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

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

TL;DR¶

• Modern Slovenian translation prefers warm, conversational register over the older bureaucratic style.
• Slovenian distinguishes definite/indefinite adjective forms in masculine 1st/4th case — used incorrectly in many translations.
• Address users with second-person plural verbs; drop redundant possessives copied from English.
• Use Slovenian double angle quotation marks »« — NEVER English “”. For menu commands, button names, dialog titles, options.
• Reference Slovenski pravopis (SAZU), Slovar slovenskega knjižnega jezika, Toporišič, Žagar for normative decisions.

Register and tone for modern Slovenian translation¶

Register is the level of formality, warmth, and conversational ease the target text projects. Modern Slovenian readers across consumer-facing spheres expect a register that feels human rather than bureaucratic. Three principles define the modern register:

• 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.

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 (sodno overjeni prevod) 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 Slovenian. A software API reference uses developer jargon; the end-user help article uses plain Slovenian.

This applies in every sphere. Legal translation for corporate counsel uses Latinisms and procedural shorthand; consumer-facing versions need plain-Slovenian 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 Slovenian. Understand the whole intention of the sentence, paragraph, or page, then rewrite as if composing it for a Slovenian 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. Harmful in marketing translation (lost conversion), patient-facing healthcare materials (lost clarity), and software UX (lost engagement).

Words and phrases to avoid¶

Avoid an unnecessarily formal tone. Use everyday words; avoid words you wouldn’t use in everyday conversation.

Use short, plain words wherever possible:

Why this matters: These shorter, conversational forms appear in consumer products, patient-facing medical materials, brand-led marketing, and user-friendly software. The longer, formal forms appear in legal templates and government forms out of institutional habit but feel alien outside that context.

Word choice: terminology¶

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

To a large extent the English “short form” rule doesn’t apply to Slovenian — words aren’t shortened the same way (“app” vs. “application” or “info” vs. “information” can’t be differentiated in Slovenian). Still, use short, plain words wherever possible.

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

Strict word-to-word translation produces stiff, unnatural text. Split into sentences where helpful; omit descriptors to make text snappier.

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. No profane terms or cultural-appropriation slang. Avoid terms tied to military, political, or controversial historical events.

Avoid gender bias¶

Use gender-neutral alternatives. Avoid compounds containing gender-specific terms (moški, ženska).

Use plural noun forms for generalization (ljudje, osebje, osebe, ki študirajo). Don’t use gendered pronouns (ona, nje, on, njega) in generic references — instead:

• Rewrite using second/third person (vi or oni); use formal/impersonal forms (se ustanovi, treba je ustanoviti).
• Rewrite with plural noun and pronoun.
• Use articles instead of pronouns (ta/omenjeni/navedeni dokument instead of njegov/njen dokument).
• Refer to roles (zaposlena oseba, stranka).
• Use oseba.

When writing about a real person, use their preferred pronouns (on, ona, on_a, etc.).

Accessibility¶

Focus on people, not disabilities. Don’t use words that imply pity (prizadet zaradi, boleha za). 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 words like in, plus, približno — screen readers can misread &, +, ~.

Language-specific standards¶

Abbreviations¶

Use abbreviations sparingly. Don’t abbreviate words that may not be immediately recognizable. Use only when necessary for technical reasons.

In compound abbreviations like “t. i.” always use non-breaking space (CTRL+SHIFT+spacebar). If technical limits prevent NBSP (e.g. Help files), the space may be omitted to prevent line breaks.

Don’t abbreviate product names.

Acronyms¶

Acronyms may be declined in Slovenian or used with a modifier.

Adjectives¶

Slovenian adjectives have definite (določna) and indefinite (nedoločna) forms. The difference is visible only in the 1st and 4th cases of masculine gender (e.g., izbran pogon vs. izbrani pogon). Some adjectives appear in only one form.

Indefinite form — describes a quality/characteristic. Answers “Kakšen?”. Use to translate phrases with the indefinite article “a/an”: an invalid parameter → neveljaven parameter.

Definite form — distinguishes a noun from other nouns; describes an already known quality. Answers “Kateri?”. Use:

• For phrases with definite article “the”.
• Always after demonstrative/possessive pronouns and the pronoun “ves” (Ta formatirani seznam, Naš klicni center, Ves omrežni promet). Note: after “vsak” use indefinite (Vsak nov odsek).
• When the noun is sufficiently defined by other sentence elements (relative clause, qualifier — Stehnizirani svet, ki nas obdaja).

