Abstract: A configurable formatting system and method for generating a desired representation of an expression within a word list includes a dictionary database, a working list module, a formatting module, and a configuration file. The dictionary database stores categories containing words and translation rules. The configuration file contains variants to the contents of the categories of the dictionary database and is used to overwrite those in the dictionary database at startup. The working list module is used to read a word from the word list and to determine whether the word is associated with the expression. If so the word is inserted into a word list. The word list is processed when a word is read that is associated with the termination of the expression. The formatting module processes the words from the working list and generates the desired representation of the expression from the working list.