on Microsoft products. It is not intended to be a comprehensive coverage of all localization practices, but to highlight areas where Microsoft has preference or deviates from standard practices for Arabic localization. Style Guide Conventions In this document, a plus sign (+) before a translation example means that this is the recommended correct translation. A minus sign (-) is used for incorrect translation examples. In Microsoft localization context, the word term is used in a slightly untraditional sense, meaning the same as e.g. a segment in Trados. The distinguishing feature of a term here is that it is translated as one unit; it may be a traditional term (as used in terminology), a phrase, a sentence, or a paragraph. References to interface elements really only refer to translatable texts associated with those interface elements. Example translations in this document are only intended to illustrate the point in question. They are not a source of approved terminology. Always check for approved translation in the Microsoft terminology database. 5
Sample Text األسلوب المفضل للكتابة التقن ة استخدم كلمات سهلة ومباشرة. جب أن كون األسلوب التحر ري مبسطا وواضحا وصح حا. استخدم أكثر الكلمات بساطة ودقة ف نفس الوقت مثل كلمة "أ ضا " بدال من "باإلضافة إلى". تجنب استخدام اللهجات العام ة ح ث إنها ال تالئم هذا المجال وهذا النوع من الكتابة باإلضافة إلى صعوبة فهمها من قبل نطاق عر ض من األشخاص. إال أنه مكن استخدام بعض الكلمات الدارجة والشائع استخدامها خاصة ف مجال التسو ق والنصوص الت تقدم شرحا للمستخدم )ول س ف أوامر واجهة المستخدم(. وهذا عن إمكان ة استخدام قدر قل ل من الكلمات الت تتسم بالعام ة ولكنها تعتبر شائعة االستخدام بالنسبة لنطاق عر ض من األفراد. تجنب استخدام الكلمات الؽر بة أو اختالق كلمات جد دة أو إلصاق معان جد دة لكلمات عاد ة. أما إذا دعت الحاجة الستخدام كلمات قد تبدو جد دة أو ؼر بة إلى حد ما ف جب عل ك تقد م شرح واؾ لها داخل الس اق. وعادة ما تستند الكلمات الؽر بة إلى التعب رات المجاز ة المستخدمة ف ب ئة مع نة مما جعلها ؼ ر مفهومة من قبل اآلخر ن تجنب انتقاء الكلمات الهزل ة أو ذات المدلول التهكم. فمثل هذه الكلمات الت تندرج تحت األسلوب العام ال فهما الكث ر من الناس خاصة ممن ال تحدثون العرب ة. الس د/أحمد مصطفى 15 ش الس دة خد جة ح السفارات مد نة نصر القاهرة جمهور ة مصر العرب ة الرمز البر دي: xxxxx الهاتؾ: #### ## ## ### (####) تم تحر ر هذا النص ف 8 مارس 2011 Recommended Reference Material Use the Modern Standard Arabic language that could be fully understood by all Arab countries. Normative References N/A Informative References These sources are meant to provide supplementary information, background, comparison, etc. 1. MSDN Site: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/ar-sa/default.aspx 2. TechNet Site: http://technet.microsoft.com/ar-sa/default.aspx 6
Language Specific Conventions This part of the style guide contains information about standards specific to Arabic. Country/Region Standards Characters Country/region Lower-case characters Upper-case characters Arab Region N/A N/A Characters in caseless scripts أ ب ت ث ج ح خ د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ع غ ؾ ق ك ل م ن ه و ي Extended Latin characters Note on alphabetical order N/A Alphabetical order is not necessarily indicative of sorting order. Total number of characters 28 Unicode codes Range: U+060x - U+06Fx Notes The alphabetical order is different than the alphabet, although both can be used. The alphabetical order is: أ ب ج د ه و ز ح ط ي ك ل م ن س ع ؾ ص ق ر ش ت ث خ ذ ض ظ غ Date Country/region Calendar/Era First Day of the Week First Week of the Year Arab Region Hijri and Gregorian calendars Saturday N/A Separator / Default Short Date Format yyyy/m/d 7
Country/region Arab Region Example 2011/3/7 Default Long Date Format yyyy mmmm dd 17 مارس Example 2011 Additional Short Date Format 1 Example Additional Short Date Format 2 Example Additional Long Date Format 1 Example Additional Long Date Format 2 Example Leading Zero in Day Field for Short Date Format Leading Zero in Month Field for Short Date Format No. of digits for century for Short Day Format Leading Zero in Day Field for Long Date Format Leading Zero in Month Field for Long Date Format Number of digits for century for Long Day Format Date Format for Correspondence N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A No No 4 No No 4 Hijri and Gregorian have the same format 8
Country/region Arab Region 17 محرم Example Hijri 1432 Notes Abbreviations in Format Codes N/A d is for day, number of d's indicates the format (d = digits without leading zero, dd = digits with leading zero, ddd = the abbreviated day name, dddd = full day name) M is for month, number of M's gives number of digits. (M = digits without leading zero, MM = digits with leading zero, MMM = the abbreviated name, MMMM = full name) y is for year, number of y's gives number of digits (yy = two digits, yyyy = four digits) Time Country/region Arab Region 24 hour format Yes, but 24 hour format is mostly used in airports or another international places. Standard time format HH:mm:ss Standard time format example 23:43:12 م Time separator colon (:) 11:43:12 ص Time separator examples Hours leading zero yes Hours leading zero example 08:04:05 String for AM designator String for PM designator Notes ص م The standard time can be used in 24 hour or 12 hour format. Days Country/region: Algeria; Bahrain; Egypt; Iraq; Jordan; Kuwait; Lebanon; Libya; Morocco; Oman; Qatar; Saudi Arabia; Sudan; Syria; Tunisia; United Arab Emirates; Yemen Day Normal Form Abbreviation ن اإلثن ن Monday ث الثالثاء Tuesday 9
Day Normal Form Abbreviation Wednesday األربعاء ع Thursday الخم س خ Friday الجمعة ج Saturday السبت س Sunday األحد د First Day of Week: Saturday Is first letter capitalized?: N/A Notes: Abbreviated forms are rarely used. Months Country/region: Algeria; Bahrain; Egypt; Iraq; Jordan; Kuwait; Lebanon; Libya; Morocco; Oman; Qatar; Saudi Arabia; Sudan; Syria; Tunisia; United Arab Emirates; Yemen Month Full Form Abbreviated Form Long Date Form January نا ر N/A N/A February فبرا ر N/A N/A March مارس N/A N/A April إبر ل N/A N/A May ما و N/A N/A June ون و N/A N/A July ول و N/A N/A August أؼسطس N/A N/A September سبتمبر N/A N/A October أكتوبر N/A N/A November نوفمبر N/A N/A December د سمبر N/A N/A Is first letter capitalized?: N/A Notes: The Gregorian calendar that is mainly used in Syria and Lebanon 10
