book

The Global English Style Guide

Name: The Global English Style Guide
Author: John R. Kohl
ISBN: 9781599948423

by John R. Kohl

April 2008

Intermediate to advanced

332 pages

10h 14m

English

SAS Institute

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Praise from the Experts
Inside Cover
Copyright
Content
Preface
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1: Introduction to Global English
What Is Global English?Why Global English?Benefits of Global English for Professional Writers and EditorsThe Cardinal Rule of Global EnglishGlobal English and Language TechnologiesMachine-Translation SoftwareTranslation MemoryControlled-Authoring SoftwarePractical Considerations for Implementing Global EnglishPrioritize the GuidelinesBuild a Relationship with Your Localization StaffEliminate Non-essential InformationInsert Explanations for TranslatorsFrequently Asked Questions about Global EnglishWhat 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
Chapter 2: Conforming to Standard English
Introduction2.1 Be logical, literal, and precise in your use of language2.2 Use nouns as nouns, verbs as verbs, and so on2.3 Don’t add verb suffixes or prefixes to nouns, acronyms, initialisms, or conjunctions2.4 Use standard verb complements2.5 Don’t use transitive verbs intransitively, or vice versa2.6 Use conventional word combinations and phrases2.7 Don’t use non-standard comparative and superlative adjectives2.8 Use the only with definite nouns2.9 Use singular and plural nouns correctlyOther Guidelines That Pertain to Standard EnglishUseful Resources
Chapter 3: Simplifying Your Writing Style
Introduction3.1 Limit the length of sentences3.2 Consider dividing shorter sentences3.3 Use a verb-centered writing style3.4 Keep phrasal verbs together3.5 Use short, simple verb phrases3.5.1 Avoid unnecessary future tenses3.5.2 Simplify other unnecessarily complex tenses3.6 Limit your use of passive voice3.7 Consider defining, explaining, or revising noun phrasesAn Overview of Noun Phrases3.7.1 Consider defining or explaining noun phrases3.7.2 Consider revising noun phrases3.7.3 Always revise noun phrases that contain embedded modifiers3.8 Use complete sentences to introduce lists3.9 Avoid interrupting sentences3.9.1 Program code, error messages, tables, and figures3.9.2 Adverbs such as however, therefore, and nevertheless3.9.3 Other short sentence interrupters3.10 Avoid unusual constructions3.10.1 The get passive3.10.2 Causative have and get3.10.3 In that3.10.4 Need not3.10.5 Inverted sentences3.11 Avoid ambiguous verb constructions3.11.1 Based on3.11.2 Require + an infinitive3.11.3 Appear + an infinitive3.11.4 Has or have + past participle + noun phrase3.11.5 Has or have + noun phrase + past participle3.11.6 Must be, must have, and must have been3.12 Write positively
Chapter 4: Using Modifiers Clearly and Carefully
Introduction4.1 Place only and not immediately before whatever they are modifying4.1.1 Only4.1.2 Not4.2 Clarify what each prepositional phrase is modifying4.2.1 If the prepositional phrase starts with of, then do nothing4.2.2 If the prepositional phrase modifies a verb phrase, consider moving it4.2.3 If a prepositional phrase modifies a noun phrase, consider expanding it into a relative clause4.2.4 If readers and translators can determine what the prepositional phrase is modifying, then do nothing4.2.5 When necessary, insert a translation note4.3 Clarify what each relative clause is modifying4.4 Use that in restrictive relative clauses4.5 Consider moving anything that modifies a verb to the beginning of the clause or sentence4.5.1 Participial phrases4.5.2 In order to4.5.3 Adverbial phrases4.6 Clarify ambiguous modification in conjoined noun phrases4.6.1 Consider using identical grammatical structures in each noun phrase4.6.2 Consider inserting an article after the conjunction4.6.3 Consider reversing the order of the noun phrases4.6.4 Consider using an unordered list4.6.5 Consider using a compound sentence4.6.6 Consider repeating a preposition4.6.7 Consider inserting a translation note

