What's New?... 4 New Topics... 4 Updated Topics... 4

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1 Polish Style Guide

2 Contents What's New?... 4 New Topics... 4 Updated Topics... 4 Introduction... 5 About This Style Guide... 5 Scope of This Document... 5 Style Guide Conventions... 5 Sample Text... 5 Recommended Reference Material... 7 Normative References... 7 Informative References... 7 Language Specific Conventions... 8 Country/Region Standards... 8 Characters... 8 Date Time Numbers Sorting Geopolitical Concerns Grammar, Syntax & Orthographic Conventions Adjectives Articles Capitalization Compounds Gender Genitive Modifiers Nouns Prepositions Pronouns Punctuation Singular & Plural Split Infinitive Subjunctive Non-Breaking Spaces Syntax Verbs Word Order Style and Tone Considerations Audience... 28

3 Style Tone Voice Localization Guidelines General Considerations Abbreviations Accessibility Acronyms Applications, Products, and Features Frequent Errors Fictitious Information Recurring Patterns Standardized Translations Unlocalized Items Using the Word Microsoft Software Considerations User Interface Messages Keys Document Translation Considerations Titles Copyright... 52

4 What's New? Last Updated: June 2011 New Topics The following topics were added: Updated Topics The following topics were updated: The overall Style Guide content was fully updated in February 2011 as part of a major Style Guide update project performed for all languages. 4

5 Introduction This Style Guide went through major revision in February 2011 in order to remove outdated and unnecessary content. About This Style Guide The purpose of this Style Guide is to provide everybody involved in the localization of Polish Microsoft products with Microsoft-specific linguistic guidelines and standard conventions that differ from or are more prescriptive than those found in language reference materials. These conventions have been adopted after considering context based on various needs, but above all, they are easy to follow and applicable for all types of software to be localized. The Style Guide covers the areas of formatting and grammatical conventions. It also presents the reader with a general idea of the reasoning behind the conventions. The present Style Guide is a revision of our previous Style Guide version with the intention of making it more standardized, more structured, and easier to use as a reference. The guidelines and conventions presented in this Style Guide are intended to help you localize Microsoft products and materials. We welcome your feedback, questions and concerns regarding the Style Guide. You can send your feedback via the Microsoft Language Portal feedback page. Scope of This Document This Style Guide is intended for the localization professional working on Microsoft products. It is not intended to be a comprehensive coverage of all localization practices, but to highlight areas where Microsoft has preference or deviates from standard practices for Polish localization. Style Guide Conventions In this document, a plus sign (+) before a translation example means that this is the recommended correct translation. A minus sign (-) is used for incorrect translation examples. In Microsoft localization context, the word term is used in a slightly untraditional sense, meaning the same as e.g. a segment in Trados. The distinguishing feature of a term here is that it is translated as one unit; it may be a traditional term (as used in terminology), a phrase, a sentence, or a paragraph. References to interface elements really only refer to translatable texts associated with those interface elements. Example translations in this document are only intended to illustrate the point in question. They are not a source of approved terminology. Always check for approved translation in the Microsoft terminology database. Sample Text Budowanie społeczeństwa opartego na wiedzy. Zwalczanie bezrobocia i wykluczenia informacyjnego w regionie Podlasia. 5

6 Celem projektu jest zapewnienie dostępu do wiedzy i umiejętności informatycznych mieszkańcom Podlasia, jednego z uboższych regionów UE, po to by wyrównać ich szanse na rynku pracy. Głównymi adresatami projektu są bezrobotni i zagrożeni bezrobociem mieszkańcy regionu. W ramach projektu powstało 7 Społecznych Pracowni Edukacyjno-Komputerowych na terenie województwa. Każda z nich została wyposażona w 10 do 15 komputerów dostarczonych przez Instytut Odpowiedzialnego Biznesu. Wszystkie komputery mają zainstalowane bogate oprogramowanie firmy Microsoft oraz pakiet dydaktyczny z zakresu podstawowych umiejętności informatycznych Digital Literacy w wersji polskojęzycznej. Pakiet ten może być używany zarówno jako narzędzie dydaktyczne przez trenera prowadzącego zajęcia grupowe, jak i w wersji e-learningu do samodzielnej nauki. W pierwszej fazie projektu przeszkoleni zostali opiekunowie Społecznych Pracowni Edukacyjno-Komputerowych, którzy w dalszej kolejności szkolą uczestników kursów. Dodatkowo przeszkoleni zostaną również opiekunowie 118 Punktów Bezpłatnego Dostępu do Internetu Ikonk@, które dzięki grantowi Unlimited Potential firmy Microsoft powstały na Podlasiu. We wszystkich Pracowniach są realizowane szkolenia z zakresu podstawowej obsługi komputera, w których mogą brać udział bezrobotni oraz zagrożeni bezrobociem mieszkańcy regionu, młodzież, kobiety, osoby niepełnosprawne oraz wszyscy inni, którzy chcą nauczyć się obsługi komputera, oprogramowania i Internetu. Wierzymy, że zdobyte w ten sposób podstawowe umiejętności informatyczne, obok innych kwalifikacji, przyczynią się do umocnienia ich pozycji na rynku pracy. Projekt szkoleniowy będzie trwał do końca 2011 roku. W tym czasie przeszkolonych zostanie około 1500 osób. Warto też nadmienić, że Społeczne Pracownie Edukacyjno-Komputerowe nie tylko prowadzą zaplanowane szkolenia, ale są również dostępne dla mieszkańców poza terminami wyznaczonych kursów. Oznacza to, że pełnią rolę Społecznych Pracowni, w których można poza godzinami odbywających się tam szkoleń, korzystać ze sprzętu komputerowego i oprogramowania oraz Internetu, bawić i uczyć się oraz rozwijać swoje umiejętności i zainteresowania. Inicjatywa realizowana jest przez organizację pozarządową non-profit Instytut Odpowiedzialnego Biznesu. Organizacja ta otrzymała dwa granty Microsoft Unlimited Potential. Pierwszy w wysokości 230 tys. USD (wsparcie finansowe oraz oprogramowanie) umożliwił powstanie Pracowni i realizację szkoleń. Drugi, w wysokości 122 tys. USD, przeznaczony był na przygotowanie nowoczesnego multimedialnego pakietu dydaktycznego z zakresu podstawowej obsługi komputera i Internetu w polskiej wersji językowej. Prace nad przygotowaniem pakietu nauczania Digital Literacy zostały ukończone w listopadzie 2006 roku i obecnie jest on wykorzystywany w procesie nauczania w ramach całego projektu. Dodatkowo program nauczania Digital Literacy jest bezpłatnie udostępniany innym organizacjom non-profit o charakterze edukacyjnym. Fundatorem projektu jest firma Microsoft, jednak jest on realizowany przy wydatnej współpracy z lokalnymi władzami. Jest również przykładem wzorowej współpracy różnych organizacji II oraz III sektora. 6

