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

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

TL;DR¶

• Serbian (BiH) translation across all spheres (legal, medical, marketing, IT) requires a warm, scannable register — replace older bureaucratic vocabulary with modern conversational equivalents.
• Address users with lowercase ви, use second-person plural verbs, and prefer reflexive свој when subject and possessor match.
• Avoid ‘од стране’ constructions and other English calques that signal translatorese.
• Manage three Serbian genders carefully: default to neuter singular for context-free menu items, use /а suffix in salutations of unknown gender, rewrite to plural where possible.
• Reference Правопис српскога језика (Матица српска, 2010), Стевановић, Станојчић/Поповић, and Клајн’s Речник језичких недоумица for normative decisions.

Register and tone for modern Serbian (BiH) translation¶

Register is the level of formality, warmth, and conversational ease the target text projects. Modern Serbian readers across consumer-facing spheres expect a register that feels human rather than bureaucratic — formal Serbian carries institutional and academic associations that signal distance to most contemporary audiences.

Three principles define the modern Serbian (BiH) register for consumer-facing content:

• Warm and relaxed. Natural, less formal, more grounded in honest conversations. Occasionally fun where context allows.
• Crisp and clear. Written for scanning first, reading second. Sentences short enough to parse on a phone screen. Simplicity is the default.
• Ready to help. Anticipates what the reader needs and offers it at the right moment, rather than burying it under qualifications.

Why this matters: Bureaucratic register damages outcomes across spheres. In marketing copy it kills conversion — readers bounce when text reads like a tax form. In patient-facing medical materials it reduces comprehension and compliance. In software UI it creates friction at every interaction. In consumer-facing legal documents (terms of service, privacy notices) regulators increasingly demand plain language. Only sworn legal translation (судски овјерени превод) and pure technical specifications 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. A clinical drug monograph for prescribers uses precise pharmacological terminology; the patient leaflet for the same drug uses everyday Serbian. A software API reference uses developer jargon; the end-user help article uses plain Serbian.

This applies in every sphere. Legal translation for corporate counsel uses Latinisms and procedural shorthand; consumer-facing versions need plain-Serbian 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 Serbian in end-user help.

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 Serbian. The rule: understand the whole intention of the sentence, paragraph, or page, then rewrite as if composing it yourself for a Serbian reader. This frequently means restructuring sentences, splitting them, omitting redundant qualifiers, or recasting verbal nouns as verbs.

Why this matters: Source-faithful translation produces translatorese — text that reads as translated. Required in sworn legal translation and certified document translation (birth certificates, court rulings, disputed contracts) where literal accuracy is mandated. Harmful in marketing translation (lost conversion), patient-facing healthcare materials (lost clarity), and software UX (lost engagement). Knowing where the boundary sits is core translator judgment — the billable skill that distinguishes professional work from raw machine output.

Caveat for UI work: standard system messages and error strings should not be freely rephrased — they may be referenced in support docs and help pipelines that depend on exact wording.

Word choice: approved terminology and conversational vocabulary¶

Approved terminology is the project-specific bank of fixed translations for key terms, product names, technical concepts, and recurring phrases. Consistency within the bank matters more than the individual choice — switching between видео and видеозапис, or диск and диск јединица, in one document signals carelessness.

Short, everyday words are preferred over long formal ones wherever both exist and the audience is non-specialist. Shorter words are friendlier, save screen space, and parse faster.

Why this matters: Terminology consistency is non-negotiable in legal translation (a defined term in a contract must render identically across all 200 pages — variant renderings create ambiguity opposing counsel will exploit), medical translation (drug names, dosage units, anatomical terms must be invariant — a synonym swap can produce a dispensing error), and IT/software translation (UI labels, menu items, error codes must match help documentation word-for-word or users can’t find what they need).

Words and phrases to avoid in modern Serbian (BiH)¶

Two distinct categories of vocabulary to avoid: older formal vocabulary that survives in legal templates and government documents but feels alien in consumer-facing text, and stilted constructions translators reach for when preserving source structure.

