Issue 05I don't know overseas laws and regulations!

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I don't know overseas laws and regulations!

I don't know overseas laws and regulations!

This is our first overseas expansion. How do we incorporate local laws and regulations into our manuals?
Do the units and symbols need to change depending on the country or region, even for the same English manual?
How do we comply with China's GB standards?

Human Science has extensive expertise in dealing with local regulations, ISO, and Chinese GB standards.

Check Items for Overseas Expansion

1. Symbols and Number Formats

As an example, when translating into French, you need to pay attention to the following points.

・Number format (thousands separator, decimal point)
In French, common grammar norms dictate that you use spaces to group digits (1 000) and commas as decimal points (3,5). However, depending on the project, there may be cases where commas are used as digit separators (1,000), so clearly establishing the formatting rules beforehand is a must.
・Symbols and punctuation marks (quotation marks, apostrophes, parentheses, etc.)
In French, the use of guillemets « » is common in the place of double quotation marks “ ” in English. However, depending on the project, the same double quotation marks as in English may also be used. So once again, the rules should be clearly established beforehand.

The formatting of numbers and symbol notations, such as quotation marks and apostrophes, differ in each language.
At Human Science, we create style guides for each language before translation begins, and the translations that we provide adhere to the rules of the target destination.

Notations for Each Language

Language	Quotation marks	Thousands separator	Decimal point
English	” ”	1,000	1.0
French	<<　 >>	1 000	1,0
German	〟〝	1.000	1,0
Spanish	” ”	1.000	1,0

Chinese Style Guide (Sample)

2. Laws, Regulations, Standards (GB, ISO, IEC)

To give an example, manuals issued in China must comply with GB standards (国家標準, guo jia biao zhun).
These GB standards are different from Japan's JIS and are mandatory regulations that must be followed when creating manuals and operating instructions to be released in China.
Human Science creates manuals that comply with GB standards and confirms that they are suitable for use in China with the help of GB experts.

Examples of content specified in GB standards

・Contents to be included in the instruction manual
・Font size
・Regulations for including both Chinese and foreign languages
・Notations for safety marks, safety text, illustrations, symbols, etc.

For more information, check out our Chinese translation and GB standard compliance services.

3. Discriminatory Language, Inappropriate Expressions

There are times where seemingly innocuous phrases can become discriminatory or inappropriate, depending on the country or region.
For example, the word "coger," which means "to reserve" in European (Iberian) Spanish can have vulgar connotations in Latin Spanish, so the word is not appropriate for use in manuals.
At Human Science, we provide translations by native translators who take into consideration the terms and customs used in the country or region of release.