8 languages added to the Microsoft Style Guide collection
Another 8 international Microsoft Style Guides for creating and localizing Windows Store and Windows Phone apps are now available for free download on the Microsoft Language Portal.
They cover the new languages added for Windows 8 and Office 2013: Belarusian, Central Kurdish, K’iche’, Scottish Gaelic, Sindhi, Tajik, Tigrinya and Uyghur.
Style Guides lay down the general rules for translating and localizing into a language. For these new languages in particular, the Style Guides provide everybody involved in the localization of products running under a Microsoft platform, such as Windows 8, Windows Phone or Office 2013, with the basic linguistic guidelines and standard conventions. They aim to remove any potential ambiguities surrounding the as yet grey areas of codification (in particular spelling and grammar).
They also provide instructions to help ensure that your apps and content speaks to the user in the same tone, style and level of formality as Microsoft products. For example, should you say please or address the user as you? You'll find the Style Guides for these languages and many more on the Style Guide Download Section of the Language Portal - or download directly from here:
- Belarusian Microsoft Style Guide
- Scottish Gaelic Microsoft Style Guide
- Central Kurdish Microsoft Style Guide
- K’iche’ Microsoft Style Guide
- Sindhi Microsoft Style Guide
- Tajik Microsoft Style Guide
- Tigrinya Microsoft Style Guide
- Uyghur Microsoft Style Guide
Translations of the terminology and phrases, such as live tile, Pin to Start, pinch or stretch are already available for the languages through the Microsoft Language Portal online search.