Contractions
I like to use contractions. For example, I believe there is a discernible difference between "can't" and "cannot".
I also don't buy the argument that they are hard to translate. I'm not sure what other viable objections people might have to them ...
We heard for years that contractions were hard to
translate. We finally officially asked the liaison
with our localizatation department to verify this
commonly held belief. We felt that any translator
who couldn't translate common contractions wasn't
worth the money we were paying them.
Sure enough, she returned with the news that the
following contractions were acceptable to the
translators: "can't," "isn't," and "don't." We
decided that they probably were familiar to those
readers with English as a second language and now
our style guide allows those contractions.
-- Janice
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Now Shipping -- WebWorks ePublisher Pro for Word! Easily create online
Help. And online anything else. Redesigned interface with a new
project-based workflow. Try it today! http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l
Doc-To-Help 2005 now has RoboHelp Converter and HTML Source: Author content and configure Help in MS Word or any HTML editor. No proprietary editor! *August release. http://www.componentone.com/TECHWRL/DocToHelp2005
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- infoinfocus -dot- com -dot-
To unsubscribe send a blank email to techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
or visit http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/archive%40infoinfocus.com
To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -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.
Follow-Ups:
- Re: Contractions, Gene Kim-Eng
- Contractions?, Geoff Hart
References:
RE: Friday Poll Idea (WAS: In love with a word): From: wendy_lewis
Re: Friday Poll Idea (WAS: In love with a word): From: John Garison
Previous by Author:
Re: Could be "Why Open Office kicks MS Word's butt"
Next by Author:
Re: Friday Poll Idea (WAS: In love with a word)
Previous by Thread:
Re: Friday Poll Idea (WAS: In love with a word)
Next by Thread:
Contractions?
Search our Technical Writing Archives & Magazine
Visit TechWhirl's Other Sites
Sponsored Ads