Merged main to live

Author: jowilco

globalization/fonts-layout/images-icons-colors.md

@@ -13,15 +13,15 @@ ms.custom:
 
 Images and icons are a major part of a well-designed graphical user interface (GUI). The advantage of using images and icons is that with one picture a whole concept can be depicted. One reason behind this is that a picture evokes shared experiences that everyone has within their culture. When it comes to software localizability, this strength from shared experiences becomes a potential weakness for images and icons. Not all cultures share the same experiences or backgrounds.
 
-In the early days of GUIs, there were several common icons and images that have since lost popularity. For example, an image of a US roadside mailbox was used to indicate mail. The US-style mailbox isn't commonly used in other countries, so that symbol was superseded by the letter symbol. GUIs have now settled on several symbols that are broadly understood, including a magnifying glass for search, one or two gears for settings, and a star for favorites.
+In the early days of GUIs, there were several common icons and images that have since lost popularity. For example, an image of a US roadside mailbox was used to indicate mail. The US-style mailbox isn't commonly used in other countries/regions, so that symbol was superseded by the letter symbol. GUIs have now settled on several symbols that are broadly understood, including a magnifying glass for search, one or two gears for settings, and a star for favorites.
 
 When you choose images and icons, there are several best practices.
 
 - Cultural-specific images: as in the mailbox/letter example, consider whether the symbol has the same meaning in all target markets.
-- Flags: where possible, avoid flags and other political symbols. Flags represent countries/regions. There might not be universal recognition of those countries/regions or the ideals, boundaries, and political beliefs for which they stand. Countries should never represent languages. Choosing one country to represent the entire collection of language speakers is exclusionary and potentially offensive.
+- Flags: where possible, avoid flags and other political symbols. Flags represent countries/regions. There might not be universal recognition of those countries/regions or the ideals, boundaries, and political beliefs for which they stand. Countries/Regions should never represent languages. Choosing one country/region to represent the entire collection of language speakers is exclusionary and potentially offensive.
 - Maps: maps, especially those showing political boundaries such as countries and regions, are problematic. Political boundaries are often in dispute, so illustrating boundaries or labeling areas can cause offense. For example, the same body of water is known as the East Sea in Korea, but the Sea of Japan in Japan. Where maps and boundaries can't be avoided, consider using different boundaries and names for the various target markets when in dispute.
 - Religious symbols: religious symbols aren't limited to common icons such as a cross or an ichthys for Christianity or the crescent and star for Islam. Christmas trees and Easter bunnies are associated with Christian religious holidays and so might be unfamiliar or potentially offensive for other cultures.
-- Gestures: because of the widespread use of the OK gesture (👌U+1F44C OK HAND SIGN) representing agreement, the gesture and the associated meaning have broad worldwide recognition. However, in many countries, the joining of the thumb and index finger can be used in gestures with many other meanings. Avoid using gestures or anatomical symbols to represent concepts as the meaning might not be conveyed correctly in target markets.
+- Gestures: because of the widespread use of the OK gesture (👌U+1F44C OK HAND SIGN) representing agreement, the gesture and the associated meaning have broad worldwide recognition. However, in many countries/regions, the joining of the thumb and index finger can be used in gestures with many other meanings. Avoid using gestures or anatomical symbols to represent concepts as the meaning might not be conveyed correctly in target markets.
 - Skin tones: while the (nonrealistic) yellow skin tone for emoji is often considered neutral, the choice of using the yellow skin tone or selecting any of the five [emoji modifiers](emoji.md#emoji-modifiers) to alter the skin tone will always include an implicit race-based decision. Outlines, such as the following icon showing two people, are a better choice where possible, potentially avoiding issues around race, gender stereotyping, and ableism.
 
   :::image type="content" source="images/Two people.png" alt-text="An icon showing an outline of two people.":::

globalization/internationalization/payment-methods.md

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ ms.date: 05/16/2024
 
 # Payment methods
 
-In many Western countries, credit cards are commonly used to pay for software purchases. As discussed in [How to release products internationally](../methodology/how-to-release-products-internationally.md#payment-methods), not all target markets use the same payment methods. Choosing which payment methods customers can use to buy your product in each market needs to be part of your strategy. You should select methods that are popular in the target market and suitable for buying software online.
+In many countries/regions, credit cards are commonly used to pay for software purchases. As discussed in [How to release products internationally](../methodology/how-to-release-products-internationally.md#payment-methods), not all target markets use the same payment methods. Choosing which payment methods customers can use to buy your product in each market needs to be part of your strategy. You should select methods that are popular in the target market and suitable for buying software online.
 