Older formal vocabulary to replace with conversational equivalents¶

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 “Захтијевамо да…” signals bureaucratic distance; “Потребно је да…” reads as the product talking to its user. A patient leaflet saying “Увјерите се да сте узели лијек” lands differently than “Провјерите да сте узели лијек” — the second reduces compliance ambiguity.

Use of conjunctions and starting sentences¶

Sentences can be started with conjunctions in modern Serbian for a more relaxed tone — но be careful about appropriateness.

Contractions and conversational tone¶

In English, contractions help convey conversational tone. In Serbian (BiH), contractions like “Је л’” should be used sparingly — only when you want to emphasize colloquialism explicitly.

Sentence fragments for natural flow¶

Sentence fragments help convey a conversational tone. Feel free to shorten sentences for natural flow.

Language-specific standards¶

Abbreviations¶

Common methods include truncation with a period: види → в. ; на пример → нпр.; и тако даље → итд.; и слично → и сл. Don’t abbreviate words like Microsoft on your own.

Acronyms¶

Declensional forms should be avoided where possible. When unavoidable in Serbian Cyrillic (BiH), case endings are hyphenated and written in Cyrillic.

For unlocalized acronyms, try to use a modifier (usually the main word from the translation) to avoid declension: ‘RAM’ → RAM мeморија.

Adjectives¶

Serbian adjectives have gender and number. When context requires the adjective to be in masculine, feminine, or neuter at the same time (common in menus), use the neuter adjective in singular as the most neutral form.

When the adjective refers to several nouns of different gender, use a form that covers all:

Possessive adjectives¶

The frequent use of possessives is a feature of English. In Serbian (BiH), possessives are often omitted — particularly “your”. The test: if omitting “your” does not affect the meaning, omit it.

Use reflexive possessive свој instead of ваш when the subject of the sentence matches the object:

Why this matters: Possessive overuse is one of the most common English-influenced defects. In legal text it creates redundancy without adding precision. In medical instructions it makes sentences longer without improving clarity. The reflexive свој vs. ваш distinction is normative — using ваш where свој is required is a grammar error, not a style preference.

Articles¶

English articles are normally omitted from translation. Keep them only when they clarify the meaning.

Articles are not translated in Serbian (BiH) before Microsoft product names, non-translated feature names, or English borrowed terms:

Capitalization¶

In English, all first characters of words in titles, names, etc. are commonly capitalized. This is an error in Serbian texts.

Names of days, months, languages, and adjectives derived from country names are not capitalized in Serbian. “Web” and “Internet” are not capitalized.

Compounds¶

Compounds should be understandable and clear to the user. Avoid overly long or complex compounds. Preserve English word order in compounds consisting of (1) adjectival noun in common collocations (such as Web or Internet) + headword, or (2) acronym + headword.

Conjunctions¶

For modern voice, use of conjunctions helps convey a conversational tone. Starting a sentence with a conjunction (and, but, or) is acceptable in Serbian when it improves readability — but use carefully.

Gender¶

Use gender-neutral language whenever possible. Avoid sentences referring to a single person whose gender is unknown — rewrite to make the subject plural.

When unavoidable (e.g., letters), use suffix /а:

Why this matters: Slash-gender forms (Одсутан/Одсутна) look mechanical and break flow. Marketing copy suffers visibly from these constructions. In legal contracts they appear when drafters fail to plan for gender — better to use plural noun phrases (“странe”, “корисници”) or restructure. In medical patient materials they signal carelessness about audience.

Genitive¶

Don’t transfer English compound word order to Serbian genitive constructions. Avoid overly long genitive chains. Use one of:

1. Main word (noun) + supporting word(s) in genitive
2. Supporting word (noun translated as adjective) + main word in nominative
3. Main word + preposition (за, о, etc.) + supporting words in preposition-determined case

Avoid genitive constructions such as од стране — they imply literal translation:

Attaching a genitive “s” to (trademarked) product names is not feasible:

Why this matters: “Од стране” constructions are the single most identifiable feature of translated-from-English Serbian text. They appear in legal contracts (“потписано од стране Уговорне стране”) where the active voice (“Уговорна страна потписује”) is denser and more legally precise. In journalistic and marketing translation they create immediate distance from the reader.

