Re: Preparing doc for translation

[Elaine Winters <ewinters -at- NETCOM -dot- COM>]

 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
 E. Winters: Principal                 Program Facilitating and Consulting
 Berkeley, CA, USA                     510-843-0909    ewinters -at- netcom -dot- com
 Instructional Design  *  Interactivity  *  Cross - Cultural Communication
 _________________________________________________________________________


On Fri, 23 Sep 1994, Vincent Borghi wrote:

> (apologies for my poor english, I am french...)

        Your English is far superior to my French; pls
        don't apologize.

> 1) Simplified english is not a solution for the given problem:
> -------------------------------------------------------------
> In my opinion, things like "simplified english" or "restricted grammars"
> do not apply to the original problem, i.e. "preparing doc for translation".

> The aim of using a simplified/restricted english is to produce
> a document that is understandable by a foreign reader (who is not
> necessarily english-literate). The aim *is not* to produce
> a document easier to translate.
>        . . .
>    documents that will stay as is, i.e. that will not be translated,
>    and will be read by foreign mediocre english-readers.


        Well said.  These techniques are useful when you KNOW from
        the start that the information will never be translated
        and must be intelligable to all.

> 2) True solutions for the given problem:
> ----------------------------------------
> To prepare your document for translation, the basic idea is very
> simple : ***** make it good ***** !

> PS1: This involves for example:
> - make your document short (throw away useless text...)
> - make it structured
> - use homogeneous, uniform, terminology
> - consider the reader is intelligent : give fine details only when it
>   is necessary (the "step by step" syndrome is boring for the reader;
>   here in France, american documentations are sometimes considered as
>   laughable, due to the incredible details that are given in instructions)


        This is a wonderful example of what can happen when
        cultural considerations are not part of the original
        planning.

        Instructional Designing for a particular culture is
        critical when you are preparing tutorials.


> - of course, forget your cultural background : throw away all
>   references to hamburgers, God, white house, feministic debate, and
>   so on :-). Think like a stateless person.
> - etc.

        I frequently suggest that people recall the last time
        they were someplace that was disorienting; even a first
        roller-coaster experience is an example of what you
        feel like when *cognitive dissonance* is a 'norm'.


> PS2: Concerning the material aspects, have in mind that many countries
> use A4 or A5 paper format, and have 4-rings binders (US legal and letter
> ans 3-rings binders are no-no's).

        And - - if you are using color, make sure you haven't chosen
        something that has a particular meaning in the target country.

        Elaine