Re: English for Asian readers

[Karen Kay <karenk -at- NETCOM -dot- COM>]

Pam Tatge said:
> The general concensus was that using "you", the imperative mood, and a
> friendly/conversational tone were, in general, okay in the countries I
> mentioned, but would probably not be acceptable in Japan. For example,
> I was told that my readers in Japan wouldn't address each other as "you".

This is true, that Japanese speakers don't use 'you'. Japanese computer
manuals avoid any sort of direct address at all--neither 'the user' nor
'you' are used in the ones that I've seen. However, don't forget that
the judgement you were given on what Japanese would accept is based on
what Chinese and Malay or some other kind of non-native has to say about
the subject. Asians don't necessarily have insights into each other that
non-Asians don't. Just because Japanese doesn't use 'you' doesn't mean
that English manuals don't have to. The only thing I would be careful
about is the imperative, because Japanese has one, and it is very
strong compared to the equivalent English form. I don't think the 'you'
thing is as big a deal.

> I was also told that our practice of writing one document for several
> audiences would not be acceptable, either; for example, U.S. managers use
> our user's guides to evaluate the product before buying it, and engineers
> later use the same document while designing boards. I was told that a
> Japanese engineering manager wouldn't stoop to reading the user's guide
> for evaluation purposes. I'm not sure if these things are true; I'm supposed
> to go to Japan next Spring, so I hope I'll have a chance to learn more.

Ummm...form is very important in Japan. I always think of Thoreau's
adjuration "Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes." That's
so American! In Japan, when you are undertaking something new, the
first thing you do is acquire an appropriate costume. Part of that
costume is one's rank w/in a company. People have to know how to treat
you. It makes sense to me that this would be extended to documentation.
If something is labeled a User's Guide, it's obviously not meant for
engineers, unless they are the primarily intended audience.

> More hearsay--I have always heard that I shouldn't use contractions in any
> kind of written communication with Asian people, because they wouldn't
> understand them. The people I met used contractions as frequently as I do.

You were lucky. The business of not using contractions applies to
all non-native speakers of English, I think. It's better to be safe
than sorry. I would start out without contractions, and then work
around to 'normal' speech. Don't forget that Hong Kong and Singapore
both have English-speaking colonies of long standing. I expect that
in Japan you will meet a fair number of people who don't speak English
very well. (This is most true for older people, of course--like company
presidents.) A lot of younger people have traveled extensively abroad
and speak colloquial English.

> I've also been told lately (in the U.S.) that it's very rude to refer to
> Asia-Pacific as the East or the Orient, because doing so is based on a
> Eurocentric view of the world. But the people I worked with often referred
> to Asia-Pacific as "the Far East" and to the U.S. and Canada as "Western".
> Just to demonstrate how dependable hearsay is(n't).

Just because people self-refer that way doesn't mean that it's appropriate
for you to do so. (The old 'nigger' question.) I wouldn't say that it's
very rude; not as rude as, say, blowing your nose. But it *DOES* reflect
a Eurocentric view. In many Asian cultures, a guest has a special status.
The host will go way out of their way to accommodate a guest, anticipating
every possible need, and doing nothing to discommode the guest. Using
terminology that the host feels is part of the guest's normal terminology
is part of that mindset. (For what it's worth, Far East seems less
loaded terminology than Orient or simply The East. If you are going
to spend any time in Asia, I suggest you try to start using non-euro-
centric geographic terms. Check out the "Far Eastern Economic Review".
It's sort of an Asian "Newsweek", published in Hong Kong. They are very
good in the way that they refer both to the area and the people involved.)

Sorry to go on at such length! Something I know a lot about, finally!

Karen
  karenk -at- netcom -dot- com