This guide adapts rules and examples from Microsoft’s Spanish (Neutral) Localization Style Guide (originally written for software/UI localization). The underlying linguistic rules apply universally — to legal contracts, medical documents, marketing copy, and any neutral Spanish translation work spanning multiple regions. Restructured and reformatted as a general Spanish (Neutral) translator reference by ChatsControl.

Spanish (Neutral / International) Translation Style Guide — Voice, Word Choice & Common Pitfalls (Legal, Medical, Marketing, IT)¶

TL;DR¶

• Neutral Spanish targets all ~400M Spanish speakers across 21 countries — pick terms understood across regions.
• Use ustedes (not vosotros); use lo for masculine direct object (not Spain’s leísmo le); use cantara subjunctive.
• tú/usted choice varies by Microsoft product — follow product-specific guidance.
• Don’t decline PC for gender — always tu PC / tus PC. Use equipo if gender forces a choice.
• Reference RAE Diccionario panhispánico de dudas (essential for neutral usage), DLE, Nueva gramática, Ortografía. Use Fundéu and Wikilengua for usage queries.

Worldwide Spanish — what “neutral” means¶

There are around 400 million native Spanish speakers globally — Spanish is spoken in Spain, most Latin American countries, and Equatorial Guinea, and serves as the primary language of 21 nations. Across this wide spread, the language is fundamentally the same but varies in vocabulary, idioms, and nuances that can cause confusion or social embarrassment when used in the wrong region.

The term “neutral” or “international Spanish” does NOT refer to a specific dialect, nor does it imply coining new terms. It refers to the process of finding terms or phrases that are understood or best suited to a multinational target audience.

For example, the term “computer” can be translated as computadora, computador, or ordenador depending on the country or region. To avoid regional bias, Microsoft uses “su PC” or “equipo”.

Spanish is supported in 20 different locales in Windows (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Spain, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela). The differences between locales appear in formatting of currency, date, time, numbers (decimal/thousands separators). The user interface, commands, and content remain the same regardless of locale.

Why this matters: Regional vocabulary in legal documents can cause confusion when documents are shared across jurisdictions. In medical translation wrong regional terms can confuse patients (jeringa in some regions; inyector in others). In software UI regional choice excludes users in other regions. In marketing copy regional vocabulary signals “this product is for Spain, not Latin America” and reduces engagement.

Register and tone for modern Spanish (Neutral) translation¶

Register is the level of formality, warmth, and conversational ease the target text projects. Three principles define the modern Spanish (Neutral) register for consumer-facing content:

• Warm and relaxed. Natural, less formal, more grounded in honest conversations.
• Crisp and clear. Written for scanning first, reading second. Sentences short enough to parse on a phone screen.
• Ready to help. Anticipates what the reader needs and offers it at the right moment.

The general style should be clear, friendly, and concise. Use language that resembles conversation in everyday settings as opposed to the formal, technical language often used for technical and commercial content.

Audience targeting: technical vs. consumer vocabulary¶

Use technical terms for technical audiences; for consumers use common words.

This applies in every sphere. Legal translation for corporate counsel uses Latinisms and procedural shorthand; consumer-facing versions need plain-Spanish framing. Medical translation for clinicians keeps Greek/Latin nomenclature; for patients it switches to common terms.

Word choice: terminology and conversational vocabulary¶

Use approved terminology for key terms, technical terms, product names. Modern Spanish voice prefers shortened forms and everyday words. Important: Beware of shortened English words like “app” and “info” which have no shorter Spanish equivalent — use the full Spanish form regardless of source.

Synonyms¶

Words and phrases to avoid in modern Spanish (Neutral)¶

Same list as Spain Spanish — long formal constructions should be avoided in favor of simpler, more direct syntax.

GroupMe¶

Don’t use “participante” (participant) to refer to users belonging to GroupMe groups. A GroupMe group is a persistent object — users belong as “miembro” (member) of the group.

Tú / usted usage per Microsoft product¶

The way of addressing the user is NOT uniform across Microsoft products in Spanish (Neutral) — some address with familiar tú, others with formal usted.

