Prose style rules for Vale covering German, English, and several other European languages. Installable as Vale packages via vale sync — the same way you install write-good or proselint.
| Package | Language | Status |
|---|---|---|
Foliantica-DE |
German (Deutsch) | ✅ Complete (10 rules) |
Foliantica-EN |
English | ✅ Complete |
Foliantica-ES |
Spanish (Español) | ✅ Complete |
Foliantica-FR |
French (Français) | ✅ Complete |
Foliantica-IT |
Italian (Italiano) | ✅ Complete |
Foliantica-NL |
Dutch (Nederlands) | ✅ Complete (8 rules) |
Foliantica-PT |
Portuguese (Português) | ✅ Complete |
Foliantica-SV |
Swedish (Svenska) | ✅ Complete |
Foliantica-DA |
Danish (Dansk) | ✅ Complete |
Foliantica-NO |
Norwegian (Norsk) | ✅ Complete |
All packages are complete with 8 rules each. Contributions to expand coverage are welcome.
Note on English:
Foliantica-ENfocuses on gaps not covered by the popular write-good and proselint packages — specifically pleonasm/redundancy detection and nominalization. Use it alongside those packages for full coverage.
StylesPath = styles
MinAlertLevel = suggestion
# Replace Foliantica-DE with the package for your language
Packages = https://github.com/DonMischo/vale-multilingual/releases/latest/download/Foliantica-DE.zip
[*.md]
BasedOnStyles = Foliantica-DE
Vale.Spelling = NOvale syncVale downloads the ZIP and extracts it into your StylesPath. You're done.
StylesPath = styles
Packages = write-good, proselint, https://github.com/DonMischo/vale-multilingual/releases/latest/download/Foliantica-DE.zip
[*.md]
BasedOnStyles = Vale, write-good, proselint, Foliantica-DE
Vale.Spelling = NONote:
Vale.Spelling = NOsuppresses Vale's built-in English spell checker, which would flag most non-English words as errors.
Flags vague or filler words that weaken prose — hedging adverbs (eigentlich, irgendwie, sehr), epistemic hedges (anscheinend, vermeintlich), bureaucratic filler (diesbezüglich, dahingehend), vague time expressions (zeitnah, in absehbarer Zeit), and relativising phrases (sogenannte, im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes).
Catches pleonasms — phrases where a modifier repeats information already in the noun. German (DE): adjective-in-noun tautologies (tote Leiche, weißer Schimmel, neues Novum), directional redundancies (aufwärts steigen, wieder zurück), RAS-syndrome acronyms (PIN-Nummer, ADAC-Club, API-Schnittstelle), and temporal redundancies (vergangene Geschichte, künftige Zukunft). English (EN): (end result, unexpected surprise, past history, revert back, cooperate together, very unique, PIN number, ATM machine).
Flags passive constructions (wurde, wurden, worden, sein+zu+Infinitiv) as suggestions to prefer active voice.
Flags stretched noun-verb constructions — the "zombie noun" pattern described by Joseph M. Williams and Helen Sword. German (DE): Funktionsverbgefüge (eine Entscheidung treffen → entscheiden, zur Kenntnis nehmen → beachten). English (EN): function verb constructions (make a decision → decide, conduct an analysis → analyze, be in possession of → possess, provide clarification → clarify).
Flags inflated prepositional phrases from Amtsdeutsch (im Hinblick auf → für, aufgrund der Tatsache dass → weil, in hohem Maße → sehr). Based on the Bundesverwaltungsamt plain-language guide.
Flags bloated reflexive constructions that can be replaced with a simpler verb (befindet sich → ist, erweist sich als → ist, vollzieht sich → geschieht). Based on Wolf Schneider's and Ludwig Reiners's critiques of aufgeblähte Verben.
Flags worn-out idioms, overused metaphors, and journalistic filler that signal lazy writing. Four categories: everyday idioms (am Ende des Tages, ein Stück weit, ins Boot holen, in trockene Tücher bringen); sports metaphors used outside sport (am Ball bleiben, auf der Zielgeraden, ins eigene Tor schießen); political boilerplate (kein Denkverbot, konstruktiver Dialog, breiter Konsens); journalistic clichés (wie aus dem Nichts, totales Chaos, historischer Moment, neues Kapitel aufschlagen). Based on Wolf Schneider's and Ludwig Reiners's catalogues of abgedroschene Wendungen.
All rules are derived from the following authoritative style guides. All credit for the underlying guidance belongs to the original authors.
