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.
I disagree with the wave of the future comment (and, for those prickly
souls out there, no offence intended).
I work with a number of Tech Writers in India -- while their verbal
communications are very "Indian," their written deliverables, while on
the job, conform very closely indeed to what I would expect of an North
American tech writer. Those people are out there, but you DO have to
dig.
Have your writer compare and contrast US and Indian newspapers -- the
differences are obvious and easily seen.
Challenge the writer to produce a page of instructions with no adverbs,
adjectives, modifiers of any kind, simple sentence structure. My guess
is that you'll see a quick change.
John
-----Original Message-----
From: Humphries, Ola [mailto:Ola -dot- Humphries -at- Energy -dot- Sungard -dot- com]
Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2006 2:12 PM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: RE: Non-English tech writer
Actually, he has very good computer skills and knows all the software we
use. I guess we will just have to edit at this end. I don't think he was
the
cheapest they could get. They had already offshored a whole development
team
and really needed a writer on the spot.
We all like him and I guess we'll just coach him along. That's the wave
of
the future.
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
-----Original Message-----
From: Dan Goldstein [mailto:DGoldstein -at- riverainmedical -dot- com]
Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2006 1:52 PM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: RE: Non-English tech writer
I don't get it. Even if they insisted on hiring in India, there must be
tech writers there who write fluently in American English. And if the
point was to get the absolute cheapest tech writing possible, they could
hire a newbie tech writer in India who needed to learn Word, FrameMaker,
etc. -- anything but English!
Can nothing be done to sway Management? Perhaps STC India could assist
with a new search.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Humphries, Ola
> Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2006 2:30 PM
> To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> Subject: RE: Non-English tech writer
>
> Well, that's a good question. The management looked at
> several candidates and he was the best one they could
> find...
>
This message contains confidential information intended only for the use
of
the addressee(s). If you are not the addressee, or the person
responsible
for delivering it to the addressee, you are hereby notified that
reading,
disseminating, distributing, copying, electronic storing or the taking
of
any action in reliance on the contents of this message is strictly
prohibited. If you have received this message by mistake, please notify
us,
by replying to the sender, and delete the original message immediately
thereafter. Thank you.
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
Ola -dot- Humphries -at- energy -dot- sungard -dot- com -dot-
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-
