Re: Technical Writing in China

[tstorer -at- free -dot- fr]

> if the world market for
> documents in English expands, would you consider going where
> there's more work?

One thing to keep in mind is that moving abroad on any long-term basis
involves committing to a lot more than simply the work. For some,
immersion in a different culture is a thrilling experience, enriching, a
satisfying challenge, a widening of horizons, etc. etc. For others it's a
lot more difficult to leave behind one's native tongue and one's everyday
customs (not to mention friends and family one will be seeing a lot less
of). This is true even for Western European countries, where lots of
people speak English and the lifestyle is broadly very similar to the
United States.

I live and work in France, and I've seen technical writers (as well as
software developers, testers, and program managers) move to France from
the US and become co-workers of mine. Our "official" corporate language is
English, and most of the (majority) French employees have enough English
to communicate on at least a rudimentary level, often much more; therefore
the Americans who come over sometimes assume they don't really need to
speak French well to do their job. Most quickly realize that the better
their French is, the better they communicate with the subject matter
experts and the better they understand the plethora of broadcast emails
with which they are flooded. Some retain the attitude that it's not up to
them to make the effort, and as a result they are hindered in their work
and become an annoyance. For technical communicators in particular, no
matter what language you're writing in, it's essential to be able to
communicate with your co-workers who are designing and building the
products, in whatever language *they* speak and with sensitivity to their
cultural habits of communication. I would imagine this would be even more
important in China than in Europe, given the wider cultural gap.

So it's more than "going where the work is" or "helping" other countries,
it's also about "going native" to a certain extent, i.e. not just bringing
your own English-language added value but learning and adapting to other
languages and lifestyles--a potentially life-changing experience, one I
would encourage people to be open to, especially young people, but not
necessarily an easy one.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

WEBWORKS FINALDRAFT - EDIT AND REVIEW, REDEFINED
Accelerate the document lifecycle with full online discussions and unique feedback-management capabilities. Unlimited, efficient reviews for Word
and FrameMaker authors. Live, online demo:
http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l

Doc-To-Help 7.5 Professional: New version with new features, improved performance and reliability, plus much more!  Download your free trial today at www.componentone.com/techwrlfeb.

---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as:
archiver -at- techwr-l -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Send administrative questions to lisa -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-  Visit
http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.