[IEEE IPCC 2005. Proceedings. International Professional Communication Conference, 2005. - Limerick, Ireland (July 7, 2005)] IPCC 2005. Proceedings. International Professional Communication

2005 IEEE International Professional Communication Conference Proceedings

0-7803-9028-8/05/$20.00 © 2005 IEEE.

Connecting to the Audience: Strategies for Teaching Students to Write for Translation

Madelyn Flammia University of Central Florida [email protected]

Abstract

Technical communicators need to be prepared for the challenges of international communication. This article focuses on the need for technical communication faculty to prepare students to be skilled intercultural communicators and to play a role on the translation team. The article begins with a discussion of the importance of writing for translation in the international workplace and then presents specific assignments designed to instruct students in intercultural communication and give them experience writing for translation. In addition to introducing students to the cultural issues that impact the creation of documentation for international audiences, these assignments also serve to reinforce core skills recognized as vital to professional success in the field of technical communication. Taken together these assignments can be used as the basis for a course in international technical communication.

Keywords: translation, international communication, professional communication curriculum

By its very nature technical communication is a profession in which practitioners must constantly adapt and take on new roles. For example, with the advent of desktop publishing systems in the 1980s, technical communicators became document designers[1]. Then in more recent years, with the development of sophisticated technologies for computer-mediated communication, technical communicators have become members of virtual teams and have developed the skills to work effectively with teammates in disparate geographic locations, some of whom they never meet face to face.[2, 3]

Now, at the beginning of the 21st century, technical communicators need to be prepared for the challenges inherent in international technical communication. They need to have an awareness of intercultural communication in order to prepare effective documentation for international audiences. [4] One of the most challenging aspects of international communication is the fact that many documents prepared by technical communicators are destined to be translated, often into multiple languages, and also to be read in English by non-native speakers.[5] In light of these challenges, technical communication faculty need to prepare students to be skilled intercultural communicators and to play a role on the translation team.

This article focuses on resources and assignments for faculty just beginning to develop courses in international communication and those wishing to include assignments in their courses that introduce students to the challenges of writing for translation. The article begins with a brief discussion of the importance of writing for translation in the international workplace and of some innovative courses that address the need to teach students to write for translation. The article then presents specific assignments and classroom activities that can be used in two ways: first, to instruct students in intercultural communication, and second, to give students experience in writing for translation. The activities are designed to reinforce students’ core skills (researching, interviewing, peer editing, writing, designing documentation) at the same time that they develop students’ knowledge of intercultural communication and writing for translation. Taken together these assignments form the basis for a course in international technical communication.

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The Importance of Writing for Translation in the International Workplace

In the past two decades, there has been a significant increase in international business and in the number of multinational corporations (MNCs). Multinational corporations typically operate simultaneously in twenty or more different nations and account for a large percentage of world industrial production. Forty-nine of the one hundred largest economies in the world are corporations.[6] The United States has the largest number of MNCs, and most MNCs come from the top world economies. However, in recent years many smaller corporations have also become multinational, and some MNCs have emerged in developing economies like Daewoo in South Korea. Today, more than ever, a great deal of the documentation that is produced by multinational corporations must be translated into multiple languages.

Clearly, there is a need to involve technical communicators in the translation process, for many of the same reasons that it is necessary to include technical communicators in the product development process.[7] Many corporations have examined methods and technologies to facilitate the process of writing for translation. Some corporations offer training courses [8] and develop web resources to help their documentation team learn to write for translation. Adams, Austin, and Taylor describe how Xerox Corporation has developed a Web-based training guide for writing for translation[9]. Medtronic, the world’s leading medical technology company, has developed an intranet-based glossary for use by the many different groups that author its documentation, including user interface developers, technical writers, and writers of educational, promotional, and marketing material.[10]

Controlled Language systems are being used to facilitate both human and machine translation. They limit the number of words used and restrict the meanings and parts of speech for the words used. Controlled Languages are also used to improve communication within particular fields, such as the aerospace industry. The European Association of Aerospace Industries uses Simplified English; it is a controlled version of the language used in aircraft maintenance and consists of a limited vocabulary and a set of rules related to syntax and usage.[11, 12]

