Language and tone standards for all written content across 3 languages — English (British, East African), French (Francophone African), and Kiswahili (East African standard). Enforces authentic, culturally appropriate, professional communication in each language. Apply throughout all content generation steps.
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language-standards
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Language and tone standards for all written content across 3 languages — English (British, East African), French (Francophone African), and Kiswahili (East African standard). Enforces authentic, culturally appropriate, professional communication in each language. Apply throughout all content generation steps.
Language Standards — Multi-Language Tone & Grammar
All website copy, headings, CTAs, descriptions, and microcopy must follow this style guide for their respective language. Cross-cutting standard — applied throughout every content-writing step.
Use when
Language and tone standards for all written content across 3 languages — English (British, East African), French (Francophone African), and Kiswahili (East African standard). Enforces authentic, culturally appropriate, professional communication in each language. Apply throughout all content generation steps.
Apply it alongside the primary deliverable skill whenever wording, tone, or editorial quality needs control.
Do not use when
Do not use this skill for graphic design, video production, software development, or legal advice beyond the repository's stated scope.
Do not use it when another skill in this repository is clearly more specific to the requested deliverable.
Do not use this skill as a substitute for the main document, strategy, or copy-generation skill.
Workflow
Read the requested draft, source text, or surrounding brief before making language decisions.
Apply the rules in this skill consistently across the whole deliverable, not only the obvious problem lines.
Return corrected copy, guidance, or a style-constrained draft that the paired skill can use directly.
Anti-Patterns
Do not invent client facts, performance data, budgets, or approvals that were not provided or clearly inferred from evidence.
Do not skip required inputs, mandatory sections, or quality checks just to make the output shorter.
Do not mix British and American English, and do not apply the rules inconsistently across the same deliverable.
Outputs
A reusable style standard, rewrite, or editing pass that improves another deliverable rather than replacing it.
References
Read references/business-english-advanced.md when you need the deeper framework, examples, or supporting material it contains.
Required Input
Start with the source text or deliverable brief, then confirm the target language and market. If the target language is unclear, stop and establish it before applying this skill.
Core Principles (All Languages)
Clear and direct. Sentences are straightforward, grammatically careful, logically structured.
Formal and respectful. Politeness is essential. Communication shows courtesy and humility.
No excessive marketing language. Avoid drama, exaggeration, slang.
Professionally indirect. Soften directives with courteous phrasing.
ENGLISH (en) — British English, East African Professional Standard
Core Characteristics
British English spelling throughout.
East African tone — formal, respectful, professionally courteous (Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania blend).
Measured and confident without arrogance or dramatic language.
Logical sentence structure — no fragments or telegram-style copy.
Progressive tense preference — use simple present or past over continuous tenses. "The company plans to expand" not "The company is planning to expand." Simple tenses are more direct and authoritative.
Consistent verb tense — do not switch tenses within a section. If you begin in present, stay present throughout that block. Mixing past and present within the same thought signals uncertainty.
British English Spelling
Always use British spelling:
Correct (British)
Incorrect (American)
organisation
organization
programme
program
centre
center
colour
color
travelling
traveling
specialise
specialize
honour
honor
favourite
favorite
analyse
analyze
defence
defense
licence (noun)
license (noun)
catalogue
catalog
enquiry
inquiry
Dates and Numbers
Date format: 17 February 2026 (or 17th February 2026)
Never: February 17, 2026 (American format)
Numbers: Use commas for thousands: 1,000; 100,000
Currency: £ for GBP, $ for USD, €, or regional (specify in design-tokens.md)
Tone by East African Country Context
Adjust tone slightly based on client location. Use Neutral East African when no country is specified.
Country
Tone
Key marker
Uganda
Warm, relational, appreciative
Frequent "kindly", emphasis on harmony: "We highly appreciate your support. Kindly be informed…"
Kenya
Confident, business-oriented, efficient
Clear timelines, professional firmness: "Please share the signed agreement by Friday, 21 February 2026."
Tanzania
Calm, measured, conservative
Patient rhythm, influenced by Kiswahili patterns: "We kindly request your guidance. We shall revert shortly."
Neutral (default)
Balanced blend
Use when no country is specified
Courteous Phrases (English)
Natural and expected in East African business English:
Kindly find attached…
We kindly request…
Please be advised that…
We would like to inform you…
Thank you for your continued support.
We look forward to your response.
We appreciate your partnership.
