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

Galician Translation Style Guide — Voice, Word Choice & Common Pitfalls (Legal, Medical, Marketing, IT)¶

TL;DR¶

• Galician translation addresses users with “ti” (informal singular), not “vostede” — this matches modern voice across marketing, software UI, patient instructions, and consumer-facing legal documents; only sworn legal correspondence retains the formal address.
• Use everyday vocabulary over formal alternatives — ademais (not adicionalmente), pero (not non obstante), conseguir (not atinxir), atopar (not localizar), comprar (not adquirir); applies to all consumer-facing translation.
• Galician follows distinct orthographic norms from the Real Academia Galega — consult the RAG dictionary (academia.gal/dicionario), the Vocabulario ortográfico, and the Normas ortográficas e morfolóxicas as the normative references.
• Use gender-inclusive constructions — collective nouns (alumnado, persoal, cidadanía), periphrases (o equipo docente, a poboación galega), impersonal forms (“Quen se beneficien”), passive-to-active rewrites; never use @ or slashes to combine genders.
• Omit welcome screens and “please” translations — these aren’t idiomatic in Galician; if “benvido” is needed, use “benvido/a” (one of few cases where the slash form is acceptable).

Register and tone for modern Galician translation¶

Register is the level of formality, warmth, and conversational ease the target text projects. Modern Galician readers across consumer-facing spheres expect a clear, friendly, concise register that resembles everyday conversation rather than formal technical/commercial language.

Three principles define the target register:

• Warm and relaxed. Natural, less formal, more grounded in honest conversation. Occasionally fun when context permits.
• Crisp and clear. Written for scanning first, reading second. Short, simple sentences.
• Ready to help. Anticipates user needs and offers great information at the right time.

Translators are encouraged to provide semantic translations for all terms or sentences — this improves idiomaticity and product understanding.

Why this matters: Formal bureaucratic Galician damages outcomes across spheres. In marketing translation it kills brand approachability — Galician-speaking consumers expect modern accessible voice. In medical patient materials it reduces comprehension across both rural and urban readerships. In software UI it creates friction at every interaction. In government translation (Xunta, councils, public services) Galician public-sector communications standards favor accessible language. Only sworn legal translation and traditional literary/academic contexts retain the older formal register.

Audience targeting: technical vs. consumer vocabulary¶

The same source text requires different vocabulary depending on who reads the translation. Use technical terms for technical audiences; for consumers use common words.

Why this matters: Audience fit determines comprehension. Legal translation for corporate counsel uses Latinisms and procedural shorthand; consumer-facing versions need plain-Galician framing. Medical translation for clinicians keeps Greek/Latin nomenclature; for patients it switches to common terms. IT translation uses developer jargon in engineer-facing docs, natural Galician in end-user help.

Words and phrases to avoid in modern Galician¶

Modern voice avoids an unnecessarily formal tone. The following lists Galician words commonly used in older technical translation and their everyday equivalents.

Why this matters: Formal vocabulary signals institutional distance. In marketing translation, “Adicionalmente, podes…” reads as administrative; “Ademais, podes…” reads as conversation. In medical patient instructions, “É preciso solicitar…” reads as clinical-direct; “Hai que pedir…” reads as advice. In software UI, “Cómpre adquirir” is heavier than “Hai que comprar.” These substitutions are among the highest-leverage edits.

Word choice: terminology, short forms, everyday vocabulary¶

Approved terminology¶

Use approved terminology from project glossaries for key terms, technical terms, and product names.

Why this matters: Terminology consistency is non-negotiable in legal translation (defined terms must render identically across all pages), medical translation (drug names, dosage units must be invariant), and IT/software translation (UI labels must match help documentation word-for-word).

Short word forms and everyday words¶

Galician doesn’t use as many abbreviations and blends as English. Their use in Galician may sound odd or unnatural. However, some short forms are very common in informal language.

Synonyms for word variety¶

Word variety conveys a natural and conversational tone, especially in longer text and informal topics. Be careful with synonyms in short UI strings such as buttons and menu items — avoid inconsistencies in common commands.

For example, “to wish” is usually translated as “desexar.” But in everyday Galician, speakers tend to use “querer.” This translation may be used for a more natural and conversational tone.

Sample translations: applying voice principles in context¶

Focusing on the user action¶

Explanatory text and providing support¶

Promoting a feature¶

Providing how-to guidelines¶

Inclusive language¶

All communications should be inclusive and diverse.