Common errors:

Why this matters: The definite/indefinite distinction is normative — getting it wrong is a grammar error. In legal text it can change which referent is being defined. In technical documentation it confuses readers about whether the adjective qualifies the class or singles out a specific instance.

Possessive adjectives¶

Frequent possessives are an English feature. In Slovenian, possessive adjectives should mostly be omitted — literal duplication from English is considered poor style.

Capitalization¶

In English, all words in titles are capitalized. In Slovenian, only the first word and proper names: Slogovni vodnik, Združene države Amerike.

Don’t capitalize mid-name for check boxes, radio buttons, commands, or options containing other option/check box/radio button names: “Organiziraj priljubljene” (not “Organiziraj Priljubljene”).

Capitalize when referring to proper nouns (programs, modules): Opens a Microsoft Word document → Odpre dokument programa Microsoft Word.

Wizard names mid-sentence are NOT capitalized: “Dobrodošli v čarovniku za vzpostavljanje povezave z internetom.”

When short bracketed text is not a full sentence, use lowercase: “Posodobljena programska oprema (priporočeno).”

Table column/row titles start with capital letters, no end punctuation. List items: capital + period if complete sentences; consistent across the column otherwise.

Four patterns for program/applet/component names:

• Capitalize at start of sentence, not preceded by “Microsoft” (Organizator, Kalkulator).
• Lowercase at start of sentence, preceded by “Microsoft” (Microsoftov organizator, Microsoftova lupa).
• Lowercase mid-sentence preceded by “Microsoft” (Z Microsoftovim organizatorjem lahko …).
• Lowercase mid-sentence not preceded by “Microsoft” (Kopiraj v odložišče).

National holidays: Except at sentence start or when derived from a personal name, holidays are NOT capitalized: božič, valentinovo, jom kipur, roš hašana, hanuka, kurban bajram, eid-al-fitr.

Compounds¶

Compounds should be understandable and clear. Avoid overly long or complex compounds.

Localizing colloquialisms, idioms, and metaphors¶

Three options for handling source colloquialisms:

1. Don’t replace a source colloquialism with a Slovenian one unless it’s a perfect, natural fit.
2. Translate the intended meaning (not literal), but only if the colloquialism’s meaning is integral.
3. If the colloquialism can be omitted without affecting meaning, omit it.

Numbers¶

Generally good style to write numbers 0–12 as words. Context-dependent — in specification-heavy texts or UI where space matters, use numerals.

Slovenian thousands/decimals are opposite to English: thousands separated by period, decimals by comma: 12.345,67.

Prepositions¶

Pay attention to correct preposition use — don’t translate literally.

• Most prepositions have several Slovenian counterparts. “On” can correspond to na, ob, v, pri.
• Sometimes prepositions are not preserved in translation: “Follow the instructions in this wizard” → “Sledite navodilom čarovnika.”
• IMPORTANT: Unlike English, Slovenian requires that in transitive verbs the object immediately follows the preposition: “Place the caption next to or below the image” → “Napis postavite zraven slike ali pod njo” (NOT “… zraven ali pod sliko”).

“At” — standard translations¶

“On” — corresponds to na, ob, v¶

“Under” — not always “pod”¶

Pronouns¶

Avoid excessive possessive pronouns. Two common mistakes: using a pronoun where Slovenian doesn’t need it (“She shook her head” → »Stresla je s svojo glavo«), and using the wrong pronoun (“She shook her head” → »Stresla je z njeno glavo«). In most cases “your” should be omitted; otherwise use svoj or vaš per context.

Punctuation¶

Bulleted lists¶

Three approaches:

1. Short bullets, lowercase with commas/semicolons, last bullet with period:

Danes sem:
- vstal,
- pojedel zajtrk,
- božal psa.

2. Short bullets, lowercase with no ending punctuation:

Danes sem:
- vstal
- pojedel zajtrk
- božal psa

3. Long bullets (sentence or meaningful unit), uppercase with period:

Danes sem:
- Vstal, pojedel zajtrk in božal psa.
- Šel v službo in obiskal prijatelja.
- Poklical prijatelja.