• Office team uses formal usted for most Office applications — exceptions are OneNote and Lync:
• Lync for Windows 8.x Metro (LMX): tú (integrates with Metro UI).
• Lync for Windows Phone: tú (Windows Phone uses tú).
• Lync for Android: tú (follows Windows Phone).
• Lync Rich Client (LRC), Lync for iOS/iOSX, Lync Server, Lync Room, Lync help and documentation: usted.
• OneNote for Windows Phone and Android: tú.
• OneNote for PC, iOS, iOSX: usted.
• Exchange: usted.
• All WDG products: tú.
• Skype: tú.
• Microsoft Store in Spanish: tú.
• Cloud & Enterprise (SQL Server, Azure, Visual Studio, Windows Server, System Center, Intune, Active Directory, Power BI): usted — except TechNet content for young audiences (Virtual Academy) which uses tú.
• Dynamics products: usted.
• PMG content (Product Marketing Group): tú across all materials (articles, templates, videos).

Why this matters: Mismatched address breaks brand consistency. In a single user journey across products (Office → Azure → Marketing materials), users encounter both tú and usted — but each product internally must be consistent.

Bias-free communication¶

Microsoft technology reaches every part of the globe — communications must be inclusive and diverse.

General guidelines: comply with local language laws; use plain language; be mindful when referring to various parts of the world; represent diverse perspectives in text and images; don’t generalize or stereotype people by region, culture, age, or gender; don’t use profane or derogatory terms.

Avoid gender bias¶

Use gender-neutral alternatives. Avoid compound words containing man/men.

Don’t use gendered pronouns (she, her, he, him) in generic references. Instead: rewrite using second/third person (you or one); use a plural noun and pronoun; refer to a person’s role (reader, employee, customer, client); use person or individual. If you can’t write around the problem, it’s OK to use a plural pronoun (they, their, them) in generic references to a single person. Don’t use constructions like he/she or s/he.

Accessibility¶

Focus on people, not disabilities. Don’t use words that imply pity (stricken with, suffering from). Don’t mention a disability unless relevant.

Use generic verbs that apply to all input methods. Keep paragraphs short — aim for one verb per sentence. Spell out and, plus, about — screen readers misread &, +, ~.

Language-specific standards¶

Abbreviations¶

• Letter order matches the source word (art. for “artículo”).
• Omit at least two characters.
• Abbreviations by dropping last syllables shouldn’t end in a vowel (pról. not prólo.).
• Abbreviations by contraction can end in a vowel (pdo. for “pasado”).
• Don’t create abbreviations matching another word’s convention.
• Abbreviations carry a period at the end.
• If the full word has an accent on a letter that remains in the abbreviation, keep the accent.

In running text avoid unnecessary abbreviations.

Acronyms¶

Acronyms behave like nouns. Gender comes from the spelled-out form. No plural -s — number comes from the determiner: los DVD, unos CD. For PC, to avoid the conflict between Spain and Latin America when using a determiner, use “en tus PC”. If not possible in context, use the synonym equipo instead of the acronym.

Localized acronyms¶

If widely used, use as-is. If not widely used or potentially confusing, spell out the term and include the acronym in brackets on first occurrence.

Unlocalized acronyms¶

Common acronyms used without spelled-out form: ANSI, CD, DOS, DSL, DVD, ISO, IP.

If the acronym is not widely used, first occurrence: write full Spanish name in normal font followed by English acronym in parentheses. If English full name is needed: Spanish name (acronym, English full name in italics).

Adjectives¶

Spanish adjectives match gender/number of what they modify. Adjectives of nationality are NOT capitalized.

Possessive adjectives¶

Frequent possessives are an English feature — avoid in Spanish. Replace with definite article; exception is UI items (Mi PC, Mis documentos, Mis sitios de red, Mi música).

Use possessive form tu/tus as a workaround to avoid specifying gender inflection for “la computadora”, “el ordenador”, “el computador”, “la/el Macintosh”, “la/el portátil” — tu/tus is preferred to including an article that would show regional gender variations. “On your computer…” → “En tu PC” or “En el equipo…”.

Articles¶

Microsoft product names and non-translated feature names use no articles in English. Same in Spanish.

