The Issues
Irregularities
English is such an irregular language that even native speakers often have problems writing it correctly. For non-native speakers, most difficulties come from word inflections, and examples abound. The plural of box is boxes, but the plural of ox is oxen; the plural of tooth is teeth, but that of booth is booths; the past tense of think is thought, that of drink is drank, that of blink is blinked. The past perfect of hang is either hanged or hung, depending on whether it is a person being executed, or just something dangling from a rope. A small pig is a piglet, but a small ham is not a hamlet (in fact, a hamlet is much bigger than a ham).
Language Variations
George Bernard Shaw was credited with the quip "England and America are two countries separated by a common language." This can easily be extended to "the English-speaking markets are many countries separated by a common language." In some cases the variations are merely annoying; centre vs.. center, colour vs color, draught vs draft, program vs programme, cheque vs check are just some of the examples. The readers may find it unnatural reading the different spellings, but will get the general idea. In other cases, the different names for the same object may cause confusion. For example, an "automobile" in America has a "hood" and a "trunk" while a "car" in Australia has a "bonnet" and a "boot". In the extreme cases, the differences can be rather dramatic. A project costing "one billion" yen may seem rather reasonable in America (a little under $10million) but outrageously expensive in Singapore (a thousand times more) because the word "billion" has two different meanings (one thousand million or one million million) depending on where it is used.
Idiomatic Expressions
A document that has correctly used idiomatic expressions reads more naturally and thus appears friendlier to the user. But there are pitfalls as well since sometime the meaning of such expressions are difficult to fathom. For example, when an item is tabled at a meeting, it is deferred for discussion at a later time. But when an item is brought on the table, it is ready for discussion. Likewise, calling someone homely can be a compliment (someone who is domestic), but it can be an insult (meaning ugly). For someone who does not live in an English speaking country, it may be hard to remember that one parks on a driveway and drives on a parkway.
Furthermore, idiomatic expressions are often time sensitive. A clever expression this year can easily become a cliché next year.
Terminology
One of the strengths of the English language is its flexibility and willingness to absorb words and phrases from other languages (in fact, many irregularities are the direct results of English absorbing words from another language and keeping the original inflections. A word may be incorporated into the English of one country which would baffle English speakers from another country. For example, an English speaker in India would find it perfectly natural to write: Rs. 1,300 crore to be invested in BSNL infrastructure but most readers outside of India would have a difficult time figuring out the exact amount (13,000 million rupees) being invested. So it is crucial that the writers/translators use terms that are familiar to the people in the target markets rather than to those in the home market.
Punctuation
Proper use of punctuation is also important because they can alter the meaning of an entire sentence. Each language has its own punctuation rules and they may not be compatible with generally accepted English usage. There are many delightful and funny examples in the little book Eats, Shoots, and Leaves by Lynn Truss (for example, the two sentences: "A woman: without her, man is nothing." and "A woman, without her man, is nothing." differ only in the placement of one comma and the replacement of a comma with a colon, but convey totally opposite ideas. Even native English speakers are not immune because they made many of the mistakes cited in the book, so the challenges to a non-native speaker can be formidable.
Political Correctness
Over time, some countries have developed terms that are derogatory or have objectionable sexual or racial connotations. There have been efforts to avoid using those terms-a process sometime referred to as political correctness. Words that appear innocent in one country may be offensive in another. That is the reason behind Darkie toothpaste, a popular brand in Asia, changing its name to Darlie. So the writers/translators must be careful to avoid inadvertently offending someone and costing a sale.
Branding
Marketing experts would disagree with Shakespeare's famous quote "what is in a name, that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." because a name does matter in marketing a product. Names that are perfectly fine in one country may sound totally ridiculous in another. For example, a Japanese drink called Calpis is hardly likely to sell well in the United States. Some of the most recognized brand names in the world are transliteration of the original name using alphabets, such as Toyota, Samsung, Tsingtao. But sometime the transliteration results in actual English words (or close facsimile) with unexpected consequences. There was a popular brand of playing card from China called Circus Playing Card and on its box is the product name in Chinese characters and their transliteration using the pinyin method - Maxi Puke.
Some companies have resorted to making up names (e.g. Acer) or use initials (e.g. LG) to avoid such potential embarrassment.
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