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11.8In contrast, if the name is essentially a proper name, such as a company name, leave it in the original form. However, at the first mention it may sometimes be useful to include an ad hoc or previously used translation or to give an explanation:

The company’s name had by now been changed from Pfaffenhofener Würstli [Pfaffenhofen Sausages] to Bayrische Spezialitäten [Bavarian Specialities].

The Delflandse Wandelvrienden (a local Dutch hiking association) wrote to the President direct.

Note that company abbreviations may be omitted after the first mention:

The firms in question are Rheinische Heizungsfabrik GmbH, Calorifica Italia SpA, SIA Ekobriketes, and Kamna Dvořák sro. In the meantime, Ekobriketes and Kamna Dvořák have gone out of business.

11.9Familiar foreign names. If a body’s original-language name is familiar to the intended readership, or the body uses it in its own English texts, use that rather than a translation:

The Bundesbank has issued a new policy directive.

Médecins Sans Frontières has long been active in this region.

11.10Abbreviations. Where a body is referred to in the original language by an abbreviation, do not translate it with an improvised English one. Instead, give the English name followed by the original abbreviation (transliterating if necessary) in brackets (or vice versa) upon first mention, and include the original name as well if it is given:

the German Social Democratic Party (SPD)

SKAT (the Danish Central Customs and Tax Administration)

the Czech General Health Insurance Fund (Všeobecná zdravotní pojišťovna České Republiky — VZP)

the Regional Public Health Inspectorate in Bulgaria (RIOKOZ)

In the rest of the text, you may use just the abbreviation (but see 4.1).

11.11Back-transliteration of names. Where a name written in a non-Latin alphabet is obviously a rendering of a word or phrase normally written in the Latin alphabet, e.g. an English expression, use that rather than a transliteration:

Orange Juice AE not Orantz Tzous AE

Bulgaria Air not Bulgaria Er

12 GENDER-NEUTRAL LANGUAGE

12.1Using gender-neutral formulations is more than a matter of political correctness. The Commission wholeheartedly endorses equal opportunities, and its language should reflect this. Using the generic ‘he’ is incongruous, since Commission documents are just as likely to be addressed to women.

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12.2He/she. Avoid the clumsy he/she etc., except perhaps in non-running text such as application forms. The best solution is often to use the plural, which in any case is more commonly used in English for the generic form as it does not require the definite article. For example, in draft legislation or calls for tenders, translate l’exportateur/le soumissionaire … il by exporters/tenderers … they. It is also acceptable to use forms such as everyone has their own views on this (see usage note for they in the Concise Oxford Dictionary).

12.3In some texts, for example in manuals or sets of instructions, it is more natural in English to address the reader directly using the second-person form or even the imperative:

You should first turn on your computer.

or

First turn on your computer.

instead of

The user should first turn on his/her computer.

12.4Noun forms. Use your judgment in choosing noun forms to emphasise or deemphasise gender, such as Chairman, Chairwoman or Chair, but note that Parliament now uses Chair for its committees.

For certain occupations a substitute for a gender-specific term is now commonly used to refer to persons working in those occupations, e.g. we now write firefighters instead of firemen and police officer instead of policeman or policewoman. Note that the terms tradesperson and craftsperson are commonly used instead of tradesman and craftsman by local government authorities advertising jobs to both men and women. The term fishermen is still in common use, though the compound fisherman/woman and fishermen/women can also be found in UK sources.

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Part II

About the European Union

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