7 Polski Oddział Firmy Microsoft Microsoft Sp. z o.o. Al. Jerozolimskie 195a Warszawa tel.: Utworzono: :10:13 Recommended Reference Material Use the Polish language and terminology as described and used in the following publications. Normative References These normative sources must be adhered to. Any deviation from them automatically fails a string in most cases. When more than one solution is allowed in these sources, look for the recommended one in other parts of the Style Guide. 1. Słownik poprawnej polszczyzny, PWN, the latest edition 2. Słownik języka polskiego, PWN, the latest edition 3. Nowy słownik ortograficzny języka polskiego, PWN, the latest edition Informative References These sources are meant to provide supplementary information, background, comparison, etc. 1. Słownik wyrazów bliskoznacznych, PWN, the latest edition 2. Słownik frazeologiczny, PWN, the latest edition 3. Słownik wyrazów obcych, PWN, the latest edition 7

8 Language Specific Conventions This part of the style guide contains information about standards specific to Polish. Country/Region Standards Characters Country/region Lower-case characters Upper-case characters Characters in caseless scripts Extended Latin characters Note on alphabetical order Polish a, ą, b, c, ć, d, e, ę, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, ł, m, n, ń, o, ó, p, r, s, ś, t, u, w, y, z, ź, ż A, Ą, B, C, Ć, D, E, Ę, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, Ł, M, N, Ń, O, Ó, P, R, S, Ś, T, U, W, Y, Z, Ź, Ż n/a ą, Ą, ć, Ć, ę, Ę, ł, Ł, ń, Ń, ó, Ó, ś, Ś, ź, Ź, ż, Ż Alphabetical order is not necessarily indicative of sorting order. Total number of characters 32 Letter Unicode code Decimal code Unicode codes a A ą 0105 Ą 0104 b B c C ć 0107 Ć 0106 d D e E ę 0119 Ę 0118 f

9 Country/region Polish F g G h H i I j 006A 106 J 004A 74 k 006B 107 K 004B 75 l 006C 108 L 004C 76 ł 0142 Ł 0141 m 006D 109 M 004D 77 n 006E 110 N 004E 78 ń 0143 Ń 0144 o 006F 111 O 004F 79 ó 00F3 Ó 00D3 p P q Q r R s S ś 015B Ś 015A t T u U

10 Country/region Notes Polish v V w W x X y Y z 007A 122 Z 005A 90 ź 017A Ź 0179 ż Ż 017C 017B If the alphabet is used for sorting, additionally letters q, v, x are used: a, ą, b, c, ć, d, e, ę, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, ł, m, n, ń, o, ó, p, q, r, s, ś, t, u, v, w, x, y, z, ź, ż Date Country/region Calendar/Era First Day of the Week First Week of the Year Polish Gregorian Monday First week that includes four days or more of the new year. Separator hyphen (-) Default Short Date Format yy-mm-dd Example Default Long Date Format d MMMM yyyy Example 17 marca 2011 Additional Short Date Format 1 dd MMM yyyy Example 17 mar 2011 Additional Short Date Format 2 N/A 10

11 Country/region Example Additional Long Date Format 1 Polish N/A dddd, dd MMMM yyyy Example środa, 17 marca 2011 Additional Long Date Format 2 Example Leading Zero in Day Field for Short Date Format Leading Zero in Month Field for Short Date Format No. of digits for year for Short Day Format Leading Zero in Day Field for Long Date Format Leading Zero in Month Field for Long Date Format Number of digits for century for Long Day Format N/A N/A yes yes 2 no n/a 4 name of months written Date Format for Correspondence dd MMMM yyyy Example 17 marca 2011 Notes Abbreviations in Format Codes N/A d is for day, number of d's indicates the format (d = digits without leading zero, dd = digits with leading zero, ddd = the abbreviated day name, dddd = full day name) M is for month, number of M's gives number of digits. (M = digits without leading zero, MM = digits with leading zero, MMM = the abbreviated name, MMMM = full name) y is for year, number of y's gives number of digits (yy = two digits, yyyy = four digits) 11

12 Time Country/region Poland 24 hour format yes Standard time format Standard time format example HH:mm:ss 23:43:12 Time separator colon (:) Time separator examples 03:24:12 Hours leading zero yes Hours leading zero example 03:24:12 String for AM designator String for PM designator N/A N/A Notes The time separator for fractions of seconds is a comma (,) Days Country/region: Poland Day Normal Form Abbreviation Monday poniedziałek Pn Tuesday wtorek Wt Wednesday środa Śr Thursday czwartek Cz Friday piątek Pt Saturday sobota So Sunday niedziela N First Day of Week: Monday Is first letter capitalized?: No Notes: There is no period with day names abbreviations. 12

13 Months Country/region: Poland Month Full Form Abbreviated Form Long Date Form January styczeń sty stycznia February luty lut lutego March marzec mar marca April kwiecień kwi kwietnia May maj maj maja June czerwiec cze czerwca July lipiec lip lipca August sierpień sie sierpnia September wrzesień wrz września October październik paź października November listopad lis listopada December grudzień gru grudnia Is first letter capitalized?: No Notes: N/A Numbers Phone Numbers Country/ region International Dialing Code Area Codes Used? Number of Digits Area Codes Separator Number of Digits Domestic Digit Groupings Domestic Poland 48 no (the former area codes have been incorporated into the subscriber numbers) N/A space; hyphen 9 (the number consists of twodigit former area code and sevendigit subscriber's number) 0-## ### ## ##; 0-## ## ## ### 13

14 Country/ region Number of Digits Local Digit Groupings Local Number of Digits Mobile Digit Groupings Mobile Number of Digits International Digit Groupings International Poland 9 (the number consists of two-digit former area code and seven-digit subscriber's number) 0-## ### ## ##; 0-## ## ## ### 9 ### ### ###; ### ## ## ## ## ### ## ##; +48 ## ## ## ### Notes: There is no standarized digit grouping scheme for Polish telephone numbers, but grouping into two or three digits groups (usually separated by a hyphen or spaces) is most popular with users. There are no spaces before or after the hyphen. There is no longer any distinction between local and long-distance numbers; the former area codes are incorporated into the subscriber numbers. The use of the trunk code (0) before the area code is required for local and domestic calls: or The number when making international calls from Poland consists of three groups: two zeros, a group of one, two, three or four digits that identifies the country and the number in the specific country. International calls from Poland: International calls to Poland: Please check with your operator. The exception to this rule are emergency telephone numbers (three digits numbers), special services numbers (e.g. taxi corporation and service providers numbers, that are four, five or eight digits numbers), numbers that cost either more or less than normal to call to (e.g. pagers, cellular phones and green numbers, which are all written in groups of two or three digits): 0-90 xx xx xx; xx xx xx; xxx xxx Addresses Country/region: Poland Disclaimer: Please note that the information in this entry should under no circumstances be used in examples as fictitious information. Address Format: [Title/Honorific] FirstName [SecondName] LastName [CompanyName] Address1 [Address2] 14

