Language Differences (HI Guide)

Inside Macintosh: Macintosh Human Interface Guidelines / Part 1 - Fundamentals: Chapter 2 - General Design Considerations / Worldwide Compatibility

Language Differences

Translating text is a delicate task and can often cause confusion, so be wary
of using colloquial phrases or nonstandard usage and syntax. Carefully choose your words for command names in menus and for messages in dialog boxes, alert boxes, and help balloons. When translated, text can become up to 50 percent larger than U.S. English text. Text needs room to grow up, down, and sideways. Figure 2-1 shows Finder menu bars in several languages. Compare the different lengths of the menu titles that have the same meaning.

Figure 2-1 Menu bars in different languages

Potential grammar problems may arise with error messages and the user programming structure of languages such as HyperTalk. Use complete sentences whenever possible. Don't use phrases that you then concatenate
to create sentences. The word order of messages may become completely different in translation, rendering such a message nonsensical when translated. For example, word order in German usually places the verb at the end of a sentence. See Inside Macintosh: Text for information on technical implementation.