BeLikeNative

Want to keep your brand’s message consistent across languages? A multilingual style guide is the key.

Here’s what you’ll achieve with one:

• Consistent global branding
• Faster, more accurate translations
• Lower localization costs
• Better customer experiences

Quick Steps to Build Your Guide:

1. Define your brand’s voice and tone for all languages.
2. Set formatting rules (e.g., dates, numbers, time).
3. Address regional language needs (dialects, idioms, sensitivities).
4. Create a term base with approved and restricted terms.
5. Train translation teams and set up review processes.
6. Use tools like BeLikeNative for real-time support.
7. Regularly update your guide to stay relevant.

Why it matters:

• 76% of consumers prefer buying in their own language.
• Companies with structured multilingual communication see 1.5x revenue growth.

Start with these steps to make your global communication seamless.

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Core Elements of Multilingual Style Guides

Crafting a multilingual style guide involves focusing on three key aspects to maintain consistency across languages while respecting cultural nuances.

Setting Voice and Tone Standards

Voice and tone guidelines should balance a unified global brand identity with the communication styles of local audiences. Microsoft’s style guide ^[2] emphasizes defining brand attributes that resonate universally while allowing room for local adjustments.

When setting voice and tone, consider:

• Traits that can be recognized across different cultures
• Guidelines for formal or informal language use
• Sensitivity to regional norms and emotional context

Basic Formatting Rules

Consistency in formatting is crucial for professionalism and clarity. Here’s a quick look at how formats can vary:

Regional Language Requirements

Adapting content for regional audiences involves more than translating words. The BBC‘s Global Experience Language (GEL) guidelines ^[5] highlight the importance of addressing regional differences while staying true to the brand.

Key regional considerations include:

• Differences in dialects within the same language
• Use of local idioms and expressions
• Preferences for specific terminology
• Awareness of cultural sensitivities and taboos

A great example is IKEA’s approach in China, where the “Billy” bookcase was renamed “Bi Li” to better connect with local customers while keeping the product’s essence ^[9]. Tools like BeLikeNative simplify this process by incorporating regional preferences during content creation.

Building Your Multilingual Term Base

Once you’ve addressed regional language requirements, the next step is to establish a solid terminology foundation. A well-organized term base ensures consistent multilingual content. Companies with well-maintained term bases often see a 20-30% decrease in translation costs and a 50% boost in translator productivity^[1][10].

Standard Terms List

Start by creating a list of standard terms through a mix of automated tools and expert input. Focus on identifying 100-200 key business terms initially.

• Review your existing content to find commonly used terms.
• Work with teams across departments to ensure all critical terms are included.
• Validate the terms with local market experts to ensure relevance.

Many leading tech companies use centralized databases that specify the context and regional variations for each term.

Restricted Terms List

Managing restricted terms is just as important to protect your brand and avoid cultural missteps. Create a structured database that clearly outlines the following:

Term Management Systems

Choosing the right term management system is essential for long-term success. For example, SDL MultiTerm offers features that make terminology management more effective^[6]:

• Multilingual support: Works with various languages and character sets.
• Version control: Tracks changes and maintains a history of updates.
• Integration: Connects seamlessly with translation and content management tools.
• Collaboration: Allows multiple users with different roles to contribute.

To keep your term base up-to-date, conduct quarterly reviews and follow a clear update workflow. This structured approach helps maintain brand consistency across all markets, aligning with your style guide’s goals.

Working with Translation Teams

After creating your term base, follow these steps to ensure translators consistently apply the guidelines:

Translator Guide Training

Proper training equips translators to maintain the brand voice outlined in Core Elements while addressing regional differences. Here’s how to structure it:

Include drills focused on cultural nuances and exercises that apply the style guide to real scenarios.

Translation Review Process

A thorough review system ensures high-quality translations:

1. Self-Review Phase
Translators perform initial checks using style guide checklists and automated tools.

2. Peer Review Stage
Experienced translators evaluate the work, focusing on:

• Alignment with guidelines
• Cultural appropriateness
• Brand consistency
• Technical accuracy

During this stage, term management systems can be used to streamline the process.

3. Final Quality Assurance
Project managers confirm that all translations meet the required standards. This step also helps identify recurring issues, which can guide future updates to the style guide^[11].

Guide Updates and Versions

Keep your style guide up-to-date with these practices:

• Use cloud-based platforms for real-time collaboration.
• Maintain version histories for easy tracking.
• Enable automated notifications for updates.

