Creating Effective Translations

Use active voice, because it is easier to understand. If the material is being translated into a language which frequently uses passive voice, such as German, the translator will make the accommodation for that language.

Wright, Ami. Boston Broadside (1997). Articles>Language>Translation>Localization

The Translation Glossary: Stepping Stone to a Quality Translation

If your company is new to the process of translating their documentation, chances are little groundwork was laid for the process. One thing you can do to improve the quality of the translation in this situation is to create a good translation glossary. A translation glossary ensures consistent terminology in the translation; that a term in English always becomes the same term in the translated text. It eliminates the problem of referring to the same concept or same component by different names in different places in the documentation. Technical writers are in a good position to create the glossary. They constantly deal with questions of terminology. They probably wrote the manual being translated and already had to make decisions about terminology for the English version.

Wright, Ami. SDL International. Articles>Language>Localization>Glossary