Note on AI-assisted content: The rule entries in these packages were generated with the help of a large language model (Claude by Anthropic), working from the cited sources. Every source listed below is real and the underlying guidance is genuine — but individual entries have not been manually verified against the original texts one by one. If you spot an error or a false positive, please open an issue.
| Author | Work | Year | Relevant rules |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wolf Schneider | Deutsch fürs Leben (Rowohlt) | 1994 | WeaselWords, NominalStyle, WordyPhrases |
| Wolf Schneider | Deutsch! Das Handbuch für attraktives Schreiben (Rowohlt) | 2005 | WeaselWords, WordyPhrases |
| Bastian Sick | Der Dativ ist dem Genitiv sein Tod, Bd. 1–3 (Kiepenheuer & Witsch) | 2004– | Redundancy, WeaselWords |
| Bastian Sick | Zwiebelfisch-Kolumnen (Spiegel Online) | 2003– | Redundancy, WeaselWords |
| Ludwig Reiners | Stilkunst (C.H. Beck) | 1944 / rev. 1991 | NominalStyle (Funktionsverbgefüge) |
| Bundesverwaltungsamt | Leitfaden Bürgernahe Sprache | 2002 | WordyPhrases, Passive |
| Bundesministerium für Justiz | Handbuch der Rechtsförmlichkeit (3. Aufl.) | 2008 | NominalStyle, WordyPhrases |
| Duden | Richtiges und gutes Deutsch (Bd. 9) / Das Stilwörterbuch (Bd. 2) | 2010 | Redundancy |
| Institut für Deutsche Sprache | Grammis-Datenbank, Funktionsverbgefüge | ongoing | NominalStyle |
| Netzwerk Leichte Sprache | Regeln für Leichte Sprache | 2013 | WeaselWords, WordyPhrases |
| Wikipedia | Liste der Pleonasmen | ongoing | Redundancy |
| Wikipedia | RAS-Syndrom | ongoing | Redundancy (acronyms) |
| Author | Work | Year | Relevant rules |
|---|---|---|---|
| William Strunk & E.B. White | The Elements of Style (Macmillan) | 1959 | Redundancy |
| William Zinsser | On Writing Well (HarperCollins) | 1976 | Redundancy, NominalStyle |
| Joseph M. Williams | Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace (Pearson) | 2014 | NominalStyle |
| Helen Sword | "Zombie Nouns" (New York Times Opinionator) | 2012 | NominalStyle |
| Bryan A. Garner | Garner's Modern English Usage (OUP, 4th ed.) | 2016 | Redundancy, NominalStyle |
| Plain English Campaign | The A to Z of Alternative Words | 2000 | NominalStyle |
| UK Government Digital Service | Content Design Guide | ongoing | NominalStyle |
| Wikipedia | List of English pleonasms | ongoing | Redundancy |
| Author / Body | Work | Year | Relevant rules |
|---|---|---|---|
| Real Academia Española | Diccionario panhispánico de dudas | 2005 | Redundancy, ErroresComunes |
| Real Academia Española | Ortografía de la lengua española | 2010 | Redundancy |
| Fundéu | Style recommendations (fundeu.es) | ongoing | WeaselWords, WordyPhrases |
| Manuel Seco | Diccionario de dudas y dificultades de la lengua española (Espasa, 10th ed.) | 1998 | ErroresComunes |
| Gobierno de España | Manual de estilo del lenguaje administrativo (MAP) | 1990 | WordyPhrases, Passive |
| Wikipedia | Pleonasmo (es) | ongoing | Redundancy |
| Author / Body | Work | Year | Relevant rules |
|---|---|---|---|
| Académie française | Dictionnaire de l'Académie française (9th ed.) | ongoing | Redundancy, FauxAmis |
| Maurice Grevisse & André Goosse | Le bon usage (De Boeck, 16th ed.) | 2016 | NominalStyle, WordyPhrases |
| Office québécois de la langue française | Le grand dictionnaire terminologique | ongoing | Anglicismes |
| Michèle Lenoble-Pinson | Anglicismes et substituts français (De Boeck) | 1991 | Anglicismes |
| Gouvernement du Québec / OQLF | Guide du rédacteur | 2011 | WordyPhrases, Passive |
| Wikipedia | Pléonasme (fr) | ongoing | Redundancy |
| Author / Body | Work | Year | Relevant rules |
|---|---|---|---|
| Secretaria de Comunicação Social (SECOM) | Manual de Redação da Presidência da República (Brazil, 3rd ed.) | 2018 | WordyPhrases, Passive |
| Pasquale Cipro Neto & Ulisses Infante | Gramática da língua portuguesa (Scipione) | 2008 | NominalStyle, Redundancy |
| Celso Cunha & Lindley Cintra | Nova Gramática do Português Contemporâneo (Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian) | 2014 | NominalStyle |