Chapter 5: Making Pronouns Clear and Easy to Translate
Introduction5.1 Make sure readers can identify what each pronoun refers to5.1.1 It5.1.2 They5.1.3 Them5.1.4 Its5.1.5 Their5.2 Don’t use this, that, these, and those as pronouns5.3 Don’t use which to refer to an entire clause
Chapter 6: Using Syntactic Cues
Introduction6.1 Don’t use a telegraphic writing style6.2 In a series of noun phrases, consider including an article in each noun phrase6.3 Use that with verbs that take noun clauses as complements6.4 Use that in relative clauses6.5 Clarify which parts of a sentence are being joined by and or or6.6 Revise past participles6.6.1 Revise past participles that follow and modify nouns6.6.2 Revise past participial phrases that follow commas6.7 Revise adjectives that follow nouns6.8 Use to with indirect objects6.9 Consider using both . . . and and either . . . or6.10 Consider using if . . . then6.11 Make each sentence syntactically and semantically complete
Chapter 7: Clarifying -ING Words
Introduction7.1 Revise -ING words that follow and modify nouns7.2 Revise -ING words that follow certain verbs7.3 Revise dangling -ING phrases7.4 Punctuate -ING phrases correctly7.5 Hyphenate -ING words in compound modifiers7.6 Eliminate unnecessary -ING phrases and -ING clauses7.7 Revise ambiguous -ING + noun constructions7.8 Revise ambiguous to be + -ING constructionsThe Grammar of -ING WordsGerund, Adjective, or Noun?-ING Clauses-ING PhrasesSome Contexts in Which -ING Words Are Unambiguous
Chapter 8: Punctuation and Capitalization
IntroductionPunctuation and Capitalization as Syntactic CuesPunctuation and Translation Memory8.1 Ampersands8.2 Colons8.3 Commas8.3.1 Use commas to prevent misreading8.3.2 Use commas to separate main clauses8.3.3 Consider using a comma before because8.3.4 Consider using a comma before such as8.4 Double Hyphens8.5 Em Dashes8.5.1 Whenever possible, use a separate sentence instead8.5.2 Consider other ways of eliminating em dashes8.5.3 Make sure the sentence would be grammatical if the em dash phrase were omitted8.5.4 Don’t use em dashes as a formatting device8.5.5 Don’t use em dashes to set off cross-references8.5.6 Don’t use em dashes to set off definitions8.5.7 Don’t use em dashes to set off examples8.5.8 Don’t use em dashes to set off non-restrictive relative clauses8.5.9 Don’t use an em dash to introduce a complete sentence8.5.10 Don’t use an em dash to introduce an -ING phrase8.5.11 Approved uses for em dashes8.6 Equal Signs8.7 Hyphens8.7.1 Consider hyphenating noun phrases8.7.2 Use hyphens consistently in the noun and adjective forms of phrasal verbs8.8 Parentheses8.8.1 Make sure readers can understand what parentheses are intended to indicate8.8.2 Make parenthetical information grammatically independent8.8.3 Whenever possible, put parenthetical information in a separate sentence8.8.4 Eliminate unnecessary parentheses8.8.5 Eliminate parenthetical comments that impede readability8.8.6 Don’t use (s) to form plural nouns8.8.7 Approved uses for parentheses8.9 Quotation Marks8.9.1 Don’t use quotation marks to represent inches or feet8.9.2 Don’t use quotation marks for metaphors8.9.3 Don’t use quotation marks for technical terms8.10 Semicolons8.10.1 Don’t use semicolons to separate clauses8.10.2 When necessary, use semicolons to separate items in a series8.11 Slash8.11.1 Submit unavoidable joined terms to your localization coordinator8.11.2 Use or instead8.11.3 Separate the joined terms with and or with a comma8.11.4 Eliminate unnecessary synonyms8.12 Slash used in and/or8.12.1 Use a, b, or both8.12.2 Use any of the following or one or more of the following8.12.3 Use only or or only and8.12.4 Revise more substantially8.13 Capitalization8.13.1 Capitalize proper nouns8.13.2 Capitalize user-interface labels as they are capitalized in the interface8.13.3 Don’t capitalize common nouns8.13.4 When necessary, use capitalization to improve readability8.13.5 Establish clear lines of communication with localization coordinatorsRecommended Reading
Chapter 9: Eliminating Undesirable Terms and Phrases
