Introduction

1. Grammar

1.1. Agreement

1.1.1. Tense, mood, aspect, person (for verbs)

Agreement focuses on denoting the verb to the subject in the sentence.

 

Examples

They are big and I am small, and that is not fair.

Zij zijn groot en ik ben klein, en dat is niet eerlijk.

 

Before we go on a holiday to Italy, I will go to a conference in Copenhagen.

Voordat wij met vakantie naar Italië gaan, ga ik naar een congres in Kopenhagen.

 

With compound subjects, use the full personal pronoun.

 

Example

Ernst and I are going on a holiday.

Ernst en ik gaan met vakantie.

 

1.1.2. Gender and number (nouns and adjectives)

The last word or stem in a compound word denotes the gender of the entire word. The same goes for the number.

 

Example

Source text	the house, the housefather
✘	het huis, het huisvader
✓	het huis, de huisvader

 

Diminutives, verbs used as nouns, names of languages, countries, metals, colors and wind directions are nearly always neuter. When in doubt, check online.

 

1.2. Determiners

In Dutch, there are multiple determiners. The difference between “deze”, “die”, “dit” and “dat” is:

• When referring to a “de-woord”, only “deze” and “die” are correct. When referring to a “het-woord”, only “dit” or “dat” are correct.
• “Deze” and “dit” refer to an object that is in the close proximity. “Die” and “dat” refer to objects further away, not present in the direct proximity.
• “Deze” and “dit” are used in formal register, while “die” and “dat” are used in informal register.
• Sometimes, using “deze”, “die”, “dit” or “dat” can sound artificial. The alternative is to use a personal pronoun instead.

 

The following chart contains examples:

	De-woord of meervoud	het-woord of (groter deel van) een zin
formeel (of dichtbij)	(De sanseveria houdt van zon.) Zet deze daarom op een lichte plaats. (Hebt u tickets besteld?) Dan kunt u deze ophalen bij de kassa.	Als er een gaatje is ontstaan, vult de tandarts dit met composiet. 5-1 tegen Spanje - dit had niemand verwacht.
neutraal (of verder weg)	(De sanseveria houdt van zon.) Zet die daarom op een lichte plaats. (Hebt u tickets besteld?) Dan kunt u die ophalen bij de kassa.	Als er een gaatje is ontstaan, vult de tandarts dat met composiet. 5-1 tegen Spanje - dat had niemand verwacht.
alternatief: persoonlijk voornaamwoord	(De sanseveria houdt van zon.) Zet hem daarom op een lichte plaats. (Hebt u tickets besteld?) Dan kunt u ze ophalen bij de kassa.	Als er een gaatje is ontstaan, vult de tandarts het met composiet. 5-1 tegen Spanje - niemand had het verwacht.

 

1.3. Prepositions 

In Dutch, it is important to know the difference between prepositions, separable verbs, and phrasal verbs. Prepositions are used combined with a noun to express “when” or “where”.

 

Example

On the cupboard, on the wall

p de kast, aan de muur

 

Separable verbs are verbs that can be split into a verb and a “voorzetselbijwoord”, e.g. “aanmaken” can be split in the verb “maken” and the voorzetselbijwoord “aan”: hij maakt aan.

 

Phrasal verbs are verbs and prepositions which are linked together, such as “switched on”.

 

Example

Source text	in general, with reference to
✘	over het algemeen, met betrekking aan
✓	in het algemeen, met betrekking tot

 

1.4. Verbs

In Dutch, there can be multiple auxiliary verbs in one sentence. The “voltooid verleden toekomende tijd” and “voltooid tegenwoordige toekomende tijd” are the two tenses that have two auxiliary verbs before the main verb. The correct order is the modal auxiliary verb, the auxiliary verb “zijn” or “hebben” and, lastly, the main verb.

 

Example

Source text	you would have left
✘	jullie zouden vertrokken zijn
✓	jullie zouden zijn vertrokken

 

2. Orthography

2.1. Abbreviations

Abbreviations in Dutch are always written with a period.

 

Examples

Source text	p. (page)
✘	p
✓	p.

 

Source text	e.g. (for example)
✘	bv
✓	bv.
✓	bijv.

