Re[2]: Examination for Japanese tech communicators

["Virginia L. Krenn" <asdxvlk -at- OKWAY -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU>]

        Have you ever been unable to actually follow the instructions or
     are you just amused by the translations? I wonder if you would ever
     make any gaffes when translating from one language to another. I'm
     certain that I would. However, I don't have any difficulty at all in
     understanding the intent of the information. (For example, I recently
     saw the following sentence from a Japanese student. "I'll be waiting
     to listen from you.")
        Many years ago, when we were first buying personal calculators
     instead of personal computers, my brother sent a calculator to me from
     Korea. The instructions were written in the Korean language. By,
     following the examples and diagrams, I was able to interpret all of
     the information even though I don't know the language.
        When someone says "writing that makes no sense at all", I wonder if
     it would still not make sense to that person even if the grammar,
     syntax, etc. were perfect.
        I am not very tolerant of sloppy writing. But, let's be a little
     less anxious to criticize translations.

     Virginia Krenn
     asdxvlk.okway.okstate.edu

______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________
Subject: Re: Examination for Japanese tech communicators
Author:  Robert Plamondon <robert -at- plamondon -dot- com> at SMTP
Date:    3/8/95 6:28 AM

Yes.  When you realize that phrases like "stereo instructions" are in
common use among the general public to indicate "writing that makes
no sense at all, even though the topic isn't very difficult," you'll
understand that Japanese technical writing is the laughingstock of the
entire world.  Not just among professionals, but among hundreds of
millions of annoyed users.