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Subject:Re: Tweaking English in manuals and localisation From:Mary Jo David <MaryJo -at- writeawayent -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Fri, 12 Apr 2002 08:54:17 -0400
<<The English is better than in
the original doc but when I showed it the tech support guys (2 anglophones
and 1 francophone who works in English) to get their opinion, they all
prefered the more clunky original doc as they said it got straight to the
point. The clunky English was no problem. So I just integrated the few
technical changes into the first version and releasd that.>>
Jennifer...I can't tell from your post what kind of products these
manuals are for, yet I think that's a very important element for
answering your questions effectively. What is your target audience for
these manuals? Is it a mass audience or a very small, specialized
group? Are your tech. support guys representative of your end users?
If they're not, then I don't think you should weigh their opinions too
heavily.
Also, how much does the company you represent care about their
customers' perceptions? If they care a lot, then you need to pay
attention to the English corrections. If they don't care, then you can
get by with the "clunky" English. I've seen a lot of product
instructions passed around for a good laugh when the translation
contained really poor English. Case in point (although this was a
problem with the product itself as well as the instructions)...I bought
an alarm clock that had the option of setting a buzz tone or selecting
sounds from nature. The nature sound options were listed on the front
of the actual clock, and one of the options was "brids"...which was
supposed to be "birds." Not only did my family get a laugh from this,
but I bring the clock with me when I'm teaching about the importance of
editing and proofreading.
Lastly, are you sending these manuals to writers or editors for review?
I've had some writers tell me that they could never be editors because
their inclination is to want to rewrite everything. And, while it's
difficult for both writers and editors to accept poor English, I think
an editor is more used to understanding and working to the different
levels of edit that are required, and adapting accordingly.
Sorry if I presented more questions than answers. Hope this helps.
Mary Jo David
--
Write Away Enterprises
875 S. Main Street
Plymouth, MI 48170
Ph: 734-392-0019
Fax: 734-392-0020
E-mail: maryjo -at- writeawayent -dot- com
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