writing for non-native speakers of English

[Michele_Berkes -at- CCMAIL -dot- OSTI -dot- GOV]

Fellow techwhirlers,

I am looking for information about writing for non-native speakers of
English. Some background:

* I work for an international organization whose members include
Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany,
Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, The Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States, and the United
Kingdom. As you can see, my audience contains non-native speakers of
various linguistic and cultural backgrounds, as well as native
speakers of a number of varieties of English.

* I write a newsletter, brochures, fact sheets, annual report, text
for our Web site, some technical documentation, and other
miscellaneous bits of communication.

* English is the official language of our organization. Translation,
if done, is the responsibility of the representatives in each member
country. Therefore, I'm assuming that the material goes from me to the
non-native speaker without benefit of an intermediary.

I have done Web searches and rooted around in the library and
bookstore. The information I find often regards writing for
translation, which can be useful in some senses (that which makes life
easier for the translator also makes reading easier for the ESL
reader). So I try to apply principles such as avoiding
contractions/abbreviations and ensuring that transitions are clear.

I have come across other issues, though, on which I have not found any
guidance. My instincts on many of these issues vary from those of my
supervisor. (Her style is very tight, but I worry that it may be too
dense, perhaps not enough bite-sized phrases. Mine, on the other hand,
tends to run on, which I'm acutely aware of.) In addition, we're both
born and raised in the U.S. of A., which makes me question how
relevant our instincts are with regard to writing for non-native
speakers of English. I think you could characterize me as the exact
opposite of my target audience ;-)

Is there *a* way to write that would be easier to understand for all?
(The more I think about it, the more I doubt that *a way* is
possible.) For example, it seems possible that a native German speaker
would be comfortable with long strings of nouns, whereas a French
speaker might prefer strings of prepositional phrases. And I have no
idea what the structures and syntax would be for Japanese or Korean.
Here's an example from a piece I'm working on today (for our
newsletter):

  Option 1: worked in the United States as a research fellow at the
  Chemistry Department of Stanford University, California

  Option 2: worked in the United States as a research fellow in
  Stanford University's Chemistry Department in California.

I'm not sure that example fully captures the distinction I'm trying to
make, but it's the one that got me started on this message ;-)

Another example:

  Option 1: in charge of developing, managing, and producing databases

  Option 2: in charge of the development, management, and production
  of databases

I like the first option here, but in light of the comments of John
Humpert regarding the potential for misunderstanding gerunds, perhaps
the second would be clearer?

Well, I've gone on long enough. Opinions? Experiences? Anyone know of
helpful resources? Authoritative research? Are there general rules to
follow? Do the general rules for one group of languages contradict
those for another (Germanic vs. Romance vs. ...)? Has anyone tried
simplified English? Was it useful?

Thanks for bearing with me!

Michele Berkes
IEA Energy Technology Data Exchange
michele_berkes -at- ccmail -dot- osti -dot- gov

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