Numerical Notation - Page 7

New Riders Publishing

October 14, 2002

The number 2.455 means different amounts in different countries. In the U.S., 2.455 is less than 3; in Germany, it is more than 2,000. Blame numerical notation for the confusion. Not all countries use periods and commas in the same fashion. In the U.S., the period indicates the decimal point; in Germany and other countries, the period is the thousands separator.

All too often, American companies expect users around the world to understand their numerical formats, yet numerical notation is not universal, as shown in the following chart.

Country	Notation
U.S.	123,456,789.00
France	123 456 789,00
Spain	123.456.789,00
Germany	123.456.789,00
Sweden	123 456 789,00
Russia	123 456 789,00

For a more comprehensive list of notation standards, see Appendix F, "International Notation Standards."

Phone numbers also have country-specific notation standards. Unfortunately, there's no international standard that all countries should follow. In fact, you'll often see notation differences within countries. In the U.S., for example, the number (555) 555-5555 can also be written as 555.555.5555 for purely stylistic reasons. When you feature phone numbers on your web site, try not to be stylistic. Your localized web sites should present phone and fax numbers in the formats that are most commonly used in each locale. Even more challenging than displaying phone numbers is making sure you can properly accept phone numbers. Make sure that input forms on your site don't force users to adhere to the American 10-digit phone number format, as the form in Figure 7.9 does.

Figure 7.9
Phone number entry fields need to be localized. This one is not globally friendly.

As you can see, some countries don't even have 10-digit phone numbers:

Country	Notation
Hong Kong	1234 5678
Singapore	123 4567
Sweden	12 345 67 89
France	12-34-45-67-89
Poland	(12) 345.67.89
U.K.	1234 567899
U.S.	(123) 456 7890
Brazil	5102-1800
Germany	1234 567-8

Dates and Times

The Gregorian calendar that the Western world relies on is hardly the only calendar in use around the world. There are also the Islamic, Hebrew, Buddhist, Ethiopian, Hindu, and Japanese "Genko" calendars. Each calendar has its own unique holidays, which often vary from year to year. The way dates are represented is rarely consistent, even between countries that share a common calendar. For example, when is the Fourth of July not the Fourth of July? It all depends on the locale, as shown in the following chart:

Country	Notation
U.S.	7/4/2002
France	4/7/02
Germany	4.7.02
Japan
ISO 8601	2002-07-04

For a more comprehensive list of notation standards, see Appendix F.

There has been a global push toward adopting the ISO 8601 standard for date formats, which follows the formula YYYY-MM-DD (February 1, 2002, is represented as 2002-02-01). But until everyone follows this standard, there is bound to be confusion. For the time being, a more practical solution is to simply spell out the name of the month and use the full four digits for the year, such as February 1, 2002. This notation prevents any ambiguity, even between differing calendar systems.

There's also global ambiguity about how times are represented. The U.S. is the only major country to use the 12-hour a.m./p.m. notation. The 12-hour notation is prone to error; for example, is 12:00 midnight or midday? With 24-hour notation, known in the U.S. as "military time," 12:00 is always midday and 00:00 is midnight. This system is widely used around the world, although the exact notation varies regionally. ISO 8601 also recommends a standard time format: HH:MM:SS. As with the date format, the larger units start on the left.

Finally, there's the pesky challenge of working with time zones. There are 24 global time zones, but many countries set their own time zones. For example, Canada has one time zone that spans three American time zones. Other countries have half-hour time zones. Do not assume that people in other countries will understand that "EST" means Eastern Standard Time. You could refer to GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), yet this is hardly universally understood and has since been replaced by the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). In other words, if you must display times on your site, make sure they are fully localized for the end user.

Rules and Regulations

Every country has its own unique regulations. Although there are efforts underway to "harmonize" regulations globally, for the time being, you need to rely on legal experts in each local market to help you play by the rules. Here are some regulatory issues to consider:

Privacy laws: Europe has much stricter rules than the U.S on collecting and sharing customer list information.
International advertising laws: In the U.S., head-to-head comparisons are commonplace, but Germany and Japan don't allow comparative advertising. Also, many countries prohibit price competitions and lotteries, and place tight restrictions on direct mail marketing.
Liability: What if a translator makes a mistake that leads to an injury in another country? What are your responsibilities and liabilities, and how should you be prepared?
Labeling: Should your packaging include any regional or country-specific markings or terminology? For example, the European Union closely regulates packaging labels for the health care industry. If you don't abide by these rules for even one country, you are prohibited from entering any of the EU countries.