 

2.2. Apostrophes

In Dutch, the apostrophe is used to indicate omitted characters such as “‘n”, “‘t”, “m’n”, “d’r” and “zo’n”.

The apostrophe is used for plurals when the singulars end with long vowels (e.g. baby's, taxi's), as well as for the genitive of proper names ending with these vowels (e.g. Anna's, Otto's). Proper names ending with a sibilance should have no “s” (only the apostrophe). 

 

Example

Source text	Hans’ book
✘	Hanss boek
✓	Hans’ boek.

 

If the proper name does not end with a sibilance or vowel, there should be no apostrophe.

 

Example

Source text	Piet's book
✘	Piet’s boek
✓	Piets boek

 

However, most diminutives do not use an apostrophe where the plural forms would; producing spellings such as “fotootje” and “taxietje”. The diminutive of acronyms are written with an apostrophe.

 

Example

Source text	texting, small TV
✘	smsen, tvtje
✓	sms’en, tv’tje

 

2.3. Capitalization

Capitalization is in place for proper names concerning people, animals, places, and organizations. Other names should not be capitalized: een beagle, een postkantoor, een plein.

Ethnicities, as well as holidays and historical events, should be capitalized. Compound words consisting of holidays should not be capitalized.

 

Example

Source text	Christmas holiday
✘	Kerstvakantie
✓	kerstvakantie

 

Cultural, social, religious, and artistic movements are written without capital letters: jugendstil. The first word of the sentence has a capital letter.

 

Example

Source text	A Pinner who saves a Pin on Pinterest
✘	Een Pinner die op Pinterest  een Pin opslaat
✓	Een pinner die op Pinterest  een pin opslaat

 

2.4. Compounds

In Dutch, common compound words are typically formed by writing two or more stems together, without using whitespaces. 

 

Examples

Source text	occupational disability insurance company
✘	arbeidsongeschiktheids verzekering maatschappij
✓	arbeidsongeschiktheidsverzekeringsmaatschappij

 

Source text	multiple personality disorders
✘	meervoudige persoonlijkheid stoornissen
✓	meervoudigepersoonlijkheidsstoornissen

 

However, a hyphen may be used to make long compound words more readable. 

The last stem denotes the gender: e.g. de maatschapij, dus de arbeidsongeschiktheidsverzekeringsmaatschappij and de stoornissen, dus de meervoudigepersoonlijkheidsstoornissen.

 

The common exception is when one of the stems is a proper noun. Proper nouns should be hyphenated in compound words.

 

Example

Source text	member of the House of Representatives
✘	tweedekamerlid
✓	Tweede Kamer-lid

 

2.5. Diacritics

In Dutch, the second of two vowels in hiatus is marked with a diaresis (or "tréma"): e.g. “coöperate”, “daïs”, “reëlect”. This usage is occasionally seen in English.

It is common to use a hyphen in compound words with hiatus, so it is “zee-egel” instead of “zeeëgel”.

Written numerals are always written with diaresis.

Only the following letter combinations are marked with a diaresis: ee, ei, eu, ie, aa, ae, ai, au, ui, uu, oe, oi, oo and ou in words such as “poëzie”, “reünie”, “koloniën” and “ruïne”. 

Words ending in an unstressed “ie” have as plural “iën” (e.g. “koloniën”, “provinciën”). Words ending in a stressed “ie” have as plural “ieën” (e.g. “knieën”, “industrieën”, “melodieën”).

When loanwords are integrated into the Dutch language, they are written without diacritics (e.g. “cheque”, “diner”, “condolence”). If French loanwords have not been integrated, only the “e” is marked with the acute, grave, or circumflex accent. The only exception to this rule is “à” (e.g. “tien à twaalf dagen”. For German loanwords, follow the original German spelling (e.g. “café”, “enquête”, “première”, “einzelgänger”, “glühwein”, “salonfähig”).

 

It can also be used to emphasize words. It’s best to sparingly use them.

 

Example

Will you arrive before or after dinner?

Kom jij vóór (voor) of ná (na) het eten?

 

More examples: “máát”, “héél”, “vóór”, “dúúr”, “zéúren”, “níét”, “móét”.