A great deal of time and money can be lost when technical documentation is not prepared with translation in mind. Steven P. Iverson of the American Translators Association urges the necessity of “thinking of translation as an extension of the English document creation” rather than as an afterthought.[13] Timothy Weiss has pointed out that the greatest problem faced by translators is poorly written source documents.[14]

Several technical communication programs include courses in international technical communication, and some of these courses include instruction in writing for translation and preparation for working with translators.[15, 16, 17] In “Writing Globally: Teaching the Technical Writing Student to Prepare Documents for Translation,” Bruce Maylath argues that instruction in writing for translation should be included in introductory technical communication courses and offers guidelines for preparing texts for translation[18]. Some innovative programs actually partner technical communication students with students of translation. However, many faculty members may not have the opportunity to work with translation programs, and some still may not have entire courses in their programs devoted to international technical communication.

Adding an International Focus to the Technical Communication Curriculum

The first step toward incorporating instruction in writing for translation into the technical communication curriculum is the inclusion of a course focusing on international technical communication, and if not an entire course, at least a component within a course that addresses the challenges of international technical communication. Before introducing students to the challenges of writing for translation, they need some instruction in intercultural communication generally. While students may take courses in intercultural communication outside of the Technical Communication curriculum, it is important that students are introduced to the unique challenges of intercultural technical communication, which may not be fully addressed in a traditional course in intercultural communication. For example, a review of the leading textbooks on intercultural communication reveals that none of them include chapters on written communication.[19, 20, 21,22] A similar review of technical communication texts reveals that few cover issues related to intercultural

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communication with a few notable exceptions.[23, 24, 25, 26]

Developing a Course in International Technical Communication

The exercises and assignments described in this article are taken from International Technical Communication, a course that brings research from the field of intercultural communication to bear on the issues of writing for international audiences and writing for translation. International Technical Communication is a course designed for undergraduate students in the University of Central Florida’s Technical Writing Program. The students in the program are primarily English majors who have chosen the Technical Writing track within the major. Some students in the program have English/Technical Writing as their minor and are majoring in fields that include Digital Media, Computer Science, Communication, Information Technology, and Business.

The semester-long course introduces students to research drawn from the field of intercultural communication as it applies to the field of technical communication. Students learn various cultural models, including the Iceberg Model [27], Edward T. Hall’s Theory of Contexting [28], and Geert Hofstede’s Cultural Value Dimensions [29], and apply them to technical communication case studies. They learn to develop an international audience analysis and do extensive research on other cultures. Throughout the semester, each student interviews a technical communicator working outside the United States, develops an in-depth research report on another culture, and creates a documentation project targeted to another culture or to an international audience.

The textbooks used in the course are: International Technical Communication by Nancy L. Hoft and Global Contexts Deborah S. Bosley. The assignments described in this article are an interview assignment, a country-specific research report, and a documentation project targeted to an audience outside the United States. These assignments can be used in a sequence to develop an international technical communication course, or they can be used individually to introduce issues related to international technical communication within another course.

Interview Assignment One effective way to raise students’ awareness of intercultural issues in technical communication is by having them interview practitioners working outside the United States. The interview assignment is also valuable because it helps students develop interviewing skills, which are important to their professional success.[30] Faculty can find practitioners to participate in the interviews through international professional organizations like the IEEE Professional Communication Society, the Society for Technical Communication, and the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing.

For one of my classes, I used Society for Technical Communication (STC) web site to contact chapter presidents of STC chapters outside the United States. I explained to the chapter presidents that I was seeking STC members in their chapters who would be willing to participate in a brief (5 to 10 question) email interview with my students. Practitioners who agreed to participate were assured that they would only be contacted by one student each. They needed to be able to communicate with the students in English and to respond within a specified timeframe so that the students would be able to complete their assignments by the due date.

The response to my request was overwhelmingly positive. The STC chapter presidents forwarded the message and practitioners not only agreed to participate but passed the message on to their colleagues as well. I had many more practitioners willing to participate than there were students in the class. The participants were from STC chapters in Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Sweden, Australia, Canada, and Norway.