15 PostalCode City [Country] if applicable Example Address: Ewa Lesiak ul. Tkacka 25 m Katowice Local Postal Code Format: xx-xxx Notes: Items in brackets are optional or seldom used. Address is always left aligned. First and second lines Title etc. line and CompanyName line can appear in reverse order too, i.e. Company name on the first line and Title etc. on the second. Currency Country/region Currency Name Currency Symbol Currency Symbol Position Positive Currency Format Poland złoty zł Numeral followed by a space and zł 123,45 zł Negative Sign Symbol - Negative Currency Format Decimal Symbol -123,45 zł, (comma) Number of Digits after Decimal 2 Digit Grouping Symbol Number of Digits in Digit Grouping Positive Currency Example Negative Currency Example ISO Currency Code Currency Subunit Name Currency Subunit Symbol Currency Subunit Example space ,00 zł ,00 zł PLN grosz gr 12 gr 15

16 Digit Groups Country/region: Poland Decimal Separator:, Decimal Separator Description: comma Decimal Separator Example: 22,1 Thousand Separator: space Thousand Separator Description: non-breaking space Thousand Separator Example: Notes: Thousand separator is to be used for numbers longer than four digits. A normal thousand separator is not used in numbers like year numbers, telephone numbers, etc. Measurement Units Metric System Commonly Used?: Yes Temperature: Celsius Category English Translation Abbreviation Linear Measure Kilometer kilometr km Meter metr m Decimeter decymetr dm Centimeter centymetr cm Millimeter milimetr mm Capacity Hectoliter hektolitr hl Liter litr l Deciliter decylitr dl Centiliter centylitr cl Milliliter mililitr ml Mass Ton tona t Kilogram kilogram kg Pound funt No abbr. Gram gram g Decigram decygram dg 16

17 Category English Translation Abbreviation Centigram centygram cg Milligram miligram mg English Units of Measurement Inch cal No abbr. Feet stopa No abbr. Mile mila No abbr. Gallon galon No abbr. Notes: If the unit of measure is preceded by a number, there should be a space between the number and the unit of measure Percentages There is no space between the number and the percent symbol. Sorting Sorting rules Character sorting order Examples of sorted words 1. Sorting order should be consistent with the order of the letters in the Polish alphabet supplemented by letters q, v and x. 2. Capital letters and lowercase letters are not equal. Lowercase precedes capital letter. 3. Diacritical marks coming from languages different from Polish do not affect the sorting order (i.e. Hańek < Hass). 4. Non-alphabetical characters (i.e. symbols #) sort before the letters of the alphabet. 5. Digits sort before the non-alphabetical characters and before the letters of the alphabet. 6. Double letters (ll, nn) sorts as two letters. a; 97, A; 65, b; 98, B; 66, c; 99, C; 67, d; 100, D; 68, e; 101, E; 69, f; 102, F; 70, g; 103, G; 71, h; 104, H; 72, i; 105, I; 73, j; 106, J; 74, k; 107, K; 75, l; 108, L; 76, m; 109, M; 77, n; 110, N; 78, o; 111, O; 79, p; 112, P; 80, q; 113, Q; 81, r; 114, R; 82, s; 115, S; 83, t; 116, T; 84, u; 117, U; 85, v; 118, V; 86, w; 119, W; 87, x; 120, X; 88, y; 121, Y; 89, z; 122, Z; 90 Aaron andere ändere chaque chemin cote 17

18 coté côte côté čučēt Czech hińa irdisch lävi lie lire llama lõug Löwen lòza Lübeck luč luck lye Männer màńta mîr möchten myndig pint piña pylon sämtlich ńàran savoir Ńerbūra Sietla ślub subtle symbol väga 18

19 verkehrt vox yuan waffle wood yen yucca ņal ņena Ņenēva zoo Zürich Zviedrija zysk zzlj zzlz] zznj zznz Geopolitical Concerns Part of the cultural adaptation of the US-product to a specific market is the resolving of geopolitical issues. While the US-product should have been designed and developed with neutrality and a global audience in mind, the localized product should respond to the particular situation that applies within the target country/region. Sensitive issues or issues that might potentially be offensive to the users in the target country/region may occur in any of the following: Maps Flags Country/region, city and language names Art and graphics Cultural content, such as encyclopedia content and other text where historical or political references may occur Some of these issues are relatively easy to verify and resolve: the objective should be for the localizer to always have the most current information available. Maps and other graphic representations of countries/regions and regions should be checked for accuracy and existing political restrictions. Country/region, city and language names change on a regular basis and need to be checked, even if previously approved. A thorough understanding of the culture of the target market is required for checking the appropriateness of cultural content, clip art and other visual representations of religious symbols, body and hand gestures. 19

20 Grammar, Syntax & Orthographic Conventions This section includes information on how to apply the general rules of the Polish language to Microsoft products and documentation. Adjectives In Polish, adjectives should be handled in the following manner. In Polish, adjectives usually proceed the noun, however technical terms (also IT terminology) should be written as noun+adjective: eg. dysk twardy, komputer osobisty, pamięć nieulotna. Possessive adjectives The frequent use of possessives is a feature of English language. However in Polish, possessive adjectives are handled in the following manner: The common use of possessive adjectives in English should be avoided in Polish. Source Correct Incorrect Launch your application. Uruchom program. Uruchom twój program. Insert your floppy disk to... Włóż dyskietkę do... Włóż Twoją dyskietkę do... This program cannot be run on your computer. Allows you to specify the configuration that best matches your preferences. Programu nie można uruchomić na tym komputerze. Pozwala na określenie konfiguracji, tak aby optymalnie pasowała do preferencji użytkownika. Tego programu nie można uruchomić na Twoim komputerze. Pozwala na określenie konfiguracji, tak aby jak najlepiej była ona do pasowana do Twoich preferencji. Articles This section does not apply to Polish. Capitalization Do not copy English capitalization. In English, it is a general practice to capitalize all first characters of the words in titles, names, etc, and sometimes middle characters in words too. Bear in mind that this is an error for the Polish texts. In English the days of the week, months, seasons and language names are also capitalized. In Polish they are not capitalized. In titles and program, dialog, checkbox, etc. names only the first word is capitalized, unlike in English. Many translators keep the English use of capital letters that is not correct for Polish. In Polish we capitalize only the first letter in the sentence. In the following example the term "Width" was capitalized in Polish as well. 20

