Do you use this: % symbol, or this: percent (spelled out)? Read this article to understand Dragoman Style, which is mainly based on the AP Style Guide and enriched by Diana Hacker’s, Brian Garner’s and Strunk & White. 1. The word percent is one word. Do not use U.K. spelling, i.e., per cent. 2. Always spell out percent in paragraph content as in 30 percent, 3.5 percent, 66 percent. 3. For percents “less than 1” use zero before the decimal […]
Here is another quick tip on capitalization. Our aim, as always, is to teach our audience at least one good trick in less than a minute. This time we are discussing capitalization of headlines. If you are involved in translation, copy-editing or proofreading or in general in publishing, you will find our posts very useful. Do not use ALL CAPS for headlines and headings! Use ONE of these styles instead: 1. Lower case, except for the first word and proper […]
Dragoman prefers preceding initialisms with a definite article. An initialism is an abbreviation formed from initial letters. They require “the”, because they are pronounced letter by letter. Incorrect: Trump told world leaders to support overhauling U.N. Correct: Trump told world leaders to support overhauling the U.N. An acronym, on the other hand, is a word made up from the first letters of the name of something such as an organization. For example, NATO is an acronym for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Because they are pronounced as words, there is no need to precede them with definite article: […]
This piece is a part of our capitalization series. Proper capitalization in English is tricky. Stay tuned with our Language Tips for more. 1. If magazine or journal is part of the title, use upper case New York Magazine Journal of the American Medical Association 2. If magazine or journal is not part of the title, use lower case Time magazine 3. Capitalize the article the if part of the title of a newspaper, magazine, or journal The Washington Post […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 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.