I assigned the students interviewees and then required them to submit drafts of their interview questions to be reviewed before I gave them approval to proceed with the interview. The interview questions were not due for my review until after the interviewees were assigned to allow students to develop questions that took into account the country in which the interviewee was working. After the interviews were completed, students turned in a written report on the interview and also gave a brief oral presentation in which they shared the highlights of their interviews with their classmates.

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Research ReportThe research report can build on the interview assignment by having students do research on the country in which their interviewee is working. For the research report and the subsequent documentation project, I have students work in teams of two or three students. Requiring students to work as part of a team helps them develop their collaborative skills; the need for technical communicators to be able to function effectively in teams is well-recognized.[31]

The research report is a part of the team’s audience analysis for their documentation project. In the research report, students are required to research key international variables. I have them begin by examining the seven international variables in their textbook, International Technical Communication,by Nancy L. Hoft. These variables are: political, economic, social, religious, educational, linguistic, and technological. Understanding these cultural variables is an important part of understanding any culture.

It should be noted here that the research report assignment is framed as a research report on the cultural variables of a particular nation, such as Sweden, Mexico, or Iceland. However, students in the course are taught that the terms country andculture are not automatically synonymous. For the purpose of the country research report, the term culture is used in the sense of national culture. In their research reports, students are essentially investigating the culture of a particular nation. However, students are taught that the term culturecan also refer to groups across national boundaries and also to co-cultures within a nation. It was made clear to students that the purpose of the research reports was to gain background understanding of national cultures and not to stereotype them.

In order to prevent students from viewing other cultures in superficial terms, I begin the discussion of cultural models by introducing students to the Iceberg Model of Culture developed by French and Bell.[27] The metaphor of the iceberg is used to suggest that like the tip of an iceberg only a small percentage of any culture is visible to us on the surface, and further to suggest that the surface elements of a culture which may seem superficial are the result of the deeper aspects of the culture (values, beliefs, traditions) that are not visible. Ulijn and St. Amant point out the value of using the Iceberg Model of Culture which presents

culture in terms of “two interrelated parts (one readily know and the other hidden)” to help students understand the complex nature of studying other cultures.[32]

In their research reports, students should learn about the government, economy, social structure, and language(s) of the country they are researching. Also, they should develop an understanding of the country’s educational system, religion(s), and level of technological sophistication. In addition to researching these key variables, students should be encouraged to select other variables to research which they feel will be relevant to an understanding of the national culture they are studying. For example, one team in my class doing research on Norway included “environmentalism” as a variable because their initial research revealed to them the high degree of environmental awareness and activism in that nation. Another team researching Iceland chose to include “Business” and “Tourism” as variables because they wished to develop a guide for business travelers to and from Iceland as their major project.

International Research SourcesFor the research report assignment, students can be directed to a number of resources beyond traditional library research. Some useful resources for the country research assignment include these databases, web sites, and publications:

Library of Congress Country StudiesBrigham Young University’s CultureGramsThe CIA’s World Fact Book U.S. Department of State’s Country Commercial Guides The University of Michigan’s Documents Center Foreign Government Resources on the WebNorthwestern University’s Government Publications and MapsThe United Nations web site

Students can also find valuable information in these online resources:

Columbia International Affairs OnlineThe Statistical Universe

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The Public Affairs Information Service database European Governments online The U.S. Department of State Background Notes

Students can be encouraged to expand their worldview by accessing sources like the World News Connection and Real Radio. The World News Connection provides major newspapers from other countries in translation so that students can read about world events from other than a U. S. perspective, particularly those events affecting the countries they are researching. Similarly, Real Radio, available online, gives students the opportunity to hear news reports from the perspective of other nations.

In addition to databases and web sites, students can also be given many contacts within the local community. These contacts could include local Chambers of Commerce (such as the Asian-American Chamber of Commerce) and local consular offices. Another valuable resource for students is local businesspeople that are engaged in international business endeavors. Finally, students can seek interviewees through local professional organizations devoted to various regions and nations; for example, one of my students interviewed someone who was a member of the Barbados Club of Central Florida.