 This article gives an overview of some other methods used around the world.
 
@@ -43,5 +43,5 @@ Here are a few examples of nontraditional payment methods, some of which have on
 
 - **Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies** are becoming more popular in the developer community due to their decentralized nature. Some software vendors and platforms accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, and they're used globally.
 - The **GitHub Sponsors** platform allows developers to financially support each other directly on GitHub, a popular platform for hosting and sharing code. It's used globally and can be a viable alternative to traditional payment methods for software.
-- **Prepaid cards** are payment cards with a monetary value stored on the card itself. They're trusted and popular worldwide, especially in countries with a large unbanked population, as they can be loaded with cash at a retail location, making them a tangible payment method.
+- **Prepaid cards** are payment cards with a monetary value stored on the card itself. They're trusted and popular worldwide, especially in countries/regions with a large unbanked population, as they can be loaded with cash at a retail location, making them a tangible payment method.
 - Many **Software as a Service (SaaS) platforms**, like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure, have their own billing systems that can be linked to various payment methods. These platforms are used globally.

globalization/locale/paper-size.md

@@ -6,6 +6,6 @@ ms.date: 06/13/2023
 
 # Paper sizes
 
-The [ISO 216](https://www.iso.org/standard/36631.html) standard is the international standard for paper size. The standard includes the A4 size (297 x 210 mm), which is a common size worldwide for business and personal use. In the United States, Canada, and other North and Central America countries, Letter (8 1/2 x 11 inch) and Legal (8 1/2 x 14 inch) are common sizes.
+The [ISO 216](https://www.iso.org/standard/36631.html) standard is the international standard for paper size. The standard includes the A4 size (297 x 210 mm), which is a common size worldwide for business and personal use. In the United States, Canada, and other North and Central America countries/regions, Letter (8 1/2 x 11 inch) and Legal (8 1/2 x 14 inch) are common sizes.
 
 While it's possible to print a document designed for one paper size on paper of a different size, a better experience is to support a page layout appropriate for the target market. When designing a page layout, you should ensure that the layout is responsive to changes in paper sizes. You should also ensure that the default page layout uses the appropriate page size for the target market.

globalization/locale/standard-locale-names.md

@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ A locale using the BCP 47 format is defined by a primary language tag and option
 |Example  |Corresponds to  |Explanation  |
 |---------|---------|---------|
 |de |German |A primary language tag with no additional qualifiers. |
-|zh-yue-HK |Cantonese for Hong Kong |A primary language tag, an extended language subtag, and a region subtag. Equivalent to yue-HK. |
+|zh-yue-HK |Cantonese for Hong Kong SAR |A primary language tag, an extended language subtag, and a region subtag. Equivalent to yue-HK. |
 |sr-Latn |Serbian, written using the Latin script |A primary language tag and a script subtag. |
 |de-AT |German for Austria |A primary language tag and a region subtag. |
 |ca-ES-valencia |Valencian for Spain |A primary language tag, a region subtag, and a variant subtag. |

globalization/locale/telephone-numbers.md

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ Telephone numbers are typically assigned to consumers of landline, mobile, and s
 
 The [E.164 standard](https://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-E.164), published by the International Telecommunication Union as “The international public telecommunication numbering plan” is an open numbering plan that defines the format for international telephone numbers. The standard requires that a telephone number has a maximum of 15 digits, separated as the first one to three digits as a country code and the remaining digits corresponding to the subscriber’s telephone number.
 
-The [North American Numbering Plan](https://nationalnanpa.com/) (NANP), used for telephone numbers in countries such as United States, Canada, and Jamaica, is a closed numbering plan. All countries in the NANP have a country code of 1. The subscriber number is 10 digits, with the first three digits being an area code that corresponds to a country or a regional service area. When calling a number within the area code, it might be possible to omit the area code. Being able to omit the area code is becoming less common, especially in the United States.
+The [North American Numbering Plan](https://nationalnanpa.com/) (NANP), used for telephone numbers in countries/regions such as United States, Canada, and Jamaica, is a closed numbering plan. All countries/regions in the NANP have a country code of 1. The subscriber number is 10 digits, with the first three digits being an area code that corresponds to a country or a regional service area. When calling a number within the area code, it might be possible to omit the area code. Being able to omit the area code is becoming less common, especially in the United States.
 
