Poll: How often do your clients provide you with style guides?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Feb 13, 2018

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "How often do your clients provide you with style guides?".

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Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
+ ...
Yes and no Feb 13, 2018

I don't need no style guide. I got style for miles, baby.

Though most specify "British English", which should be enough of a style guide for anyone.


 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 08:55
Spanish to English
+ ...
Never Feb 13, 2018

Not that I recall. And as far as my regular clients are concerned, I'm their "style guide"…

And if they did, I would probably find it a constraint, as if they were saying "here, just slip into this straitjacket and put this bag over your head…"

[Edited at 2018-02-13 09:07 GMT]


 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 07:55
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Other Feb 13, 2018

In over 40 years only one client has provided a style guide ! I translate a lot for the European Institutions and “The Interinstitutional Style Guide” contains all the stylistic rules and conventions which must be used…
http://publications.europa.eu/code/en/en-000500.htm


 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 00:55
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Sometimes Feb 13, 2018

For one of my main clients, I wrote their 200-page style manual.

 
Diana Obermeyer
Diana Obermeyer  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:55
Member (2013)
German to English
+ ...
Quite a few Feb 13, 2018

A few agencies primarily keep me working on assignments for the same end client. Most of these end clients have a style guide, some also have an in-house translation team and only outsource certain subject areas.
Two of my agencies have an agency style guide.
A few direct clients have asked me to set up a style guide as part of the project. This was primarily organisations having material translated for the first time, or having previous translations re-worked and aligned after reali
... See more
A few agencies primarily keep me working on assignments for the same end client. Most of these end clients have a style guide, some also have an in-house translation team and only outsource certain subject areas.
Two of my agencies have an agency style guide.
A few direct clients have asked me to set up a style guide as part of the project. This was primarily organisations having material translated for the first time, or having previous translations re-worked and aligned after realising that there was inconsistency in their existing texts.
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Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 08:55
Member (2003)
Danish to English
+ ...
Not often Feb 13, 2018

I proofread academic papers for one client, and they often ask me to use the APA style guide.
I have the Chicago Manual of Style and use it occasionally - I ought to do so more often!

Otherwise I have my UK gurus - updated editions of Ernest Gowers' Plain Words, Greenbaum & Whitcut's Guide to English Usage, and Michael Swan.

I have thumbed through them and adopted my own style based on them. If clients question it, I can quote my books, and if the client insists,
... See more
I proofread academic papers for one client, and they often ask me to use the APA style guide.
I have the Chicago Manual of Style and use it occasionally - I ought to do so more often!

Otherwise I have my UK gurus - updated editions of Ernest Gowers' Plain Words, Greenbaum & Whitcut's Guide to English Usage, and Michael Swan.

I have thumbed through them and adopted my own style based on them. If clients question it, I can quote my books, and if the client insists, offer them an alternative that we can agree on.
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Mike Sadler (X)
Mike Sadler (X)  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:55
Spanish to English
+ ...
Quite a lot Feb 13, 2018

I do a lot of work for UN agencies (as the subcontractor at the end of the supply chain...) and often consult the UN editorial manual at http://dd.dgacm.org/editorialmanual/. I'm so used to it that that's what clients who don't specify any particular style get, though they don't know that, of course.

 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 04:55
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Not often Feb 13, 2018

Not often, considering a formal style guide. Very often, considering sporadic rules and standards they simply inform in their e-mails, but not in a style guide format.

 
Kay Denney
Kay Denney  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 08:55
French to English
with you there! Feb 13, 2018

neilmac wrote:

Not that I recall. And as far as my regular clients are concerned, I'm their "style guide"…

And if they did, I would probably find it a constraint, as if they were saying "here, just slip into this straitjacket and put this bag over your head…"

[Edited at 2018-02-13 09:07 GMT]


You said it far more eloquently than I could!

I usually include my style guide with their company-specific glossary, so that they know how to make any changes. I freaked out totally earlier this week when a client sent me back my "corrected" translation complete with US dates (and mistakes of course but that's a whole different topic)


 
DZiW (X)
DZiW (X)
Ukraine
English to Russian
+ ...
sometimes Feb 14, 2018

Working for [direct] clients for awhile does require new instructions for specific jobs only, not very oft

[Edited at 2018-02-14 07:48 GMT]


 
Philippe Etienne
Philippe Etienne  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 08:55
Member
English to French
Sometimes Feb 14, 2018

Accented capitals, curly apostrophes, use of uppercase, punctuation, quotation marks, text formatting, terminology/phraseology lists...
Style guides are helpful to set the stage and ensure some kind of consistency and "brand identity" across a variety of media (printed, web, UI, marketing, communications...).

But past a few "specificities", style guides are all the same and only require translators to write properly. And it's not a given, apparently, because I have seen some
... See more
Accented capitals, curly apostrophes, use of uppercase, punctuation, quotation marks, text formatting, terminology/phraseology lists...
Style guides are helpful to set the stage and ensure some kind of consistency and "brand identity" across a variety of media (printed, web, UI, marketing, communications...).

But past a few "specificities", style guides are all the same and only require translators to write properly. And it's not a given, apparently, because I have seen some that contain really basic kindergarten spelling and grammar tips. Sadly, It defeats the purpose by drowning those "specificities" into an ocean of obvious reminders.

Philippe
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Poll: How often do your clients provide you with style guides?






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