1. Writing for Translation
Mollye Barrett
The Global Communication Conference
September 26, 2012

2. Today
• Content Strategy and Content Lifecycle
• Translation, Process and Obstacles
• The Writer
• Writing Rules
• Style, Tone, Diction, Tense, Grammar, Structure,
Terms
• Personas
• Next Steps
• Resources
2

3. Content Strategy
• Plan to create, publish
and use content.
• Understand what is
needed, where used,
when used, why used,
how managed, how
handled, how
published.
• Content lifecyle
3

4. Translation
• Communicate source meaning to equivalent
target language
• Meaning for meaning
• Know type of translation and process
4

5. Translation Process
5

6. Translation Obstacles
• Inconsistency
• Content varies in terms, grammar, tone, style,
diction, voice, tense
• Not accurate
• Unclear
• Vague
• No glossary
• Glossaries are solid references
• Target audience not clearly identified
• Content is not finalized
6

7. The Writer
• Write professionally?
• Use language to communicate ideas and images?
• Communicate with and for a purpose?
• Can you control a message?
• Know who you are writing for?
• Edit your own work?
• Work with an editor?
• Welcome criticism and revision?
7

8. Writing Rules
Effective content written for translation must be
planned!
• Be logical, clear, consistent and concise in use of
language
• Create writing standards that define how to write
• Write content for the audience, not for yourself
• Use a model
• Find good examples and emulate
8

9. Style
• Style is the way a writer communicates ideas
• Use consistent style
• Eliminate passive voice, use active voice
• Do not write in telegraphic style
• Avoid wordplay
9

10. Tone
• Word choice and how the writing sounds to the
reader
• Identify and use consistent tone
• Conversational, educational, academic, funny,
controversial, irreverent, artistic, objective,
sophisticated
• Means of persuasion
• Eliminate idioms
• Avoid culturally unique metaphors
10

11. Diction
• Word choice that is correct, clear and effective
• Control vocabulary, eliminate buzzwords and simplify
• Use terms consistently with one use per meaning
• Create, maintain, and use a glossary: provide usage
• Write to an identified reading level
11

12. Tense
• Use verb tenses to communicate the time relationships
• Orients the reader to understand when action occurs
• Same tense for consistency, simplicity and clarity
• Shifting tenses must make sense
• Make sure tenses agree
12

13. Grammar
• Use correct and consistent grammar
• Write in complete sentences
• Keep sentences short and do not complicate
structure
• Use connector word, pronouns and keywords
• Use complete sentences for introduction and
bullets in bulleted lists
• Do not use contractions or slashes
• Avoid negatives and double negatives
13

14. Structure
• Organization and mechanics
• Title, heading, introduction, paragraph, list,
graphic, caption results, summary
• Beginning, middle, end
• Predictable and consistent
• Define measurements and conversions
• Do not use visuals that are culturally unique
• Annotate for the translator, where necessary
• Work with an editor
14

15. How Structure Helps
• Does not help with voice, word choice, tone, etc.,
but can help with:
• Required parts of topic
• Acronym/term definition
• Using structure relieves writers of need to
remember mechanics like:
• I need to end each task with a result
• I need to add a caption to each figure
• Writers are free to concentrate on writing
15

16. Terms
• Glossary for special terminology
• Terms with definitions, uses, associated notes and
translations
• Use when writing and then for translation
• Assign one meaning to each term: consistency for
writer, reader and translator
• Work with agency to maintain
• Provides clarity and consistency for writing
16

17. Personas
• Who is the user?
• What does the user want and need to know?
• Where is user reading?
• When is the user reading?
• Why is user reading?
• What publication types does the user read?
• How does this persona help the translator?
17

18. Write for Personas
A fictional person who represents the characteristics,
goals, and needs of specific audience.
• Name and Professional Title
• Quote About Person’s POV
• Key Attributes
• Tasks
• Informational Needs/Goals
• Behavior, Attitudes, Motivations, Objectives
• Scenario of Use
• Keywords (about the user) 18

19. Persona Example
Bruce Wayne is a wealthy industrialist, orphaned at a young age, who pretends
to be a gentleman of leisure by day, but by night, he is a master martial artist,
detective, and scientist–engineer who fights crime and invents and uses
complex weaponry. Wayne , who is 32 and single, lives alone in a stately
Gotham City mansion. He was educated at Cambridge and studied French at
the Sorbonne.
A chronic lack of sleep plus the distraction of having to ponder the future
actions of a range of exceptionally intelligent and highly dangerous supervillains
means that Wayne is usually sleep-deprived and mentally distracted during the
day. At night, in his Batman role, he has little time to think, and must rely on
his wits and his superhuman reflexes: conflict with his many enemies forces
him to rely extensively on computer support for his crime-fighting
supervehicle, the Batmobile, and on “smart” weaponry. In this situation, he
faces many distractions simultaneously, and must often overcome them while
badly injured. Personas and the five W’s. Geoff Hart

20. Next Steps
• Workshop content for grammar, style, tone, voice,
structure, and terms
• Define user and create persona
• Analyze content for consistency and reuse
• Identify what to scrub from existing content
• Scrub vigorously
• Based on findings: document, introduce and enforce
writing guidelines
• Write using model
20

21. Resources
• The Global English Style Guide: Writing Clear, Translatable
Documentation for a Global Market. Kohl, John
• Writing for Translation. Aino Piehl
• The International English Manual. Mable Amador and
Yvonne Keller
• Plain English guides http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/free-
guides.html
• Personas and the five W’s: Developing Content that Meets
Readers Needs. Geoff Hart
http://www.geoff-hart.com/articles/2011/personas-1.html
• The Discipline of Content Strategy. Kristina Halvorson
21

22. Thank You
Mollye Barrett
ClearPath, LLC
mollye@clearpath.cc
22