Comma¶

For detailed rules see Slovenski pravopis – Pravila. Common Microsoft translation difficulties:

The word “Prosimo” is separated by a comma:

Unless joined by a coordinating conjunction (priredni veznik), two syntactical units each containing a finite verbal form are separated by commas:

Comma before coordinating conjunction (in, pa, ter) if required by dependent clause:

Non-finite clauses (polstavki) realized by participle, noun, or adjective are separated from the main clause.

“Tako da” rule: comma before “tako” denotes consequence/result; comma before “da” denotes manner of action.

No comma even if subject is a long complex nominal phrase:

Dependent clause separated on both sides from main clause:

Colon¶

General Slovenian grammar rules apply.

Dashes and hyphens¶

Hyphen (-) — divides words between syllables, links compound word parts, connects inverted/imperative verb form parts. Use hyphen instead of en-dash where technical problems could arise.

En dash (–) — used as minus sign (space before numeral: 10 – 2), for negative values (no space before numeral: –17 °C).

En dash for number ranges (no spaces):

Em dash (—) — not used in Slovenian.

Ellipses¶

Must always be preceded by a space in Slovenian:

Period¶

General Slovenian punctuation rules apply.

Quotation marks¶

Use Slovenian double angle quotation marks »« (ALT+0175, ALT+0174) in all instances in localized software. Help and documentation uses bold formatting as a counterpart to SW quotation marks. Quotation marks may still appear in help/documentation when required by general rules (Pravopis, Pravila, pp. 59–60).

DO NOT use: double/single upper/lower quotation marks (“, ‘), single angle quotation marks, curly quotation marks (” “), English straight quotes.

Use quotation marks for:

• Menu commands: v meniju »Datoteka« kliknite »Shrani«
• Button names: v orodni vrstici »Standard« kliknete gumb »Shrani«
• Dialog titles: spremenite mesto na kartici »Shrani« v pogovornem oknu »Možnosti«
• Tabs
• Toolbar names
• Options
• Folder names
• Fields: Mapa »%1!hs!«, navedena v polju »Izhodi \x010De« ni veljavna.
• Action argument names: Argument »Ime obrazca« ste pustili prazen
• Property names: Obrazec je samo za branje, ker ni nastavljena lastnost »Enolična tabela«.
• Property values: Ustrezno ponastavite vrednost na »Ni zaklepanja« ali »Urejan zapis«.
• Expressions: Operator Is lahko uporabite samo v izrazu z »Nič« ali »Ni Nič«.
• Groups: V skupini »Skrbniki« mora obstajati vsaj en uporabnik.
• Where translation without quotations would appear strange or standing out from surrounding text.
• A capitalized word in a sentence that isn’t a proper name.
• A sentence/phrase appearing unconnected until the user recognizes it as quoted text.
• Whenever they appear in source text. US single upper quotation marks (‘) translate into Slovenian »« (e.g. Access to the resource '%1!.1023ls!' has been disallowed. → Dostop do sredstva »%1!.1023ls!« ni bil dovoljen.). Same for US double upper quotation marks.

Do NOT use quotation marks for:

• English text within Slovenian text
• Loan words
• Acronyms

Parentheses¶

No space between parentheses and the text inside:

Sentence fragments¶

Sentence fragments help convey a conversational tone. Used to shorten messages and convey relaxed tone in Slovenian. Standard fragments keep consistency across similar source phrases.

Verbs¶

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

For Slovenian present tense is the easiest to understand. Use the present tense as often as possible — past/future only when stressing time. When the source uses another tense, Slovenian may follow with the same tense where more appropriate.

Symbols¶

Ampersand (&)¶

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

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 Slovenian-speaking markets.

Applications, products, and features¶

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

Non-localized product names should NOT be declined. Use a qualifier in front of non-localized product names to avoid direct declination (declination moves to the qualifier):

A qualifier is needed only if the product name would otherwise need to be declined. Omit it in all other cases.

Version numbers¶

Version numbers contain a period (Version 4.2).

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. Informal tone of voice and form of address.
• Be polite and professional: Kind, respectful language. No slang or jargon.
• Use quotation marks — helps Copilot know what to write/modify/replace.
• Pay attention to punctuation, grammar, capitalization.
• Pay attention to entity token placement — tokens are NOT localizable; their position should make sense in target syntax. Exception: display-text prompts where 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.

