BSA® Language Standards
The Language of Scouting always takes precedence. Note: If an entry is capitalized, it should be capitalized whenever it is used.
per the Language of Scouting. (See extract below.)
English and Spanish best practices
The following is an attempt to map the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) English standards and best practices to the equivalent Spanish ones and to add standards and best practices for social media.
Language Identification in the United States of America
| What | English | Spanish |
|---|---|---|
| Conversational | "American English" | Spanish languages in the United States of America |
| Cite Value | "English (US)" | ? |
| Language Tag | "en-US" | "es, es-CU, es-PR, es-MX, es-419, es-US-spanglis" ? |
| Broadcast | Broadcast English (US), en-US? | "Broadcast Spanish (US)" |
| Broadcast Style | Associated Press Stylebook | El Manual de Estilo Online de la AP |
| Social Media | ? | ? |
Terms, Words and Abbreviations
| What | English | Spanish |
|---|---|---|
| Abbreviations | Language of Scouting - Abbreviations and Acronyms | ? |
| Dictionary | ||
| -- Dictionary 1 | Merriam Webster’s Dictionary | Diccionario de la lengua española (an all Spanish dictionary - en español) - MY RECOMMENDATION |
| -- Dictionary 2 | (an English to Spanish dictionary is needed) | |
| Glossary | Language of Scouting | BSA Spanish Glossary (bi-lingual) |
| what | ? | ? |
Acronyms of Scouting
| What | English | Spanish |
|---|---|---|
| Acronyms | Language of Scouting - Abbreviations and Acronyms | ? |
Language Style of the Boy Scouts of America
Including style and the “tone and voice” of communicating.
| What | English | Spanish |
|---|---|---|
| Write: | ||
| -- Style 1 | Language of Scouting | Language of Scouting, BSA Spanish Glossary |
| -- Style 2 | Associated Press Stylebook | El Manual de Estilo Online de la AP |
| -- Style 3 | The Chicago Manual of Style | Manual de estilo Chicago-Deusto |
AP Stylebook, Merriam Webster’s dictionaries and Chicago Manual of Style confusion?
The online AP Stylebook, © 2021 Associated Press, states:
For spelling, style and usage questions not covered in this stylebook, consult Webster’sy New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston and New York, 2016.
MY OPINION: There may be a some conflict between the dictionary and the Chicago manual that may lead to confusion as to which style to use. At this point, your guess is a good as mine. It may come down to what is the easier for most of the target audience to understand clearly.
“Broadcast Spanish”
“el idioma de las emisiones en español” (the language of broadcasting in Spanish)
In the announcement of the Spanish version of Boy Scout Handbook
- Scout, el MANUAL BOY SCOUT - ¿Hablas español? Spanish version of Boy Scout Handbook now available, November 18, 2009, by Bryan Wendell, Scouting magazine
the term “Broadcast Spanish” was defined by Mayte Millares, a member of the BSA national Hispanic Initiatives committee as:
…“Broadcast Spanish,” … a region-neutral version of the language that generally avoids words that could be misinterpreted in different parts of the world.
Forms of Address
MY OPINION:
Forms of address include how others are greeted, formally introduced, addressed in social media messages, and written letters. Being courteous, that is being polite and having good manners, is part of the BSA Scout Law.
How people are addressed is different in English and Spanish, and in different groups in Scouting and society.
BSA® Language Tools
- Language of Scouting (LoS) | Boy Scouts of America® (2020)
- Abbreviations and Acronyms | LoS | Boy Scouts of America (scouting.org)
- Glossary of Scouting Terms (scouting.org), date unknown, 6 p. obsolescent
- Spanish Glossary (scouting.org), 2009, English to Spanish translation, style notes, obsolescent.
- Boy Scouts of America Brand Guidelines, Last revised July 2019
- “Preparados para el futuro.®” - How to use information p. 14.
- Web Policies
- Guiding Principles, p. 43
- “Friendly - Use open, everyday language and imagery to communicate.”
- “Thrifty - Don’t reinvent the wheel — use design and software that exist.”
- “Clean - Keep it simple. Avoid clutter in language, design, and features.”
- Guiding Principles, p. 43
- Tone and Voice, p. 62
- BSA Social Media Guidelines - Scouting Wire
- BSA Social Media Playbook / Social_Media_Playbook_092518_BC.pdf, September 2018, 24 p.
- BSA Scouting Forums Guidelines
Language of Scouting
This reference is the Boy Scouts of America’s definitive resource on terms and style specific to Scouting and this organization. The Language of Scouting encompasses style, usage, grammar, and spelling norms observed by the Boy Scouts of America and used by the Marketing Group and Communication Services Department and its approved editorial and publishing partners. These standards have been developed so that the BSA can disseminate resources and other information in the most professional, consistent, coherent, and uniform manner for all forms of communication—print, digital, multimedia, etc.
Scouting terms are based in part on the Charter and Bylaws and Rules and Regulations of the Boy Scouts of America (available here). Grammar, spelling, style, and usage decisions are based on the latest editions of the following references, in order of preference: Merriam Webster’s Dictionary, The Associated Press Stylebook, and The Chicago Manual of Style . Turn to these resources (in the given order) for further reference. The Language of Scouting always takes precedence. Note: If an entry is capitalized, it should be capitalized whenever it is used.
The above quote is from:
Spanish Glossary (Glosario en inglés y en español)
This glossary is an alphabetical listing of Scouting-specific terms and their corresponding Spanish translations and/or usage guidelines. It is the standard Spanish-language BSA reference for the national office’s freelance Spanish translators, editors, and proofreaders, as well as for BSA professionals … While the glossary contains some of the same entries as The Language of Scouting, it differs from that resource in that it does not define terms, and it is not yet as extensive. It is a working glossary and, like The Language of Scouting, will be updated periodically.
“Este glosario es una lista alfabética de términos específicos de Scouting y su traducción correspondiente al español o lineamientos de uso. Es la referencia estándar de BSA del idioma castellano para los traductores , editores y correctores independientes en español de la oficina nacional, así como para los profesionales de BSA … Mientras que el glosario contiene algunas de las mismas entradas que The Language of Scouting, difiere de aquél recurso en que éste no contiene definiciones, y no es por el momento tan extenso. Es un glosario en desarrollo y, como The Language of Scouting, será actualizado periódicamente.”
Above quote is from the:
- BSA Spanish Glossary 2009 (scouting.org) - obsolescent, needed to have current program terms and phrases added.
Journey to Excellence Glossary
- Boy Scouts of America. 2014. Journey to Excellence Glossary. PDF. Irving, Tex.: Boy Scouts of America Inc. https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/mission/JTE_Glossary.pdf.
Non-BSA: Language Tools
BSA uses non-BSA tools. For more details about non-BSA tools see “Non-BSA Tools and References”, post 3 in this dissussion topic.
Language related Scouting forums discussion
- Language of Scouting - Missing Terms - Cub Scouting
- Language of Scouting - Training Terminology
- Scouting forums - How to insert an acronym or non-Engish into a post? - Scoutbook / Using Scoutbook - Scouting Forums
- Latest “language” topics - Scouting Forums
Link to top topic
Disclaimer
This post contains links to information which may not be official Boy Scouts of America policy.
Scouting forums disclaimer
All content, information, and opinions shared on this forum are those of the author, not the BSA.
Version
Created 2021-09-18. Version 2022-01-16-C DRAFT