Should you require any further clarification, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Tier 2 — Overused by AI (use sparingly, never in headlines): compelling, captivating, cutting-edge, game-changer, revolutionary, transformative, innovative, streamline, empower, unparalleled, elevate, ignite, safeguard, enduring, seamless, holistic, curate, resonate, underscore, showcase
Tier 3 — Flagged in combination (fine alone, AI-tell together): crucial, facilitate, enhance, ensure, enable, encourage, essential, navigate, compelling, drive, embodies, emphasises. Rule: no more than one Tier 3 word per paragraph.
Banned phrases: "In today's fast-paced world", "It's important to note", "In the realm of", "Embark on a journey", "Game-changer", "Treasure trove", "Digital landscape", "Ever-evolving", "Not only X but also Y" (overused), "X isn't just Y; it's Z", "From X to Y, [subject] has..." (listicle pattern), "Whether you're [X] or [Y]..." (false inclusivity)
Banned structural patterns: Uniform sentence lengths (vary deliberately), "Furthermore/Moreover/Additionally" as paragraph openers, excessive em dashes (max 2 per article), three-item lists in every paragraph, present participial openers ("Leveraging our...", "Fostering an environment...")
Required human markers: Vary sentence length (mix 4-word and 30-word sentences), take clear positions ("I recommend" not "One might consider"), use the client's own vocabulary from their docs, include strategic contractions (2-4 per 500 words in English)
See blog-writer/references/human-voice-standards.md for the full blacklist with replacements, detailed techniques, and Voice DNA extraction process.
Redundant Phrases (All Languages)
Delete constructions where one word does the full job: close proximity → proximity, consensus of opinion → consensus, free gift → gift, end result → result, future plans → plans, past history → history, refer back → refer, revert back → revert, advance warning → warning, repeat again → repeat, exact same → same. Full list in blog-writer/references/editorial-standards.md.
English CTAs and Button Text
Apply respectful tone to buttons and UI text:
Generic/Aggressive
East African Style
Buy Now
Place Your Order
Sign Up
Register Today
Get Started
Begin Your Journey
Learn More
Find Out More
Contact Us
Get in Touch
Download
Download the Brochure
FRENCH (fr) — Francophone African Professional Standard
Core Characteristics
Formal francophone African French — not Québécois, not Belgian variants.
Respectful and courteous — professionalism with warmth.
Standard French grammar and conventions.
Vous (formal) throughout all professional communication — never "tu".
Culturally appropriate for Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Senegal, DRC, Gabon.
French Spelling and Grammar
Use standard French orthography:
Accent marks required: é, è, ê, ë, à, ù, ç, œ, æ
Double-check diacritical marks (many African translators omit them)
UTF-8 encoding mandatory
Apostrophes in Astro JSX Templates (French, Swahili, all languages)
CRITICAL: Single-quoted JS strings inside Astro JSX expressions (.astro template section) CANNOT contain straight apostrophes ('). This breaks the build because the apostrophe terminates the string early.
Rules for any text containing apostrophes (e.g. French d', l', n', qu'; Swahili ng'):
Use double-quoted strings for any JS string literal that contains an apostrophe: "d'excellence" not 'd\'excellence'
Never use \u2019 escape sequences — Astro's template compiler may not handle them correctly
Never use backslash-escaped apostrophes (\') in JSX template expressions — they work in frontmatter JS but fail in template JSX
HTML text content is fine — apostrophes in regular HTML <p>d'excellence</p> work without escaping
For JSX expression strings that need both " and ', use template literals: `string with ' and "`
Verb Conjugation
Use vous for all formal communication (not tu)
Example: "Veuillez remplir le formulaire" (not "Remplis le formulaire")
Imperative form: "Veuillez" + infinitive for politeness
Gender Agreement
All adjectives and past participles must agree with gender:
"La page est complétée" (feminine)
"Le service est complété" (masculine)
"Les pages sont complétées" (feminine plural)
French Dates and Numbers
Date format: 17 février 2026 (or 17 février 2026)
Month names: Lowercase (février, not Février)
Numbers: Use space or period for thousands: 1 000 or 1.000 (not 1,000)
Use terms understood across francophone Africa (not Canada-specific, not France-specific):
Budget (not "subvention")
Entreprise (company, not "compagnie")
Personnel (staff, not "employés" alone)
Client (customer/client, standard everywhere)
Formation (training, widely used)
French CTAs and Button Text
English
French (Formal)
Sign Up
S'inscrire
Register
Créer un compte
Contact Us
Nous contacter
Learn More
En savoir plus
Submit
Soumettre
Download
Télécharger
Place Your Order
Passer votre commande
Get Started
Commencer maintenant
French-Specific Considerations
In-Country Reviewer Required
All French content must be reviewed by a native francophone speaker from the target market (Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Senegal, DRC, Gabon). Send for review before publishing.