Month Full Form Abbreviated Form Long Date Form January كانون الثان N/A N/A February شباط N/A N/A March آذار N/A N/A April ن سان N/A N/A May أ ار N/A N/A June حز ران N/A N/A July تموز N/A N/A August آب N/A N/A September أ لول N/A N/A October تشر ن األول N/A N/A November تشر ن الثان N/A N/A December كانون األول N/A N/A Arabic Hejri calendar Month Full Form Abbreviated Form Long Date Form January محرم N/A N/A February صفر N/A N/A March رب ع األول N/A N/A April رب ع اآلخر N/A N/A May N/A N/A جمادى األولى June جمادى اآلخرة N/A N/A July رجب N/A N/A August شعبان N/A N/A September رمضان N/A N/A October شوال N/A N/A November ذو القعدة N/A N/A December ذو الحجة N/A N/A 11
Note: Number of days of the Hejri months and year is different from the Gregorian calendar as the Hejri calendar is based on cycles of lunar phase. So, the calendar ceases to be linked to the Gregorian seasons and months, and drifts each solar year by 11 to 12 days, and comes back to the position it had in relation to the solar year approximately every 33 Hejri years. Numbers The following table details the rules that apply to the use of numbers: Number element List Separator Arabic Equivalent Decimal Separator, Thousand Separator See the comment below* Date Separator / Time Separator : In page numbering, when roman numbers are used in a section of the English documentation, the localizer must use the Arabic alphabet as equivalent in the translated documentation. * Please note that the Thousand Separators are not used in Arabic most of the times. Phone Numbers Sample Country Country/ region International Dialing Code Area Codes Used? Number of Digits Area Codes Separator Number of Digits Domestic Digit Groupings Domestic Egypt 20 yes 2 space or hyphen 10,11 or 12 (###) ### ## ## ## or (###) ### ## ## # or (###) ### ## ## Country/ region Number of Digits Local Digit Groupings Local Number of Digits Mobile Digit Groupings Mobile Number of Digits International Digit Groupings International Egypt 7,8 or 9 ### ## ## ## or ### ## ## # or ### ## ## 8 (###) ### ### ## 13, 14 or 15 (####) ### ## ## #### or (####) ### ## ## ### or (####) ### ## #### 12
Notes: N/A Addresses Country/region: Algeria; Bahrain; Egypt; Iraq; Jordan; Kuwait; Lebanon; Libya; Morocco; Oman; Qatar; Saudi Arabia; Sudan; Syria; Tunisia; United Arab Emirates; Yemen Disclaimer: Please note that the information in this entry should under no circumstances be used in examples as fictitious information. Address Format: 1. [Title/Honorific] FirstName LastName 2. [CompanyName] 3. Address1 4. [Address2] 5. City, PostalCode 6. [Country] Example Address: الس د/أحمد مصطفى الشركة الخ ال ة المتحدة ح الورود طر ق المطار الدول بنا ة النخ ل الطابق الثامن الر اض الرمز البر دي xxxxx المملكة العرب ة السعود ة Local Postal Code Format: xxxxx Notes: N/A Currency Country/region Currency Name Currency Symbol Currency Symbol Position Algeria د نار جزائري د.ج. Left side of the digits. 3 د. ج. Positive Currency Format Negative Sign Symbol - - 3 د. ج. Negative Currency Format Decimal Symbol. 13
Number of Digits after Decimal 2 Digit Grouping Symbol, Number of Digits in Digit Grouping 3 3,243 د. ج. Positive Currency Example - 3,243 د. ج. Negative Currency Example ISO Currency Code Currency Subunit Name Currency Subunit Symbol DZA سنت م س 25 سنت م Currency Subunit Example Country/region Currency Name Currency Symbol Currency Symbol Position Bahrain د نار بحر ن د.ب. Left side of the digits 3 د.ب. Positive Currency Format Negative Sign Symbol - - 3 د.ب. Negative Currency Format Decimal Symbol. Number of Digits after Decimal 2 Digit Grouping Symbol, Number of Digits in Digit Grouping 3 3,243 د.ب. Positive Currency Example - 3,243 د.ب. Negative Currency Example ISO Currency Code Currency Subunit Name Currency Subunit Symbol BHR فلس ؾ 25 فلس Currency Subunit Example 14
Country/region Currency Name Egypt جن ه مصري ج. م. Currency Symbol Currency Symbol Position Left side of the digits 3 ج. م. Positive Currency Format Negative Sign Symbol - - 3 ج. م. Negative Currency Format Decimal Symbol. Number of Digits after Decimal 2 Digit Grouping Symbol, Number of Digits in Digit Grouping 3 3,243 ج. م. Positive Currency Example - 3,243 ج. م. Negative Currency Example ISO Currency Code Currency Subunit Name Currency Subunit Symbol EGY قرش ق 25 قرش Currency Subunit Example Country/region Currency Name Iraq د نار عراق د. ع. Currency Symbol Currency Symbol Position Left side of the digits 3 د. ع. Positive Currency Format Negative Sign Symbol - - 3 د. ع. Negative Currency Format Decimal Symbol. Number of Digits after Decimal 2 Digit Grouping Symbol, 15
Number of Digits in Digit Grouping 3 3,243 د. ع. Positive Currency Example - 3,243 د. ع. Negative Currency Example ISO Currency Code Currency Subunit Name Currency Subunit Symbol IRQ فلس ؾ 25 فلس Currency Subunit Example Country/region Currency Name Jordan د نار أردن د. أ. Currency Symbol Currency Symbol Position Left side of the digits 3 د. أ. Positive Currency Format Negative Sign Symbol - - 3 د. أ. Negative Currency Format Decimal Symbol. Number of Digits after Decimal 2 Digit Grouping Symbol, Number of Digits in Digit Grouping 3 3,243 د. أ. Positive Currency Example - 3,243 د. أ. Negative Currency Example ISO Currency Code Currency Subunit Name Currency Subunit Symbol JOR فلس ؾ 25 فلس Currency Subunit Example 16
