In most documentation formats, indexes are generated from index entries or markers, which have been inserted in the running text of a manual.

If a manual contains an automatically generated index, never translate the generated index file. If the source entries are translated in the generated index file, all translations will be overwritten with the English index entries as soon as the index is generated! Locate the index entries or markers in the running text instead, and translate the index entries in a consistent way.

For more information on how index entries are translated, refer to the Index Markers section on page 296 (Adobe FrameMaker), and Index Markers section on page 304 (Microsoft Word). When using another word processor or application, refer to the online help or documentation for more information.

1. TRANSLATING INDEX ENTRIES

Indexes can pose many problems for the translator, particularly if the index is large, or the source text has been poorly written or constructed. Several issues need to be considered by translators working with index entries. Once the index has been generated after the translation, it should be checked carefully against the running text.

Keywords

Index entries should always start with the keyword that refers to the topic or subject. Always consider how a user will search for an index entry. If the English index is correctly written, stay as close to the original word order as possible because significant words will be listed first in each entry.

For example, if the “File menu" index entry is translated into German as “Menü Datei“, the German entry will be alphabetized under “M". If the index contains entries for all other menus used in the application, they will all be sorted under "M". It is highly

probable that a user will look for the word “Datei", so it is advisable to reverse the word order, and use a comma or another separator to create an entry like "Datei, Menü".

Other examples of commonly used index entries that need to be reordered in the translation are entries such as “HTML file" and "Copy Command". Readers will search for the words "HTML" and "Copy", not "file" or "command".

Duplicate Entries

Try to avoid duplicate entries. English synonyms often translate into a single word in other languages. On the other hand, it may be necessary to create two entries in the target languages when an English term can be translated in various ways.

When entries appear in both singular and plural form, combine the two, for example add an“s" in parentheses. Before translating an index file, make a rule to follow one format for all entries. Then follow this rule as much as possible. For example, the entries for "Printers and "Printer" can be merged into a single entry, unless they are specific options or commands in the software.