| Cândido de Figueiredo | Dicionário da língua portuguesa | ongoing | FalsosAmigos |
| Wikipedia | Estrangeirismo (pt) | ongoing | Estrangeirismos |
| Wikipedia | Pleonasmo (pt) | ongoing | Redundancy |
| Author / Body | Work | Year | Relevant rules |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luca Serianni | Grammatica italiana (UTET) | 1989 | NominalStyle, Redundancy |
| Accademia della Crusca | Linguistic guidance (accademiadellacrusca.it) | ongoing | FalsiAmici, WeaselWords |
| Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri | Manuale di stile | 1997 | WordyPhrases, Passive |
| Bice Mortara Garavelli | Manuale di retorica (Bompiani) | 1988 | Redundancy |
| Wikipedia | Forestierismo (it) | ongoing | Anglicismi |
| Wikipedia | Pleonasmo (it) | ongoing | Redundancy |
| Author / Body | Work | Year | Relevant rules |
|---|---|---|---|
| Språkrådet | Svenska skrivregler (Liber, 4th ed.) | 2017 | WordyPhrases, Passive, Redundancy |
| Språkrådet | Myndigheternas skrivregler (8th ed.) | 2014 | WordyPhrases, WeaselWords |
| Svenska Akademien | Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL, 14th ed.) | 2015 | SprakFel |
| Erik Wellander | Riktig svenska (Esselte, 4th ed.) | 1973 | NominalStyle, Redundancy |
| Wikipedia | Pleonasm (sv) | ongoing | Redundancy |
| Author / Body | Work | Year | Relevant rules |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dansk Sprognævn | Retskrivningsordbogen (4th ed.) | 2012 | SprogFejl |
| Dansk Sprognævn | Klarsprog recommendations (dsn.dk) | ongoing | WordyPhrases, WeaselWords, Passive |
| Peter Becker-Christensen | Politikens Nudansk Ordbog (20th ed.) | 2010 | Redundancy |
| Wikipedia | Pleonasme (da) | ongoing | Redundancy |
| Author / Body | Work | Year | Relevant rules |
|---|---|---|---|
| Språkrådet | Bokmålsordboka / Nynorskordboka | ongoing | SprakFeil |
| Språkrådet | Klarspråk guidelines (sprakradet.no/klarsprak) | ongoing | WordyPhrases, WeaselWords, Passive |
| Erik Egeberg | Norsk stilistikk (Universitetsforlaget) | 2003 | NominalStyle, Redundancy |
| Wikipedia | Pleonasme (no) | ongoing | Redundancy |
| Author / Body | Work | Year | Relevant rules |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan Renkema | Schrijfwijzer (Boom, 4th ed.) | 2012 | All rules |
| Henk Pander Maat & Leo Lentz | Schrijven voor lezers (Boom) | 2010 | WeaselWords, NominalStyle, WordyPhrases, Redundancy |
| Genootschap Onze Taal | Taaladvies (taaladvies.net) | ongoing | WeaselWords, Anglicismen, Buzzwords, TaalFouten |
| Nederlandse Taalunie (NTU) | Taaladvies & Schrijfwijzer overheid (taalunie.org) | ongoing | WordyPhrases, Passive, Anglicismen |
| ANS — Algemene Nederlandse Spraakkunst | 2nd ed. / online 2016 (ans.ruhosting.nl) | 1997 | NominalStyle, Passive, Redundancy, TaalFouten |
| Van Dale | Groot woordenboek van de Nederlandse taal (15th ed.) | 2015 | Redundancy, Anglicismen, Buzzwords, TaalFouten |
| Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal (INT) | INT resources (ivdnt.org) | ongoing | Anglicismen |
| Wikipedia | Pleonasme (nl) | ongoing | Redundancy |
These packages were created as part of the development of Foliantica, a writing app for authors — and are published here as a standalone resource for anyone who wants to use them with Vale directly. Foliantica injects the appropriate language package at request time based on the project's language setting.
- Fork the repo and edit the YAML files in
styles/Foliantica-XX/ - Keep entries in categorised comment blocks with source attribution
- Avoid entries that generate frequent false positives
- Run
python tests/test_yaml_validity.pybefore opening a PR — it checks every file parses, has the required Vale fields, and thatsubstitutionrules don't contain corrupted swap values (a real bug class found and fixed in this repo) - Open a PR describing the source for new entries
Vale rule format reference: vale.sh/docs/topics/styles
MIT. Rule content is derived from published style guides; all intellectual credit for the underlying guidance belongs to the original authors listed above.