Publication context in English, Bahasa Malaysia and Chinese

In Malaysia, many organisations publish in English, Bahasa Malaysia and Chinese. A single event photograph may appear in all three. The caption is easy to treat as an afterthought, yet it is where mistakes get published.

This guide sits within using event photographs for business and reporting. It builds on accurate captions, credits and event context and focuses on language.

Treat each language as its own text

A translated caption is a new caption. It must be read as one. Word order, politeness, honorifics and the way titles are written all differ between languages. A caption that is correct in English can be awkward or wrong in another language.

Plan for a reviewer in each language. Give them the source information, not only the English caption, so they can check names and terms against the record.

Names come first

Names are the most common source of error.

• A person may have a Chinese name, a Malay name and an English name.
• The order of family and given names differs.
• Honorifics and titles may be written in different forms in each language.
• Spelling of the same name in different scripts may be a personal choice.

Collect the written form each person uses in each language, from the person or a reliable record. Do not convert a name by guess. The event photograph caption worksheet can hold one column per language.

Titles and approved terms

Organisations often have approved terms for job titles, departments and programmes in each language. Ask for them. If there are none, agree one and use it consistently.

Be careful with titles that look similar in two languages but differ in meaning. Ask a reviewer who knows the organisation. Our guide to providing accurate names and roles for important event participants lists the information to gather before the event.

Do not rely on automatic translation

Machine translation can help a reviewer draft quickly, but it can change meaning, misread names and use terms nobody has approved. Never publish a machine-translated caption without review by a person who knows the language.

Credits and context

Credit lines should be consistent across languages. Agree the wording of the credit and whether it is translated or kept in the original. Dates and event names should be written in the form each language normally uses, and checked.

Law, contract, venue rules and business policy

These four layers apply in every language, and each language version must respect them.

• Law. Rules on the use of personal data and on language in public notices are a matter for your legal adviser. We do not give legal advice.
• Contract. Our written quotation sets credit and use terms. Keep any credit wording consistent in each version.
• Venue rules. A venue may require a particular form of its name.
• Business policy. Your own style guide for each language.

An example scenario

For example, a regional association holds a members' day and wants a recap on its website in English, Bahasa Malaysia and Chinese, with 12 images.

The communications officer prepares a master list with each speaker's name in the forms they use. A colleague who writes Chinese reviews the Chinese captions. Another reviews the Bahasa Malaysia versions. Each reviewer receives the list and the English captions. One caption disagrees with the others on a speaker's title; the officer checks the source and corrects two versions. All three sets are approved before publication.

Keep versions in step

When a caption is corrected in one language, check the others. Keep one master record. Our guide to tracking image approvals without losing the original delivery explains how to record changes.

If you publish on several channels, the audience may differ. See explaining an event through photographs to an external audience.

Find captions later

Store captions in each language with the image numbers, so you can find the right one years later. Our guide to finding event photographs again in a company archive suggests useful records.

For our own language support when you contact us, see languages and enquiry support.

What to tell the photographer

• The languages your outputs need.
• The source of truth for names and titles.
• Anyone who prefers a particular written form.
• The reviewer for each language.

We confirm the date, venue, crew and deliverables in writing before the event. Ask us which languages we can reply in for your date; we confirm this in writing.