Gengo Style Guide

(English)

1. PUNCTUATION

Period

Quotation Mark

Comma

Semicolon

Colon

Dash

Question marks

Exclamation marks

Apostrophes

Brackets

Ellipsis

2. SPELLING

American vs. British spelling

3. GRAMMAR

Compound words

Italics vs. quotations

A vs. An

Capitalization

Numbers

Currency

Time/Date

Proper Nouns

4. STYLE

Abbreviations and contractions

Informal vs. formal/business writing style

5. FORMAT

Format - General

Text-based translations

File-based translations

10

Triple Brackets [[[example text]]]

10

1. Punctuation
* Please note: Punctuation usage can differ between languages. Use the most appropriate
punctuation when translating into English, as the original source material may contain
language-specific punctuation or symbols. Even where punctuation symbols are used in
both source language and English, do not automatically copy the punctuation that is found
in the source text, as it may not be the most appropriate choice in English.

Period

Use a period (.) at the end of each sentence. Each period should be followed by a
single space.
o

Example: This is an example. Please follow this format.

When parentheses are used to enclose an independent sentence, the period belongs
inside the parentheses.
o

Example: Bob was excited to buy his girlfriend flowers for her birthday. (He has
never done this before.)

Quotation Mark

Use the double quotation marks (" ") when quoting spoken words. Double quotation
marks can also be used when certain words are emphasized for added effect (i.e., in
cases of sarcasm or irony, also occasionally when using a word or letter as an example
or when indicating certain proper nouns, etc.).
o

Example: She asked him, "Can you stop by the store on your way home?"

Example: Many believe the law was passed for "political" reasons and not for
"social" reasons.

Use single quotation marks (' ') only when there are quotes within quotes.
o

Example: Bob explained, "I wanted to play music but then Sally said, 'No way!'"

Periods, commas (,), question marks (?), exclamation marks (!), etc., should remain
inside the double quotation mark, unless the quoted phrase is independent from the
punctuation.
o

Example: Gandhi once said, "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."

Example: Can you explain the quote, "An eye for an eye"?

Semicolons (;), colons (:), etc. should remain outside the double quotation mark.
o

Example: The lawyer objected citing the following: "It was an interesting point and
a great story, but lacked substance."

Example: The homeless man exclaimed "Death to America"; there was no reaction
from the crowd.

Comma

Gengo uses the Oxford (or serial) comma.

o

Example: We bought bananas, apples, and oranges.

Example: I painted the house red, yellow, pink, purple, and blue.

Use a comma at the end of a list of items to differentiate between words and word
groups.
o

Example: "She told an improbable story about her father, a shoe thief and a
mango farmer." (Father is both footwear filcher and tropical fruit grower)

Example: "She told an improbable story about her father, a shoe thief, and a
mango farmer." (Story is about three different people)

Use a comma to separate two adjectives, or if the word and can be inserted.
o

Example: I bought my niece a big, furry polar bear stuffed animal.

Example: He bought an expensive luxury car. ("expensive and luxury car" does
not make sense, so a comma cannot be used.)

Use a comma at the end of the words etc., i.e., and e.g.
o

Example: Today, my great-grandfather became a centenarian, i.e., he had his

100th birthday.

Example: I enjoy all types of Japanese food (e.g., sushi, tempura, soba noodles)

Use a comma after the day of the month and as a thousands separator for numbers
above 999.
o

Example: June 7th, 2010 (not June, 7th, 2010 or June, 7th 2010)

Example: 3,000 (not 3000)

Semicolon

Use a semicolon to connect two independent clauses

o

Use a semicolon for a list of items that contain internal punctuation.

o

Example: There are 30 pages to the proposal; don't get discouraged.

Example: We traveled to New Orleans, Louisiana; San Francisco, California; and
Seattle, Washington.

Use a semicolon if adverbs (then, however, thus, hence, indeed, accordingly, besides,
therefore) are used to transition from one independent clause to another
o

Example: The health care bill finally passed; yet the debate continues.

Colon

Use a colon when listing items

o

Example: Please confirm the following: the date, name, and number of guests
who will be attending.

Dash

Use an em dash () when there is a sudden change in thought or an abrupt end to a

sentence.
o

Making an em dash on a Mac: hold down on shift + option and press hyphen ( - )

Making an em dash on a PC: hold down on the alt key and type 0151

Example: He made it his missionhis one and only missionto tell them about
what happened.

Use an en dash () when denoting a range of values (such as dates, times, or numbers)
or when establishing a relationship between two words.
o

Making an en dash on a Mac: hold down on option + hyphen

Making an en dash on a PC: hold down on alt and type 0150

Example: Ages 1821, patientphysician relationship

Question marks

Do not use question marks in indirect speech.

o

Example: The manager asked when the delegation would arrive.

Exclamation marks

Exclamation marks are usually to be avoided in formal contexts.

Apostrophes

There are two situations in which apostrophes are used:

o

To mark possession.

Example: David's car [singular]

Example: Bess's drill [singular ending in s]

Example: children's playground [plural noun]

Example: footballers' wives [plural ending in s]

To mark where a letter or letters have been missed out.

Example: don't=> do not

Example: can't=> cannot

Note that "it's" belongs to the second type. Do not use "it's" for a possessive.

Example: it's => it is.

Brackets

If a whole sentence is enclosed in brackets, the final period should come within the
brackets too.
o

Example: [We went shopping.]

Ellipsis

Ellipsis in English is always marked by three dots. If the ellipsis comes at the end of a
sentence do not add a fourth period. There should be no space before other sentenceend punctuation marks.
o

Example: He reached for his knife...

Example: Is that ... a pineapple?!

2. Spelling
American vs. British spelling

Gengo uses American spelling unless the customer requests otherwise.