Localizing colloquialisms, idioms, and metaphors¶

Three options when handling source colloquialisms:

1. Do not attempt to replace the source colloquialism with a Serbian one that fits the same meaning unless it is a perfect and natural fit.
2. Translate the intended meaning of the colloquialism in the source text (as opposed to literally translating), but only if the colloquialism’s meaning is integral to the text.
3. If the colloquialism can be omitted without affecting meaning, omit it.

Modifiers¶

In Serbian (BiH) localized text you often need modifiers to decline terms that must not be declined (mainly UI items and unlocalizable product names).

UI items modifiers¶

When length restrictions don’t allow modifiers (UI) and the context is clear, modifiers may be omitted: “Кликните на Уметни”.

Product names modifiers¶

Get to know the product. If a product has an installation file (.exe), the correct modifier is most likely “програм/апликација”. If a product is used on the Web but cannot be installed locally, the correct modifier is “услуга”. Services usually don’t have version or edition labels.

Nouns¶

Distinguish proper from common nouns carefully — particularly with product names that appear without tags.

Inflection¶

Declination of nouns referring to non-living things should not match the declination of nouns referring to humans or living beings.

Plural formation¶

English sometimes uses singular where Serbian needs plural — especially in genitive constructions:

For collective nouns that are grammatically singular but denote a group, restructure to avoid awkward formulations:

Prepositions¶

Starting a sentence with a preposition depends on the meaning. Ending a sentence with a preposition is grammatically incorrect in Serbian.

Pronouns¶

Use of personal pronouns is a powerful way to express modern voice. Address the user directly (second person) rather than indirectly (“user”).

Avoid impersonal constructions in Serbian to achieve fluency. Note: spelling out pronouns should generally be avoided — say “Препоручујемо да инсталирате овај програм”, not “Ми препоручујемо да инсталирате овај програм”.

Punctuation¶

Bulleted lists¶

A phrase preceding a bulleted list can end with a semicolon, comma, full stop, or have no punctuation, depending on whether the bullet items are complete sentences or continuations.

Example with incomplete sentences (lowercase initial, comma/semicolon endings):

У настави се комбинују:
- усмени и писмени метод излагања;
- контролни и редовни писмени задаци;
- аудио и видео касете.

Example with letter labels:

Три основне функције цртице изгледају овако:
а) писање полусложеница (ауто-пут),
б) писање удвојеног презимена (Михајло Полит-Десанчић),
в) растављање ријечи на слогове (на-пи-са-ти).

Comma¶

Regular order in Serbian sentences: main clause + subordinate clause. Don’t put a comma after the main clause:

If you invert (subordinate + main), comma is required:

Word order should reflect the order of user actions, even if English does not:

Don’t transfer all commas from English sentences:

Colon¶

All double punctuation marks (colons, semicolons, exclamation marks, question marks) are not preceded by a space. When colon introduces enumeration within the same sentence, don’t capitalize:

Dashes and hyphens¶

Three dash characters in English: em-dash (—), en-dash (–), hyphen (-). Serbian (BiH) uses en dash to emphasize an isolated element or introduce a non-essential element (pronounced as a comma / short pause). Hyphen is used in compound words: ауто-пут, бакар-сулфат, руско-српски речник.

Hyphen¶

The hyphen divides words between syllables, links parts of compound words, and connects parts of inverted/imperative verb forms. In documentation, the preference is not to hyphenate except where compounds or abbreviations already contain a hyphen. Some hyphenated words should never be broken across lines.

En dash¶

Serbian (BiH) uses en dash (–) to emphasize an isolated element or introduce a non-essential element. Pronounced as a comma / short pause.

En dash also used in number ranges (no spaces):

Em dash¶

There is no em dash in Serbian (BiH). Replace with en dash or comma (in apposition constructions).

