Good reasons for a layout adjustment lie in the peculiarities and orthography of each individual language. Languages differ not only in their vocabulary but also in their script and appearance.
In "short" languages like English, words often consist of fewer letters and can be abbreviated, while in Chinese, compact characters can replace long letter sequences entirely.
"Long" languages like German and French are often characterized by extensive letter and word chains. In a layout, these different scripts require varying amounts of space and can influence the perception of the content.
Text placement should therefore be tailored to each language to reach readers effectively.
Additionally, the reading and writing direction can significantly impact a translation’s layout.
Unlike English, French, or German, Arabic is read from right to left, and some Asian languages (e.g., Japanese) are sometimes written vertically, from top to bottom.
To ensure successful communication, these unique characteristics must be considered in the layout – and this is precisely where Desktop Publishing (DTP) comes into play. The more aesthetically pleasing and accurate the integration of all characters into the design, the better the content can resonate with its audience.
