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Subject:David Pogue's column - New York Time From:"Caroline Tabach" <Caroline -at- radcom -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Tue, 8 Nov 2005 11:32:19 +0200
The "native English speaker" is the requirement that annoys Technical
writers here in Israel.
While many people including myself are indeed native speakers of
English, there are technical writers here (and I imagine on this list
too) who are not native speakers of English, but who have an extremely
high level of English, to the extent that you would not realize that
they are not native speakers of English.
Apart from that, the assumption that anyone who was born in an English
speaking country can write English well, is as we all know, an incorrect
assumption (if it was correct, the programmers could do the technical
writing couldn't they???). Will the English of an average high school
student be clear enough.
(Anyway, we could be offended as they should take a professional writer,
shouldn't they)
____________________________________________________
Thou shalt hire native English speakers to translate thine
instruction manual. "When the camera focus is not so possible, hold
the shutter button vaguely until the beeping tone is heard." Is that
really how your company wants to address customers?
Talk about New Math. You'll spend millions of dollars developing some
breakthrough gizmo, but won't spring for somebody to rewrite your
manual in proper English? I know some high schoolers who'd do the job
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