 

When “een” is used as a number (1), it is written with acutes “één”. However, in the expression, “een van de” the e’s are not marked with an acute.

 

2.6. Foreign words

Avoid using foreign words whenever there is a normal and commonplace Dutch alternative, e.g. “schermafbeelding” instead of “screenshot”. Other words should be treated as loanwords and avoid linguistic barbarism. If translation is not possible, keep it in the original language and write it between single quotation marks.

 

Example

Source text	BCD has designated WXY as “Preferred partner”.
✘	Een preferred partner geniet de voorkeur van een leverancier.
✓	BCD heeft WXY aangewezen als “preferred partner”.

 

2.7. Numerals

Regarding numerals format (written in numbers or words), you must always respect the source text: if they are written as digits in the source text, this should be maintained in the translation; on the other hand, if they are written as words, they should be translated to the target language. 

For non-technical texts, it is allowed to write large numbers with periods between groups for three numbers instead of whitespaces.

 

Example

Source text	10,000,000
✘	10,000,000
✓	10 000 000
✓	10.000.000

 

English uses a period to indicate the decimal place and; on the other hand, Dutch uses a comma: 2.5 dollars (EN) → 2,5 dollars (NL).

 

Currency symbols precede the numeric value and are followed by a whitespace.

 

Example

Source text	$456.78
✘	$456.78
✓	$ 456,78

           

Pay particular attention to the translation of large numbers in your language. For example “billions” (EN) is not translated into “biljoen” (NL) but “miljard”. It’s a false friend. The English language uses the short scale for numbers, while Dutch uses the long scale and therefore there are some differences.

 

Examples

Source text	billion
✘	biljoen
✓	miljard

 

Source text	trillion
✘	triljard
✓	biljoen

 

2.8. Symbols

The percent sign (%) and the per-mille (‰) sign are preferably attached to the number (except in scientific texts, where the convention is having a whitespace before the sign).

 

Example

Source text	Minimum 30%
✘	Minimaal 30 % (except if it was a scientific text, in which case it would be correct)
✓	Minimaal 30%

 

The degree sign (°), when expressing temperature, should be preceded by a whitespace. However, when expressing an angle or latitude, it should be written without a space.

 

Example

Source text	32 °F
✘	32°F
✓	32 °F

 

Example

Source text	an angle of 90°
✘	een hoek van 90 ° graden
✓	een hoek van 90° graden

  

In arithmetic operations, mathematical symbols ( x, +, -, : ) are preceded and followed by a whitespace. 

 

Example

Source text	10 + 32 = 42
✘	10+32=42
✓	10 + 32 = 42

 

Note: the plus (+) and minus (-) signs are attached to the number when used as a number affix (not an arithmetic operation). One exception is the plus-minus (±) sign, which should be followed by a whitespace.

 

Example

Source text	If you are 65+, you have little to complain about.
✘	Als je 65 + bent, heb je weinig te klagen.
✓	Als je 65+ bent, heb je weinig te klagen.

 

Source text	±50
✘	±50
✓	± 50

 

3. Punctuation

3.1. How to use punctuation marks

This section will briefly specify the rules for the following punctuation marks:

• Comma,
• Colon,
• Semicolon,
• Period,
• Exclamation point,
• Question mark,
• Hyphen,
• En dash,
• Em dash,
• Quote marks and
• Brackets.

 

Comma | ,

In Dutch, the comma is chiefly used to avoid misinterpretations and to make a sentence less complex. An apposition should be preceded by a comma, and a comma should be after the apposition. In Dutch, finite verbs should be separated by a comma, just as multiple adjectives.

 

- Apposition:

Example

Source text	My brother, John, likes apples
✘	Mijn broer John vindt appels lekker
✓	Mijn broer, John, vindt appels lekker

 

- Multiple fine verbs:

Example

Source text	When we were leaving, the neighbors came home
✘	Toen wij op reis gingen kwamen de buren net thuis
✓	Toen wij op reis gingen, kwamen de buren net thuis

 

- Multiple adjectives (Oxford comma):

Example

Source text	My aunt is kind, rich and beautiful
✘	Mijn tante is aardig rijk en knap
✓	Mijn tante is aardig, rijk en knap

  

Colon | :

In Dutch, a colon is used to signify that something is being listed, before a description or definition, or before a quote. If a semicolon is used to precede a quote, the first letter should be a capital letter. In other cases, there should be no capital letter.