General guidelines:

• Comply with local language laws.
• Use plain language — straightforward, concrete, familiar words. Two-syllable words over three-syllable when possible.
• Be mindful when referring to various parts of the world. Verify cities, countries, regions for political non-disputation.
• Represent diverse perspectives and circumstances in text and images.
• Don’t generalize or stereotype people by region, culture, age, or gender.
• Don’t use profane or derogatory terms.
• Don’t use slang considered cultural appropriation.
• Don’t use terms with unconscious racial bias or military/political/historical baggage.

Avoid gender bias¶

Follow these guidelines.

Use generic, universal, abstract, or collective nouns:

Replace gendered nouns with periphrases:

Omit direct references to the subject using impersonal forms:

Omit definite articles:

Replace gendered articles, pronouns, and adjectives with non-gendered alternatives:

Rewrite relative pronouns with definite articles as a neutral form (such as “quen,” “calquera,” “alguén”) or the generic term “persoa”:

Replace “do(s) mesmo(s)” with the possessive “seu(s)” before the noun:

Replace nouns, adjectives, or participles with nouns of the same family:

Turn passive sentences into active ones:

When writing about a real person, use the pronouns the person prefers (el, ela, or another pronoun). It’s OK to use gendered pronouns and contractions (el, ela, eles, elas, nel, nela, neles, nelas, del, dela, deles, delas) when writing about real people who use those pronouns themselves.

Avoid writing sentences that refer to a single person whose gender is unknown. Often you can rewrite to make the subject plural. When unavoidable, don’t use “el ou ela,” “o ou a,” or “usuario ou usuaria.” Avoid slashes to combine genders (el/ela, o/a, usuario/a) — though sometimes exceptions are made (License Terms).

Don’t use @ when the gender is unknown.

Additional gender-neutral examples:

Welcome screen¶

It is not idiomatic in Galician for a program to welcome or congratulate the user — these expressions should generally be omitted from translations. The same applies to “please.”

The use of “benvido” can be controversial because of gender. When it can’t be omitted, use “benvido/a” instead.

Why this matters: Welcome strings and “please” translations are common defects in unedited Galician translation. In marketing copy “Benvido ao [product]” reads as forced/foreign; the absence reads as natural. In medical patient instructions “Por favor, lea atentamente” feels translated; “Lea atentamente” feels native. In legal documents for consumer use the same principle applies.

Accessibility¶

Focus on people, not disabilities. Don’t use words that imply pity, such as “afectado por” or “que sofre de.”

Use generic verbs that apply to all input methods. Keep paragraphs short, one verb per sentence ideal.

Language-specific standards¶

Abbreviations¶

You might need to abbreviate words in UI (mainly buttons or option names) due to lack of space. Galician doesn’t use as many abbreviations as English, so abbreviations may sound unnatural — prefer different wording or shorter natural forms.

Common Galician abbreviations follow standard Spanish/Portuguese conventions adapted to Galician — consult bUSCatermos and digaTIC for technical abbreviations.

Acronyms¶

Computing and IT acronyms are typically left in English (HTML, DNS, TCP/IP, etc.). Use Galician acronyms only when they have become genuinely common (RAG for Real Academia Galega; TIC for Tecnoloxías da Información e Comunicación).

Adjectives¶

Galician adjectives agree in gender and number with their noun. When two nouns of different gender share an adjective, the adjective typically agrees with the noun nearest to it (or the masculine plural form is used).

Articles¶

Galician uses definite and indefinite articles. Galician definite articles fuse with prepositions (do, da, no, na, polo, pola). In some constructions Galician omits articles where Spanish would include them.

Unlocalized feature names (Microsoft product names) are used without articles. Localized feature names use articles per normal Galician grammar.

Capitalization¶

Galician follows Romance-language conventions — proper nouns and first word of sentence are capitalized. Don’t capitalize common nouns mid-sentence even when English does.

Compounds¶

Galician compounds may be written as one word, two words, or hyphenated depending on convention. Consult the RAG dictionary.

Conjunctions¶

Use natural conjunctions — “e” (and), “ou” (or), “pero/mais” (but). Avoid overly formal conjunctions (“non obstante,” “emporiso”) in modern voice content.

Contractions¶

Standard Galician contractions (do, da, no, na, polo, pola, ao, á, do(s), da(s)) are mandatory.