For localized feature names: proper noun → no article. Common-noun-starting name (tool, wizard) → article included.

Capitalization¶

Spanish capitalizes far less than English.

• For software interface elements: capitalize only first letter of first word in commands, dialog titles, options, menus, buttons, pane/view/window names.

• Key name capitalization is limited to the initial letter (tecla Control). For abbreviated keys (CTRL, ALT) follow source formatting.

• In headings, captions, table/figure titles, initial capitals only for first word and proper nouns.

Accented capital letters (Á, É, Í, Ó, Ú, Ñ) are mandatory in Spanish — except where software incompatibilities prevent.

Compounds¶

Avoid overly long or complex compounds.

For compounds in variables/user input/programming elements, check translatability. Localizable elements:

Conjunctions¶

Spanish modern voice tolerates starting sentences with conjunctions (Y, O) — sparingly.

Gender (loan words)¶

When dealing with English loan words: consider motivation (formal features for noun class), analogy (equivalent Spanish term whose article could apply), frequency (article most used in technical docs).

Localizing colloquialisms, idioms, and metaphors¶

Three options:

1. Don’t replace source colloquialism with Spanish unless perfect fit.
2. Translate intended meaning if integral.
3. If omittable without affecting meaning, omit.

Non-breaking spaces¶

Use NBSP (Ctrl+Shift+Spacebar) between:

• “capítulo” or “apéndice” and its corresponding number/letter.
• Unit of measure or currency and the number.
• Items not to be divided (Microsoft Office, Microsoft).

Numerals¶

In non-technical writing, spell out numbers of one or two words, or two words joined by “y”:

In technical/scientific/business writing, figures preferred. Generally accepted as figures: dates, addresses, percentages, fractions, decimals, scores, statistics, pages, identification numbers, time. In software localization, follow source for simplicity.

Prepositions¶

Avoid coordinating two verbs that take different prepositions when they share a complement.

Don’t coordinate two verbs needing different prepositions (“correo enviado a y recibido de” — also incorrect).

Queísmo and dequeísmo¶

Queísmo: omitting “de” where required. Dequeísmo: adding “de” where unnecessary.

Modern voice prefers simpler prepositions:

Pronouns¶

Use first/second-person pronouns. Avoid third-person (“user”) — sounds formal and impersonal.

Spanish (Neutral) uses informal “tú” in many products (see tú/usted product list above). Where classic and modern voice strings coexist in the same dialog/page, check in context — use impersonal forms or infinitives to avoid inconsistency:

Neutral second-person plural is “ustedes” — NOT “vosotros” (Spain-only). If possible, use an alternative construction to avoid the choice altogether:

Leísmo¶

“Leísmo” (use of “le”) occurs largely in Spain — using indirect object “le” instead of masculine direct object “lo” when the object refers to a male person. In Neutral Spanish, prefer “lo”.

Punctuation¶

Punctuation marks in each Latin-based language are the same as English. Exceptions: opening ¡ and ¿ used in Spanish.

Bulleted lists¶

Full-sentence bullets: initial caps + period at end.

Cuando finalice la ejecución del programa de instalación de DoubleSpace:
• Tu PC tendrá una unidad sin comprimir.
• La unidad C estará comprimida y tendrá más espacio libre.

Sentence-fragment bullets (part of same sentence): lowercase + appropriate punctuation (commas or semicolons + ending period).

Estos conflictos surgen cuando:
• se deben ejecutar dos versiones de la misma aplicación al mismo tiempo,
• el departamento de finanzas migró a una versión más nueva del software de contabilidad o
• se requiere acceso a una versión antigua del software para cerrar el año fiscal.

Non-sentence non-continuation bullets: no ending period.

Tareas principales:
• Compatibilidad de las aplicaciones
• Virtualización del escritorio
• Seguridad y control

Dashes and hyphens¶

Hyphen — divides words by syllables, links compound parts, joins inverted/imperative verb forms.

En dash — minus sign with spaces.

Number ranges with en dash, no spaces:

Em dash (raya) — emphasize isolated elements or introduce non-essential elements. See normative references.