Country/region Currency Name Kuwait د نار كو ت د. ك. Currency Symbol Currency Symbol Position Left side of the digits 3 د. ك. Positive Currency Format Negative Sign Symbol - - 3 د. ك. Negative Currency Format Decimal Symbol. Number of Digits after Decimal 2 Digit Grouping Symbol, Number of Digits in Digit Grouping 3 3,243 د. ك. Positive Currency Example - 3,243 د. ك. Negative Currency Example ISO Currency Code Currency Subunit Name Currency Subunit Symbol KWT فلس ؾ 25 فلس Currency Subunit Example Country/region Currency Name Lebanon ل رة لبنان ة ل. ل. Currency Symbol Currency Symbol Position Left side of the digits 3 ل. ل. Positive Currency Format Negative Sign Symbol - - 3 ل. ل. Negative Currency Format Decimal Symbol. Number of Digits after Decimal 2 Digit Grouping Symbol, 17
Number of Digits in Digit Grouping 3 3,243 ل. ل. Positive Currency Example - 3,243 ل. ل. Negative Currency Example ISO Currency Code Currency Subunit Name Currency Subunit Symbol LBN قرش ق 25 قرش Currency Subunit Example Country/region Currency Name Libya د نار ل ب د. ل. Currency Symbol Currency Symbol Position Left side of the digits 3 د.ل. Positive Currency Format Negative Sign Symbol - - 3 د.ل. Negative Currency Format Decimal Symbol. Number of Digits after Decimal 2 Digit Grouping Symbol, Number of Digits in Digit Grouping 3 3,243 د.ل. Positive Currency Example - 3,243 د.ل. Negative Currency Example ISO Currency Code Currency Subunit Name Currency Subunit Symbol LBY درهم د.ه. 25 درهم ل ب Currency Subunit Example 18
Country/region Currency Name Morocco درهم مؽرب د. م. Currency Symbol Currency Symbol Position Left side of the digits 3 د. م. Positive Currency Format Negative Sign Symbol - 3- د. م. Negative Currency Format Decimal Symbol. Number of Digits after Decimal 2 Digit Grouping Symbol, Number of Digits in Digit Grouping 3 3,243 د. م. Positive Currency Example - 3,243 د. م. Negative Currency Example ISO Currency Code Currency Subunit Name Currency Subunit Symbol MAR سنت م س 25 سنت م Currency Subunit Example Country/region Currency Name Oman لاير عمان ر. ل. Currency Symbol Currency Symbol Position Left side of the digits 3 ر. ل. Positive Currency Format Negative Sign Symbol - 3- ر. ل. Negative Currency Format Decimal Symbol. Number of Digits after Decimal 2 Digit Grouping Symbol, 19
Number of Digits in Digit Grouping 3 3,243 ر. ل. Positive Currency Example - 3,243 ر. ل. Negative Currency Example ISO Currency Code Currency Subunit Name Currency Subunit Symbol OMN ب سه ب 25 ب سه Currency Subunit Example Country/region Currency Name Qatar لاير قطري ر. ق. Currency Symbol Currency Symbol Position Left side of the digits 3 ر. ق. Positive Currency Format Negative Sign Symbol - 3- ر.ق. Negative Currency Format Decimal Symbol. Number of Digits after Decimal 2 Digit Grouping Symbol, Number of Digits in Digit Grouping 3 3,243 ر. ق. Positive Currency Example - 3,243 ر. ق. Negative Currency Example ISO Currency Code Currency Subunit Name Currency Subunit Symbol QAT درهم د 25 درهم Currency Subunit Example 20
ج 3 Country/region Currency Name Saudi Arabia لاير سعودي ر. س. Currency Symbol Currency Symbol Position Left side of the digits 3 ر. س. Positive Currency Format Negative Sign Symbol - 3- ر. س. Negative Currency Format Decimal Symbol. Number of Digits after Decimal 2 Digit Grouping Symbol, Number of Digits in Digit Grouping 3 3,243 ر. س. Positive Currency Example - 3,243 ر. س. Negative Currency Example ISO Currency Code Currency Subunit Name Currency Subunit Symbol SAU هللة ه 25 هللة Currency Subunit Example Country/region Currency Name Currency Symbol Currency Symbol Position Sudan جن ه سودان ج. س. Left side of the digits Positive Currency Format. س. Negative Sign Symbol - - ج 3. س. Negative Currency Format Decimal Symbol. Number of Digits after Decimal 2 Digit Grouping Symbol, 21
Number of Digits in Digit Grouping 3 3,324 ج. س. Positive Currency Example - 3,243 ج. س. Negative Currency Example ISO Currency Code Currency Subunit Name Currency Subunit Symbol SDG قرش ق. س. 25 قرش سودان Currency Subunit Example Country/region Currency Name Syria ل رة سور ة ل. س. Currency Symbol Currency Symbol Position Left side of the digits 3 ل. س. Positive Currency Format Negative Sign Symbol - 3- ل. س. Negative Currency Format Decimal Symbol. Number of Digits after Decimal 2 Digit Grouping Symbol, Number of Digits in Digit Grouping 3 3,243 ل.س. Positive Currency Example - 3,243 ل.س. Negative Currency Example ISO Currency Code Currency Subunit Name SYR قرش ق. س. Currency Subunit Symbol 25 قرش Currency Subunit Example 22
Country/region Currency Name Tunisia د نار تونس د. ت. Currency Symbol Currency Symbol Position Left side of the digits 3 د. ت. Positive Currency Format Negative Sign Symbol - 3- د. ت. Negative Currency Format Decimal Symbol. Number of Digits after Decimal 2 Digit Grouping Symbol, Number of Digits in Digit Grouping 3 3,243 د. ت. Positive Currency Example - 3,243 د. ت. Negative Currency Example ISO Currency Code Currency Subunit Name Currency Subunit Symbol TUN مل م م 25 مل م Currency Subunit Example Country/region Currency Name UAE درهم إمارات د. إ Currency Symbol Currency Symbol Position Left side of the digits 3 د. إ Positive Currency Format Negative Sign Symbol - 3- د. إ Negative Currency Format Decimal Symbol. Number of Digits after Decimal 2 Digit Grouping Symbol, 23
Number of Digits in Digit Grouping 3 3,243 د. إ Positive Currency Example - 3,243 د. إ Negative Currency Example ISO Currency Code Currency Subunit Name Currency Subunit Symbol ARE فلس ؾ 25 فلس Currency Subunit Example Country/region Currency Name Yemen لاير من ر. ي. Currency Symbol Currency Symbol Position Left side of the digits 3 ر. ي. Positive Currency Format Negative Sign Symbol - 3- ر. ي. Negative Currency Format Decimal Symbol. Number of Digits after Decimal 2 Digit Grouping Symbol, Number of Digits in Digit Grouping 3 3,243 ر. ي. Positive Currency Example - 3,243 ر. ي. Negative Currency Example ISO Currency Code Currency Subunit Name Currency Subunit Symbol YEM فلس ؾ 25 فلس Currency Subunit Example 24
