Localization and Multilingual Content

Locale Style Guide

Define audience-specific local writing rules for voice, formality, punctuation, names, numbers, units, interface patterns, accessibility, and governance.

Free editable Markdown · Localization teams, editors, and brand managers · Updated July 30, 2026

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Guide identity and audience

Locale, language variety, and script: [Enter precisely]
Guide version and effective date: [Enter]
Products and channels in scope: [Web, app, email, help, campaign, or other]
Primary audience segments: [Situations and needs]
Speaker-reader relationships: [Support, peer, institution, expert, or other]
Evidence used: [Local editors, research, content sample, or policy]
Language owner: [Name or team]
Brand or subject partner: [Name or team]
Out of scope: [Other regions, regulated copy, or specialized content]

Voice, register, and structure

Default formality and pronouns: [Rule, reason, and example]
Directness and agency: [Preferred pattern]
Sentence and paragraph guidance: [Length, order, and complexity]
Headings and calls to action: [Pattern]
Reassurance, apology, and error tone: [Pattern]
Humor and idioms: [When suitable or avoided]
Inclusive and respectful language: [Principles and escalation]
Preferred example: [Source intent and target execution]
Avoid example: [Problem and improved version]

Mechanics and locale formats

Capitalization and case: [Rules]
Punctuation and quotation marks: [Rules and nesting]
Spacing, dashes, ranges, and emphasis: [Rules]
Lists, abbreviations, and acronyms: [Rules]
Names, titles, addresses, and telephone numbers: [Rules]
Dates, weekdays, time, and time zones: [Rules]
Numbers, decimals, percentages, currency, and units: [Rules]
Line breaking, wrapping, and forbidden breaks: [Rules]
Sorting and alphabetical behavior: [If relevant]

Product content and governance

Buttons and links: [Verb, length, and destination context]
Labels and placeholders: [Pattern and limits]
Errors and recovery: [Cause, next step, and respectful tone]
Statuses and notifications: [Tense and timing]
Accessibility: [Plain language, reading order, alternatives, captions]
Terminology source: [Glossary location and priority]
Regulated or approved wording: [Source and owner]
Rule conflict order: [Accessibility, legal, terminology, local style, brand, or other]
Proposal process: [Question, evidence, reviewer, deadline]
Change log: [Rule, before/after, reason, affected content, date]

Examples cover common content types and difficult states.
Rules describe a defined audience rather than a national stereotype.
Review owners and effective versions are visible.

How to use this template

Define the locale, language variety, script, audiences, relationships, channels, risks, and evidence behind the guide.
Convert brand voice and local expectations into concrete writing choices with acceptable and avoid examples.
Document mechanical, numerical, naming, interface, accessibility, and layout conventions plus explicit exceptions.
Link terminology and regulated sources, then assign a process for new questions, conflicts, and approvals.
Version the guide, communicate changes, sample published work, and revise rules based on qualified evidence.

Base style decisions on audience relationships

Describe who speaks, who reads, the likely situation, and the relationship between them. Formality, pronouns, honorifics, directness, reassurance, and humor can change by product state and content type. A payment failure may need a different register from a celebration, even within the same brand. Translate broad voice traits into observable choices: sentence structure, agency, level of explanation, preferred verbs, and patterns to avoid. Support rules with local editorial expertise, user research, current high-quality examples, and product needs rather than stereotypes or a source-language style copied without examination.

Turn conventions into testable instructions

Specify punctuation, quotations, capitalization, headings, lists, abbreviations, spacing, line breaking, keyboard characters, and emphasis with paired examples. Define handling for personal names, addresses, telephone numbers, dates, time zones, currencies, percentages, decimals, ranges, units, and sorting. Document interface patterns for buttons, labels, errors, confirmations, notifications, placeholders, and constrained layouts. Keep terminology in the governed glossary and link to it rather than duplicating every term. Explain exceptions and priority when brand style, locale convention, accessibility, regulated wording, or platform constraints conflict.

Maintain a guide people can actually use

Keep the main rules concise, searchable, versioned, and connected to examples from real content types. Assign a language owner and a subject or brand partner. Provide a proposal route for issues the guide does not answer, with decision criteria and a turnaround time. Record changes, affected assets, and effective versions so translators do not receive silent rule shifts mid-project. Audit whether approved content follows the guide and whether the guide produces clear outcomes. Retire rules that are obsolete, exclusionary, unsupported, or repeatedly harmful to comprehension rather than preserving them for consistency alone.

See the fields in context

Fictional example: account recovery guidance

Bright Orchard is an invented service, and the locale rules below are illustrative.

Audience state: A user cannot access an account and may be anxious, so the guide favors direct instructions without blame.
Formality: The selected locale uses a consistently respectful pronoun in support and security flows.
Interface rule: Recovery buttons state the next action; placeholders never carry the only instruction.
Number rule: Times use a 24-hour clock with an explicit time zone in messages about expiring codes.
Governance: A local editor proposes the rule, accessibility review confirms clarity, and the owner schedules a sample audit after the next release.

Frequently asked questions

Can one style guide cover every region that uses a language?

Usually not without locale-specific sections. Register, spelling, formats, terminology, law, product availability, and audience expectations may differ even when much of the language is shared.

Should the guide repeat the entire terminology glossary?

No. Link to the governed glossary and explain how writers should apply it. Duplication creates conflicting versions and makes updates harder.

How detailed should rules be?

Detailed enough that a qualified writer can make a consistent decision and a reviewer can explain a defect. Use examples and exceptions instead of long abstract principles.

Who can change the guide?

A named language owner should coordinate changes with relevant brand, product, accessibility, subject, or compliance owners and publish a versioned decision with affected content.