 A trunk prefix is one or more digits that must be entered prior to entering a subscriber’s telephone number. An international call prefix is an example of a trunk prefix that allows you to enter a country code when calling a subscriber in another country/region. Common international call prefixes are 011 (used within the NANP) or 00 (recommended by the International Telecommunication Union). As the international call prefix varies by country/region, the plus (+) sign is used to represent the international call prefix. Many mobile phones allow the plus (+) sign to be used instead of entering the appropriate international call prefix. Calling a domestic number might also require a trunk prefix, typically 0. The domestic trunk prefix is often omitted when a call originates from a different country/region.
 
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ When displaying a subscriber’s telephone number in the United States, several
 - XXX-XXX-XXXX
 - +1 XXX-XXX-XXXX
 
-As all countries in the NANP have 10 digits, the 3+3+4 grouping can be used consistently for telephone numbers in the NANP. This isn't true of numbering plans in other countries and regions. Subscriber numbers might be different lengths and different groupings, from two to six digits, are used. Similarly, different separators, including hyphens, periods, and spaces might be used to separate groups of digits. Parentheses might be used for optional area codes or trunk prefixes.
+As all countries/regions in the NANP have 10 digits, the 3+3+4 grouping can be used consistently for telephone numbers in the NANP. This isn't true of numbering plans in other countries and regions. Subscriber numbers might be different lengths and different groupings, from two to six digits, are used. Similarly, different separators, including hyphens, periods, and spaces might be used to separate groups of digits. Parentheses might be used for optional area codes or trunk prefixes.
 
 Telephone service providers can support telephone numbers where the subscriber, not the caller, pays for the cost. These telephone numbers are called toll-free or freephone telephone numbers. Depending on the provider, these telephone numbers might be limited to domestic customers. To support international users, a Universal International Freephone Number (UIFN) service might be required.
 

globalization/locale/time-zones.md

@@ -6,9 +6,9 @@ ms.date: 06/13/2023
 
 # Time zones
 
-A time zone is a geographical region in which the same time is used. If the earth were to be divided into 24 time zones corresponding to the 24 hours in a day, each time zone would span 15° of longitude. However, because it's more convenient for areas to share time, time zone boundaries tend to follow country or administrative (for example, provincial or state) borders.
+A time zone is a geographical region in which the same time is used. If the earth were to be divided into 24 time zones corresponding to the 24 hours in a day, each time zone would span 15° of longitude. However, because it's more convenient for areas to share time, time zone boundaries tend to follow country/region or administrative (for example, provincial or state) borders.
 
-Even when a country’s width would suggest that more than one time zone would be used, countries might elect to use fewer time zones. For example, China spans over 60° of longitude, but uses a single unified time zone (China Standard Time).
+Even when a country/region’s width would suggest that more than one time zone would be used, countries/regions might elect to use fewer time zones. For example, China spans over 60° of longitude, but uses a single unified time zone (China Standard Time).
 
 The time in any of the world's time zones can be expressed as an offset from a time standard called Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). UTC corresponds to the mean solar time at 0° of longitude. Most time zone offsets are typically in multiples of hours, but can be other combinations of hours and minutes, such as UTC+05:30 for India or UTC+05:45 for Nepal.
 

globalization/locale/user-preferences.md

@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ ms.date: 10/25/2023
 ---
 # Identifying user preferences
 
-Products intended for international markets need to be able to identify and follow users’ language and country preferences. Windows has a dedicated group of settings for this purpose under **Settings** > **Time & language** > **Language & region**. They consist of:
+Products intended for international markets need to be able to identify and follow users’ language and country/region preferences. Windows has a dedicated group of settings for this purpose under **Settings** > **Time & language** > **Language & region**. They consist of:
 
 - **Windows display language**: used for the Windows UI and for features such as File Explorer
 - **Preferred languages**: a Microsoft Store application uses the first language in this list that is supported by the app