SIST ISO 24620-4:2024

INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 24620-4
First edition
2023-03
Language resource management —
Controlled human communication
(CHC) —
Part 4:
Basic principles and methodology for
stylistic guidelines (BSG)
Gestion des ressources linguistiques — Communication humaine
contrôlée (CHC) —
Partie 4: Principes de base et méthodologie pour les lignes directrices
stylistiques
Reference number
© ISO 2023
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Published in Switzerland
ii
Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Principle . 2
5 Methodology — How to apply the rules . 2
6 Steps to create the stylistic guidelines (BSG) . 3
7 Stylistic guidelines rules (BSG) . 3
7.1 Types of rules . 3
7.2 Sentence length . 4
7.3 Paragraph . 5
7.4 Construction . 8
7.5 Modification . 10
7.6 Vocabulary. 12
7.7 Others . 15
7.7.1 General .15
7.7.2 Style. 16
7.7.3 Tone . 17
Annex A (informative) Difficulties and matters to be solved in communication .18
Bibliography .21
iii
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
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ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
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different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
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www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 37, Language and terminology,
Subcommittee SC 4, Language resource management.
A list of all parts in the ISO 24620 series can be found on the ISO website.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
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iv
Introduction
It can be generally understood that English has evolved into the representative international common
language, i.e. lingua franca. When browsing the internet, people can find many English sites. According
[6]
to an estimation made by W3Techs in 2022 , English is used by 60,4 % of all the websites whose content
[3]
language is known. ASD-STE100 , one of the representative controlled English rule sets, has been
downloaded by 71 % non-English-native-speaking countries compared with 29 % English-speaking
[4]
countries . This is natural considering communication methods with other countries. Currently,
people generally communicate with other people in non-English speaking countries by using English
via the internet, email and social media. Therefore, it is necessary to make the communication tool
(i.e. English) more understandable and translatable. This document provides guidelines for non-native
English speakers to write English in an easy-to-understand manner, not just native English speakers.
At the same time, almost one-third of internet sites (39,6 %) are written in languages other than English
[6]
according to the W3Techs report . People should use plain, concise and understandable language
because so many of their counterparts are not good at English and stick to their own language. By
making the language as plain as possible, these counterparts will be able to understand it, and they
will be able to apply it to machine translation. As a result, people can find that they need two languages:
English and their own language. In order to facilitate communication worldwide, it is necessary for
people to make English and their own language plain, comprehensible and easily translatable, i.e. to
make languages bi-directionally accessible.
In addition, in some countries, there is an active movement to improve the language itself so that it
can be communicated in an easy-to-understand and non-misunderstood manner in order to promote
[5] [3]
communication. Typical examples are plain languages and ASD-STE100 . Both have a long history,
[3]
especially ASD-STE100 , which was first released in 1983. In addition, plain languages have evolved
into the languages of various countries, not just English. In the future, it could be helpful to have writing
[3]
rules that cover both plain languages and ASD-STE100 across the board.
It is possible that the writing rules of this document overlap with the rules of plain languages and
[3]
controlled languages (such as ASD-STE100 ), but it also includes other detailed rules. This is to be able
to address various languages in detail. The writing rules are not based solely on one language, as is the
traditional practice, but instead by comparing English with a linguistically different language such as
Japanese.
Writing using this document can facilitate communication around the world by writing original text
that is easy for the readers to understand and by improving the quality of machine-translated output
text.
v
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 24620-4:2023(E)
Language resource management — Controlled human
communication (CHC) —
Part 4:
Basic principles and methodology for stylistic guidelines
(BSG)
1 Scope
This document establishes a set of basic writing rules, called “basic principles and methodology for
stylistic guidelines (BSG)”, for writing in English that can be applied to other languages, facilitating
communication in each language and from a language to other languages. It includes conceptual writing
rules as well as specific grammar ones.
This document is designed to facilitate written communication in English for native and non-native
English speakers. It allows English native and non-English native speakers to smoothly communicate
through social media or email using English, or to translate into their local language. Furthermore,
this document is applicable to the languages of each community. In other words, it aims to promote bi-
directional communication between two particular languages.
2 Normative references
There are no normative references in this document.
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https:// www .iso .org/ obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at https:// www .electropedia .org/
3.1
basic principles and methodology for stylistic guidelines
BSG
guidelines specifying common writing rules applicable to many languages
3.2
technical communication
process of defining and creating information for use to be delivered as information products for the
safe, effective, and efficient use of a supported product throughout its life cycle
1)
[SOURCE: ISO 24183:— , 3.1.1, modified — Notes 1 to 3 to entry deleted.]
3.3
plain language
communication in which wording, structure and design are so clear that the intended readers can easily
— find what they need,
1) Under preparation. Stage at the time of publication: ISO/DIS 24183:2022.
— understand what they find, and
— use that information
[SOURCE: ISO 24495-1:2023, 3.1]
3.4
controlled language
language restricting the grammar and vocabulary used, to reduce ambiguity and complexity and to
help people to understand the content
3.5
keyword
word or phrase used to describe the main content (nouns and verbs) of a document in a consistent
manner
3.6
part of speech
category to which a word is classified according to each syntactic function
EXAMPLE Noun, verb, adjective.
3.7
internationalization
process of generalizing a product so that it can handle multiple languages and cultural conventions
without the need for re-design
Note 1 to entry: Internationalization takes place at the level of programme design and document development.
[7]
[SOURCE: Localization Industry Standards Association (LISA) ]
3.8
localization
process of taking a product and making it linguistically and culturally appropriate to the target locale
(country/region and language) where it will be used and sold
Note 1 to entry: The term derives from “locale”: a place where something particular happens or is done.
Translation (T9n) is one of the activities in localization.
[7]
[SOURCE: Localization Industry Standards Association (LISA) ]
4 Principle
Since there are many common factors and rules among languages, it is possible to create a set of writing
rules that is applicable to many different languages.
5 Methodology — How to apply the rules
The task of simplifying language can be divided into two groups: sentences and words. Sentences are
involved in s
...