Re: Re: Using a gerund phrase for procedure topic titles

Subject: Re: Re: Using a gerund phrase for procedure topic titles
From: credland -at- lmi -dot- net
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Fri, 28 Dec 2001 14:12:55 -0800 (PST)

Quoting wdburns -at- mindspring -dot- com:

> Sorry to jump in here, and I hope I don't stomp on anyone's toes, but I
> thought I should comment on this point.

My toes are just fine. Thanks.

> This is a very common urban legend that circulates concerning how to
> write for the global marketplace. While it might be true that a
> nonnative speaker with limited fluency in English might stumble over the
> odd gerund, it should not be difficult for a translator to decipher. The
> translators I asked about this very issue (when I worked at
> Lionbridge/ILE and presented frequently on the subject of
> internationalization) have said, "Any translator of English who doesn't
> know how to handle a gerund has no business working as a translator."

For an urban legend, it's very very prevalent.

Our problem is that only a small segment of our document will be translated.
The other documents will remain in English, and the non-native speakers will
have to handle the other documents on their own. Most readers will be able to
handle gerunds most of the time. However, not all of them will be able to
figure it out all of the time.

Still, it isn't very difficult to me to write "Create a Whatsit" instead
of "Creating a Whatsit".

> Now, that said, if you use gerunds, the translator should be able to
> tell what part of speech it is. In a heading, such categorization is
> rarely a problem if one writes clearly. Clarity in the source should be
> the aim. If that means avoiding a gerund in a particular case, that's
> fine, but writers should not follow a general rule of avoiding
> gerunds.

We're not recommending avoiding gerunds completely. There are some times when a
gerund is the best word choice.

The question was about procedure topic titles, and we are recommending that
writers avoid them in that case.

Jane
credland -at- lmi -dot- net

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References:
Re: Re: Using a gerund phrase for procedure topic titles: From: wdburns

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