Sending only the final page leaves the translator to guess what product terms mean, which words belong to the customer and which claims need careful handling. A short handoff can prevent those guesses.
Send the context with the copy
Include the intended reader, the story’s purpose, the source version and the planned destination. Give the language specialist the relevant approved interview passages where a quotation depends on context.
Identify names, product terms and labels that should remain consistent. Explain an unfamiliar term instead of asking the translator to preserve an English phrase nobody in the new market would use.
Microsoft’s global-writing guidance recommends clear language and attention to idioms. That is useful preparation, but the final language still needs a reader who understands the audience.
Prepare a translation handoff
This fictional example concerns an operations customer story.
| Field | Handoff instruction |
|---|---|
| Source | Approved English story, version 3 |
| Reader | Operations leaders assessing implementation effort |
| Destination | Local website article |
| Customer quotation | Preserve the limited statement about Friday reviews |
| Product term | Use the approved local term for “workspace” |
| Numbers and units | Retain the source period and currency unless an explicit conversion is agreed |
| Permission | Confirm that the requested language and destination are covered |
| Review owner | Named native-language editor plus the relevant customer approver |
Translation is not permission to extend a claim or reuse the story in every channel.
Protect the meaning, not the English word order
Consider this fictional source sentence: “It helped our two-person team prepare the Friday review.”
A stronger version saying the product “automates all reporting” would change the meaning. A literal phrase that sounds awkward to the intended reader is also a poor result.
Give the reviewer the task: produce natural language that keeps the team size, the limited activity and the customer’s level of certainty intact.
Let the language specialist rewrite sentence structure. Ask them to flag ambiguity rather than resolve it by inventing detail.
Review more than the body text
Check the title, chart labels, captions, link text and social introduction. A careful article can be undermined by a promotional headline that makes a broader claim.
Review dates, decimal separators, job titles and units in the local context. If money is converted, state the agreed basis rather than silently replacing one currency symbol with another.
Approve the finished language version
Give the customer the actual language version and explain the intended use. Where a separate bilingual review is needed, agree who can provide it before setting the release date.
Keep the source and translated versions linked in the project record. Later factual corrections should reach both.
Use the approval map to allocate that responsibility and the evidence register to preserve the supporting material. The finished story should sound native to its reader while still representing the customer accurately.