TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: Examination for Japanese tech communicators From:Howard Gold <howardg -at- SAVVY -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 8 Mar 1995 22:20:39 -0500
> Robert Plamondon said:
> ....
> > 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.
On Wed, 8 Mar 1995, Karen Kay wrote:
> Don't confuse bad technical writing with bad translation. A bad
> translation can easily wreck good writing. Bad translations are
> usually made by non-native speakers of the target language.
<snip>>
> ...many bad translations have been translated sentence-for-sentence.
Reminds of my favorite instruction manual for a Japanese-made juicer that
warned:
++ Do not drop to crash ++
But then, I can't translate my stuff into fluent <!> Japanese, either.