21 Examples: Source Correct Incorrect Fit to Width Dopasuj do szerokości Dopasuj do Szerokości The word Web, which is a synonym of World Wide Web, sometimes is capitalized in the sources in the meaning of Internet and sometimes it is not capitalized in the meaning of a part of the Internet. In Polish, the term Web/web is treated in the same way as in the source: if the source term is capitalized, Polish term also begins with a capital letter. Titles and Headings The first words in titles of guidebooks, sections, chapters, headings, paragraphs, captions or tables always start with capital letters. Whether other words are capitalized or not, depends on their meaning. Examples: Correct Podręcznik użytkownika Uruchamianie aplikacji z Menedżera programów Formatowanie dyskietki Uruchamianie aplikacji z Menedżera plików Stosowanie czcionek TrueType Incorrect Podręcznik Użytkownika Uruchamianie Aplikacji Z Menedżera Programów Formatowanie Dyskietki Uruchamianie Aplikacji Z Menedżera Plików Stosowanie Czcionek TrueType Compounds This section does not apply to Polish, as there is no special convention related to nouns. Generic information on compounds can be found in any Polish grammar book. Gender This section does not apply to Polish, as there is no special convention related to nouns. Generic information on gender can be found in any Polish grammar book. Genitive This section does not apply to Polish. 21

22 Modifiers In Polish localized text you often need to precede the terms, especially if they are left in English, by the respective modifier. Example: interfejs Aero, widok Backstage Nouns General considerations This section does not apply to Polish, as there is no special convention related to nouns. Generic information on nouns can be found in any Polish grammar book. Inflection Nonstandard declination patterns bufor folder toner skaner filtr profil kreator punktor terminal klaster m IV m IV m IV m IV m IV m I m IV m IV m IV m IV Gen. -u Loc. orze Gen. -u Loc. erze Gen. -u Loc. erze Gen. -a Loc. erze Gen. -u Loc. trze Gen. -u Loc. filu Gen. -a Loc. orze Gen. -a Loc. orze Gen. -u Loc. nalu Gen. -stra Loc. strze plural nom. -y plural nom. -y plural nom. -y plural nom. -y plural nom. -y plural nom. -e plural gen. -ów plural nom. - orzy plural nom. -y plural nom. -e plural gen. -i plural nom. -stry plural gen. -strów 22

23 . token Plural Formation m IV Gen. -u Loc. nie plural nom. -ny plural gen. -nów Nouns like: menedżer, projektant, konstruktor, instalator, kreator should be inflected like other personal nouns. As a result, following forms are obligatory: kreatorzy, projektanci etc. The exception from this rule is the noun edytor used in the meaning of computer application. This noun should be inflected as follows: Nom. edytor, Gen. edytora, Acc. edytor, Nom. pl. edytory. NOTE! If one of the nouns mentioned above refers to an application, for example to a wizard that allows you creating tables, it should start with a capital letter. Prepositions Pay attention to the correct use of the preposition in translations. Influenced by the English language, many translators omit them or change the word order. Be careful with the preposition dla as it is often misused. Do not translate the English for as dla automatically. When talking about actions and objects the preposition do should be used. US Expression Polish Expression Comment A cleaning cartridge for ink-jet printers. Kaseta czyszcząca do drukarek atramentowych. Do not use "dla drukarek. But: Nowa witryna sieci web dla deweloperów. Pronouns Pronouns are used in Polish less frequently than in English. If using of the pronoun in the localized text is not necessary due to meaning of the sentence, it is better to skip the pronoun. Example: Allows you to specify your preferences - pozwala na określenie preferencji Punctuation Comma Polish rules on inserting commas are different from the English ones. For example, in English sentences commas are inserted before such words as or, and. But in Polish, in case of these conjunctions commas are redundant, unless they separate parenthesis clauses. Colon Use colons to introduce lists and procedures. Use lower case after the colon. 23

24 Example: W programie można zmienić następujące elementy: motyw, czcionkę, rozmiar czcionki, tło i obramowanie okna. Do not use colons to introduce tables, sections or illustrations. Example: Szegółowe informacją przedstawia Tabela 1. Dashes and Hyphens Three different dash characters are used in Polish: Hyphen The hyphen is used to divide words between syllables, to link parts of a compound word, and to connect the parts of an inverted or imperative verb form. A hyphen (łącznik) (no space before and after the hyphen) is used to: a) join two words; b) add the ending to the acronym; c) join a number with a word; d) replace the ending of multiple compound adjectives that have different first elements.> Example: Bielsko-Biała, w DOS-ie, 30-procentowy, 16- i 32-bitowe En Dash The en dash is used as a minus sign, usually with spaces before and after. Example: ZAROBKI WYDATKI = The en dash is also used in number ranges, such as those specifying page numbers. No spaces are used around the en dash in this case. Example: Opis ten podano na ss OR w latach Em Dash The em dash should only be used to emphasize an isolated element or introduce an element that is not essential to the meaning conveyed by the sentence. Example: Microsoft Excel Pomoc Ellipses (Suspension Points) Ellipsis is a mark that usually indicates an intentional omission of a word in the original text. An ellipsis can also be used to indicate a pause in speech, an unfinished thought. In Polish, an ellipsis is always composed of three dots without any spaces between. There is no space between the ellipsis and the preceding word, but there is always a space after the ellipsis, unless the following character is a closing bracket or quote mark, in which case the space is inserted after that character instead. Example: Można się zastanawiać, czy takie działanie ma sens... Keep in mind the following when using ellipses/suspension points: When the ellipsis is used for omitting a fragment of quotation, it is always surrounded with either square brackets or, more commonly, parentheses, with no space inside. An ellipsis without parentheses usually means a pause in speech. It can also mean a word said partially and interrupted and in that case can be directly followed by another punctuation mark without space: Ellipsis can be used at the end of a sentence, but it is always composed of three dots, never four, and the only difference is the capitalization of the next word. Example: Nie rób tego... To może być niebezpieczne. 24

25 Example: Badanie wykazało, że wiele różnych aplikacji (...) wykorzystywano nieprawidłowo. Period The period serves to mark the pause at the end of sentence, is used in the dates given in Arabic numerals, and after abbreviated words except when the final letter of the abbreviation is the same as the final letter of the unabbreviated word. No periods are used after the main title on the title page or after the title/heading that is all in upper or lower case (can be used where only the first letter is upper case). Example: ; prof. Quotation Marks Quotation marks are used when referring to quoted text. The correct Polish quotation marks are lower-upper. In English, when the text between quotation marks appears at the end of the sentence, the period may appear inside the quotation marks. In Polish, the period should go outside the quotation marks. Even if the whole sentence is between quotation marks, the period goes outside. In US source strings, you may find software references surrounded by English quotation marks. In Polish, it is required due to technical or compilation reasons, straight double quotation marks "" are used. Example: Wpisz "CHOICE /?", aby wyświetlić sposób użycia. Parentheses In English, there is no space between the parentheses and the text inside them. The same is in Polish. Example: Naciśnij przycisk Save (Zapisz). Singular & Plural While translating, you should pay special attention to the English nouns that are used: Example: Source Target only in the singular form information informacja, informacje only in the plural form series seria, serie both in plural and singular forms menu, menus menu We should remember that in English compound nouns such as "style sheet" both nouns are usually singular, even if the meaning is "the sheet of styles". The following example shows this common translation error. Source Correct Incorrect User style sheet Arkusz stylów użytkownika Arkusz stylu użytkownika The exception from the above rules is the singular-only English nouns that are plural in Polish. The example below shows the "direct" singular English - singular Polish translation of the noun "informacje". 25