Example

Source text	Geert cried: "How could things get so ugly?”
✘	Geert jammerde: 'hoe kon het toch zo uit de hand lopen?'
✓	Geert jammerde: 'Hoe kon het toch zo uit de hand lopen?'

 

Semicolon | ;

In Dutch, the semicolon has a few different uses, as it can be used as a period or as a comma.

Semicolon versus period:

Whenever a semicolon can be written, so can a period. If the two sentences have a connection, a semicolon can be used.

Example

Source text	You have to complete the regimen; that is the urgent advice of the general practitioner.
✓	Je moet zo’n kuur helemaal afmaken; de huisarts raadt dat dringend aan.
✓	Je moet zo’n kuur helemaal afmaken. De huisarts raadt dat dringend aan.

 

Semicolon versus comma:

Whenever a semicolon can be written, so can a comma. The comma signifies a strong connection between the sentences, a semicolon weakens this connection.

Example

Source text	Go ahead; I’ll join you later.
✓	Beginnen jullie maar alvast; ik kom er zo aan.
✓	Beginnen jullie maar alvast, ik kom er zo aan.

 

Period | .

In Dutch, the period is used to mark the end of the sentence.

Example

End the sentence with a period.

Aan het eind van een zin schrijf je een punt.

  

Exclamation mark | !

In Dutch, the exclamation mark is used at the end of a sentence that expresses an intense emotion (anger, surprise, or fear). Sentences in the imperative are often ended with an exclamation mark. It replaces the period.

Example

Help!

Help!

  

Question mark | ?

In Dutch, the question mark is used at the end of a sentence that denotes a question. It replaces the period.

Example

At what time will you be home?

Hoe laat ben je thuis?

  

Hyphen | -

In Dutch, the hyphen has multiple purposes. It is chiefly used as a suspended hyphen and in compound words.

Suspended hyphen:

When a sentence contains adjectives with the same termination, delete the repeated part of the first one and keep the last adjective. The hyphen is used to indicate a connection with the last word.

Example

Source text	pros and cons
✘	voordelen en nadelen
✓	voor- en nadelen

 

Compound words:

When the compound word is a brand name and a noun, it is common to use a hyphen (e.g. Excel-bestand). It is also possible that vowels clash, and this should be prevented: 

Example

Source text	Fur of a young donkey
✘	jongeezelsvacht
✓	jonge-ezelsvacht

 

En and Em dash | – and —

In Dutch, there is no difference in the use of the en and em dash. The dashes can be used in place of commas and brackets. Their main use is to convey a change of topic, and they should be used sparingly.

Examples

I like to swim in the sea - except if it is freezing.

Ik zwem graag in zee – behalve als het vriest natuurlijk.

 

The en dash - also referred to as "short dash" - seems to gain popularity.

Het gedachtestreepje – ook wel het ‘halve kastlijntje’ genoemd – lijkt steeds populairder te worden.

 

Quotation marks | ' ' / " "

In Dutch, there is a difference between the usage of single quotation marks and double quotation marks. 

• Single quote mark | ' '

The single quotation marks have multiple uses. They can be used as an alternative to italics, to mark invented words, to mark a fictitious quote, to mark a word being used differently (for example, in an ironic sense), or when a quote is used within a quote.

Alternative to italics:

Example

Well-known language advice books are "Schrijfwijzer" and "Vraagbaak Nederlands".

Bekende taaladviesboeken zijn 'Schrijfwijzer' en 'Vraagbaak Nederlands'.

 

Mark invented words:

Example

The Netherlands is considerably 'vervinext'.

Nederland is flink 'vervinext'.

 

Fictitious quote:

Example

The reaction quickly becomes "there is an easier way".

'Dat kan makkelijker', is de reactie al snel.

 

Mark ironically used words:

Example

That was another "successful" joke.

Dat was weer een 'geslaagde' grap.

 

Quote within a quote:

Example

Anneke said: "My colleague is very impatient, he shouted three times yesterday: 'Go faster!' He makes me nervous."

