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

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

TL;DR¶

• Modern Slovak translation moves away from formal/bureaucratic register toward warm, conversational language Slovaks actually use.
• Address users directly with second-person plural and verb forms; avoid third-person ‘používateľ’.
• Slovak declines foreign product names (Outlook → Outlooku, Excel → Excelu). Microsoft-prefixed names keep Microsoft undeclined.
• Use Slovak curly quotation marks „” — never English quotes. Don’t quote UI element or product names.
• Reference Pravidlá slovenského pravopisu, Slovník slovenského jazyka, Slovník cudzích slov, Synonimický slovník for normative decisions.

Register and tone for modern Slovak translation¶

Register is the level of formality, warmth, and conversational ease the target text projects. Traditionally, very formal language was used in Slovak localized material — but Slovaks don’t use such formal words in everyday conversation. Modern translation embraces the more user-friendly register people actually speak.

Three principles define the modern Slovak register:

• Warm and relaxed. Natural, less formal, more grounded in honest conversations. Friendly without sliding into overly colloquial language.
• 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.

Why this matters: Bureaucratic register damages outcomes across spheres. In marketing copy it kills conversion. In patient-facing medical materials it reduces comprehension and compliance. In software UI it creates friction. In consumer-facing legal documents (terms of service, privacy notices) regulators increasingly demand plain language. Only sworn legal translation (úradne osvedčený preklad) and pure technical specifications retain the older formal register.

Audience targeting: technical vs. consumer vocabulary¶

Use technical terms for technical audiences; for consumers use common words. A clinical drug monograph for prescribers uses precise pharmacological terminology; the patient leaflet for the same drug uses everyday Slovak. A software API reference uses developer jargon; the end-user help article uses plain Slovak.

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

Flexibility: when to translate literally vs. when to rewrite¶

Flexibility is the translator’s discretion to depart from literal source structure when the literal rendering produces unnatural Slovak. The rule: understand the whole intention of the sentence, paragraph, or page, then rewrite as if composing it for a Slovak reader. Sometimes you need to remove unnecessary content.

Why this matters: Source-faithful translation produces translatorese. Required in sworn legal translation and certified document translation where literal accuracy is mandated. Harmful in marketing translation (lost conversion), patient-facing healthcare materials (lost clarity), and software UX (lost engagement).

Word choice: terminology and conversational vocabulary¶

Approved terminology is the project-specific bank of fixed translations for key terms. Consistency within the bank matters more than the individual choice. Slovaks naturally shorten long words; modern style reflects this tendency.

Prefer shorter, more conversational equivalents over older formal ones:

Why this matters: Terminology consistency is non-negotiable in legal translation (a defined term in a contract must render identically across all pages — variant renderings create ambiguity opposing counsel will exploit), medical translation (drug names, dosage units must be invariant), and IT/software translation (UI labels must match help documentation word-for-word).

Word-to-word translation: why direct mapping fails¶

Word-to-word translation produces stiff, unnatural Slovak. Check source text in live pages — don’t translate a string list without context. Split into different sentences if it simplifies the translation. Sometimes omit descriptors to make text snappier.

Words and phrases to avoid in modern Slovak¶

Why this matters: These forms appear in legal templates and government forms out of institutional habit but feel alien in modern consumer products, patient-facing medical materials, brand-led marketing, and user-friendly software. A privacy policy opening with “Postupujte podľa nasledovných krokov” signals bureaucratic distance; “Postupujte takto” reads as the product talking to its user.

Inclusive language¶

Microsoft technology reaches every part of the globe — communications should be inclusive. Use plain language. Be mindful of cultural references and politically disputed places. Don’t generalize or stereotype people by region, culture, age, or gender. Don’t use profane terms or slang that could be considered cultural appropriation. Avoid terms tied to military, political, or controversial historical events.

Avoid gender bias¶

Use plural noun forms for generalization (ľudia, jednotlivci, študenti). Refer to roles (čitateľ, zamestnanec, zákazník, klient). Use osoba or jednotlivec where helpful. Where applicable, include both forms (Vytvoril/-a; kolegovia a kolegyne). It remains acceptable to use the general masculine where the dual form is impractical.

