Handling culturally sensitive content in government localization with DITA is of paramount importance to ensure that communication remains respectful, inclusive, and adheres to the values and norms of the target audience. Here are some considerations for managing culturally sensitive content in DITA localization:

Content Review

Prioritize content review by individuals who are well-versed in the cultural nuances and sensitivities of the target audience. This review should encompass not only the text but also visual elements, images, and multimedia. Any potentially offensive or culturally insensitive content should be identified and flagged for modification or removal. In DITA, metadata can help categorize content for cultural review.

Localization Teams

Build localization teams with linguistic and cultural experts who understand the specific region’s language, dialects, and cultural norms. They play a crucial role in adapting content to be culturally appropriate, avoiding offensive terminology, and ensuring that government communications are well-received by the local population.

Example:

Here’s an example of how DITA metadata can be used to indicate content that requires cultural review:

<topic id="government_announcement">
  <title>Public Announcement</title>
  <metadata>
    <language>es-MX</language>
    <locale>es-MX</locale>
    <author>Maria Rodriguez</author>
    <cultural-review>true</cultural-review>
  </metadata>
  <content>...

In this example, the DITA topic specifies the need for cultural review using the “cultural-review” metadata element, indicating that the content should be carefully examined for cultural sensitivities when targeting a specific locale, in this case, Mexican Spanish (es-MX).