Poll: What causes the most friction when following client-provided style guides?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Aug 23

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "What causes the most friction when following client-provided style guides?".

View the poll results »



 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 11:20
Member (2007)
Inggris menyang Portugis
+ ...
N/A Aug 23

In over 40 years only one client has provided me with a style guide! I used to translate a lot for the European Institutions (when they paid a fair rate) and “The Interinstitutional Style Guide” contains all the stylistic rules and conventions which must be used…

CafeTran Trainer
 
CafeTran Trainer
CafeTran Trainer
Netherlands
Member (2006)
Jerman menyang Walanda
+ ...
Glossaries Aug 23

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida wrote:

In over 40 years only one client has provided me with a style guide! I used to translate a lot for the European Institutions (when they paid a fair rate) and “The Interinstitutional Style Guide” contains all the stylistic rules and conventions which must be used…


A little off-topic, but in the same 40+ years, I’ve never received a decent glossary from a client either. So I’ve always had to create my own on the fly.


[Edited at 2026-08-23 09:33 GMT]


Josephine Cassar
Alexandra Speirs
Aisha Maniar
Laura Kingdon
 
Gregor Trebec
Gregor Trebec
Slovenia
Local time: 12:20
Inggris menyang Slovenia
+ ...
strict rules Aug 23

I had a client that gave me 10 pages of rules. O_O

Michael Newton
Maria Laura Curzi
 
M. Anna Kańduła
M. Anna Kańduła  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:20
Inggris menyang Polandia
Mistakes in style guides Aug 23

I had a few clients who insisted on something that was blatantly incorrect in the target language.

Josephine Cassar
Zea_Mays
Michael Newton
Lancashireman
Maria Laura Curzi
Laura Kingdon
María Domínguez Camba
 


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:

Moderator(s) of this forum
Jared Tabor[Call to this topic]

You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

Poll: What causes the most friction when following client-provided style guides?






LinguaCore
AI Translation at Your Fingertips

The underlying LLM technology of LinguaCore offers AI translations of unprecedented quality. Quick and simple. Add a human linguistic review at the end for expert-level quality at a fraction of the cost and time.

More info »
Wordfast Pro
Translation Memory Software for Any Platform

Exclusive discount for ProZ.com users! Save over 13% when purchasing Wordfast Pro through ProZ.com. Wordfast is the world's #1 provider of platform-independent Translation Memory software. Consistently ranked the most user-friendly and highest value

Buy now! »