Ellipses¶

• Remove spaces before ellipses, even when source has them.

• Command names in menus followed by ellipses (dialog indicator) keep ellipses in software. In documentation/messages references, ellipses are NOT kept.

Period¶

Don’t use two spaces after a period, even if source does.

Quotation marks¶

Normative reference: chevrons (« »). However, with widespread English source basis, curly quotes (” “) are seen in Spanish printed material. In Microsoft Spanish documentation, use curly/smart quotes in normal text. Use “comillas de apertura” / “comillas de cierre”.

Do not use quotation marks with user input unless they’re part of the input. In technical material, specify “sencilla (‘)” or “doble (")” when the user must type them.

Parentheses¶

No space between parentheses and text inside.

Sentence fragments¶

Sentence fragments convey conversational tone in some cases.

Subjunctive¶

The subjunctive is important — use when content requires it. When choosing between “cantara/cantase”, cantase is less common in Latin America — use cantara for neutral.

Verbs¶

Simple tenses preferred over compound tenses. Future tense OK for future events or conditional clauses.

Localization considerations¶

Accessibility¶

Accessibility options make computers usable by people with cognitive, hearing, physical, or visual disabilities. Some accessible products may not be available in Spanish-speaking markets.

Applications, products, and features¶

Application/product names are often trademarked and rarely translated. Feature names occasionally trademarked. When a product name contains a preposition, translate the preposition unless trademark/copyright says otherwise.

Feature names — wizards¶

Wizard names follow format: Asistente + para + noun OR Asistente + para + infinitive + object.

Version numbers¶

Version numbers contain a period (e.g. Version 4.2).

Software considerations¶

Error messages¶

Error messages inform users of an error to correct. Apply Microsoft voice principles for natural, empathetic, non-robotic translation.

Syntax and punctuation¶

English error messages may use period, semicolon, or colon as separators. Simplified to period as separator. Concise nominal phrases preferred over full sentences.

Don’t transfer English exclamation marks:

Impersonal form preferred over excessive repetition of “tú”. When 3rd-person verb mentions an error/cause, include subject; if context is clear, remove user reference:

Verbs ser and estar¶

Often omit “to be” in short error messages — nominal form preferred:

In long sentences with many participles, verbal structure preferred:

Standard phrases in error messages¶

Error messages containing placeholders¶

%d %ld %u %lu → <number>. %c → <letter>. %s → <string>.

Keys¶

Keyboard shortcuts¶

Terminology distinction:

Arrow keys¶

Arrow keys move input focus within a group.

Numeric keypad¶

Don’t distinguish numeric keypad keys from other keys unless required.

Shortcut keys¶

Trademarks¶

Trademarked names and “Microsoft Corporation” should not be localized unless local laws require translation and an approved translated form exists.

Voice video considerations¶

A good voice video addresses one intent, isn’t too long, has high audio quality, has informative visuals, uses the right language variant in voiceover.

Successful techniques:

• Focus on the intent.
• Show empathy.
• Use SEO — include search phrases in title, description, headers.
• Talk to the customer as if next to you.
• Record a scratch audio file — check length, pace, clarity.

English pronunciation¶

English terms and product names pronounced English-way with slight Spanish accent. Microsoft pronounced English way. Adapt to Spanish phonetic system if original sounds awkward.

• Numbers in Spanish — Windows 8 → “Windows ocho”.
• “r” always Spanish way (rolling r).

Acronyms pronounced as words, adapted to local pronunciation:

Other abbreviations letter by letter:

URLs¶

• “http://” left out.
• “www” pronounced “triple w”.
• “dot” omitted or read as “punto”.

Punctuation marks¶

Most naturally implied by voice. En dash (–) emphasizes isolated elements — pronounced as comma (short pause).

Special characters¶

Hyphen → “guion”; underscore → “guion bajo”.

Tone¶

Match target audience: informal/playful for products and games; formal/informative/factual for technical texts. Check with Microsoft Product Group contact for appropriate tone.