The English singular “their” often needs to be localized using a singular form: %s shared their location → %s zdieľal/-a svoju polohu (not Používatelia %s zdieľali svoju polohu). When writing about a real person, use their preferred pronouns.

Accessibility¶

Focus on people, not disabilities. Don’t use words that imply pity (postihnutý, trpiaci niečím). Prefer not to 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 plus, mínus — screen readers can misread the symbols.

Language-specific standards¶

Abbreviations¶

Don’t create ambiguous abbreviations. Some English abbreviations translate as full localized words — e.g. “cc” → „kópia”.

Acronyms¶

Localized acronyms (rare) — e.g. UN → OSN (Organizácia spojených národov); Macao SAR → Macao, OAO. Most stay unlocalized: DNS, PC, USB, OLE, SMS, MMS, VPN, Wi-Fi, HTML, SMTP, IP.

For Microsoft voice the descriptor follows the abbreviation:

Adjectives¶

Create adjectives following English source words: internet → internetový, e-mail → e-mailový.

For less official phrases (error messages, UA, software strings), create adjectives from product names: wordový dokument, powerpointová prezentácia, accessová databáza, excelová tabuľka, facebookoví priatelia, twitterová diskusia, outlookový dokument.

• Avoid forms like excelovská tabuľka, wordovský dokument.
• If the product name contains “Microsoft” (e.g. Microsoft PowerPoint), DO NOT create a product name adjective.
• Capitalize at sentence start; otherwise use lowercase.
• Do not create an adjective from Visio.

Possessive adjectives (svoj/váš)¶

Use svoj when the possessive refers to the grammatical subject of the sentence:

Use váš when the grammatical subject differs:

Why this matters: The svoj/váš distinction is normative — using váš where svoj is required is a grammar error, not a style choice. In legal text it creates ambiguity about who possesses what. In medical instructions it can confuse patient vs. clinician responsibility.

Online as adverb and adjective¶

Anglicisms¶

Articles¶

Microsoft product names without articles. For undeclined product/feature names, use a descriptor.

Capitalization¶

Slovak capitalizes far less than English. Use capital starting letter only when the word is a title, product name, feature name, or proper noun. Some terms marked as proper nouns in English source localize lowercase (Address Book → adresár).

These words are always capitalized in Slovak:

Humanlike names (Pomocník, Sprievodca) are inflected as person names: “nájdete v Pomocníkovi”, “otvorte Sprievodcu”.

The word Internet is not capitalized in Slovak (frequent error):

Compounds¶

Avoid overly long or complex compounds. Identify the important word in the phrase.

Conjunctions¶

In Slovak, starting sentences with conjunctions is generally considered inappropriate — but in modern voice they may begin a sentence for emphasis or formal style. Avoid overuse.

Gender¶

In Slovak, terms originally from English (software, application, device, component) have grammatical gender. Application is feminine, software is masculine. Some terms have ambiguous gender — e.g. Windows (some treat as masculine “ten Windows”, others as plural “tie Windowsy”). Consult the Slovak Language Body in such cases.

Localizing colloquialisms, idioms, and metaphors¶

There is a large difference between official and colloquial Slovak. Slovaks tend to be conservative about specific product language. Don’t replace English colloquialisms with Slovak ones unless the fit is perfect.

Nouns¶

Slovak nouns can be inflected — six cases:

Plural formation — basic rule:

Prepositions¶

Watch for proper preposition use. Many translators, influenced by English, omit them or change word order. Use non-breaking space after one-letter prepositions.

na vs. pre — common mistake:

• pre — when something is done FOR someone or due to some reason/aim
• na — when something is considered/intended to be done

When translating phrases like “Perform an action to accomplish something” or “Click Finish to use the existing name”, avoid using preposition pre for the action purpose. Use a conjunction instead (Ak chcete…), or rephrase with na + verbal noun where natural:

Pronouns¶

Possessive adjectives are called possessive pronouns in Slovak grammar. Modern voice uses first- and second-person pronouns (I, me, you, we). Avoid third-person “používateľ”.

If second person can’t be used, use the passive voice.

In English, possessive pronouns (“your data”, “your table”) occur frequently. In Slovak target text they are often redundant. Where they cannot be omitted, use svoj/svoja/svoje:

Punctuation¶

Slovak uses: period (.), exclamation (!), question (?), comma (,), semicolon (;), colon (:), ellipsis (…), quotation marks („”), parentheses (), en dash (–), hyphen (-), slash (/), apostrophe (‘).