Anneke zei: "Mijn collega is erg ongeduldig. Hij riep gisteren wel drie keer: 'Kan dat niet sneller!?' Hij maakt me nervous."

 

• Double quote mark | " "

The double quote marks are only used when actually quoting someone. This can be either written or spoken text. 

Examples

The Throne Speech always starts with: "Members of the States General".

De Troonrede begint altijd met: "Leden van de Staten-Generaal".

 

It was clearly mentioned “forbidden to park”.

Er stond heel duidelijk "verboden te parkeren".

  

Brackets | ( )

In Dutch, brackets are chiefly used to add extra information. In certain cases, they can be used to replace the word “of”.

Extra information:

Example

You can consult the dictionary for free on the website of the Institute for Dutch Lexicology (INL).

U kunt het woordenboek gratis raadplegen op de website van het Instituut voor Nederlandse Lexicologie (INL).

 

Replace “of”:

Examples

Looking for: social worker

Gezocht: maatschappelijk werk(st)er.

 

(Grand)parents are also welcome.

(Groot)ouders zijn ook welkom.

 

3.2. Punctuation in greetings and closings

There should always be a comma after the name in the salutation and after the closing. Please note that even if the source language doesn’t have a comma, you should still add one.

 

• Salutation

Example

Source text	Dear Mr. John,
✘	Geachte heer John
✓	Geachte heer John,

 

• Closing

Examples

Source text	Kind regards,
✘	Met vriendelijke groet
✓	Met vriendelijke groet,

 

4. Register

4.1. Grammatical and Lexical Registers

Register refers to the level of formality used in the text. It shows how our clients address their customers, and contributes to the voice of the brand itself. Register may vary depending on the company, the brand, the service they offer, the customers, and the target language.

We make a first main distinction between grammatical and lexical register: the first one regards the use of pronouns and verb person (for the languages to which this morphological feature is applied), while the latter is related to lexical choices since some words and expressions also have a degree of formality or colloquialism.

Both these registers are also divided into formal and informal, as shown below.

 

4.2. Formal Register

This section will focus on the formal register of the Dutch language. There are two degrees of formality in the Dutch language.

• the first degree is used in a formal (e.g. judicial, political, cleric, and aristocratic) context. This is where salutations like “hoogwelgeboren”, “weledelgestrenge” or “hoogedelgestrenge”, and closings like “hoogachtend” are used.
• the second degree encompasses the business context, where salutations like “geachte” and “beste” are used. The closings for business emails is “met vriendelijke groet” or “met vriendelijke groeten”. 

The formal personal pronoun is “u” and the possessive pronoun is “uw”. The second person singular is used when conjugating the verb, for example, “u hebt, u gaat”.

Please look up the form of address of formal emails whenever in doubt: http://taaladvies.net/taal/advies/tekst/21.

For business emails “geachte” is used whenever writing to unnamed recipients and “beste” when the recipient is known. Avoid using abbreviations like “aub” or “z.s.m.”.

 

Category	Examples	Type of Register
Personal pronouns	u	Grammatical
Possessive pronouns	uw	Grammatical
Verbs (second person singular)	Hebt, gaat, wil, mag	Grammatical
Greetings (first degree)	http://taaladvies.net/taal/advies/tekst/21	Lexical
Greetings (second degree, unknown recipient)	Geachte,	Lexical
Greetings (second degree, known recipient)	Beste,	Lexical
Closings (first degree)	Hoogachtend, Uw dienstwillig	Lexical
Closings (second degree)	Met vriendelijke groet(en)	Lexical

 

The pronouns "u" and "uw" shouldn't be capitalized in a customer service context as it will be perceived as archaic. Capitalization of the formal pronoun is restricted to highly formal contexts like addressing a king, judge, or god.

 

4.3. Informal Register

This section will focus on the informal register of the Dutch language. There are two degrees of informality in Dutch language.

• the first degree is used in informal business emails, where salutations like “beste”, “hallo” or “goedendag” are used. The closings are the same as for business emails: “met vriendelijke groet” or “met vriendelijke groeten”.
• the second degree is used amongst family and friends. Salutations as “hoi”, “lieve” or “dag” are used, and the closings are “dag” or “groetjes”. 

