TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:RE: Non-English tech writer From:"Guy K. Haas" <guy -at- hiskeyboard -dot- com> To:"Humphries, Ola" <Ola -dot- Humphries -at- Energy -dot- Sungard -dot- com> Date:Tue, 12 Dec 2006 12:31:25 -0800 (PST)
Technical Writing is still a very young profession in India.
STC has an India chapter but it has fewr than 200 members scattered across
all of the country. Most of the folks doing technical writing are either
English majors who don't have the TECH depth, or engineers who don't have
the WRITING strength.
Indian English has certain grammatical patterns that we view as
non-standard; some are simply UK dialect, not Amurrikan, while others are
flavored by the local mother tongues. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_English, but jump past the
pronunciation part to see the "grammar tweaks" and beyond.
There are some very competent and qualified TWs in India, and they ARE
trying to share their knowledge, but they can only cover just so much
ground. The universities are struggling to establish TW programs, but
meeting with varying degrees of success.
--Guy K. Haas
Software Exegete in Silicon Valley
Member of several STC chapters including India,
and of various mailing lists such as TWI (see http://tinyurl.com/y6mkat)
On Tue, December 12, 2006 11:29 am, Humphries, Ola wrote:
> Well, that's a good question. The management looked at several candidates
> and he was the best one they could find. We might all be wondering this as
> writing becomes one of the many skills that management offshores.
>
> BTW, my contract ending was in no way related to this offshoring. I
> retired
> last year and then was drafted for six months to do a special project and
> now it's done.
>
> I used to teach writing and my favorite recommendation was always Strunk
> and
> White's little book The Elements of Style. It's an enjoyable read and
> pleasantly points in the right direction.
>
>
> Ola Humphries * Technical Writer * SunGard * Energy Solutions * 1221
> Lamar,
> Suite 950, Houston, TX, 77010 *
> Tel Office 713-210-8291 * Home 713-864-1553 * Fax 713-210-8004 *
> www.sungard.com/energy
>
>> There are no quick fixes for this situation.
>
> Actually, there is.
>
> Why would someone hire a person to do professional writing if the
> person doesn't even have a suitable grasp of the language?
>
> John Posada
> Senior Technical Writer
>
> "I think the problem, to be quite honest with you, is that you've never
> actually known what the question is."
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> WebWorks ePublisher Pro for Word features support for every major Help
> format plus PDF, HTML and more. Flexible, precise, and efficient content
> delivery. Try it today! http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l
>
> Create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to Help file formats or
> printed documentation. Features include single source authoring, team
> authoring,
> Web-based technology, and PDF output. http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList
>
> ---
> You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as guy -at- hiskeyboard -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/guy%40hiskeyboard.com
>
>
> To subscribe, send a blank email to techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
>
> Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
>http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.
>
>
WebWorks ePublisher Pro for Word features support for every major Help
format plus PDF, HTML and more. Flexible, precise, and efficient content
delivery. Try it today! http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l
Create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to Help file formats or
printed documentation. Features include single source authoring, team authoring,
Web-based technology, and PDF output. http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- infoinfocus -dot- com -dot-
