Phone numbers
Gone are the days when you could dial 398-7878 on your Nokia 3310 to reach the Service Point. Since 2006, the 10 digit phone number format has been implemented to avoid a shortage of phone numbers. In plain language, what does this mean? Area codes are no longer optional. Write them followed by a hyphen rather than being enclosed in parentheses.
Writing in French? The Office qu茅b茅cois de la langue fran莽aise (OQLF) recommends recommends inserting a non-breaking space ( in HTML) after the area code and a hyphen after the central office code.
TL;DR
- Old way: (514) 398-7878
- English: 514-398-7878
- French: 514聽398-7878
Addresses
Very technical here, but spacing matters. You need to put 2 non-breaking spaces between the city name and the postal code, and 1 in the middle of the postal code.
TL;DR
- In English: 惭辞苍迟谤茅补濒, QC聽聽H3A聽2M7
- In French: 惭辞苍迟谤茅补濒 (蚕耻茅产别肠)聽聽H3A聽2M7
惭辞苍迟谤茅补濒
Speaking of addresses, names of cities retain their official form in both English and French. And at 涩里番, we don't judge accents. 惭辞苍迟谤茅补濒 is spelled with an accented "茅" in both English and French. Same for the city of 蚕耻茅产别肠.
Let's not start a debate around Quebec (province). Commission de toponymie recommends always using an "茅", while other institutions do not. Until a consensus is reached, it is acceptable not to use an accent in English, but keep 蚕耻茅产别肠 in French.
TL;DR
- Always: 惭辞苍迟谤茅补濒
- Always: 蚕耻茅产别肠 (city)
- OK in English: Quebec (province)
- Always in French: 蚕耻茅产别肠 (province)
Fun fact, only two municipalities in Canada have two official forms of their names:
- Grand Falls/Grand-Sault, New Brunswick
- Caissie Cape/Cap-des-Caissie, New Brunswick
CAPITAL LETTERS
DO NOT USE ALL CAPITAL LETTERS IN A SENTENCE, AS THIS GIVES THE IMPRESSION THAT YOU ARE SHOUTING. IN ADDITION, TEXTS WRITTEN IN CAPITAL LETTERS ARE MORE DIFFICULT TO READ BECAUSE THE LETTERS ARE ALL THE SAME HEIGHT.
TL;DR
Do not write an entire sentence in capital letters.
Ampersand (&)
Our team discussed this issue at great length (about 2 minutes), but we discovered that, according to Canadian guidelines, the 鈥�&鈥� symbol should only be used when it is part of a company name.
TL;DR
Don't use the ampersand symbol unless it's part of a company name.
Express French lesson: the ampersand symbol in French is called 辫别谤濒耻猫迟别, but for some reason, it can also be written as perluette, esperluette, es辫别谤濒耻猫迟别, 茅辫别谤濒耻猫迟别, or 茅辫别谤濒耻别迟迟别. Don't ask us why.
Colons (:)
No space before a colon in English, 1 non-breaking space in French. Again, don't ask us why.
TL;DR
- Correct way in English: Text: Other part of text
- Correct way in French: Texte聽: Autre partie du texte
Conclusion
Consistency in typography requires attention to detail, and it's more than just aesthetics: it improves readability, accessibility, and professionalism across 涩里番鈥檚 web presence. By following these simple rules, you help ensure that our content meets high standards in both English and French.
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