AI tools like BeLikeNative can reinforce guidelines by providing real-time multilingual suggestions. Schedule quarterly reviews with translators and local experts to address linguistic shifts, ensuring translations stay culturally relevant and accessible for all team members^[12][7].

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Style Guide Tools and Software

Using the right tools alongside collaboration with translation teams ensures your style guidelines are applied consistently across languages. These tools help bring to life the voice and regional standards outlined earlier.

Manual vs Software Methods

Manual methods rely on human editors to review content against written guidelines. While this allows for a deep understanding of context and cultural nuances, it’s slow and hard to scale. Software solutions, on the other hand, streamline the process with automated checks and standardized rules.

BeLikeNative: Writing Assistant

BeLikeNative supports multilingual style guidelines in over 80 languages. It offers real-time tone adjustments and clipboard-integrated validations, ensuring style rules are followed during content creation. This tool works well with term base management processes, helping enforce consistency from the start.

Choosing the Right Software

When selecting a tool, look for options that integrate smoothly with your existing systems and meet your specific needs. Key features to consider include:

• Integration Capabilities: Tools should connect easily with your current platforms and support widely-used writing tools.
• Customization Options: Ensure the software allows you to set rules that align with your brand’s voice and offers flexibility in style parameters.
• Multilingual Support: Look for language-specific rules and support for all required languages to maintain consistency across translations.
• Analytics and Reporting: Choose tools with dashboards that track metrics like adherence to style guidelines, helping you monitor performance effectively.

Style Guide Management

Once you’ve set up your style guidelines and tools, keeping them updated is key to staying relevant in changing markets. Companies that regularly refresh their style guides see a 23% boost in content consistency across languages.

Guide Review Schedule

Set a review schedule that matches how fast your industry evolves. For example, tech companies often need quarterly updates due to rapid changes in terminology, while industries like manufacturing might only require annual reviews.

User Input Process

Building on translator feedback from earlier stages, establish a solid system for collecting input:

• Feedback portal: Create a dedicated space for users to share their thoughts.
• Quarterly surveys: Use structured templates to gather actionable insights.
• Virtual sessions: Host regular discussions with key stakeholders.
• Usage analytics: Monitor how the guide is being used to identify gaps.

Rank feedback with a weighted scoring system, considering:

• How often the issue is reported.
• The number of languages impacted.
• How well it aligns with company goals.
• The complexity of implementing changes.

Market Updates

When entering new markets, tailor your style guide to meet local needs. For example, expanding into Japan might involve:

• Working with local marketing experts to refine tone and style.
• Adding examples that reflect cultural norms.
• Setting up a local review team for continuous updates.
• Using translation memory tools to maintain consistency.

“The most successful organizations treat their style guides as living documents, with 78% of companies with effective localization strategies conducting reviews at least annually.”

Next Steps

Once your management processes are in place, it’s time to focus on putting them into action.

Start by conducting a content audit. This will help you spot inconsistencies and set a clear starting point for improvements ^[8].

Here’s a practical approach to move forward:

• Develop Core Guidelines
  Begin by creating a style guide in your primary language. This will make it easier to adapt for other languages later ^[1].
• Build Your Team Structure
  Assign style guide champions within each regional team to ensure guidelines are followed locally. Clearly define roles for content creators, translators, and editors ^[4][9].
• Set Up Your Tools
  Use a centralized digital repository for your style guide on a collaborative platform. This ensures everyone has real-time access to updates ^[8].

Keep track of your progress by measuring content consistency and how quickly translations are completed ^[5]. Schedule quarterly reviews (as outlined in Section 5) to ensure your guide stays aligned with market changes ^[7].

FAQs

How to create a language style guide?

Creating a language style guide involves turning the insights from earlier sections into a practical framework:

• Cultural Insights: Incorporate cultural elements from regional requirements into your guidelines. This means working closely with local teams to ensure the style guide reflects the nuances highlighted in the Regional Language Requirements and Working with Translation Teams sections.
• Using the Right Tools: Leverage tools like BeLikeNative, which supports implementation across 80+ languages while preserving both cultural subtleties and your brand’s voice ^[3]. This ties back to the criteria discussed in the Tools and Software section.

Stick to the phased implementation plan mentioned in the Next Steps section. Regularly review and update the guide using the schedules and processes outlined in Style Guide Management.

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