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Almost every night I read books to my sons at bedtime. We each pick a book and then use alphabetical order of the titles to decide the order in which we read the three books. My sons ask questions about sorting, such as how to deal with spaces, what articles (a/the) should be abandoned, and if capitalization matters.
Here at SimulTrans we face similar questions each day, multiplied by the dozens of languages in which we translate materials. Whether sorting index entries, items in a table, or database entries in a software screen capture, we need to take into account the proper collation sequences for each target language.
Sorting Approaches
Each locale has different sorting expectations, based on a variety of strategies.
In Japan, often characters are sorted phonetically. In China, characters are often sorted based on their radicals (roots) and the number of strokes in each character.
Sorting order also varies between European languages. In French, accents are evaluated from right-to-left, while in Spanish they are evaluated from left-to-right in each word. For example:
French
- cote
- côte
- coté
- côté
Spanish
- cote
- coté
- côte
- côté
Operating System Support
 Fortunately most modern computer operating systems contain the appropriate rules for sorting in the languages they support. It is important to select the correct locale when publishing localized documents and software to ensure terms sort correctly. This can be done through the Windows Control Panel (Region and Language) or in Mac OS System Preferences (Language and Text). Changing the setting in these menus will prompt well-internationalized applications to sort text correctly.
While it is easy to sort lists based on the default English sort, and you will generally not receive error messages, this strategy will lead to items being sorted incorrectly based on the expectations of each target locale.
Importance of Linguistic Review
After sorting lists, especially in the indices which appear in manuals, it is a good idea to have a native speaker of the target language look through the items to ensure they are sorted correctly.
Of course if you have specific questions about sorting, feel free to contact us. SimulTrans is happy to help.
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