Error messages¶

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

Slovenian error messages most often end with a period — but follow source: if source ends with “…” Slovenian should too; if no period in source, none in Slovenian. Exclamation marks should be used sparingly.

Use present tense even if source uses past. Use one standard translation for the same English meaning:

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>

In Slovenian it is common to add qualifiers before placeholders to avoid grammatical issues:

Keyboard shortcuts¶

Terminology distinction:

Keys¶

In English, key name references (arrow keys, function keys, numeric keys) appear in normal text (not small caps). Same in Slovenian.

Numeric keypad¶

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

Shortcut keys¶

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 unlocalized product names should be pronounced the English way. Slovenian words and numbers follow standard Slovenian pronunciation. When in doubt, refer to Slovenski pravopis. Microsoft is pronounced the Slovenian way: [Mikrosoft].

Strict acronyms pronounced as words follow Slovenian acronym rules (Slovenski pravopis):

Other abbreviations pronounced letter by letter — no strict rules on English vs. Slovenian pronunciation; depends on common usage.

URLs:

• “http://” left out; rest of URL read entirely.
• “www” pronounced “trikrat dvojni v”.
• “dot” read out.

Most punctuation is naturally implied by voice. En dash (–) emphasizes isolated elements — pronounced as comma (short pause). Pronounce special characters / \ ˘ < > + - using Slovenian translations approved in Microsoft Terminology.

Tone¶

Match target audience: informal/playful for products and games; formal/informative/factual for technical texts.

Reference materials: authoritative Slovenian sources¶

Normative references (deviation generally fails a string):

1. SAZU, Slovenski pravopis, Ljubljana, ZRC, 2001 or later.
2. SAZU, Slovar slovenskega knjižnega jezika, DZS, 1997 or later.
3. Toporišič, Jože, Enciklopedija slovenskega jezika, Ljubljana, Cankarjeva založba, 1992.
4. Žagar, France, Slovenska slovnica in jezikovna vadnica, Maribor, Obzorja Maribor, 1996.

Informative references:

1. Batagelj, Vladimir et al., Leksikon računalništva in informatike, Ljubljana, Pasadena, 2002.
2. iSlovar — Slovenian IT terminology
3. Termania — Slovenian terminology portal
4. Gigafida — Slovenian language corpus

FAQ¶

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

Warm, conversational, scannable — avoid wooden formal constructions in consumer-facing materials. Sworn legal translation (sodno overjeni prevod), formal contracts, and academic texts retain more formality.

How should I handle Slovenian definite vs. indefinite adjectives?¶

Indefinite form (neveljaven parameter) answers ‘kakšen?’ and describes a quality. Definite form (izbrani pogon) answers ‘kateri?’ and distinguishes a known referent. Definite form is always used after demonstrative/possessive pronouns and ‘ves’. Common errors: ‘Trd disk’ → ‘Trdi disk’, ‘Ponoven zagon’ → ‘Ponovni zagon’.

How should I address users in Slovenian translation?¶

Use second-person plural verb forms (Kliknite, Izberite, Vnesite). Drop redundant possessives — Slovenian uses far fewer than English. ‘Vklopite računalnik’ beats ‘Vklopite svoj računalnik’. Use svoj when subject possesses; vaš only when subject differs from possessor.

What are the most common Slovenian translation pitfalls?¶

Literal preposition mapping (‘klikni na nekaj’ → ‘klikniti nekaj’; ‘pomoč v zvezi z’ → ‘pomoč o’; ‘na internetu’ → ‘v internetu’), wrong adjective form (indefinite where definite needed), excessive possessives copied from English, capitalizing words after Microsoft (Microsoftov Organizator → Microsoftov organizator).

What punctuation rules differ from English in Slovenian?¶

Use Slovenian double angle quotes »« — never English “”. No em dash. Thousands separated by period (12.345), decimals by comma (12,34). Space before ellipsis. Comma before subordinate clauses including ‘kot’, ‘za’, ‘tako da’ (consequence) vs. ‘tako, da’ (manner).

Sources¶

• Microsoft Localization Style Guide for Slovenian
• Microsoft Globalization Style Guides hub
• iSlovar — Slovenian IT terminology
• Termania — Slovenian terminology portal
• Gigafida — Slovenian language corpus