Comma¶

Misplaced commas change meaning. Commas separate sentence elements, subordinate clauses, appositives. Commas after these are followed by a space. Commas in decimal values are NOT followed by a space.

Colon¶

Colons introduce parts of sentences that develop the previous text (examples, enumerations) and direct speech, followed by a space.

Vykonajte nasledujúce kroky:
1. ...
2. …

Dashes and hyphens¶

The en dash (–) emphasizes isolated elements or introduces non-essential elements; also used for number ranges (years: 2017 – 2021) and as a minus sign. Use spaces before and after.

• DO use: En dash (U+2013)
• DO NOT use: hyphen (U+002D) in this case
• DO NOT use: em dash

A hair space (U+200A) should be used before and after the en dash.

Hyphen¶

The hyphen links parts of compound words (čierno-biely), words made from number + word (3-slovné), multi-part names (Ján-Adam), or splits words at line end.

Ellipses¶

Three periods. If a sentence ends in ellipsis there is no fourth period. No space between preceding word and ellipsis; if ellipsis marks omitted text, space on both sides.

In English, suspension points can be used in enumerations. In Slovak, use colon instead:

Period¶

• Period at the end of a statement sentence. No space before; one space after.
• Period after abbreviations (č., napr.) and ordinal numbers using numerals (v 3. odseku).
• No periods in acronyms (USB, SEČ).

Many UI strings create a sentence but the English source omits the period. Slovak should follow context — when in doubt consult Pravidlá slovenského pravopisu.

Quotation marks¶

Correct Slovak quotation marks are „” (lower 99 / Alt+0132, upper 66 / Alt+0147).

Used for:

• Direct speech
• Quotations
• Irony
• Emphasizing an attributed word in context

NOT used for:

• Names of products, events, documents, UI items
• Parts of documents, chapters, Help topics within context

NEVER use English quotation marks (“). Single quotes (’ ‘) only for nested quotations.

Parentheses¶

No space between parentheses and the text inside:

Avoid parentheses in localization — use commas or split into sentences. Use parentheses only when nothing else works:

Sentence fragments¶

Sentence fragments are not naturally used instead of full sentences in Slovak. Turn fragments into full Slovak sentences. They may be used in titles or before another sentence.

Subjunctive¶

The English subjunctive is rendered by conditional mood in Slovak.

Symbols and non-breaking spaces¶

The percent sign is post-positioned and separated by a non-breaking space. Use non-breaking spaces after prepositions, conjunctions, and between numerals and units.

Note: non-breaking spaces sometimes cause problems in document generation — don’t use in online help/documentation live content.

Ampersand (&)¶

Always translate “&” as “and” when in running text. Don’t keep “&” in target unless it’s part of a tag, placeholder, shortcut, or other code.

Verbs¶

Use simple tenses. Simple present is easiest to understand. Avoid future tense unless something will really happen in the future. Use simple past for events that already happened.

If necessary, simple present can be translated using simple future:

UI verb form depends on context (infinitive, second-person plural, or third):

Passive and gerund¶

Translate English passive using reflexive verbs (or active where the agent is known):

Sometimes other rules apply and the passive must be preserved:

English gerund actions translate as reflexive verbs:

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 Slovak-speaking markets.

Applications, products, and features¶

Application/product names are often trademarked and rarely translated. Feature names occasionally trademarked (IntelliSense™).

Following rules approved by Slovenský jazykovedný ústav, declension of product names is allowed in modern Slovak. Those that can’t be declined use a descriptor.

Classic style used descriptors (predradené slová): “v spoločnosti Microsoft”, “programom Microsoft Word”, “programami balíka Microsoft Office”. Slovak is naturally inflectional and uses declension of foreign names in everyday life — using descriptors prolongs sentences unnaturally.

Descriptors can be omitted in all grammatical cases for: Outlook, Word, Excel, Access, Windows, PowerPoint, SharePoint, Publisher, Project, Internet Explorer, Windows Prieskumník, Facebook, Twitter, OneNote, Lync, Skype, Gmail, OneDrive, Exchange, Xbox, Windows Phone.