The informal personal pronouns are “jij”, “je” or “jou” and the possessive pronouns are “je” or “jouw”. The difference between “jij” and “jou” is that the former personal pronoun is used as the subject and the latter personal pronoun is used as the indirect subject. “Jouw” and “je” can be used interchangeably.

The second person singular is used when conjugating the verb (for example “jij hebt, jij gaat”). Avoid using the reduced form “je” as much as possible. For business emails, use “beste” or “hallo”.

Never use the second degree in business emails, as this is seen as unprofessional. Avoid using abbreviations like “ajb”.

 

Category	Examples	Type of Register
Personal pronouns	Jij, jou, je	Grammatical
Verbs (second person singular)	Hebt, gaat, wil, mag	Grammatical
Possessive pronouns	Jouw, je	Grammatical
Greetings	Beste, Hallo,	Lexical
Closings (first degree)	Met vriendelijke groet(en)	Lexical

 

 

5. Localization challenges

5.1. Proper nouns

Proper nouns refer to unique entities, such as persons, places, organizations, brands, events, etc. As foreign proper nouns are concerned, languages may adopt different rules regarding whether they should be translated or kept in the original language. When editing a text, you should follow your language rules for all different types of proper nouns listed below.

However, please note that if there is a glossary provided by the client that includes these types of units, you should always apply the glossary items.

 

5.1.1. Persons

The names of persons should be kept untranslated. 

Example

Source text	Mao Zedong
✘	Mao Tse-tung
✓	Mao Zedong

 

5.1.2. Places

The names of places (cities, countries, monuments) should be translated, unless there is no equivalent in Dutch.

Cities:

Example

Source text	Aachen, Paris
✘	Aachen, Paris
✓	Aken, Parijs

 

Countries:

Example

Source text	Germany
✘	Germany
✓	Duitsland

 

Monuments:

Example

Source text	Statue of Liberty
✘	Statue of Liberty
✓	Vrijheidsbeeld

 

5.1.3. Organizations

The names of organizations should be translated, unless there is no equivalent in Dutch.

Examples

Source text	University of Birmingham
✘	University of Birmingham
✓	Universiteit van Birmingham

 

Source text	Direction générale de l'aviation civile
✘	Direction générale de l'aviation civile
✓	Franse burgerluchtvaartautoriteit

 

Source text	World Trade Organization
✘	World Trade Organization
✓	Wereldhandelsorganisatie

 

5.1.4. Brands and products

The names of brands (e.g. Sony, Microsoft) and products (e.g. PlayStation, Windows) should be kept untranslated.

 

Example

Source text	Kobo Aurora One Ereader
✘	Kobo Aurora Eén E-reader
✓	Kobo Aurora One E-reader

 

5.1.5. Other entities

The names of other entities should be translated, unless there is no equivalent in Dutch. If the name is translated into English, use the original name instead.

 

Example

Source text	The Son of Man by René Magritte
✘	The Son of Man van René Magritte
✓	Le fils de l'homme van René Magritte

 

5.2. Acronyms and initials

• Acronyms

Whenever the source text contains acronyms that exist in Dutch, they should be translated. If no (commonplace) translation is available, keep the source abbreviation.

Example

Source text	ASAP (as soon as possible)
✘	ASAP
✓	z.s.m. (zo snel mogelijk)

 

Source text	ASD (autism spectrum disorder)
✘	ASD
✓	ASS (Autisme Spectrum Stoornis)

 

• Initials

In Dutch, initials are written without a period. For example: “pc” instead of “pc.”; “btw” instead of “btw.”.

 

5.3. Date format

The English language uses the date format mm/dd/yy(yy). This means that the date has to be changed to dd/mm/yy(yy) whenever a date occurs in the source text. The correct date format in Dutch uses hyphens: dd-mm-yy(yy).

 

Example

Source text	10/25/2016 (25th of October 2016)
✘	10/25/2016
✘	10-25-2016
✓	25-10-2016

 

To avoid confusion, it is better to write 25th of October 2016 instead of 25-10-2016 whenever a date occurs in the source text.