3. Grammar
Compound words

Avoid hyphenating nouns where possible and make compound words either with or
without a space
o

Example: Eye shadow (not eye-shadow)

Example: Breakdown (not break-down)

Use a hyphen to clarify meaning

o

Example: Man-eating shark vs. man eating shark

Italics vs. quotations

If possible, use italics for titles of published books, periodicals, movies, television
programs, plays and names of ships, submarines, aircrafts, spacecrafts and satellites.
o

Example: We saw a performance of As You Like It on our cruise aboard the Grand
Princess.

If possible, use quotations for titles of works that are published within larger
works, and italicize the larger works.

Example: He referenced the article "California Voters Back Election

Overhaul", which appeared in this week's New York Times.

If possible, use italics for foreign words and phrases, unless they are commonly used.
(Some commonly used foreign words include: ibid., et al., etc.)
o

Example: He felt he'd captured the Zeitgeist in his work.

A vs. An

The pronunciation of the word dictates whether you use a or an, not whether first
letter of the word is a vowel or consonant.

Use a for the following: pronounced h, long u (or eu), and the word one
o

Example: a utopia, a horse

Capitalization

Capitalize a person's title if it precedes their name, and lowercase the title if it follows
the name.
o

Capitalize language names.

o

Example: United States Supreme Court vs. Supreme Court, Chief Executive Officer
vs. CEO

Only capitalize the first letter of headlines.

o

Example: the English language, German-speaking customers, Japanese students

Capitalize names and shortened/abbreviated names of government, nongovernment

and business positions and offices.
o

Example: President Barack Obama vs. Barack Obama, the president

Example: Section A: A brief introduction to our company

Capitalize the first word of a quotation.

o

Example: She asked him, "Can you stop by the store on your way home?"

Numbers

Numbers 0 - 9 should be written out. Numbers larger than 9 should be left in their
numeric form.
o

Example: Sally has two brothers and one sister.

Example: Google employs over 10,000 people.

To maintain consistency, if numbers both smaller and larger than 9 are used in the
same sentence, all numbers should be written in their numeric form.
o

Example: They have 4 dogs, 8 cats, 24 fishes, and 3 frogs. (not They have four dogs,
eight cats, 24 fishes, and three frogs.)

Currency

Leave numbers in their numerical form and use a currency symbol instead of writing
out the currency name. Also, include the country of origin if the currency is used in
multiple countries.
o

Example: US$1,000 (not 1,000 US Dollars)

Example: 1,000 (not 1,000 yen)

Time/Date

The default should be to use the 12-hour system unless the customer requests
otherwise.
o

Example: 3:00 p.m. (15:00)

Dates should be written as Month Day, Year. The ordinal suffix should be included in
the date.
o

Example: June 7th, 2010 (not 7th June 2010 or June 7, 2010)

Proper Nouns

How a proper noun is translated depends on the information being transmitted. The
deciding factor is how translating the proper noun affects the reader's ability to
identify the specific place/thing being referenced.
o

Example: Herr Tiger Smith -> Mr. Tiger Smith

Example: Krankenhaus Waldfriede -> Waldfriede Hospital

Example: Gltzschtalbrcke -> Gltzschtal Bridge

Example: Rmerstrae 7, Kln -> Rmerstrae 7, Cologne

Example: -> Danshui River

Example: -> National Taiwan University Hospital

4. Style
Abbreviations and contractions

Avoid abbreviating words or using contractions unless necessary to maintain the

original style of the text. Depending on how informal the original source text is,
abbreviations and contractions are allowed. If in doubt, ask the customer which they
prefer.

Example: Street (not St.)

Example: Cannot (not can't)

Example: It is (not it's)

Informal vs. formal/business writing style

Translations should accurately reflect the original source text in meaning but also in
writing style. Depending on the context, an informal writing style (which exaggerates
certain words or letters and/or uses slang) is acceptable. Translators must use their
best judgment when choosing a writing style. If in doubt, ask the customer which they
prefer.
o

Informal writing style

Example: I REALLY enjoyed the Lady Gaga concert. You shoulda come with
us!!!

Formal writing style

Example I would like to express my disappointment in not being able to

attend the event with you.

5. Format
Format - General

The general structure and use of paragraph breaks or line breaks (regardless of
whether it is a text or file-based translation) should perfectly follow and match the
original source material.
o

Example: If the original source text has 3 paragraphs, the translation should as
well.

Example: Do not turn a list into a paragraph, or vice versa.

Use the most appropriate punctuation when translating into English, as the original
source material may contain language-specific punctuation or symbols.
o

Example: 5 would be translated into English as: It has been 5

minutes... (no Japanese '' marks)

Text-based translations

Translation text boxes on the Gengo website do not support HTML, therefore font type,
size, color and style consistency are inapplicable.

File-based translations

Use the same font type, size and color as the original source text.

Maintain the appropriate font styles (bold, italic, underline) as the original source text.

A translation may be longer than the source text, and create formatting issues.
Translators are expected to make a reasonable effort to maintain a presentable
document, but they are not responsible for complex formatting work within a
document.

Triple Brackets [[[example text]]]

Triple brackets is a feature for customers who would like to exclude certain words,
names, website URLs, etc. from getting translated. Please do not translate anything
written in the brackets and ensure that the whole text, including the brackets, is
copied across to the translation.
o

Example:

Un taiko ([[[]]], literalmente "gran tambor") es un tambor japons de un dimetro

de 1,3 m, tocado con palillos de madera denominados bachi.
[[[Artculo de wikipedia]]]
would be translated into English as:
Taiko ([[[]]], literally "big drum") is a Japanese drum measuring 1.3m in diameter,
and which is played with wooden sticks called bachi.
[[[Artculo de wikipedia]]]

10