Category: Style

Starting a Sentence With a Number

Posted Serdar DundarPosted in Sentences, Style, Translation_Tips

Never begin a sentence with a numeral. There is one exception: a numeral that identifies a calendar year. When translating press releases or annual reports, we occasionally come across situations where we have to place the percentage at the beginning of the sentence. E.g.: Twenty-eight percent of the participants passed the test last year. Although this sentence is correct, it looks odd. Where possible, recast the sentence so that the numbers are expressed in figures. Better: Last year, 28 percent […]

Style Guide for Medical Journals

Posted dragomanLeave a commentPosted in Style, Translation_Tips

As we continue to gain more clients from the medical community, a few style notes on how to translate medical files has become necessary. A full style guide has not yet been written. One option is to subscribe to the online style guide of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). In the interim, please follow these rules of style: Use the Dragoman Style Guide for Figures. This style guide applies to ALL copy. Use the Dragoman Style Guide […]

Style Guide for Magazines and Journals

Posted dragomanLeave a commentPosted in Style, Translation_Tips

General Style for Content Language and Syntax Contractions Quotation Marks Capitalization and Style for Headlines, Headings, and Subheadings Awards, Prizes, and Categories of Awards Titles of Books, Short Stories, Newspapers, Magazines and Journals Titles of Films and so on Academic Writing Sources: AP Stylebook and Dragoman Style General Style for Content The clients determine the final layout and preferences for magazines or journals. If the client does not have an in-house style guide or preferences, follow these rules of style. In all cases, be […]

Style Guide for Annual Reports

Posted dragomanLeave a commentPosted in Style, Transcreation, Translation_Tips

General Rules An annual report contains a company’s achievements and financial figures and is provided to shareholders, stakeholders and potential investors. The report uses several styles of writing: descriptive, corporate, advertising, financial, and legal. Previous reports are good benchmarks. Research is key to successfully translate an annual report. Search not only on client’s website but also on other related websites for benchmarking purposes. Try to find sources in written in the target language, not translations of local corporations. Internet is […]

Industry vs Sector – Dragoman Style

Posted Burak BenkLeave a commentPosted in Style, Translation_Tips, Word Usage

Which one is correct? Industry is smaller, more focused, single business area. Sector is broader. A group of industries form a sector. In Turkish to English translations, authors mainly talk about industries and they use the word “sektör” in Turkish. As a rule, use industry in your translations and not sector, except for “public or private sector.”   Examples: healthcare industry              healthcare sector entertainment industry       entertainment sector banking industry                   banking sector […]

one-third but two-thirds

Posted dragomanPosted in Style, Translation_Tips

One-third is 1/3 or one out of three. It is singular (one). Two-thirds is 2/3 or two out of three. It is plural (two). Some style guides do not use hypen, Dragoman does. Related Posts / İlgili Yazılar:The Plural of “Behavior”Style guideSexism & Gender Neutrality – Editor NotesMeasurements and Decimal Points – Dragoman StyleUse of articles in English

Replace “–tion” Endings With “–ing” for Impactful Sentences

Posted Serdar DundarPosted in Style, Word Usage

Dragoman translators know that using “-tion of” endings will only result in clunky sentences. It also violates EU Guidelines on Clear Writing. The acquisition of a new language will help you improve your job prospects. Better: Acquiring a new language will help you improve your job prospects. You can further explore how you can avoid nominalizations and cast more active sentences here. Nominalization, or using a hidden verb as a noun is a common problem with uninitiated Turkish to English […]

Punctuation: American vs. British English

Posted Serdar DundarPosted in Style, Translation_Tips

American English and British English may have quite odd differences. Learning diferences is spelling and punctuation is hard work and requires a lof of reading and practise. One of these differences is about using punctuation with quotation marks. Here is a comparison. Dragoman translators know that in American English, punctuation goes inside the quotation marks, regardless of whether it is part of the quoted sentence or not, and in British English, punctuation that is not part of the quoted sentence […]

Parallel Construction in Bullet Lists

Posted Serdar DundarPosted in Style, Translation_Tips

If you are building a bullet list in English, you also need to build a parallel construction in your bullet list. Now the source text may not always have it. This means you are expect to be a little creative to change the sentence structure. You do not have to delete or omit any part of the message. Check out this example: Incorrect: Our state-of-the-art hotel offers: Unparalleled location Matchless views of the Pacific You can check in anytime Correct: Our […]

UK vs. US Date Format

Posted Serdar DundarPosted in Style

When translating into English, we want Dragoman translators to check which English spelling style will be used in the translation. Your NUBUTO inbox shows UK or US English, so please pay attention to the target variety of English. English has many varieties, the most common being British English and American English. Although prefers American English in most of its Turkish to English translations, we also translate into British English (e.g. The British Council). We do not expect our translators to have a comprehensive grasp of […]