Developing the Documentation Project

Once the student teams have completed their research reports, they can begin to formulate proposals for their documentation projects. Each team is required to write a formal proposal for their project. In the proposal, they should include a detailed analysis of the audience and the purpose for their project. The audience analysis is based on their country research report. The purpose and need for the documentation is also related to what they learned about the country in their research.

Based on their research, the teams should develop a documentation project that is suited to a need within the country they researched. They can propose to create either a print document or a web site. The document can be directed either to an audience within the country or to an audience that includes people both within the country and within the United States. One project that was direct to an audience within the country was a web site on

cooking for Swedish teens. A project that was directed to an audience both within the country and within the United States was a guide for Mexican and U.S. business people working with one another.

The students should be urged to narrow their audience and purpose and to produce a document with a clear focus. Generally, the type of document, the audience, and the purpose evolves based what the team discovers about their country while writing the research report. For example, the team researching Mexico focused on the increased business between the Mexico and the United States since the passing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and decided to create a guide for business people from the two countries who wish to work with one another. Part of their research included a meeting with a representative of the Mexican government through the Mexican consulate in Orlando.

The team projects have great potential to provide opportunities for students to engage in service learning. The potential to incorporate service learning into the course is greatly increased if students focus on the needs of organizations that address major global issues like the AIDS epidemic and world hunger. One student team in my course chose to address the issue of world hunger. They created a document for a nonprofit relief organization based in Fort Myers, Florida. The Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization (ECHO) combats hunger in 140 developing nations by distributing seeds and educational literature, and by advancing agricultural technology. The team developed a booklet describing the seed plants, which ECHO cultivates and provides to its clients in developing nations. The team translated their booklet into Spanish and Creole because they learned that these were the languages spoken by the majority of ECHO’s clients.

Reinforcing Cultural Awareness The documentation project reinforces students’ cultural awareness in several ways. As members of the U. S. culture creating documentation for audiences outside the United States, students need to be mindful of issues of intercultural communication when developing their documents. They need to consider how cultural differences will impact their choice of media, their document design, and the content of their documentation.

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The students need to consider the various aspects of their document’s format and content that are likely to be impacted by cultural considerations. Additionally, from the perspective of preparing documentation for audiences outside the U.S., they should assume that the documents they produce will be translated into the target language(s) of their audience. Even students writing documentation for English-speaking countries will face some linguistic differences related to different versions of English.

Choice of Media Students have to determine whether a print or an online document will be most effective for their intended audience and purpose. In addition to considering their audience and purpose as they would for any documentation project, when making their media selection for an international documentation project, students need to consider what they learned about technology in their target country. Students writing for audiences in technologically advanced countries with good computer access for a large portion of the population may well choose to create web sites. On the other hand, students writing for audiences in countries where computer technology is not as readily available may consider it more appropriate to create print documents.

Document Design Once students have selected the appropriate medium for their documentation project, they will need to work on the design and layout of their documents. Students will need to refer to what they learned about their target country in their research report and also will need to address the many challenges inherent in designing documents for international audiences. Nancy L. Hoft discusses important issues related to page design for international audiences including consideration of text expansion, text directionality, and page size.[23] Charles Kostelnick describes the many challenges of designing visuals for international documentation including how culture impacts the depiction of people and animals, the use of color and symbols, and many other aspects of visual communication.[33]

ContentThe students will also have to edit their drafts to ensure that their content is appropriate for their target audience within a given culture. They will need to use what they have learned about a

country’s political, religious, economic, and social structure to inform their cultural editing of the content of their documents. When editing at this level, in addition to getting peer reviews, students should be urged to seek out at least one review from someone who has a knowledge of the culture for which they are writing, and if possible, from a member of that culture.

Writing for Translation

In addition to all the format and content considerations that the students will address in developing their documents, they should also consider that the documents they are writing will need to be translated for the target audience. For example, the students in my class creating a web site for environmentally-conscious people in Norway were told to assume that the text on their site would be translated into Norwegian. Even if it is beyond the scope of the course to require that students actually have their documentation translated, they should be encouraged to write their documents as though they are preparing them for translation.