26 Source Correct Incorrect Set Account Information Ustaw informacje o koncie Ustaw informację o koncie Split Infinitive This section does not apply to Polish. Subjunctive This section does not apply to Polish. Non-Breaking Spaces Example: Non-breaking space (CTRL + SHIFT + SPACE) is used in Polish as a thousand separator and to avoid leaving the one-letter words as w, z, i at the end of the line. Example: ; w witrynie Syntax Syntax differs between Polish and English in the following ways: 1. The use of the passive voice in English is a lot more common than in Polish. In Polish the passive voice is avoided and Polish text with many passive sentences does not sound natural. Instead of it we can use impersonal forms or build phrases in the active voice. For example, the English sentence in the passive can be translated into Polish as follows: Source Correct Incorrect A conference ID was given to every member. Każdy uczestnik otrzymał identyfikator konferencji. Identyfikator konferencji został dany każdemu uczestnikowi. Verbs When translating the text in English you have to remember that the end users are people of all ages, females and males. You have to choose appropriate vocabulary and you must remember to select verbs which do NOT discriminate any of the sexes. Example: Correct Jeśli będziesz wykonywać Incorrect Jeśli będziesz wykonywał Jeśli będziesz wykonywała 26

27 Correct Aby zmienić Incorrect Kiedy będziesz chciał zmienić Kiedy będziesz chciała zmienić In English software, you often find that verbs are used as names for buttons, check boxes, commands, menus and options. Those verbs are translated into Polish also as verbs, but always in the imperative mood and where possible in the perfect form (forma dokonana, tryb rozkazujący). Example: Zapisz, Wytnij, Wklej However, the above rule does not cover all Polish verbs. There are several exceptions: 1. There are verbs that do not have the perfect form in Polish: Cancel Anuluj, Continue Kontynuuj 2. Some verbs are traditionally translated in the imperfect form in the localized Microsoft software: Allow Zezwalaj; Browse Przeglądaj 3. Verbs with one-letter prefix in the perfect form are not used in Microsoft localized software, the imperfect form is used: Minimalizuj (NOT: Zminimalizuj); Porządkuj (NOT: Uporządkuj) 4. Normally most of verbs with prefixes of two or more letters stay in the perfect form (recommended): Zainstaluj. However, there are exceptions (legacy of previous Microsoft localizations), e.g. Drukuj (not Wydrukuj). 5. The imperfect form is used in all negations and with prepositions of frequency (like always, often): Do not save Nie zapisuj; Always paste Zawsze wklejaj. Remember also that the perfect form is used with the prepositions of method: Zapisz automatycznie (NOT: Zapisuj automatycznie); Usuń kaskadowo (NOT: Usuwaj kaskadowo). Continuous operations are usually expressed in English with a gerund, which should be translated into Polish as a present time. Example: Source I am waiting for registration. Target Czekam na rejestrację. Word Order There are no strict rules concerning the word order in Polish. Remember that non-standard word order is difficult to interpret. Example: Sama lektura przynosi pocieszenie can be interpreted in several ways. 27

28 Style and Tone Considerations This section focuses on higher-level considerations for audience, style, tone, and voice. Audience Software products have a broad audience, so the text should be inclusive and nondiscriminatory. Terminology should not make users feel that the product is not for them. Example: Do: Znajdź wymarzoną osobę. Don t: Znajdź mężczyznę swoich marzeń. (Limits the audience to those who date men) Do: Nie wprowadzono hasła. Don t: Nie wprowadziłeś hasła. (Limits the audience to those who are men) Style Use simple, direct words. Editorial style must be clear, simple, and correct. Use the simplest and most specific word possible. For example, use ponadto instead of a na dodatek. Use precise words. When it works with the tone and voice, use one-word nouns and verbs. Nouns and verbs containing multiple words, such as odnosić się z wyrozumiałością, doprowadzić do kresu, and osoby stojące na czele, can be mistakenly interpreted as individual terms instead of the noun or verb phrase. One-word terms, such as tolerować, zakończyć, and liderzy, are easier to interpret. Avoid idiomatic and colloquial expressions. Idioms can confuse non-native speakers, and they take extra time to translate. For example, the Polish equivalent of Kill two birds with one stone is Upiec dwie pieczenie przy jednym ogniu. Avoid surprising or humorous word choices, slang, and sarcasm. Puns and coined phrases can be difficult to interpret, and non-native speakers might not recognize humor or sarcasm. Avoid acronyms and abbreviations (except if the meaning is obvious, as in St. Petersburg), or use them sparingly and define them in context. For example, WA is the abbreviation for Washington, a state in the United States, and for Western Australia. Use one term for one concept, and use terms consistently. Although the use of synonyms might be more interesting to read, worldwide users might assume that your choice of a different term indicates a subtle distinction in meaning. For example, choose between włącz, uruchom, or otwórz aplikację, and be consistent. 28

29 If a term describing a concept already exists, use it. Use terms that already exist, and avoid using slang terms and loan translations. Most of the users are most familiar with the standard meaning. For example, use zakończyć sesję instead of skilić sesję or ubić sesję. Are you unsure if a specific term already exists? Define emerging terminology in the text. Emerging terminology might not be defined in most dictionaries. Use common terminology when possible. Before adopting a new term, make sure an equivalent term doesn t already exist. Verify spelling and hyphenation of new terms. Check Polish language dictionaries, other Microsoft product glossaries and documentation, and Websites, and standards organizations such as the Polish committee for standardization (PKN). Send new high-level terms/phrases for approval, along with associated screen shots Avoid using jargon and creating words. skalowalność, spam, pecet are all good examples. If you must use these terms, define them near the beginning of every section or article. Jargon is also frequently based on metaphor or U.S. business practices, which might not make sense to worldwide users. Tone Tone refers to a writer's attitude toward the reader and the subject matter. Tone creates a personality and affects the audience's reaction to what is being said. For example, you would use a different tone to write an executive summary (formal) than you would to write a letter to your cousin (very casual). When writing UI text for Microsoft products, imagine that you are helping a friend use the product for the first time. This person is not your best friend or significant other, but instead, a neighbor or family friend. Users should feel comfortable and at home when using Microsoft products, but the language should not feel presumptuous or too familiar. Voice When translating software you have to remember that the end users are people of all ages, females and males. You have to choose appropriate vocabulary and you must remember to select verbs which do NOT discriminate any of the sexes. Example: English You are now connected to the Internet. Translation Połączono się z Internetem. 29

