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Subject:RE: Users Guide to Snow From:Moloney Mark <Mark -dot- Moloney -at- tetrapak -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Thu, 16 Jan 2003 08:27:41 +0100
I'm quite sure that I don't understand what you mean.
I saw a lot of this in a previous job for an American-owned multinational
computer company* in Ireland (a long time ago, somewhere seemingly far far
away). I wrote short user documents mostly for a UK audience, and those
documents needed to be dry and somewhat aloof to appear credible. However,
any existing documents that came from the US tended to be more personable
and even friendly in tone (a better tone, in my opinion, for end-user
technical documentation). However, I sometimes found myself "translating"
them to fit in with the UK set - not just changing most "z"s to "s"s and
adding occasional "u"s after "o"s, but changing the whole tone of the
document to "talk down" to the reader.
However, in defence of the Guardian, probably the best British newspaper at
the moment, this guide to snow comes from the G2 section, and is one in a
long tradition of exaggerated "user guides". Taking so serious a tone for a
trivial matter is an important tradition in British humour - and I like it!
My favourite example is the Monty Python sketch showing a world full of
Supermen, and where a bicycle repairman is a superhero (which led to another
job choice of mine somewhere even longer ago and further away).
It's almost as if there should be an extra blank line at the end to imply
the writer's sly wink to you!
/ Mark, in wet and windy southern Sweden (the snow all melted)
* Thanks to the list for reminding me to think about confidentiality and
privacy online!
Tech writing tie-in. Anyone who reads this and
(barring unfamiliar terms) does not perceive a
difference in British and American "tone", they should
stay safely away from localization projects for their
"opposite" audience. :)
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