Video voice checklist¶

• Topic and script: single intent, clarity, everyday language, friendliness, relatable context.
• Title: include intent, include keywords for search.
• Intro 10s: put problem in relatable context.
• Action and sound: keep something happening with appropriate pace, synchronized visuals/voice, fine to alternate first/second person (for second person use tú singular and ustedes plural in Spanish Neutral), repetition of big points OK.
• Visuals: eye guided through procedure, smooth pointer motions, judicious callouts, motion graphics/branding visuals.
• Ending: recaps unnecessary.

Reference materials: authoritative Spanish (Neutral) sources¶

Normative references:

1. Diccionario panhispánico de dudas, RAE & ASALE, Madrid, Ed. Santillana, 2005 (online).
2. Diccionario de la lengua española (Vigésima tercera edición), RAE, Madrid, Ed. Espasa-Calpe, 2014.
3. Nueva gramática de la lengua española, RAE y ASALE, Madrid, Ed. Espasa-Calpe, 2009.
4. Ortografía de la lengua española, Academias de la Lengua Española, Ed. Espasa, 2010.

Informative references:

1. Diccionario de uso del español, Moliner, M., Madrid, Ed. Gredos S.A., 1991.
2. Diccionario de informática (2.ª ed.), Oxford University Press, Ed. Díaz de Santos, 1992.
3. Diccionario comentado de terminología informática, Aguado de Cea, Ed. Paraninfo, 1996.
4. Microsoft Diccionario de Informática e Internet, McGraw-Hill Interamericana, Madrid, 2001.
5. El lenguaje de la informática e Internet y su traducción, Belda Medina, J.R., Publicaciones de la Universidad de Alicante, 2003.
6. Diccionario de Internet ATI
7. Fundéu — Fundación del Español Urgente
8. Wikilengua del español

FAQ¶

What does “neutral” or “international” Spanish mean?¶

Not a specific dialect — the process of finding terms or phrases that would be understood or best suited to a multinational target audience across 21 Spanish-speaking nations. For ‘computer’: use ‘su PC’ or ‘equipo’ (not ‘computadora’/’computador’/’ordenador’ which are regional).

How does Spanish (Neutral) differ from Spanish (Spain)?¶

Spain uses vosotros/leísmo (le for male direct object) / cantase subjunctive / ordenador / coste / vídeo / ratón / marketing / móvil. Neutral uses ustedes / lo for male direct object / cantara subjunctive / equipo or tu PC / costo / video or vídeo / mouse or ratón / célular or móvil. Vocabulary chosen to be understood across all regions.

Which Microsoft products use tú and which use usted?¶

Most Office apps use formal usted (except OneNote for Windows Phone/Android, Lync for Windows 8.x Metro/Windows Phone/Android — all tú). Skype, Microsoft Store, all WDG products use tú. Exchange uses usted. Cloud & Enterprise (SQL Server, Azure, Visual Studio, Windows Server, System Center, Intune, Active Directory, Power BI) use usted, except TechNet content for young audiences (Virtual Academy) which uses tú. Dynamics uses usted. PMG content (Product Marketing Group) uses tú across all materials.

What are the most common Spanish (Neutral) translation pitfalls?¶

Use of vosotros (Spain-only), use of leísmo ‘le’ for male direct object (Spain regional — neutral uses ‘lo’), use of regional vocabulary (computadora vs ordenador vs computador → use ‘equipo’ or ‘tu PC’), excessive English possessives, false friend ‘ignorar’ for ignore (use omitir, pasar por alto), ‘ocurrencia’ for occurrence (use repetición, caso).

What punctuation rules differ from English in Spanish (Neutral)?¶

Use opening ¿ ¡ at start of questions/exclamations. Spanish prefers curly quotes “” in printed material though chevrons «» are normative; in Microsoft style follow source curly quotes. Use coma decimal (3,14) and dot for thousands (1.000) — though format differences across locales mean software follows source. Accented capital letters (Á, É, Í, Ó, Ú, Ñ) are mandatory.

Sources¶

• Microsoft Localization Style Guide for Spanish (Neutral)
• Microsoft Globalization Style Guides hub
• Real Academia Española — Diccionario panhispánico de dudas
• Real Academia Española — Diccionario
• Fundéu
• Wikilengua del español