Most of the literature on writing for translation is directed toward training practitioners and developing corporate training programs and intranet sites to support translation.[8, 9, 10, 34 ] The emphasis in the literature on training practitioners suggests that a large number of practitioners have learned or are learning to write for translation in the workplace and that few of today’s practicing technical communicators received training in writing for translation as part of their academic preparation. Therefore, as Maylath has argued a course in international technical communication should devote a significant portion of class time to instructing students in how to write for translation.[18]

Strategies for Teaching Students to Write for Translation

There are two approaches to writing for translation. One approach involves the use of a Controlled Language, that is, a language with a limited vocabulary and a set of guidelines for how words can and cannot be used. The second approach is to develop guidelines for writers to follow without severely limiting the vocabulary that they are allowed to use.[35]

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Simplified Languages or General Guidelines?

In my classes, I do not have students learn a simplified language for two reasons. First, learning a simplified language is very time consuming and there is not likely to be adequate time during a semester to devote to doing so. The second reason is that simplified languages are most useful for very specialized scientific and technological subjects [35], and typically in my courses in international technical communication students write on diverse topics, many of which are non-technical in nature. Instead of teaching students to use a particular simplified language, I focus on more general techniques of writing for translation. Use of a simplified language might be more appropriate in a service course in international technical communication geared toward students majoring in engineering, computer science, or other disciplines wherein the students would be learning the specialized language of their discipline.[14] When preparing students for careers in the technical communication, it is more beneficial to give them analytical skills that can be applied in many situations than to train them to use one particular system that is narrowly defined. For example, as Kelli Cargile Cook points out when discussing workplace literacies, “technical communication instruction strives to advance students beyond knowledge of [particular] software applications” and to have them use technology to develop their reading and writing skills.[36]

The Guest SpeakerWriters and translators need to work together [15], and writers need to understand that they must play a role in the translation process if they want their documentation to be successful when translated. One effective way to raise students’ awareness of translation issues early in the semester is to have a translator come to the class as a guest speaker. Ideally, the translator should be someone who works for a company that also hires technical communicators who prepare some of the material that is translated. The American Translators Association is an excellent source for locating guest speakers.

I have a translator from an international software company headquartered in Orlando speak to my students. She shares many real-world examples with the students that are directly relevant to the type of writing that they will be likely to do in their

professional careers. Her examples demonstrate the challenges of translation and also the cost to her company when translation is not successful. She is able to cite how frequently poor translations are caused by problems with the source text.

The Case Study Using cases studies is another effective classroom activity for introducing translation issues and the role of technical communicators in the translation process. In Deborah S. Bosley’s Global Contexts, the case study on “Translating User Manuals: A Surgical Equipment Company’s ‘Quick Cut’” by Bruce Maylath is perfect for introducing students to the complex challenges of translation of technical documents. The case study describes a fictional surgical equipment company, Cordipatch, which hires a translation company to have its manuals for surgeons translated. As deadlines are tight and the translation company’s workload increases, there is concern about the quality of the translated manuals.[24] After reading the case, students answer a series of discussion questions. In addition to having students discuss the case study, these questions challenge them to think about many important language issues related to translation.

Then students are given the first writing assignment associated with the case study, which is to prepare a document (a set of instructions) for translation. Maylath provides a set of guidelines for preparing the document for translation that include advice such as, “Edit sentences to make them relatively short independent clauses.” and “Eliminate humor (which is often untranslatable).”[24] Instead of using a set of instructions for this assignment, however, I have my students use one draft page or screen from their documentation project. By having students use work they are developing for a target audience, I make the assignment more immediate and meaningful to them than it would be if they merely used a set of instructions that they did not write. However, having students prepare any document for translation will raise their awareness of the many challenges of writing effectively for translation.

Guidelines for Writing for Translation

I have the students develop their own set of guidelines for writing for translation. The guidelines they come up with can be drawn from

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the case study assignment, their guest speaker(s), and from a textbook like Hoft. Students can also be assigned to do additional research on writing for translation. Many of the guidelines students develop are likely to be consistent with the guidelines that technical communication faculty often give their students regarding writing clear and unambiguous prose, while other guidelines will only be relevant for translation.

