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Subject:Re: Use of Simplified or Controlled English From:Andrew Plato <intrepid_es -at- yahoo -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Wed, 16 Jan 2002 09:36:55 -0800 (PST)
"David Versdahl"
> We are seriously considering the use of simplified or controlled
English.
> Our international audience continues to grow and we want to make certain
> that our message is clearly understood and this seems a reasonable
approach.
I can say that your largest hurdle with foreign audiences is the unique
terminology of networking and security. Watchguard docs are pretty good
(my company resells your products), but there isn't a lot of technical
explanations of how things work.
I don't think you need a language regimen. Most of these regimens are just
common sense with a lot of marketing fluff aimed at getting you to
purchase expensive consulting arrangements. If you keep explanations
simple and spend the time to define terms and establish a common set of
terms, you'll be fine. I've written a lot of docs for security products
that got translated and the thing that always trips up the translators is
unusual terms, or terms that have more than one meaning.
If you write more explanations of how various components work, your
translators will have more contextual depth. This helps them select the
right phrase when translating your material.
Good luck.
Andrew Plato
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