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Re: English and Formality for Tech Docs in Non-North American Markets
Subject:Re: English and Formality for Tech Docs in Non-North American Markets From:Steve Delanghe <zulu -at- CIX -dot- COMPULINK -dot- CO -dot- UK> Date:Tue, 19 Mar 1996 17:32:56 GMT
Candace,
I don't think there is a big difference in populations of similar
end-users in the UK and the US. It's down to the application/audience.
For example, I've had the directly opposite experience of writing a
US-market user guide (for a programming language) in a far more formal
manner than I normally would for my usual UK applications/audiences.
Formal in this case means that there were severe constraints on layout
(including using fully justified text) that made it look to me like a
1940's maths text book; and all introduction/overview and similar
introductory material was written in the passive.
I've sometimes choked on the excessive chumminess and geewhiz-ness of
some US and Japanese publications, but on the other hand I find the
pedantry of the Microsoft Word manual oppressive.
Tell us what you find out!
Steve
zulu -at- cix -dot- compulink -dot- co -dot- uk
