Different types of IT texts: what a translator should remember

In order for a software product to be used by people in different countries, it must be adapted for them, that is, localized. And translation has always been and remains one of the most important stages of localization. I work in Plesk as a translator from English into Russian, and in this article I want to talk about the peculiarities of an IT translator, namely, what types of texts we translate and what pitfalls we sometimes encounter in each of them. I hope my experience will be useful to those who translate or are going to translate IT-content from English into Russian.





Content:





  • Difficulties of IT translation in general





  • Briefly about the translation process in Plesk





  • UI translation: "try again later"





  • User documentation translation: "checkbox" or "checkbox"?





  • : "" ""?





  • : "we’ll give you peace of mind"









IT-

IT 15 , , . , , — . , IT- — , , , , , .





, IT- , , — . ? « »:





  • , -. , , -, - .





  • IT- , , . .





  • IT . , . : , , «» .





, , , . .





Plesk

Plesk , ( 31 ). , , . — - Plesk . , , Plesk, SolusIO, cPanel — -, .





( , , , ) , . outsource .





- Crowdin, , . , , , , , .





, ? , , ?





UI: " "

— Plesk . UI-? , — , , , , , . , .





: , , . , , “Open”, : «», «», «», «», «», «». , . « », :





At the time of translation, it was not known that "Open" was an open issue.
, "Open" .

? — . , , , , , , Plesk — , , , . , , , . — (-, , , ). Crowdin : . , , , .





. , -. , . , .





: , . . , . , , “snapshot” «», — «». . . 





?

, , : «1 », «2 », «5 ».  , , , “%%total%% items total” ( %%total%% — , ) :





The word "elements" is used with any number.
"" .

, ? (, « », Badoo). 





Crowdin ICU, , — . , , , , .





What is not highlighted is translated.  In the "Preview" field, you can substitute a number and check.
, , . "Preview" .

( , ICU), : . “%%total%% items total” : « : %%total%%». , .





, , , , . . , .





. . . ”Please ()”, , , . , “Please try again later!” -. «, !» - .  , «» : « .»





: . , . . , , “Change Password” « ». , , — . : "Go to Change Password" → « " "».





. : «-- ». , . , , , , , . : “The certificate cannot be issued” → « » ( « » , -.)





, , Microsoft Russian Style Guide.





: "" ""?

— , . , : . , , , - , . .





. , ( , , , ). IT, , , «». IT . , Microsoft's brand voice:





  • Warm and relaxed ( )





  • Crisp and clear ( )





  • Ready to lend a hand ( )





Plesk . , :





  • «» «»





  • « » «»





  • « » «»





  • «», «», «»





— UI

, UI. , UI . 





, “incremental”. UI «», — «». , , .





In the interface, the type of backup is called "Incremental".
"".
And in the documentation, the same type was called "Additional".
"".

, , - , , UI. , . , , UI, .





. , . :





  • Getting Started —





  • About — < >





  • Appendix —





  • Troubleshooting —





  • FAQ —





(Style guide) . Style guide , — .





, — . , :





  • check box — ( «»)





  • icon — ( «»)





  • click — ( «»)





  • select the check box — ( « »)





  • go to —





, , , . , .





, , Microsoft , , .





: "" ""?

, , ( ). , — , . , , , — .





?

, , .  , . , API CLI — . , Plesk, , ( ). , , ( Plesk ). , , — , , , .





,

, :





  • ( )





  • , , ..









, , , :





Method and argument names are not translated.
.

, IT- . , . IT- , , , . «» , .





, . . , , “hook”, , . : «» «», , «». .





: "we’ll give you peace of mind"

. : (, Plesk ). , . — , .





— !

, , — .





Marketing copy is emotional.
.

. , , . “peace of mind” , . , , . .





, . , , .. — , , .





, , :





  • , . . , -.





  • . , Microsoft Russian Style Guide.





  • , , . , .





  • IT- .





— , , IT-. - , !








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