Re: Re[2]: "Technical Writer" en Espanol and English

[Rose Wilcox <RWILC -at- FAST -dot- DOT -dot- STATE -dot- AZ -dot- US>]

Jackie says:
     As a Spanish-speaking technical writer who travels to Colombia and
     Peru, I've gotten puzzled looks when I say I'm an "escritora tecnica."

Following this thread, I begin to think that the problem is not what term
you use en Espanol, it is the same problem we used to have (still have) here
in the United States (and elsewhere y'all Canadians, Britians, New
Zelanders, Australians, and others?).  I have announced my career as a
"technical writer" many times and gotten blank and puzzled looks.  So many
times in fact, that I've started adding a hasty explanation right after
announcing it, "I write computer manuals."  Although I know not all tech
writers write computer manuals, I do, and this seems the easiest route to
understanding.

Sometimes when I say that, the light dawns, and the person usually launches
into "so *you're the one to blame!" type stories... <wry grin>.  Other times
I have to do still more explanation. <sigh>  The best ones are the folks who
exclaim:  "Oh, I'm a technical writer, too!"  and my heart sings, "Brother!
Sister! Well met!" :-)

Rosie Wilcox
rwilc -at- fast -dot- dot -dot- state -dot- az -dot- us
ncrowe -at- primenet -dot- com
"One hour of life, crowded to the full with glorious action, and filled with
noble risks, is worth whole years of those mean observances of paltry
decorum, in which men steal through existence, like sluggish waters through
a marsh, without either honor or observation."
Sir Walter Scott