30 Localization Guidelines This section contains guidelines for localization into Polish. General Considerations In the area of software localization (which in this context also includes printed and online documentation, web sites, manuals, help files, license agreements and packaging), the quality of the language is an essential precondition for the usability of the product. The users can only apply the localized product efficiently if they fully understand it. Additionally the quality of the language has a direct impact on the product image. A product that reflects in-depth knowledge of the target market and has the "Look and Feel" of a product originally written in the language of that market will always have an advantage over products that sound "translated." This section contains set of guidelines, which should be applied when localizing English software and help into Polish. There is also a section of the style guide where you find other general guidelines that are used mainly for localization of documentation. In order to ensure that you are using current terminology and phrases, please, always look for the translations in the most recent version of the Microsoft terminology databases and other approved glossaries or reference EDB files. Consistent use of Microsoft approved terminology in all localized products is one of the major factors in achieving required quality of the localized products. Abbreviations Common Abbreviations You might need to abbreviate some words in the UI (mainly buttons or options names) due to lack of space. This can be done in the following ways: 1. An abbreviation of a single word should be ended with a consonant. 2. If the abbreviation ends with a soft consonant that is marked by a letter i in the full form of the word, e.g. godzina, osiedle, then in the abbreviation the hard consonant only should be used. Example: godz., os. not godź., oś. 3. A period is placed after abbreviated words except when the final letter of the abbreviation is the same as the final letter of the unabbreviated word. List of common abbreviations: Expression zobacz według między innymi do spraw Acceptable Abbreviation zob. wg m.in. ds. 30

31 Accessibility Please check with each product team the accessibility requirement for each product. Acronyms Acronyms are words made up of the initial letters of major parts of a compound term. Some well-known examples are WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get), OLE (Object Linking and Embedding), or RAM (Random Access Memory). Abbreviations that end with vowels in the pronunciation should not be inflected, for example: GUI (Graphical User Interface), SAA (Systems Application Architecture). In case of abbreviations that consist of capital letters only and end with consonants, choose one of the following methods: do not inflect, for example: Po znaku zgłoszenia systemu MS-DOS, inflect with an appropriate declination pattern, and separate the inflectional ending (always in small letters) from the stem with a dash, for example: zakupiony w IBM-ie. Localized Acronyms Example: Source Abbreviation CC BCC CPI federal tax ID Localized Abbreviation DW UDW WWK NIP Unlocalized Acronyms If the English acronym is kept in the Polish text, it should be followed by the full English and (if possible) also contain a translation into the target language. Example: FDA (Food and Drug Administration, Agencja ds. Żywności i Leków) amerykańska agencja rządowa została utworzona w 1906 roku. Applications, Products, and Features Application/product names are often trademarked or may be trademarked in the future and are therefore rarely translated. Occasionally, feature names are trademarked, too (e.g. IntelliSense ). Before translating any application, product, or feature name, please verify that it is in fact translatable and not protected in any way. Product names are often trademarked or may be trademarked in the future and product names are therefore rarely translated. The rule is that product names are not translated if they include the word Microsoft and/or they are registered as trademarks (e.g. Microsoft Draw or Microsoft Graph). The preposition "for" is usually translated (e.g. "Word for Windows" is "Word dla Windows" but "Visual Basic for Applications" is "Visual Basic for Applications"). 31

32 Feature names are usually localized but, occasionally, feature names are trademarked, too (e.g. IntelliSense ). It is very important to set the correct translation at the very beginning of the localization process. In documentation as well as in the software different names can be used for the same products: with the word "Microsoft" or without. In this case only one rule must be applied. ENGLISH Microsoft Mouse Microsoft Office Word for Windows Windows for Workgroups Microsoft Chat POLISH Microsoft Mouse Microsoft Office Word dla Windows Windows for Workgroups Microsoft Chat Frequent Errors Grammar Errors occur when parts of the sentence are changed or updated but the whole sentence is not modified to be grammatically correct. In the following example we can see that the translation of the first part of the sentence had been apparently changed whereas the second part was not inflected to reflect this change. Example: Wymaga to wpisania informacji w formularzu zamówienia, w tym numer karty kredytowej. Another typical error is made when declining words that expanded their meaning or are new in the field of computers. The following examples show the words "folder" and "toner" were inflected with the inaccurate declination pattern. Example: Wybierz lokalizację foldera Many translators keep the English use of capital letters that is not correct for Polish. In Polish we capitalize only the first letter in the sentence. In the following example the term "Width" was capitalized in Polish as well. Example: Dopasuj do Szerokości Language Standards Used In Microsoft Adding descriptions: One of the most common errors is omitting a description before names of products, objects, etc. or trying to inflect the English name with the Polish ending. Example: Wszystkie polecenia Worda, Inna prezentacja PowerPoint, Zamknij Windows In Polish localized text you always need to add the description before the names of the objects, menus, commands, dialog box elements, icons, etc. 32

33 Avoiding forms "Twój, Twojego, ten, tego" etc.: Opposite to English, Polish phrases are usually translated in the impersonal form. Therefore, we usually omit words like "your" and "this" or translate "your computer" as "this computer". As it is not always possible to replace "your" with this" or omit it altogether, in the example below "user's preferences" were used instead of "your preferences". Example: Pozwala na określenie konfiguracji głośników, tak aby jak najlepiej była ona dopasowana do Twoich preferencji. Fictitious Information Fictitious content is legally sensitive material and as such cannot be handled as a pure terminology or localization issue. Below is some basic information and contact points when dealing with fictitious content: Vendors and Localizers are not allowed to create their own fictitious names. You must either use the source names or use the list of legally approved names. Recurring Patterns When translating titles there are certain recurrent patterns that you should pay attention to, as indicated below: ENGLISH What's New in <productname> Getting Started with <productname> Installing and Configuring <productname> POLISH Co nowego w programie <nazwa_programu> Wprowadzenie do programu <nazwa_programu> Instalowanie i konfigurowanie programu <nazwa_programu> Standardized Translations Neologisms Prepositions and other parts of speech used with neologisms depend on their semantic collocations Example: SOURCE Convert directory to file. TARGET Konwertuj katalog na plik. The verb konwertować is used together with the preposition na, not with the prepositions do or w, because semantically it is similar to the verb przetwarzać. The preposition w is used together with the verb przekształcać. 33

34 Deceiving Sentences The following sentences probably cannot be translated properly and accurately into Polish. The best solution is to translate them in the following way: Examples: SOURCE One or more parameters were invalid. Deleted one or more files. One or more files were corrupted. TARGET Co najmniej jeden parametr jest nieprawidłowy. Usunięto jeden lub więcej plików. Nastąpiło uszkodzenie jednego lub większej liczby plików. Avoid Copying Grammar Structures It is recommended to avoid copying English grammar structures, which are especially inappropriate in sentences like: "Możesz..." (You can...); Example: SOURCE Initially, Works displays the Toolbar and ruler when you create a new document, but you can turn off the display if you would like more workspace. TARGET Przy tworzeniu nowego dokumentu w programie Works są wyświetlane pasek narzędzi i linijka. Jeżeli jest potrzebny większy obszar roboczy, pasek narzędzi i linijkę można wyłączyć. Simplicity Terminology and phrases used in the translation should be as understandable and simple as possible. Examples: CORRECT Czy masz system Windows? Usuwać konwertować liczba komputerów inicjowanie INCORRECT Czy posiadasz system Windows? dokonywać usunięcia dokonywać konwersji ilość komputerów (BUT: ilość wody) inicjacja 34