Genitive¶

Galician marks the genitive with “de” (and its contractions). Standard convention.

Localizing colloquialism, idioms, and metaphors¶

Modern voice allows for culture-centric colloquialisms. Translate the intended meaning rather than the literal colloquialism. If a colloquialism can be omitted without affecting meaning, omit it.

Modifiers¶

Galician modifiers follow noun-adjective order by default, with adjective-noun order for emphasis or stylistic effect.

Nouns¶

Galician nouns have grammatical gender (masculine/feminine). Use the gender per the RAG dictionary; some loanwords have variable gender depending on usage.

Numbers¶

• Decimal separator: comma (,)
• Thousand separator: period (.) or space
• Numbers below 10 typically spelled out in literary text; numerals in technical/instructional text.

Prepositions¶

Galician prepositions interact with the definite article. Use the contracted forms where required (do, da, no, na). Avoid imitating Spanish or Portuguese preposition use where it differs from Galician.

Pronouns¶

Address users with “ti” (informal singular), not “vostede” (formal). Possessives: teu/túa/teus/túas. The reflexive “se” is widely used in instructional text.

Punctuation¶

Galician punctuation follows standard Romance conventions:

• Comma — used in lists, between clauses.
• Colon — introduces explanations and lists.
• Period — end of sentences.
• Question marks — Galician uses opening and closing question marks (¿…?) in formal text, but the closing-only form (…?) is increasingly common in modern usage. Match RAG conventions.
• Quotation marks — angle quotes « » preferred for primary; double quotes “…” for nested.

Sentence fragments¶

UI strings often use sentence fragments. Don’t artificially expand to full sentences when source is terse.

Subjunctive¶

Galician subjunctive is used in dependent clauses (se queres, cando chegues, antes de que…). Don’t avoid the subjunctive when it’s grammatically required.

Symbols and nonbreaking spaces¶

Use nonbreaking spaces between numerical values and units, between abbreviation parts.

Verbs¶

Galician verb tenses:

• Presente for general statements.
• Pretérito perfecto/imperfecto for past events.
• Futuro for future events.
• Imperativo for instructions.

Use simple tenses for clarity in instructional text. Use the second-person singular imperative for user commands (preme, escolle, escribe).

Localization considerations¶

Accessibility¶

Galician accessibility translation supports users with disabilities. Focus on people, not disabilities. Use generic verbs that work with all input methods. Keep paragraphs short and sentence structure simple.

Applications, products, and features¶

Microsoft product names are trademarked and not translated. Feature names may be translated per project guidelines.

Trademarks¶

Trademarked names should not be localized unless local laws require translation.

Software considerations¶

Error messages¶

Apply voice principles — translations should be natural-sounding, empathetic, not robot-like. Use determiners and pronouns consistently. Avoid impersonal forms when direct address works.

Arrow keys, keyboard shortcuts, keys, numeric keypad, shortcut keys¶

Standard key names follow general software localization conventions. Most function key names remain in English (Alt, Ctrl, Esc); others are referenced in Galician where natural.

Voice video considerations¶

For voice/video, English brand names are pronounced as in English (Microsoft, Windows, Office). Galician pronunciation follows the standard variant of the language.

Reference materials¶

Normative references¶

1. Dicionario da Real Academia Galega — academia.gal/dicionario. GONZÁLEZ GONZÁLEZ, Manuel and Antón Santamarina Fernández (dirs.) (2012). A Coruña: Real Academia Galega.
2. Vocabulario ortográfico da lingua galega — GONZÁLEZ GONZÁLEZ, Manuel and Antón Santamarina Fernández (coords.) (2004). A Coruña: Real Academia Galega e Instituto da Lingua Galega.
3. Normas ortográficas e morfolóxicas do idioma galego — REAL ACADEMIA GALEGA and INSTITUTO DA LINGUA GALEGA (2003). Vigo: RAG and ILG. PDF.

