// 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
description
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
Acknowledgement: Shared by Peter Bamuhigire, techguypeter.com, +256 784 464178.
Use When
Use this skill when multilingual content needs cross-cutting language, tone, and wording rules.
Load it before drafting or reviewing English, French, or Kiswahili output.
Do Not Use When
The task is purely about procurement mechanics or domain frameworks with no language work.
Another loaded skill already defines the exact language treatment and there is no conflict.
Required Inputs
The target language and audience.
The content being drafted or reviewed.
Workflow
Determine the target language, audience, and communication purpose.
Apply the relevant language-specific rules from this skill.
Check for awkward phrasing, poor localization, and culturally weak wording.
When the content must support premium fees, evaluator confidence, public trust, or commercial conversion, apply the premium commercial writing gate after language cleanup.
Return wording that matches the target market and content purpose.
Quality Standards
Prefer clarity, courtesy, and natural local phrasing over flashy copy.
Use this as a cross-cutting review pass, not as a substitute for domain or procurement logic.
Preserve compatibility with existing repository workflows and file paths.
Anti-Patterns
Do not translate literally when adaptation is required.
Do not use exaggerated marketing language or obviously synthetic phrasing.
Do not overwrite project-specific terminology without reason.
Outputs
Language and tone decisions aligned to this skill.
References
Use the local language sections as the primary guide.
../blog-writer/references/human-voice-standards.md when stronger anti-AI voice checks are needed.
../premium-commercial-writing/SKILL.md when language review must also improve commercial argument, premium value, case-study proof, or search-aware public writing.
../references/customer-service-and-escalation-commitments.md when wording support, complaint handling, follow-up, or escalation commitments.
../references/ethical-persuasion-and-evaluator-psychology-gate.md when persuasion, risk, premium value, or objection language must remain ethical and measured.
All website copy, headings, calls to action, descriptions, and microcopy must follow this style guide for their respective language. This is a cross-cutting standard applied throughout every content-writing step.
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.
Also avoid: American slang (FYI, ASAP, BTW), dramatic emotional tone, excessive exclamation marks.
Instead of abbreviations, write in full: "Please respond as soon as possible."
Assertive Language (All Languages)
Hedging language communicates uncertainty. If you're not sure you're any good, how can prospects be? Replace weak phrasing with confident, assertive alternatives:
Hedging (weak)
Assertive (strong)
Feel free to reach out
Contact me / Get in touch
In case you're interested
Interested? Contact me
Perhaps we can work together
Let's work together
Maybe we're a good fit
Add a "Who is this for?" section
We might be able to help
We can help
It could potentially improve
It improves
This applies across all three languages. In French: "N'hésitez pas à nous contacter" is acceptable (culturally standard), but avoid excessive hedging like "Il serait éventuellement possible de...". In Kiswahili: use direct invitations ("Wasiliana nasi" not "Labda unaweza kuwasiliana nasi").
Condescending Phrases Ban (All Languages)
Never use these patterns in any language:
"Research suggests that..." — Which research? What niche? What size businesses? Too vague to be credible. Only cite research if it features your target audience and their specific problems.
"If you're a business owner..." / "Si vous êtes un entrepreneur..." / "Kama wewe ni mfanyabiashara..." — If you know your audience IS business owners, address them directly. Don't do the "if" dance.
AI Language Avoidance (All Languages)
AI-generated text has recognisable vocabulary and patterns. Every piece of content must pass as entirely human-written.
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.
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
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
This skill is cross-cutting — it applies throughout all content generation:
All visible website text: headings, body copy, service descriptions, about pages, CTAs
Meta descriptions and SEO text
Alt text for images: clear, descriptive, respectful, in target language
Error messages and form labels: polite, never terse
Email templates and contact responses
Microcopy: tooltips, helper text, notifications
Integration with Other Skills
i18n: Determines which language versions are built
page-builder: Applies language standards when creating content
seo: Uses language standards for meta tags, titles, descriptions
sector-strategies: Industry-specific tone within language standards
design-system: Visualizes language standards in typography and layout
Enforcement Checkpoints
Before publishing any page, verify:
English pages: British spelling, East African tone, no marketing hype
French pages: Formal French, vous throughout, francophone African vocabulary, reviewed by francophone
Kiswahili pages: Standard Kiswahili, formal register, no slang, reviewed by East African native speaker
All pages: No truncation or text overflow in any language
All pages: Grammatically correct, properly punctuated, culturally appropriate
All pages: CTAs use respectful, inviting language (not aggressive)
Language-Specific Reviewers
Before publishing in any language, assign review:
English: East African professional (optional native review; standards in this guide)
French: Native francophone speaker from Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Senegal, DRC, or Gabon
Kiswahili: Native Kiswahili speaker from Kenya, Tanzania, or Uganda
All translations reviewed by in-country professionals before publishing.
