Practical guides
Translate and localise a text carefully
Translation transfers meaning; localisation also adapts the text for its audience. Neither makes a foreign rule, qualification or product available locally. Keep facts and jurisdiction separate from wording.
Method
1. Specify the audience
Name the target language, country if relevant, reader and tone. Provide a glossary for technical terms and identify names, units and values that must remain unchanged.
2. Translate with exceptions visible
Ask for ambiguous passages and untranslatable labels to be marked. Adapt date and number presentation without changing their values. Do not replace a legal or institutional term with a supposed local equivalent.
3. Review the actual use
Compare important passages with the original, especially negations and obligations. Check terminology in an authoritative reference. For publication with significant consequences, obtain an appropriate human review.
Example to adapt
Translate this general exhibition description into Spanish for visitors. Preserve artist names, dates and measurements. Flag uncertain terminology and do not add practical information absent from the original.
Checklist
Checks stay on this page; ticking a box does not automatically validate the result.
Deliverable
A translated text plus a small terminology and uncertainty register.
Limitations
A back-translation can reveal differences but does not prove accuracy. Sensitive passages need a reviewer familiar with the subject and language.
Sources for further reading and checking
These independent resources help you find a reference. Check the language and scope: a French resource may not describe rules in another country. These are not sources automatically consulted for generated answers.
- W3C WAI — Accessibility tutorials
Tutorials covering accessible images, forms, tables and page structure.
Language: en · Scope: International - CNIL — IA générative : questions-réponses
Questions and answers on using generative AI and protecting data.
Language: fr · Scope: France / UE
Link check: 2026-10-06 · These links are reading resources. The answer service does not consult them automatically. A checked link does not guarantee every document is current.