Digit Groups Country/region: Arab Region Decimal Separator: Comma (,) Decimal Separator Description: Comma Decimal Separator Example: 1,5 Thousand Separator: N/A Thousand Separator: N/A Thousand Separator Example: N/A Notes: The comma might be used as thousand separator Measurement Units Metric System Commonly Used?: Yes Temperature: Celsius Category English Translation Abbreviation Linear Measure Kilometer ك لومتر كم Meter متر م Decimeter دسم د س متر سم سنت متر Centimeter Millimeter مم ملل متر هكل هكتولتر Capacity Hectoliter ل لتر Liter Deciliter دسل د س لتر سل سنت لتر Centiliter Milliliter مل ملل تر Mass Ton طن طن Kilogram كل وؼرام كػ Pound رطل رطل Gram ؼرام غ Decigram دسػ د س ؽرام سػ سنت ؽرام Centigram 25
Category English Translation Abbreviation Milligram مػ ملل ؽرام English Units of Measurement Inch بوصة N/A Feet قدم N/A Mile م ل N/A Gallon ؼالون N/A Notes: N/A Percentages This section does not apply to Arabic. Sorting Sorting rules Examples of sorted words 1. There are no capital rules in Arabic 2. The order of vowels is: unaccented, long, umlaut, or dot. 3. hamza does not sort. It sorts according to its "seat". 4. Alphabetical order is not necessarily indicative of sorting order. 5. The alphabetical order is different than the alphabet, although both can be used. 6. Digits sort after the non-alphabetical characters and before the letters of the alphabet. 7. The alphabetical order is: أب ابتداع ابتذال أتاح اتباع اتجاه إثارة إجابة إحاطة أخوة أداة إذاعة إؼارة إفادة أ ب ج د ه و ز ح ط ي ك ل م ن س ع ؾ ص ق ر ش ت ث خ ذ ض ظ غ 26
Geopolitical Concerns Part of the cultural adaptation of the US-product to a specific market is the resolving of geopolitical issues. While the US-product should have been designed and developed with neutrality and a global audience in mind, the localized product should respond to the particular situation that applies within the target country/region. Sensitive issues or issues that might potentially be offensive to the users in the target country/region may occur in any of the following: Maps Flags Country/region, city and language names Art and graphics Cultural content, such as encyclopedia content and other text where historical or political references may occur Some of these issues are relatively easy to verify and resolve: the objective should be for the localizer to always have the most current information available. Maps and other graphic representations of countries/regions and regions should be checked for accuracy and existing political restrictions. Country/region, city and language names change on a regular basis and need to be checked, even if previously approved. A thorough understanding of the culture of the target market is required for checking the appropriateness of cultural content, clip art and other visual representations of religious symbols, body and hand gestures. Grammar, Syntax & Orthographic Conventions This section includes information on how to apply the general rules of the Arabic language to Microsoft products and documentation. Adjectives Unlike English, in Arabic, adjectives should follow the number form of the modified. Possessive adjectives The frequent use of possessives is a feature of English language. However in Arabic, possessive adjectives should be handled differently, where pronouns should be avoided. Source Correct wrong Comment مجلدات المجلدات الخاصة ب My folders 27
Articles General considerations The definite article should follow the source. Unlocalized Feature Names Microsoft product names and non-translated feature names are used without definite or indefinite articles in the English language. We treat them in this same way in Arabic. Example: Microsoft Office Localized Feature Names Translated feature names should be highlighted using double or single quotes, especially if it comes within other text. Example: "صانع األفالم" Articles for English Borrowed Terms When faced with an English loan word previously used in Microsoft products, consider the following options: Motivation: Does the English word have any formally motivated features that would allow a straightforward integration into the noun class system of Arabic language? Analogy: Is there an equivalent Arabic term whose article could be used? Frequency: Is the term used in other technical documentation? If so, what article is used most often? The internet may be a helpful reference here. Capitalization This section does not apply to Arabic. Compounds This section does not apply to Arabic. Gender Transliterated words and English names need to be given a gender in Arabic. For example: the Mouse as it is? ه or هو in Arabic, you might wonder: shall I say ماوس called 28
As there is no real rule to this except that we tend to return to the unwritten word that indicates what the function of the word is, here are some examples to guide you: RAM RAM ذاكرة Feminine gender RAM Windows Windows برنامج Masculine gender Windows Mouse جهاز الماوس ماوس Masculine gender Due to the absence of an equivalent to it as a gender in Arabic, when the user points on an icon (which has the feminine gender in Arabic) or on a button (which has the masculine gender in Arabic), a messages that says: عرض. or تعرض say Displays full pages as they will be printed would leave you to wonder whether to Therefore, and because we always seek a more direct and short way to translate these messages, we have opted المصدر. noun for the use of the verbal Genitive Genitive Construction: when there English word between the governed and governing word. It is looks better to place the English after the Arabic ones. Like: Incorrect الجداول الب ان ة لبرنامج Excel correct جداول Excel الب ان ة Class Genitive Constructs إلى الفئات :اإلضافة These differ in structure between English and Arabic. English uses a prepositioned singular form of the class word, while Arabic uses a postpositioned plural form of the same. Thus Field Area becomes الحقول ناح ة and not الحقل"."ناح ة Singular is used in Arabic genitive construct when the genitive complement ( إل ه (المضاؾ is a function word, hence Break area becomes الفصل, ناح ة and Add Print معالج إضافة طابعة Wizard should be Genitive Conjunctive Constructs Arabic, : This is a very common Anglicism in translation. In "العطؾ على المضاؾ إل ه" the genitive complement is linked solely to its antecedent regardless of conjunctions. Two Arabic genitive complements, the second of which is a pronoun, are needed as equivalents to an English one, i.e. the correct. إنشاء وإرسال التقار ر and not إنشاء التقار ر وإرسالها translation of Creating and Sending Reports would be Modifiers This section does not apply to Arabic. 29