 

5.4. Time format

The English language and especially American English uses the 12-hour format (am/pm). The Dutch language uses the following 24-hour format: “uu.mm:ss”.

 

Example

Source text	4 p.m.
✘	4 uur
✓	16.00 uur

 

5.5. Measures

Measures should always keep the format of the source text and should never be converted.

You should only translate them when they have an equivalent term in your language. Abbreviations should be kept (e.g. 2 ft, 7 cm). There should be a space between the number and the abbreviation. 

 

Example

Source text	2 ft
✘	61cm
✓	2 ft

 

5.6. Currency

Currency values should be left as they are in the source text and only the currency should be translated.

 

Example

Source text	100 pounds
✘	100 pounds
✘	100 euros
✓	100 pond

 

The currency symbols (€, $, £, etc.) occur before the number and are preceded by a whitespace.

 

Example

Source text	$12
✘	$12
✓	$ 12

 

Do not translate currency initials (USD, GBP, RUB, INR, DKK, NOK, etc.) as they are a convention accepted worldwide (ICO code). The currency initial should be written after the currency value and is preceded by a whitespace.

 

Example

Source text	12 USD (United States Dollar)
✘	12 AD (Amerikaanse Dollar)
✓	12 USD

 

6. Most frequent errors

This section contains the top three errors that editors make while working on tasks on the Unbabel platform: grammatical register, word order, and overly literal. Less frequent mistakes, like punctuation, will also be listed. 

• Grammatical register

The chief mistake in the grammatical register is not following the register requested by the clients. Whenever a register (formal or informal) is given, it should be followed. Another often-made mistake is to have a too informal register.

 

Example

Source text	Hello John,  (informal)
✘	Dag John, Hoi John, Hey John,
✓	Beste John, Hallo John,

   

• Word order

The chief mistake made in word order is not adhering to the Dutch sentence structure. While translating the English sentence, it is frequent to maintain the English structure. The following example illustrates the correct way to structure a sentence in Dutch:

subject | finite verb | time | manner | place | other verbs

Example

I reluctantly went to the gym to train this morning.

Ik heb vanmorgen met tegenzin in de sportschool getraind

 

Another often made-mistake in word order concerns the difference between spoken and written language. In written language, the auxiliary verb precedes the main verb: 

Example

have said, have seen

heb gezegd, heb gezien

 

• Overly literal

When translating a text, the machine often translates it quite literally. There are the obvious mistakes: 

Example

Source text	Thank you for writing into KCC
✘	Bedankt voor het schrijven in KCC
✓	Bedankt voor het bericht aan KCC

 

And there are the less obvious mistakes:

Example

Source text	To make sure you're aware as soon as they're out, {…}
✘	Zorg ervoor dat je op de hoogte bent, zodra ze weg zijn {…}
✓	Zorg ervoor dat je op de hoogte bent, zodra ze beschikbaar zijn {…}

 

While translating the message, keep in mind that what the writer wants to tell is more important than translating the actual words the writer uses to phrase the message. Editors are often too strict with the words in the source text, and they do not use other vocabulary/sentences more common in the target language. This often leads to less well-formulated and unnatural sentences in Dutch. 

 

• Punctuation

The chief two mistakes made in this category concern the wrong use of commas and quotation marks. It is frequent to find a comma when evidently a period has to be used. On the other hand, quotation marks are often copied without checking if the double quotation mark used in English should also be used in Dutch. 

 

Example

Source text	The reaction quickly becomes “there's got to be an easier way”.
✘	“Dat kan makkelijker”, is de reactie al snel.
✓	'Dat kan makkelijker', is de reactie al snel.

 

7. Useful online resources

This section contains a list of relevant and official references that can be used by Editors in case of doubts, such as English, Dutch, and bilingual references.

English verb conjugator

Reverso 

 

English grammar guide

English Grammar Online

 

English dictionaries

Oxford English Dictionary

Collins English Dictionary

Cambridge English Dictionary

 

English thesauruses

Thesaurus.com

Oxford English Thesaurus

Collins English Thesaurus

 

Dutch dictionaries

Van Dale

Woordenlijst

 

Dutch grammar guide

Onze Taal

Taaladvies.net

 

Bilingual dictionaries

WordReference

Linguee

Reverso Context