35 CORRECT przez, za pomocą, dzięki oprócz przez dłuższy czas za pomocą polecenia unikatowy wywoływać funkcję korzystać, używać, stosować INCORRECT poprzez poza przez dłuższy okres czasu przy pomocy polecenia (BUT: przy pomocy kolegi) unikalny wołać funkcję wykorzystywać Accuracy One of the most often an error is using incorrect Polish counterparts, which at first glance seem to be obvious translations of a given word. Examples: Source Correct Incorrect start uruchomienie start restart ponowne uruchomienie restart compatible zgodny kompatybilny result wynik rezultat line wiersz lub linia linia selection wybór lub zaznaczenie selekcja details szczegóły detale error message komunikat o błędzie komunikat błędu actual bieżący aktualny start uruchomienie start 35

36 While translating, you should pay special attention to the English nouns that are used: SOURCE TARGET only in the singular form information informacja, informacje only in the plural form series seria, serie both in plural and singular forms menu, menus menu Examples: SOURCE CORRECT INCORRECT Windows Series Seria Windows Serie Windows For more information... Więcej informacji... Dalszą informację... Polish terminology should also be translated accurately. Examples: SOURCE CORRECT INCORRECT group icon ikona grupy grupa ikony Group icons grupuj ikony; ikony grup ikony grupy, grupa ikon BUT: shortcut keys klawisze skrótu klawisze skrótów Word Order Word order is extremely important. In Polish, adjectives are usually placed before nouns that they refer to. Adjectives placed after nouns describe permanent features or are parts of proper names: Examples: CORRECT instalacja pełna dysk twardy INCORRECT pełna instalacja twardy dysk Personifications Common errors are personifications of things and ideas. To avoid it, use the following structures: 36

37 Examples: CORRECT W rozdziale przedstawiono... Na ekranie pojawi się pytanie... W programie założono, że... W podręczniku opisano INCORRECT Rozdział przedstawia... Komputer zapyta... Pokazany program zakłada,... Podręcznik opisuje Nonstandard Declination Patterns Nouns like: menedżer, projektant, konstruktor, instalator, kreator should be inflected like other personal nouns. As a result, following forms are obligatory: kreatorzy, projektanci etc. The exception from this rule is the noun edytor used in the meaning of computer application. This noun should be inflected as follows: Nom. edytor, Gen. edytora, Acc. edytor, Nom. pl. edytory. NOTE! If one of the nouns mentioned above refers to an application, for example to a wizard that allows you creating tables, it should start with a capital letter. Examples: W programie X są dostępni następujący projektanci: Tabela zostanie utworzona za pomocą Kreatora tabel. Non-translatable Proper Names Properties and device, application, folder, file, command or feature names that are not translated are also not inflected. Instead of that, it is recommended to insert before such a word the name of the object class that it belongs to. Examples: SOURCE Moveable is read/write at run time. TARGET Właściwość Moveable jest do odczytu/zapisu w czasie wykonywania aplikacji. Unlocalized Items Trademarked names and the name Microsoft Corporation shouldn t be localized. A list of Microsoft trademarks is available for your reference at the following location: The only items that should remain unlocalized in Polish are the product/feature/company names. 37

38 WORD OK COMMENT It is the only UI item that may remain unlocalized. Using the Word Microsoft In English, it is prohibited to use MS as an abbreviation for Microsoft. In Polish localized text you always need to add the description before the Microsoft. The name Microsoft cannot be inflected. Example: Nawiąż współpracę z firmą Microsoft. Software Considerations This section refers to all menus, menu items, commands, buttons, check boxes, etc., which should be consistently translated in the localized product. Refer to for a detailed explanation of the Windows user interface guidelines (English). User Interface UI COMPONENT SOURCE TARGET COMMENT Menu Edit Edycja (NOT: Edytuj) You should always try to choose a noun in the nominative case as a translation for the menu Commands Comment Paste Komentarz Wklej Command names which are nouns should be translated as nouns in the nominative case (rzeczowniki zawsze w mianowniku). Command names which are verbs are normally translated as verbs, but always remember to apply the rules for verbs described in the section Verbs. Dialog box titles Edit Save Add File Type New Include in index? Edycja Zapisywanie Dodawanie typu pliku Nowy Czy uwzględnić w indeksie? The main titles of the dialog boxes in the Polish localized products should always have a noun form except for adjectives and questions that are translated as adjectives and questions. If for some reason the command name in the US software is not the same as 38

39 the dialog title, e.g.: command is Information (Informacje) and the dialog box main title is Information Window, we also translate Okno informacji. Group Box Titles (Option Group Titles or subtitles) Show Pokazywanie The group box titles should mostly take a form of nouns, always the nominative case. Adjectives and questions are translated as adjectives and questions. If the group box titles are verbs, such as Allow or Specify remote control settings, the group box titles should be translated as nouns like Zezwalanie, Określanie ustawień zdalnego sterowania. It is important to use the form derived from the verb and not the noun counterpart of the word, e.g. title Choose is translated as Wybieranie (not Wybór). The imperfect form should be used, e.g. Przygotowywanie (not Przygotowanie). Checkboxes and radio buttons Comments Page number Komentarze Numer strony Check boxes names and radio options, which are nouns, should be translated as nouns, always the nominative case (zawsze w mianowniku). Options are not grammatically connected to the options group titles to which they belong and they do not take any inflection to reflect connection with the group option title. Tabs Print Drukowanie Button names, which are nouns, should be translated as nouns, always the nominative case. Dropdown lists/tables Keep personal addresses in: Contacts Tasks Zachowaj adresy prywatne w: Kontakty (not: Kontaktach) Zadania (not: Zadaniach) The list titles and list elements are not grammatically connected and they do not take any inflection to reflect connection between the list title and the elements of that list. Ribbon-Tabs Format Formatowanie Tabs are translated using noun (title) form. Ribbon-Groups Adjust Dopasowywanie Groups (also known as Chunks) are translated using noun (title) form. 39

40 Messages Status Messages What is a Status Bar Message? A status bar message is an informational message about the active document or a selected command as well as about any active or selected interface item. Messages are shown in the status bar at the bottom of the window when the user has chosen a menu, a command or any other item, or has started a function. The status bar messages refer to actions being performed or already complete (for example in Outlook below). Polish Style in Status bar Messages In English, the status bar messages have different forms dependent on the information they must convey. In Polish, menu and commands status bar messages should follow the format below. Name Polish Name Category English Status Bar message Polish Status Bar message Insert Wstaw menu Insert various types of text and graphics Wstaw różnego typy tekstu i grafiki. File Plik menu Create, open, save, print documents or quit Word Utwórz, otwórz, zapisz lub wydrukuj dokumenty bądź zakończ pracę z programem Word. New Nowy command Creates a new document Tworzy nowy dokument Make object visible? Word is converting the document. Press Esc to stop. Datasheet View Done Czy obiekt ma być widoczny? Program Word konwertuje dokument. Naciśnij przycisk Esc, aby zatrzymać konwertowanie. Widok arkusza danych Gotowe 40