Text Expansion
French is typically 20–40% longer than English. Design for 1.3x expansion:
Buttons must accommodate longer labels
Navigation items must wrap gracefully
Form labels must not overlap fields
Regional Variations
Avoid country-specific terms unless relevant:
Use neutral francophone African vocabulary
Avoid France-centric references
Avoid Canadian (Québécois) terminology
Francophone Africa Geographic Scope
CRITICAL RULE: French content must target Francophone Africa broadly — NOT just East Africa or Uganda.
The French language version of any website should be written and positioned for the entire Francophone African market:
When a client is specifically in East Africa:
If the client is Uganda-based, English pages handle the Ugandan/East African audience. The French pages reach the francophone African audience — these are different markets.
KISWAHILI (sw) — East African Standard
Core Characteristics
Standard East African Kiswahili — not regional dialects (Mombasa, Zanzibar variants).
Formal/respectful register throughout professional communication.
Humble and relationship-focused — Swahili culture emphasizes harmony.
Use formal register in all professional communication:
Avoid slang (sheng, Nairobi street language)
Use full words (hakuna = do not have, not "hakuna matata")
Respectful pronouns and address forms
Tense Selection
Present habitual: -na- (Anataka = He/she wants)
Near future: -ta- (Atakuja = He/she will come)
Past completed: -li- (Alifika = He/she arrived)
Conditional: -ki-, -ngali (Akija = if he/she comes)
Kiswahili Dates and Numbers
Date format: Februari 17, 2026 (or 17 Februari 2026)
Month names: English borrowed (Januari, Februari) — no Kiswahili equivalents universally understood
Day of week: Jumapili (Sunday), Jumatatu (Monday), Jumanne (Tuesday), etc.
Numbers: Use spaces for thousands: 1 000 (not 1,000)
Currency: Shilingi (Sh, KES for Kenya), or specified in design-tokens.md
Kiswahili Courtesy and Formality
Standard Openings (Business)
Habari yako? (How are you? — formal)
Tunataka kuwashukuru… (We want to thank you…)
Tunakuomba… (We kindly request…)
Respectful Phrases (Kiswahili)
Tafadhali (please — polite request)
Asante sana (thank you very much)
Karibu sana (welcome, you're welcome)
Pole pole (take it easy, go slowly — suggests respect/patience)
Haba na haba hujaza kibaba (little by little fills the measure — patience/humility)
Tunataka kuwajua (We want to know / We would like to learn)
Tutakurejea (We will respond to you)
Tukikubali (If we may, with your permission)
Closings
Kwa heshima (with respect)
Wakati mwingine (another time / we hope to hear from you)
Tunatumaini kuongea nayo upya (We hope to speak with you again)
Kiswahili Vocabulary Standards
Preferred Professional Terms
Kusimamia (to manage, oversee)
Kutekeleza (to implement, execute)
Kushiriki (to participate, engage)
Kusaada (to help, support)
Kuboresha (to improve, enhance)
Kupatiana (to agree, coordinate)
Kuhakiki (to verify, confirm)
Kuarifu (to inform, notify)
Kujifunza (to learn)
Muhimu (important, significant)
Faida (benefit, advantage)
Lengo (goal, objective)
Words to Avoid (Too Colloquial)
Slang/sheng — use formal Kiswahili
Hyperbolic marketing words
English insertions without Kiswahili alternative available
Kiswahili CTAs and Button Text
English
Kiswahili (Formal)
Sign Up
Jisajili
Register
Andika Jina
Contact Us
Wasiliana Nasi
Learn More
Jua Zaidi
Submit
Tuma
Download
Pakua
Place Your Order
Agiza Bidhaa
Get Started
Anza Sasa
Kiswahili-Specific Considerations
In-Country Reviewer Required
All Kiswahili content must be reviewed by a native Kiswahili speaker from East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, or Uganda). Regional variants exist; ensure reviewer is from target market.
Text Expansion
Kiswahili is typically 10–30% longer than English. Design for 1.2x expansion:
Buttons must flex for longer labels
Navigation items must wrap gracefully
Form labels must have clear spacing
No Dialects
Use standard East African Kiswahili
Avoid Mombasa Swahili (maChinwali features)
Avoid Zanzibari Swahili (historical variants)
Avoid regional slang or sheng (Nairobi street language)
Relationships and Harmony
Kiswahili communication culture emphasizes relationships:
Lead with greetings and acknowledgment
Use plural forms to show respect (sisi = we, kuambia mtu = speak to a person)
Avoid direct criticism or bluntness
Always acknowledge the relationship before asking for action
When This Skill Applies
Cross-cutting — applies to all visible website text, meta descriptions, alt text, form labels, error messages, email templates, and microcopy in all enabled languages.