Some of the guidelines developed by my classes are:

Eliminate vague pronoun references. Do not use “this” without a noun referent. Use short sentences. Avoid using idioms, slang, and jargon.Do not use two different terms to refer to the same object. Don’t call the document you are creating a “manual” in some instances and a “handbook” in others.

Once students have developed a set of guidelines, they can be used by students both in drafting their documents and in peer reviewing each other’s rough drafts.

The Peer Review Process The guidelines add another level of review to the peer review process. First, students do a general review of the content, format, and writing style of their document. Then they do a second review of the content and format, paying special attention to cultural issues that impact the content and format. Next, they review the writing style of their documents a second time in light of the guidelines for writing for translation. Students are also encouraged to seek out reviews from native speakers of other languages to see how clear their writing style is for nonnative speakers, since many languages issues that cause problems for translators are the same issues that cause problems for nonnative speakers.[37] Some students take the initiative to locate nonnative speakers of English who are fluent in English through international student organizations on campus.

What Students Learned Once students have gone through the sequence of classroom exercises and assignments outlined in this article they understand the importance of

bringing cultural awareness to their document projects and of preparing translation-ready documentation. They have developed a much greater sensitivity to the many cultural issues that need to be considered when preparing documentation for international audiences. They have developed a set of guidelines for writing for translation and have learned to review documents from the perspective of cultural issues and writing for translation. Students have studied another culture in depth and learned about technical communication practices outside the United States. Additionally, they have completed assignments designed to reinforce core skills crucial to their success as practitioners. These core skills include conducting interviews, doing research, developing project proposals, and working collaboratively.

The greatest indication of the students learning is the success of their documentation projects. Several student projects were actually used by corporations and nonprofit organizations. For example, one student team created a manual for DSE Corporation to be used to prepare employees to work abroad. Another example is the success of the booklet created for the Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization.

Student Responses to the Course

The course has consistently received above average student evaluations. However, a more telling indication of the students’ response to the course can be found in the impact it has had on their future studies and careers.

In addition to producing valuable service-learning projects, many students were inspired to pursue further study of other cultures. Some students pursued additional foreign language courses, others chose to study abroad, and still others sought out and were granted internships with MNCs and government agencies. One student also went on to become a Rhodes Scholar.

Conclusion

There are many resources available to technical communication faculty who wish to develop courses in international technical communication.Given our international workplace and the rising number of technical documents that are destined for translation, it is important that the technical communication curriculum prepare students to

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meet the challenges inherent in international technical communication and to prepare documents that are translation-ready.

The assignments described in this article serve two important purposes: 1) they introduce students to the many cultural issues that impact the creation of documentation for international audiences, and 2) they serve to reinforce the core skills that are recognized as vital to professional success in the field of technical communication. If it is not possible to develop a new course that addresses international issues in technical communication, then some of the assignments, exercises, and activities described in this article can be added to existing courses in technical communication. Faculty who teach service courses to students in technical majors may also find it possible to adapt some of these exercises for students working in specialized scientific and technical areas.

The growth of international business has led to many new communication challenges. Since the inception of the profession, technical communicators have been skillful at adapting to new technologies and environments. They have gone from being technical “writers” to being professional communicators with expertise in visual communication, document design, usability, and virtual teamwork. Now they must also become skillful intercultural communicators and members of the document translation team; it is our role as faculty to ensure that our students are prepared to meet these new challenges.

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[37] John R. Kohl, “Improving Translatability and Readability with Syntactic Cues,” Technical Communication, vol. 46, no. 2, pp.149-166, 1999.

About the Author

Dr. Madelyn Flammia is an Associate Professor in the Department of English at the University of

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Central Florida in Orlando, Florida, USA. She teaches both graduate and undergraduate courses in Technical Communication. Her research interests include international technical communication, visual communication, and publication and production. She serves as a Faculty Associate for the University’s Office of International Studies where she works with faculty helping them internationalize their courses. She has given several presentations and workshops on internationalizing the curriculum. She is currently working on a textbook on intercultural communication. She can be reached via email at [email protected].

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