41 The importance of standardization In the US product you can often find messages that are phrased differently even though they have the same meaning. Try to avoid this in the localized Polish version. Use one standard translation as in the examples below: English term Correct Polish translation Press F1 to get Help Aby uzyskać Pomoc, naciśnij klawisz F1. If you want Help press F1 To get Help press F1 Not enough memory Za mało pamięci. Insufficient memory There is not enough memory Save changes to %1? Zapisać zmiany w %1? Do you want to save changes to %1? Error Messages What Is An Error Message? Here is an example: Error messages are messages sent by the system or a program, informing the user that there is an error that must be corrected in order for the program to keep running. For example, the messages can prompt the user to take an action or inform the user of an error that requires rebooting the computer. Polish Style in Error Messages It is important to use consistent terminology and language style in the localized error messages, and not just translate as they appear in the US product. It is important to use the correct Polish style in the localized error messages, and not just translate the American messages. The user is sometimes asked whether he or she wants to complete an action that has been interrupted due to an error. In the US text, often an "abbreviated" sentence structure is used. In Polish, use the same abbreviated style with a minimum of words used. Complete sentences take up too much space in the message boxes. 41

42 Example: The selection is too big. Continue without Undo? - Zaznaczenie jest za duże. Czy kontynuować bez możliwości cofnięcia? Polish error messages always finish with the period. Sometimes error messages have other than ERR or MSG category. They have for example TXT or HTML Text category. If there is no information about nature of a string in the instructions (Instructions column or description of a file/database) and the string looks like an error message (see examples below) it is better to follow rules described in this chapter. All error messages should end with a period but if it is difficult to find out whether it is an error message or not it is better to follow original text. Use exclamation marks in Polish error messages in similar manner as they are used in the US version. You should remember that not all English sentences, which end with the exclamation mark, should have one in Polish. Exclamation mark can be omitted when error message is a descriptive text. Error messages are an exception from the Polish rule about avoiding personifications. Error messages are messages from the program to the user, and personifications are acceptable to a certain degree. Example: Word cannot open file - Program Word nie może otworzyć pliku Standard Phrases in Error Messages When translating standard phrases, standardize. Note that sometimes the US uses different forms to express the same thing. You can often use the Polish construction "Nie można..." for the following US expressions: Cannot... Could not... Unable to... Failed to... Use present tense even if the US error message is in the past tense. In Polish error messages, use the phrase "Nie można odnaleźć..." to express the following US phrases: Cannot find... Could not find... Unable to find... Failed to find... In Polish, the word "please" is omitted and the sentence is in the imperative mood. A sentence construction with the phrase "while ~ing" can be translated as follow: An error occurred while attempting to create the directory. - Wystąpił błąd podczas próby utworzenia katalogu. Questions are translated as questions even if the US sentence has the affirmative structure and ends with a question mark. The questions take the personal form. Please remember to translate the questions accurately, i.e. if the question reads "Are you sure you want..." the translation should be "Czy na pewno chcesz..." and not "Czy chcesz...". Error Messages Containing Instructions: Imperative mood as well as personal form should be used in translating instructions. 42

43 Example: To skip creating your startup disk, click Cancel. - Aby pominąć tworzenie dysku startowego, kliknij przycisk Anuluj. Examples: English Translation Example Comment Cannot Could not Failed to Failure of Cannot find Could not find Unable to find Unable to locate Not enough memory Insufficient memory There is not enough memory There is not enough memory available... is not available... is unavailable Nie można Nie można Nie można odnaleźć Za mało pamięci Jest niedostępny Could not start print job. - Nie można rozpocząć zadania drukowania. Failed to create empty document. - Nie można utworzyć pustego dokumentu. Cannot find the file - Nie można odnaleźć pliku. There is not enough memory available - Za mało pamięci. Device unavailable Urządzenie jest niedostępne Error Messages Containing Placeholders When localizing error messages containing placeholders, try to find out what will replace the placeholder. This is necessary for the sentence to be grammatically correct when the placeholder is replaced with a word or phrase. Note that the letters used in placeholders convey a specific meaning, see examples below: %d, %ld, %u, and %lu means <number> %c means <letter> %s means <string> Examples of error messages containing placeholders: "Checking Web %1!d! of %2!d!" means "Checking Web <number> of <number>". "INI file "%1!-.200s!" section" means "INI file "<string>" section". 43

44 The following table provides examples of error messages with placeholder text, and the final error messages that users will see: English text containing placeholders Error %d getting session names The user %s is logged on locally to this computer. Final source message Error <number> getting session names The user <name> is logged on locally to this computer. Final target error message Wystąpił błąd <numer> podczas uzyskiwania nazw sesji. Użytkownik <nazwa> jest zalogowany lokalnie do tego komputera. In the English source string, placeholders are found in the position where they would naturally occur in that language. Since in English numerals typically precede the noun, the numeral placeholders typically precede the noun in the source strings. This order is also followed in most Polish examples, but check that this is the case in your specific examples or if you need to change the position of any word in the sentence due to declension. English Example Polish Example Language tip %u hours ago Godzin temu: x If the word order remains unchanged, the final Polish sentence will read: 5 godziny temu, etc. Keys The keyboard is the primary input device used for text input in Microsoft Windows. For accessibility and efficiency, most actions can be performed using the keyboard as well. While working with Microsoft software, you use keys, key combinations and key sequences. In English, references to key names, like arrow keys, function keys and numeric keys, appear in normal text (not in small caps). In Polish we refer to the key names by their name preceded by the word "klawisz (i.e. naciśnij klawisz CTRL). The English names of the keys are not translated into Polish, except for the keys Spacebar (spacja) and arrow keys. English ALT BACKSPACE CAPS LOCK CTRL DEL DOWN ARROW END ENTER ESC F1-F12 HOME INS LEFT ARROW Polish ALT BACKSPACE CAPS LOCK CTRL DEL Strzałka w dół END ENTER ESC F1-F12 HOME INS Strzałka w lewo 44

45 English NUM LOCK PAGE DOWN PAGE UP PAUSE PRINT SCREEN SCROLL LOCK SHIFT SPACEBAR TAB Polish NUM LOCK PAGE DOWN PAGE UP PAUSE PRINT SCREEN SCROLL LOCK SHIFT Spacja TAB Access Keys/Hot keys Sometimes, there are underlined or highlighted letters in menu options, commands or dialog boxes. These letters refer to access keys (also known as hot keys) that allow you to run commands, perform tasks, etc. more quickly. The following table lists special options for hot keys in US-English interfaces and describes whether each option is allowed in Polish Hot Key Special Options Usage: Is It Allowed? Notes "Slim characters", such as I, l, t, r, f can be used as hot key Characters with downstrokes, such as g, j, y, p and q can be used as hotkeys YES YES Slim characters are allowed, though they are not recommended because they might be hard to see Extended characters can be used as NO 45