Nouns General considerations This section does not apply to Arabic. Inflection This section does not apply to Arabic. Plural Formation English plural is the equivalent of both the Arabic plural (جمع) and the Arabic dual.(مثنى) A proper contextualization is needed for translating the occurrences of English plural..أسهم and not سهمان Example: Spin Arrows are rather Prepositions This section does not apply to Arabic. Pronouns Avoid using the second person pronoun. Example: Source Correct wrong Comment My folders المجلدات الخاصة ب مجلدات Punctuation General punctuation rules are available in the recommended reference material Comma Spacing: No space before. Space after. Colon Spacing: No space before. Space after. Dashes and Hyphens It s preferable to use the Kashida character which resides on the shifted J key in Arabic instead of the normal dash on the keyboard due to the horizontal alignment of this character with the Arabic fonts Ellipses (Suspension Points) Should be used like source. 30
Period Spacing: No space before. Space after. Quotation Marks Quotation marks are used to highlight UI items like button names. Example: Source correct wrong انقر فوق قائمة عرض انقر فوق القائمة "عرض" Click View menu Parentheses Spacing: Opening: Space before. No space after. Closing: No space before. Space after. Singular & Plural English plural is the equivalent of both the Arabic plural (جمع) and the Arabic dual.(مثنى) A proper contextualization أسهم and not سهمان is needed for translating the occurrences of English plural. Example: Spin Arrows are rather Split Infinitive This section does not apply to Arabic. Subjunctive This section does not apply to Arabic. Symbols & Non-Breaking Spaces Use non-breaking spaces (CTRL+SHIFT+SPACEBAR) between words that should not separate onto different lines. You may use them in the following instances: Between Part, Chapter, or Appendix and its number or letter. Between a unit of measurement or currency, and the number that goes with it. Between any items that should not be divided onto separate lines, such as product names Microsoft Windows XP and version numbers Word 2002. 31
Syntax This section does not apply to Arabic. Verbs This section does not apply to Arabic.: Word Order This section does not apply to Arabic. Style and Tone Considerations Because of the wide number of countries which have adopted Arabic as their first language, and due to the different culture, customs, and dialects noted between these countries, Microsoft had to approach this issue with a lot of care and diplomacy. Therefore, we took into great consideration the two major schools: the Levant and the Egyptian schools. We conducted surveys in different countries before we established the following general rules: 1. Characters with or without upper and lower dual dots: Characters such as and اء مربوطة تاء have to have their lower and upper dual dots respectively. 2. The guttural g is represented by the ؼاء and not by the. ج م Of course this is not always. Because. ؼورغ not جورج like George should be ج م some times it is pronounced as 3. The month names are used as defaults, the way they are dominantly used in most Arab countries, i.e., in. نا ر فبرا ر مارس the Egyptian calendar, transliterated from English Now to fine tune the written material that is a dominant component of a product, and this covers the strings in the User Interface, the on-line assistance and the documentation, it is important to make sure that all staff has training on how to write. This means having them reach a point where they all write the same way; they all have the same style, and they all follow the same syntax and structure. This is very critical to good localization. Also, avoid addressing the computer as a person since this is not quite acceptable in Arabic. The style is also important throughout the components to secure that things are homogeneous. The documentation or the help files are certainly split among your staff to work on. At the end of the day, once all of the help files are built together and compiled, they should look as one entity and they should read as such as well. One of the most important goals at Microsoft is to always make it easier for the user. We want to avoid confusing him or her, so we provide literature that is homogenous, consistent, clear, and easy to understand. Finally, make it easy. We want the words to be among the simplest, clearest, and most common words used in the language Audience Same as in Style and Tone above 32
Style Same as in Style and Tone above Tone Same as in Style and Tone above Voice Unlike Arabic, you in English might refer to singular, plural or both gender types. So, this should be considered in Arabic. Example: You in the below source might refer to above types. English Translation You are now connected to the Internet. You are now connected to the Internet. أنت اآلن متصل باإلنترنت. أنتم اآلن متصلون باإلنترنت 33