Declension tables for select products:

Important — Microsoft-prefixed product names: If a product name contains “Microsoft” followed by a product name (e.g. Microsoft Outlook), the word Microsoft is NOT declined, only the product name is.

In some standalone software phrases descriptors may sound more natural even for products that normally omit them:

For products NOT in the “fully declinable” list above, descriptors can be omitted only in nominative (1. pád) and accusative (4. pád). In genitive, dative, locative, and instrumental, use the descriptor:

Don’t decline names where declension sounds unnatural, or those containing trademarks/copyright signs.

Version numbers¶

Version numbers contain a period (Version 4.2). The “version” word takes the case of the related product. Example: “v Exceli, verzii xxx.”

If a product name is used WITHOUT a descriptor, it can be followed by a version number:

Translation of version strings¶

Version strings with copyright info should always be translated. Refer to Microsoft Terminology for “All rights reserved” and “Microsoft Corporation”.

Copilot predefined prompts¶

Copilot prompts are functional — accuracy, consistency, conciseness, and natural tone are critical because prompt quality influences Copilot responses.

• Be clear and specific: English prompts are usually questions or requests starting with an action verb. Make sure target prompts are natural.
• Keep it conversational: Use simple, natural language. Use an informal tone and form of address.
• Be polite and professional: Use kind, respectful language. No slang or jargon.
• Use straight (“”) quotation marks — helps Copilot know what to write/modify/replace.
• Pay attention to punctuation, grammar, capitalization.
• Pay attention to entity token placement — entity tokens are placeholders that trigger pop-up menus. Tokens are NOT localizable; their position should make sense in target syntax. Exception: display-text prompts where the dev comment instructs to translate the token.
• Be consistent — similar English prompts must be translated consistently.

Trademarks¶

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

Software considerations¶

Arrow keys¶

Arrow keys move input focus within a group. Right arrow → next control; left → previous. Home, End, Up, Down behave as expected. Can’t navigate out of a control group using arrows.

Command button¶

Command button names start with a capital letter. Nouns/adjectives stay in nominative. The basic verbal form is the infinitive. No punctuation at the end except ellipses (…) where the original has them.

Dialog box title¶

Dialog window names start with a capital letter unless the English source uses lowercase for graphical reasons. If a verb is used in the original (Confirm something, Select something), use a verbal noun in translation. If a verbal noun can’t be formed (Save as → Uložiť ako), use infinitive.

Simplify dialog box titles where possible:

Error messages¶

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

Standard phrases in error messages:

Error messages containing placeholders¶

When localizing placeholder messages, identify what will replace the placeholder so the sentence is grammatically correct:

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

When the English placeholder is surrounded by quotes, the Slovak placeholder should be localized without quotes unless specifically needed:

Keyboard shortcuts¶

Shortcut character rules:

Terminology distinction:

Keys¶

List box¶

Items in a list box start with lowercase unless they are old items from previous versions or fall under other capitalization rules. List names start with a capital letter and end with a colon.

Numeric keypad¶

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

Shortcut keys¶

Tooltips¶

Tooltip descriptions begin with a capital letter and don’t end with punctuation. If a menu/command has the same source as the tooltip, translation should be identical. If different, use verb third-person singular: “Uloží vytvorený súbor” (saves the file).

Translation of references to UI¶

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 the best way to achieve the common task.
• 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 unlocalized product names should be pronounced the English way. If your language has an established pronunciation (e.g. “server”), use the local one. Adapt to Slovak phonetic system if the original is awkward in Slovak.

• r is always produced the Slovak way.
• English th (/ð/ /θ/) may be pronounced English or replaced by Slovak /z/ /s/ (Northwind Traders → /nórθuind trejdrs/ or /nórsuind trejdrs/).
• Phoneme w is pronounced /v/ in English words. “Web” is considered Slovak: /veb/.
• Microsoft is pronounced /majkrosoft/.
• Numbers always read in Slovak. Acronyms spelled in Slovak.

Acronyms and abbreviations¶

Acronyms with vowels can be pronounced like real words in Slovak way:

Letter-by-letter abbreviations (Slovak way):

URLs¶

• ”.” (dot) = /bodka/
• “www” = /vé vé vé/
• “com” = /kom/
• Read phonetically (Slovak way) where confusion possible: /dvojité vé dvojité vé dvojité vé bodka microsoft bodka com/
• “.NET” = “dot net”

Punctuation marks¶

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

Special characters¶

Pronounce / \ ˘ < > + - using Slovak translations approved in Microsoft Terminology.