Introduction to Controlling TerminologyTools for Controlling TerminologyWhere to Store Deprecated TermsResearching Terminology Issues9.1 Eliminate trademark violations9.2 Eliminate obsolete terms9.3 Eliminate internal terms9.4 Eliminate text strings that indicate errors in a source file9.5 Eliminate repeated words and phrases9.6 Eliminate incorrect technical terms9.7 Eliminate variant spellings9.8 Eliminate orthographic variants9.9 Eliminate terms from other varieties of English9.10 Eliminate obscure foreign words9.11 Eliminate unnecessary Latin abbreviations9.12 Eliminate other non-technical abbreviations9.13 Eliminate clipped terms9.14 Eliminate certain contractions9.15 Eliminate unusual non-technical words9.16 Eliminate other unnecessary synonyms9.17 Eliminate wordy phrases9.18 Eliminate idioms9.19 Eliminate certain idiomatic phrasal verbs9.20 Eliminate colloquialisms9.21 Eliminate metaphorsRelated Guidelines
Appendix A: Examples of Content Reduction
IntroductionExample 1Example 2Example 3Example 4
Appendix B: Prioritizing the Global English Guidelines
IntroductionPrioritized for Translation by Human TranslatorsPrioritized for Non-Native Speakers of EnglishPrioritized for Machine Translation
Appendix C: Revising Incomplete Introductions to Unordered Lists
IntroductionModal Verb Separated from Main VerbsInfinitive Marker to Separated from InfinitivesRelative Pronoun Separated from the Rest of Some Relative ClausesPreposition Separated from Its ObjectsSubject of Infinitives Separated from the InfinitivesSubject Separated from VerbsVerb Separated from Its Direct ObjectsInterrupted -ING PhraseGerund Separated from Its Objects
Appendix D: Improving Translatability and Readability with Syntactic Cues
PrefaceIntroductionWhat Are Syntactic Cues?Benefits of Syntactic CuesFacilitating analysisFacilitating predictionResolving ambiguitiesBenefits of syntactic cues for non-native speakers of EnglishCaveat Scriptor: Let the Writer Beware!Considerations Regarding the Use of Syntactic CuesThere are different degrees of ambiguity and of sensitivity to ambiguityContext does not prevent misreadingThe reading process differs according to purposeFor some types of texts, syntactic cues might not be very helpfulIntegrating Syntactic Cues into Your Documentation ProcessesConclusion
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
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Overview

The Global English Style Guide illustrates how much you can do to make written texts more suitable for a global audience. Accompanied by an abundance of clearly explained examples, the Global English guidelines show you how to write documentation that is optimized for non-native speakers of English, translators, and even machine-translation software, as well as for native speakers of English. You'll find dozens of guidelines that you won't find in any other source, along with thorough explanations of why each guideline is useful. Author John Kohl also includes revision strategies, as well as caveats that will help you avoid applying guidelines incorrectly.

Focusing primarily on sentence-level stylistic issues, problematic grammatical constructions, and terminology issues, this book addresses the following topics: ways to simplify your writing style and make it consistent; ambiguities that most writers and editors are not aware of, and how to eliminate those ambiguities; how to make your sentence structure more explicit so that your sentences are easier for native and non-native speakers to read and understand; punctuation and capitalization guidelines that improve readability and make translation more efficient; and how language technologies such as controlled-authoring software can

facilitate the adoption of Global English as a corporate standard.

This text is intended for anyone who uses written English to communicate technical information to a global audience. Technical writers, technical editors, science writers, and training instructors are just a few of the professions for which this book is essential reading. Even if producing technical information is not your primary job function, the Global English guidelines can help you communicate more effectively with colleagues around the world.

This book is part of the SAS Press program.

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