Localization Guidelines This section contains guidelines for localization into Arabic. General Considerations In order to ensure better consistency among all the product components on one side, and among different Microsoft products on another side, you must ensure that you have a copy of the glossary. Everything should start with the glossary. Whether you or another party is establishing it, do not start any work before the glossary is set and final. The glossary is normally established for each product and comprises those terms found in that specific product. However, Microsoft glossaries should be - and are - complementary to each other. Each glossary is a continuation of the preceding one if it concerns the same product but a later version. For Cross-Product consistency, Microsoft Language Excellence has adopted the idea of having one Glossary for more than a product, The Glossary is called Master Glossary. The main purpose of Master Glossary is to escalate the consistency stage to the next level by expanding its vision to include more products. In addition to glossaries that are specific to products, there is a certain terminology that dominates these products language or translation. This is what we call the Microsoft Conventions. An example is when - at Microsoft - we decide to call a computer in Arabic كمب وتر rather than. حاسوب And when we call the mouse simply ماوس in. فأرة Arabic and not Therefore, it is very important that all your staff be familiar with these terms before they start working on any of the components. Abbreviations The Arabic language has very few abbreviations most of which appear in the mathematics field. Do not attempt to create abbreviations just because you need an equivalent to the English one. Remember that we want to convey the information to the user in its most appropriate and clear way. The most commonly used abbreviations in Arabic are those of country names and currencies. While it is noted that although it is appropriate in the English or French languages for example, to use a diminutive or to abbreviate words such as month names, day names, etc., the same practice is not acceptable in Arabic. And while abbreviations are normally followed by a dot in English, this appears not to be the rule in Arabic. صباحا in ص The general rule for abbreviations in Arabic is to either use the first character of the word (such as for AM ), or to connect two characters that are originally present in the English word which has in fact no translation in Arabic but a transliteration such as for سم سنت متر for Centimeter. List of common abbreviations: Abbreviation AM C (Celsius) Arabic Equivalent ص درجة مئو ة 34
CD CM CPU EB GB USB Grams Hz KB KHz MB MHz Mm MS PB PM Pt RAM ROM TB U.S. قرص مضؽوط سم وحدة المعالجة المركز ة إكسابا ت ؼ ؽابا ت الناقل التسلسل العالم ؼرام هرتز ك لوبا ت ك لوهرتز م ؽابا ت م ؽاهرتز مم Microsoft ب تابا ت م نقطة ذاكرة الوصول العشوائ ذاكرة للقراءة فقط تيرا بايت الوال ات المتحدة األمر ك ة Accessibility This section does not apply to Arabic. Acronyms Acronyms are words made up of the initial letters of major parts of a compound term. Some well-known examples are WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get), OLE (Object Linking and Embedding), or RAM (Random 35
Access Memory). As you may notice, acronyms are pronounceable words, that is, you don t just state the letters that they are made of one after another. Localized Acronyms Acronyms are not common in the Arab world, although some of the western acronyms have been - again - transliterated in Arabic. For example: OPEC is spelled and pronounced and written in Arabic as. أوب ك As far as Microsoft s style in this regards is concerned, the acronym should be as is in English and followed by the ذاكرة الوصول العشوائ by, translation in the full form. For example, RAM should be spelled as is and followed between parentheses. This is our practice to introduce a term or to give the user the chance and the time to get familiar with a new term which was not long ago absent from any Arabic dictionary. And this is what we recommend you do with acronyms - and sometimes abbreviations. Unlocalized Acronyms However, some acronyms remain in English and are not translated nor transliterated for some or all of the following reasons: 1. The acronym is so well established as an English word that it has been standardized as such. 2. Transliterating an acronym would result in an unacceptable word in Arabic. Note It is acceptable in some cases to present acronyms fully in English in the documentation, followed by its full spelling in English. For example: ANSI (American National Standards Institute). When dealing with acronyms that appear in Software UI, like dialogs and menus, spacing constraints should be considered. If the space doesn't permit using the above practice, the English acronym should be used. For example: ANSI Applications, Products, and Features Application/product names are often trademarked or may be trademarked in the future and are therefore rarely translated. Occasionally, feature names are trademarked, too (e.g. IntelliSense ). Before translating any application, product, or feature name, please verify that it is in fact translatable and not protected in any way. Frequent Errors Source Translation Fix Comment إظهار صورة وإخفاؤها إظهار وإخفاء صورة Show and hide an image There shouldn't be space between the genitive and its complement 36