Ellipses¶

Use ellipses to describe ongoing processes or omitted text. No space before the ellipsis.

Period¶

Serbian translations never end with a period unless they are complete sentences — regardless of the source.

Quotation marks¶

Use Serbian (curly) quotation marks: opening „ (ALT+0132) and closing ” (ALT+0147). For inner quotation, use single quotation marks (ALT+0146). Don’t use English quotation marks.

Parentheses¶

No space between parentheses and the text inside them:

Sentence fragments¶

Modern voice tolerates sentence fragments for conversational tone. Short and to the point.

Subjunctive¶

Use active voice and imperative or indicative mood — easier to understand than passive voice and subjunctive.

Symbols and non-breaking spaces¶

Use non-breaking spaces (CTRL+SHIFT+SPACEBAR or Alt+0160) between words that should not separate onto different lines. Symbols like @, #, ™, ®, ©, % are always used in Latin script. Currency symbols $, £ should not be used in text — instead use international acronyms in Latin script (USD, GBP). Percentage symbol % is written without space: 15,21%. Symbol & should not be used in help files (only in UI as shortcut key symbol).

Verbs¶

Pay attention to perfect (одштампати) vs. imperfect (штампати) form depending on whether the action is repeated or single:

Continuous operations (English gerund) translate as deverbative noun OR reflexive/imperfect verb:

Pay attention to verb transition — it dictates declination of the noun object, especially with many English verbs in a row:

Verb tense¶

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.

Prefer present tense; minimize future tense by simplifying sentence flow (use “Када” with finite verb instead of “Након што”).

Localization considerations¶

Accessibility¶

Accessibility options and programs make computers usable by people with cognitive, hearing, physical, or visual disabilities. Some accessible products may not be available in Serbian-speaking markets — double-check.

Applications, products, and features¶

Application/product names are often trademarked and rarely translated. Feature names are occasionally trademarked (e.g., IntelliSense™). Verify translatability before translating.

Version numbers¶

Version numbers contain a period (Version 4.2):

Translation of version strings¶

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

Trademarks¶

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

Software considerations¶

Error messages¶

Error messages inform the user of an error that must be corrected. Translators are encouraged to apply modern voice principles so target translation is more natural and empathetic.

Standard phrases in error messages¶

When translating standard phrases, standardize. English may use different forms for the same thing:

Error messages containing placeholders¶

When localizing placeholder error messages, find out what will replace the placeholder so the sentence is grammatically correct.

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

Keys¶

In English, references to key names (arrow keys, function keys, numeric keys) appear in normal text. Key names should be translated per Microsoft Glossaries.

Other keys are not localized and used in Latin script.

Keyboard shortcuts¶

Sometimes letters in menu options, commands, or dialog boxes are underlined or highlighted, referring to keyboard shortcuts. Rules:

In localization we distinguish:

Arrow keys¶

Arrow keys move input focus among the controls within a group. Translated since they don’t have names printed on the keyboard: стрелица нагоре, надоље, налијево, надесно.

Numeric keypad¶

Avoid distinguishing numeric keypad keys from other keys unless required by the application.

Shortcut keys¶

Voice video considerations¶

A good voice video addresses only one intent (one customer problem), is not too long, has high audio quality, has visuals that add information, and uses the right language variant in voiceover.

Successful techniques:

• Focus on the intent. Show the best way to achieve the most common task and stick to it.
• Show empathy. Understand and acknowledge the viewer’s situation.
• Use SEO. Include search phrases in title, description, and headers.
• Talk to the customer as if next to you.
• Record a scratch audio file. Check length, pace, clarity.

Tone¶

Use a tone matching the target audience:

English pronunciation¶

English terms and product names left unlocalized should be pronounced the English way with Serbian phonetic transcription. The English “th” sounds /ð/ and /θ/ are pronounced as /t/, e.g. Northwind Traders → /нортвинд трејдерс/. Microsoft must be pronounced as Мајкрософт.