Rules for video localization¶

• Keep sentences short.
• Avoid descriptors — keep new voice product name declension.
• Address the user (Nezabudnite najskôr skontrolovať rozlíšenie svojej obrazovky); describe activity in lecturer’s voice (Teraz musím potiahnuť rukoväť na zmenu veľkosti).
• Avoid male/female gender. If unavoidable, use lecturer’s gender.
• No formal language — everyday natural Slovak preferred, but avoid slang.
• Subtitles: max 40 characters per line.
• Avoid complex compound sentences — split if too long.

Slovak pronunciation¶

• Slovak words follow standard pronunciation rules.
• Don’t use exaggerated pronunciation of “ä”.
• Don’t exaggerate pronunciation of “ľ” in words like “les”, “ale”.
• Punctuation naturally implied by voice; in direct instructions may need to be spelled out.

Accent¶

• Use neutral accent — no specific region, city, or background.
• Use modern Slovak standard accent (radio broadcaster style).

Tone¶

Match target audience: informal/playful for products and games; formal/informative/factual for technical texts. Male and female voices may be used indifferently.

Reference materials: authoritative Slovak sources¶

Normative references:

1. Slovníky slovenského jazyka — slovnik.juls.savba.sk
2. Pravidlá slovenského pravopisu — juls.savba.sk/psp_2000.html
3. Slovník cudzích slov — juls.savba.sk/slovnik_cudzich_slov_2005.html
4. Synonimický slovník slovenčiny — juls.savba.sk/synonymicky_slovnik.html

Informative references:

1. Štylistika súčasnej slovenčiny, Ján Findra.
2. Standardized country names — Úrad geodézie a kartografie, skgeodesy.sk.
3. Pravidlá písania a úpravy písomností — Slovak State Standard.
4. Country names list — publications.europa.eu/code/sk/sk-5000500.htm.

For specific language questions consult Jazykovedný ústav Ľudovíta Štúra — juls.savba.sk.

FAQ¶

What’s the modern register for Slovak translation across professional contexts?¶

Warm, conversational, scannable — Slovaks don’t use the old bureaucratic register in everyday speech, and IT/consumer translation should mirror that. Sworn legal translation, formal academic texts, and government documents retain more formality.

How should I address users in Slovak translation?¶

Second-person plural (vy/vám) with imperative verbs (Kliknite, Vyberte, Zadajte). Avoid third-person ‘používateľ’. Use reflexive svoj when the subject possesses; ‘Vypnite počítač’ (drop redundant ‘svoj’) often reads better than ‘Vypnite svoj počítač’.

How do I handle Slovak product name declension?¶

Modern Slovak declines foreign product names: ‘v Outlooku’, ‘so Wordom’, ‘do Excelu’. For Microsoft-prefixed products, ‘Microsoft’ stays in nominative and only the product name declines: ‘Microsoft Wordom’, ‘Microsoft Outlooku’. Don’t decline Visio. Use descriptors (program, aplikácia, balík) in genitive/dative/locative/instrumental cases for products that don’t fully decline.

What are the most common Slovak translation pitfalls?¶

Anglicism-influenced calques (Autor(i) instead of Autori; Strana(y) instead of Strany), formal vocabulary (nasledovných → takto; obráťte sa na → kontaktujte; nachádzať → nájsť), incorrect preposition use (Pre/Na získanie… → Ak chcete získať…), English quotation marks instead of Slovak „”.

What punctuation rules differ from English in Slovak?¶

Use Slovak curly quotes „” not English “”. Use en dash (–) with spaces before/after, never em dash. Use non-breaking spaces after one-letter prepositions, between numerals and units (50 %, 20 cm). Don’t end UI strings with a period unless they’re complete sentences.

Sources¶

• Microsoft Localization Style Guide for Slovak
• Microsoft Globalization Style Guides hub
• Slovníky slovenského jazyka
• Pravidlá slovenského pravopisu
• Slovník cudzích slov
• Synonimický slovník slovenčiny