Informative references¶

1. Gramática da lingua galega — ÁLVAREZ, Rosario and X. Xove (2002). Vigo: Galaxia.
2. Ortografía da lingua galega — GONZÁLEZ REI, Begoña (2004). Santiago de Compostela: Galinova.
3. Gran Dicionario Xerais da Lingua — CARBALLEIRA, X. and M. Ares (coords.) (2009). Vigo: Xerais.
4. Dicionario de galego — LEDO, B. (coord.) (2005). Vigo: Ir Indo.
5. Dicionario Galaxia de usos e dificultades da lingua galega — FERNÁNDEZ, B. (dir.) (2004). Santiago de Compostela: Galaxia.
6. Diccionario Cumio de construccións preposicionais — RIVEIRO, X. (2002). Vigo: Cumio.
7. Lingua galega: Criterios lingüísticos — RODRÍGUEZ, Anaír and Montserrat Davila (reds.) (2003). Vigo: Área de Normalización Lingüística da Universidade de Vigo. PDF.
8. Nomenclátor de Galicia — XUNTA DE GALICIA. xunta.es/nomenclator.
9. bUSCatermos — SERVIZO DE NORMALIZACIÓN LINGÜÍSTICA (2012). Santiago de Compostela: Universidade de Santiago de Compostela. aplicacions.usc.es/buscatermos.
10. Dicionario galego das TIC (digaTIC) — ASOCIACIÓN DE ENXEÑEIROS DE TELECOMUNICACIÓN DE GALICIA (2009). digatic.org/es.
11. Vocabulario de informática (galego-inglés-castelán) — GÓMEZ, J. and A. Lorenzo (1994). Vigo: Universidade de Vigo.
12. Léxico informático inglés-galego — PATIÑO, E. and X. González (2001). Santiago de Compostela: Xunta de Galicia.

FAQ¶

Should I use ‘ti’ or ‘vostede’ when addressing users in Galician?¶

Use “ti” (informal singular). The polite “vostede” is too formal for modern computing, consumer products, marketing copy, and patient instructions. The “ti” form makes users feel at home and cared for. Only sworn legal correspondence and high formal ceremony retain “vostede”.

Which authoritative references should I use for Galician translation?¶

Normative: Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (academia.gal/dicionario), Vocabulario ortográfico da lingua galega (RAG, 2004), and Normas ortográficas e morfolóxicas do idioma galego (RAG, 2003). Informative: Gran Dicionario Xerais da Lingua, Dicionario Galaxia, Diccionario Cumio de construccións preposicionais, bUSCatermos (USC), digaTIC (Dicionario galego das TIC), and the Xunta de Galicia Nomenclátor.

How should I handle gender-inclusive language in Galician?¶

Default to gender-inclusive constructions: collective nouns (“alumnado” instead of “alumnos”, “persoal” instead of “traballadores”, “cidadanía” instead of “cidadáns”), periphrases (“o equipo docente” instead of “os profesores”), impersonal forms (“Quen se beneficien” instead of “Os beneficiarios”), passive-to-active rewrites, and never use @ or slashes (el/ela, usuario/a) to combine genders. Exception: “benvido/a” is acceptable for welcome strings when the welcome cannot be omitted.

Why does Galician translation often omit ‘welcome’ and ‘please’?¶

Because it’s not idiomatic in Galician for a program to welcome or congratulate the user — “Benvido a [product]” reads as forced. Same for “please” (“por favor”) — Galician doesn’t need it in every request the way English does. When “benvido” must be used, write “benvido/a” to handle gender. Omitting these is not impolite; it’s natural Galician style.

What’s the rule for ‘baixar’ vs. ‘descargar’ in Galician?¶

“Descargar” is the approved translation for “download” in formal/technical contexts. “Baixar” is a colloquial term that’s widely used and especially appropriate in marketing content. Either is acceptable depending on register — match the surrounding text and the product/document tone.

What’s the difference between Galician and Spanish/Portuguese punctuation?¶

Galician follows Romance conventions but with specific RAG-prescribed rules. Question marks may use the opening form (¿…?) in formal text, but the closing-only form (…?) is increasingly common. Quotation marks default to angle quotes « ». The RAG Normas ortográficas e morfolóxicas is the authoritative source for current usage.

How do I handle technical vocabulary that Galician doesn’t have?¶

Consult digaTIC (Dicionario galego das TIC) and bUSCatermos first. For terms not in these references, follow general Galician word-formation rules adapted from Spanish/Portuguese/English source. Many computing terms are loanwords (software, hardware, email) that have become normalized; others have approved Galician equivalents (descarga, instalación, axuste).

Sources¶

• Microsoft Localization Style Guide for Galician (PDF)
• Microsoft Globalization Style Guides hub
• Real Academia Galega
• Dicionario da Real Academia Galega
• bUSCatermos
• Dicionario galego das TIC (digaTIC)
• Xunta de Galicia