Strict acronyms pronounced as real words (Serbian way):

Letter-by-letter abbreviations (varies by common usage):

URLs: “http://” is left out; “www” is /дупло ве дупло ве дупло ве/. “Dot” is normally omitted but may be read as /тачка/.

Reference materials: authoritative Serbian sources¶

Normative references — deviations automatically fail strings:

1. Речник српскохрватског књижевног и народног језика, vol. I–XVII, Београд, САНУ, 1959–2012.
2. Речник српскохрватскога књижевног језика, vol. 1–6, Нови Сад, Матица српска, 1967–1976.
3. Пешикан, Митар et al., Правопис српскога језика, Нови Сад, Матица српска, 2010.
4. Стевановић, Михаило, Савремени српски језик I, 3. изд., Београд, Научна књига, 1975 or later.
5. Стевановић, Михаило, Савремени српски језик II, 2. изд., Београд, Научна књига, 1974 or later.
6. Клајн, Иван, Творба ријечи у савременом српском језику I, Слагање и префиксација, Београд – Нови Сад, Завод за уџбенике – Институт за српски језик САНУ – Матица српска, 2002.
7. Станојчић, Живојин / Поповић, Љубомир, Граматика српскога језика, Београд, Завод за уџбенике, 2002 or later.

Informative references — supplementary information:

1. Клајн, Иван, Речник језичких недоумица, 9. изд., Нови Сад, Прометеј, 2008.
2. Ивић, Павле et al., Српски језички приручник, Београд, Београдска књига, 2004.
3. Рачунарски речник, Београд, CET, 1999.

For BiH-specific transcription of foreign names, also consult Tvrtko Prćić, Novi transkripcioni rečnik engleskih ličnih imena, Prometej, Novi Sad, 1998 or later.

FAQ¶

What’s the modern register for Serbian (BiH) translation across professional contexts?¶

Warm, conversational, scannable. Applies to medical patient materials, marketing copy, software UI, consumer-facing legal documents. Sworn legal translation (судски овјерени превод), formal contracts, and academic texts retain more formal register including extensive nominalization.

How should I address users in Serbian (BiH) translation?¶

Use second-person plural formal (ви — lowercase in modern style). Second-person verb forms (Кликните, Изаберите, Унесите) carry the address naturally. Use reflexive possessive свој/своја/своје when subject and possessor match. Avoid third-person корисник in consumer-facing text.

What are the most common Serbian (BiH) translation pitfalls?¶

Avoid calques: ‘имати прилику/бити у могућности’ (use ‘моћи’), ‘међутим’ (use ‘али’), ‘лоцирати’ (use ‘пронаћи’), ‘наредно’ (use ‘сљедеће’), ‘погодно’ (use ‘прикладно’), ‘захтијевати’ (use ‘потребно је да’), ‘увјерити се’ (use ‘провјерити’). Avoid ‘од стране’ constructions: ‘Обезбјеђено од стране’ → ‘Обезбјеђује’.

How do I handle gender-neutrality and dual gender forms?¶

Prefer plural rewrites that bypass gender. When unavoidable in salutations, use suffix /а (Поштовани/а USER_NAME_PLACEHOLDER). For status labels referring to people of unknown gender, restructure so the noun loses gender (‘Можда нећете добити одговор јер је статус контакта „Одсутан”’ instead of ‘његов/њен статус контакта „Одсутан/Одсутна”’).

What punctuation rules differ from English in Serbian (BiH)?¶

Use Serbian curly quotation marks „ and ” (not English). Em dash (—) does not exist in Serbian — replace with en dash (–) or comma. No space before colons, semicolons, exclamation or question marks. Hyphen for compound words (ауто-пут). No period at end of UI strings that are not complete sentences.

Sources¶

• Microsoft Localization Style Guide for Serbian (Cyrillic, Bosnia & Herzegovina)
• Microsoft Globalization Style Guides hub
• Правопис српскога језика (Матица српска, 2010)
• Речник језичких недоумица — Иван Клајн