إظهار صورة وإخفاؤها إظهار صورة وإخفائها Show and hide an image it should be in the nominative form To resolve this problem, enter a valid product key. click All Programs, click Accessories, right-click the command-prompt shortcut, and then click Run as Administrator. لحل هذه المشكلة أدخل مفتاح منتج صالحا. انقر فوق" كافة البرامج" ثم انقر فوق "البرامج الملحقة" ثم انقر بزر الماوس األ من فوق اختصار "موجه األوامر" ثم انقر فوق "تشؽ ل كمسؤول". لحل هذه المشكلة أدخل مفتاح منتج صالح. انقر فوق كافة البرامج انقر فوق البرامج الملحقة انقر بزر الماوس األ من فوق اختصار موجه األوامر ثم انقر فوق تشؽ ل كمسؤول. should be in صالح the accusative form Unlike English, the conjunction should be used repeatedly. However, there may be times when you want to manually change your presence status. For example, if you are working on something that is timecritical, you may want to change your status to Do Not Disturb to avoid being interrupted. The application has three action ومع ذلك قد تحتاج ف بعض األح ان إلى تؽ ر المثال إذا كنت حالة التواجد دو ا بها. على سب ل تعمل بش ء مهم ف هذا الوقت فقد تحتاج إلى تؽ ر حالتك إلى "ممنوع اإلزعاج" لتجنب مقاطعتك. ومع ذلك قد تر د ف بعض األح ان تؽ ر حالة التواجد دو ا بها. على سب ل المثال إذا كنت تعمل بش ء مهم ف هذا الوقت فقد تر د تؽ ر حالتك اإلزعاج لتجنب مقاطعتك. إلى ممنوع Due to literal and incorrect translation of "may want", it resulted in incoherent meaning. Incorrect plural التطب ق به ثالث إجراءات التطب ق به ثالثة إجراءات form. Not all file types can be edited قد تعذر تحر ر بعض أنواع الملفات ال مكن تحر ر كافة أنواع الملفات Due to literal translation or following the wordiness of the source, the translation is totally wrong. Glossaries Because many translators often work on one product, it is important to agree on the style in advance. In addition, it is important that all translators maintain a list of common terms, so that the same translation is always used for standard phrases. This list of terms is the property of Microsoft. 37
Fictitious Information Fictitious content is legally sensitive material and as such cannot be handled as a pure terminology or localization issue. Below is some basic information and contact points when dealing with fictitious content: Vendors and Localizers are not allowed to create their own fictitious names. You must either use the source names or use the list of legally approved names. Recurring Patterns This section does not apply to Arabic. Standardized Translations There are a number of standardized translations mentioned in all sections of this Style Guide. In order to find them more easily, the most relevant topics and sections are compiled here for you reference. Standard Phrases in Error Messages Unlocalized Items Trademarked names and the name Microsoft Corporation shouldn t be localized. A list of Microsoft trademarks is available for your reference at the following location: http://www.microsoft.com/trademarks/t-mark/names.htm. Using the Word Microsoft In English, it is prohibited to use MS as an abbreviation for Microsoft. Software Considerations This section refers to all menus, menu items, commands, buttons, check boxes, etc., which should be consistently translated in the localized product. Refer to http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/aa511258.aspx for a detailed explanation of the Windows user interface guidelines (English). 38
User Interface When explaining how to use the mouse or when giving instructions about its use, use the following conventions: Example: Mouse action Click Click in the window Click the button Double-click Move the mouse pointer to Position the mouse pointer on Press and hold the mouse button Drag Click and drag Press and drag Hove the mouse Arabic Equivalent نقر النقر انقر ضمن اإلطار انقر فوق الزر انقر نقرا مزدوجا النقر المزدوج انقل رأس المؤشر إلى ضع رأس المؤشر فوق اضؽط زر الماوس واستمر ف الضؽط اسحب سحب انقر واسحب النقر والسحب اضؽط واسحب الضؽط والسحب تمر ر الماوس Also, in order to avoid confusion while naming some of the uncommon colors, here is a table that provides the terms in Arabic. Color Aqua Butter Milk Black Blue Dark gray Fuchsia Gray Green Light gray Lime Arabic Equivalent توركواز لبن أسود أزرق رمادي داكن زهري رمادي أخضر رمادي فاتح ل مون 39
Maroon Medium gray Navy Olive Purple Red Silver Teal White Yellow Aquamarine Blanched Almond Blue Gradient Blue Violet Dark Magenta Dark Olive Green Dark Orchid Dark Slate Blue Dark Turquoise Deep Pink Dodger Blue Fire Brick Green Gradient Honeydew Light Sky Blue Light Slate Gray Medium Aquamarine Medium Turquoise أحمر بن رمادي متوسط أزرق داكن ز ت أرجوان أحمر فض أزرق مخضر أب ض أصفر أزرق مائل للخضرة لوزي مب ض تدرج أزرق بنفسج مائل للزرقة ماجنتا داكن أخضر ز ت داكن أرجوان داكن أزرق إردوازي داكن تركوازي داكن قرنفل داكن أزرق متوسط قرم دي ناري تدرج أخضر عسل أزرق سماوي فاتح رمادي إردوازي فاتح أزرق متوسط مائل للخضرة تركوازي معتدل 40
Mint Cream Misty Rose Moccasin Navajo White Olive Drab Orchid Pale Goldenrod Pale Turquoise Papaya Whip Plum Powder Blue Sandy Brown Sky Blue Tan Turquoise White Smoke Yellow Green كر م مائل للخضرة وردي موكاس ن أب ض نفاجو ز ت فاتح أرجوان فاتح أصفر ذهب شاحب تركوازي شاحب لون البابا ا أرجوان مائل للزرقة أزرق أؼبر بن مائل للصفرة أزرق سماوي خمري تركوازي أب ض دخان أخضر مائل للصفرة Messages Messages are on-line warnings, instructions, or descriptions that inform the user about the product or the conditions that may require special consideration. There are two types of messages: Informative Messages and Interactive Messages. Informative messages an informative message appears in a message box or in the status bar at the bottom of the screen. Interactive messages an interactive message usually appears in a message box and requires a response or an action. It is important not to be too literate when translating messages. Do not forget that you are limited in many ways by the total number of characters allowed in a message. The following table shows two frequently found ambiguities and the work around for a better translation: 41
English Arabic Rational Windows cannot open this file say: Do not لم تمكن Windows من فتح هذا الملؾ ال ستط ع Windows فتح هذا الملؾ We need the user to understand that under the particular circumstances or due to the particular status of the file, Windows is unable to open it File can not be saved تعذر حفظ الملؾ Do not say: ال مكن حفظ الملؾ This will implicate that it is not possible to save a file, which is not true. We need to let the user understand that under the present circumstances, the file cannot be saved. Status Messages What is a Status Bar Message? A status bar message is an informational message about the active document or a selected command as well as about any active or selected interface item. Messages are shown in the status bar at the bottom of the window when the user has chosen a menu, a command or any other item, or has started a function. The status bar messages refer to actions being performed or already complete (for example in Outlook below). Arabic Style in Status bar Messages In English, the status bar messages have different forms dependent on what kind of information they give. Menu status bar messages and commands status bar messages localized into Arabic do not differ as shown in the tables. 42
