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Subject:RE: you or he/it From:"Dubin, David" <David -dot- Dubin -at- sage -dot- com> To:Esthee Erasmus <Esthee -at- k2workflow -dot- com>, techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com Date:Wed, 21 Jun 2006 14:05:25 -0400
Esthee Erasmus wrote" I work for a South African company that has in the
past few years gone global. . . According to our Asian Director, the use of
'you' is HIGHLY inappropriate when writing documentation, it is so severe
that they see it as an insult."
I taught several courses in culture and how culture affects training,
development, and business relations at the college level, so I am not
speaking outside my ken.
If your target audience is Asian, you must write documentation that achieves
your knowledge transfer goals within the scope of what Asian culture
accepts. If you do not take the cultural differences into consideration,
regardless if your documentation is fantastic for a US audience, you will
fail with the Asian audience. The tone and level of formality must match the
culture that is receiving the documentation. And yes, your "Asian Director"
is correct about directness being insulting - but mostly among the Japanese
and old-school Chinese. The Chinese in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the large
cities are more accepting of Western speech/communications patterns.
Documentation (and indeed any communications) intended for Asian audiences
must convey a tone of politeness, formality and, above all, professionalism.
This will earn the documentation respect, which is a key component in Asian
cultures. And, while I hate to point it out, indirectness in communication
styles is also favored among Asian societies, most especially among the
Japanese.
You should also remember to keep any idioms out of the documentation that
are not culturally correct and do not use either sports metaphors or slang.
David B. Dubin
Senior Curriculum Developer
Sage Software
727-579-1111 x 3356
david -dot- dubin -at- sage -dot- com
Your business in mind.
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+david -dot- dubin=sage -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+david -dot- dubin=sage -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf
Of Gene Kim-Eng
Sent: Wednesday, June 21, 2006 1:37 PM
To: Esthee Erasmus; techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Re: you or he/it
I've spent the past 15 years or so working in "global"
companies, and over the years have found that whenever
possible it is best to avoid both forms. To use an example
that someone else already posted, instead of
I work for a South African company that has in the past few years gone
global. I was taught at University with the help of many research
articles and textbooks to stick to plain english rules especially when
writing technical documentation. To never use 'one' and always use
'you'. But since starting here I had to completely change my style of
writing. According to our Asian Director, the use of 'you' is HIGHLY
inappropriate when writing documentation, it is so severe that they see
it as an insult.
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