Due to the absence of an equivalent to it as a gender in Arabic, when the user points on an icon (which has the feminine gender in Arabic) or on a button (which has the masculine gender in Arabic), a messages that says: عرض. or تعرض say Displays full pages as they will be printed would leave you to wonder whether to Therefore, and because we always seek a more direct and short way to translate these messages, we have opted المصدر. for the use of the verbal noun Examples: Name Category English bar message Arabic bar message تحتوي على أوامر التحر ر Edit menu Contains editing commands Copy to Folder menu Copies the selected items to a new location نسخ العناصر المحددة إلى موقع جد د إنشاء مستند جد د New command Creates a new document The importance of standardization In the US product you can often find messages that are phrased differently even though they have the same meaning. Try to avoid this in the localized Arabic version. Use one standard translation as in the examples below: English term Correct Arabic translation Press F1 to get Help اضؽط F1 للحصول على التعل مات If you want Help press F1 To get Help press F1 Not enough memory الذاكرة ؼ ر كاف ة Insufficient memory There is not enough memory Save changes to %1? هل تر د حفظ التؽ رات على 1 % Do you want to save changes to %1? 43
Error Messages What Is An Error Message? Here is an example: Error messages are messages sent by the system or a program, informing the user that there is an error that must be corrected in order for the program to keep running. For example, the messages can prompt the user to take an action or inform the user of an error that requires rebooting the computer. Arabic Style in Error Messages It is important to use consistent terminology and language style in the localized error messages, and not just translate as they appear in the US product. Standard Phrases in Error Messages When translating standard phrases, standardize. Note that sometimes the US uses different forms to express the same thing. Examples: English Translation Example Comment Cannot Could not تعذر حذؾ الملؾ. تعذر Failed to Failure of فشل حذؾ الملؾ. فشل Cannot find Could not find Unable to find Unable to locate Not enough memory Insufficient memory تعذر العثور على الملؾ. تعذر العثور الذاكرة ؼ ر كاف ة الذاكرة ؼ ر كاف ة 44
English Translation Example Comment There is not enough memory There is not enough memory available is not available is unavailable ؼ ر متوفر ؼ ر متوفر Error Messages Containing Placeholders When localizing error messages containing placeholders, try to find out what will replace the placeholder. This is necessary for the sentence to be grammatically correct when the placeholder is replaced with a word or phrase. Note that the letters used in placeholders convey a specific meaning, see examples below: %d, %ld, %u, and %lu means <number> %c means <letter> %s means <string> Examples of error messages containing placeholders: "Checking Web %1!d! of %2!d!" means "Checking Web <number> of <number>". "INI file "%1!-.200s!" section" means "INI file "<string>" section". Keys The keyboard is the primary input device used for text input in Microsoft Windows. For accessibility and efficiency, most actions can be performed using the keyboard as well. While working with Microsoft software, you use keys, key combinations and key sequences. In English, References to key names, like arrow keys, function keys and numeric keys, appear in normal text (not in small caps). Due to the absence of keyboards, and stickers, that have all of the function keys in Arabic, the general rule has been to: Keep all the keys in English when they are listed as an action to be done or an instruction to be followed, when directly concerning the User Interface. And translate them when they occur in a narrative or explanatory manner. 45
Access Keys/Hot keys Sometimes, there are underlined or highlighted letters in menu options, commands or dialog boxes. These letters refer to access keys (also known as hot keys) that allow you to run commands, perform tasks, etc. more quickly. The ampersand (&) is used in the localization of software to designate hot keys. A hot key is the character that appears underlined on a menu or inside a dialog box. The general rule is that the hot key should be clearly visible to the user. So it is very important to avoid whenever possible using the ampersand on ligatures to designate a hot key. This means avoiding the alef with hamza, for example. Where the hot keys have already been established for commonly used commands such as the File menu, for example, and all its menu commands, the hot keys must always remain the same whenever possible in all Microsoft products. Avoid using & on English abbreviation unless it is necessary (e.g. &TCP/IP), where there is no Arabic alternative or would result in duplication. Avoid assigning keys that require using the shift key like أ as & is used by pressing the shift key. إدراج& e.g.; Avoid using the & with Alef with Hamza under; "و" Sometimes the English uses && representing the meaning of And. This should be replaced with Additional notes: N/A Arrow Keys The arrow keys move input focus among the controls within a group. Pressing the right arrow key moves input focus to the next control in tab order, whereas pressing the left arrow moves input focus to the previous control. Home, End, Up, and Down also have their expected behavior within a group. Users can't navigate out of a control group using arrow keys. 46