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Subject:RE: Thank You from new tech writer From:"Leonard C. Porrello" <Leonard -dot- Porrello -at- SoleraTec -dot- com> To:<techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Thu, 6 Mar 2008 12:22:20 -0800
It's not at all clear that coming up through "a bilingual education
system" makes someone a "native speaker." Arguably, native speech is
what you use in your culture, in your home. In India, "29 languages are
spoken by more than a million native speakers, 122 by more than 10,000"
(Wikipedia: Languages of India).
And even if we were to concede that Indians are native speakers of
English, you'd still have to contend with the problem of dialect. Even
if there is an Indian equivalent to "edited American English", it is not
the same as Edited American English. What's done to render their docs
into Edited American English (where the target audience resides in the
US)?
Is this a fair question, or would you suggest that all authors in the
employ of tech writing groups in India have the facility of Tagore?
Leonard C. Porrello
SoleraTec LLC
www.soleratec.com
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+leonard -dot- porrello=soleratec -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+leonard -dot- porrello=soleratec -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- c
om] On Behalf Of Gene Kim-Eng
Sent: Thursday, March 06, 2008 11:56 AM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Re: Thank You from new tech writer
Most educated Indians are "native speakers of English,"
having come up through a bilingual education system.
It is simply that not all "native speakers of English" are
capable of writing professional quality material, whether
they are of American, British or Indian citizenship.
Gene Kim-Eng
----- Original Message -----
From: "Leonard C. Porrello" <Leonard -dot- Porrello -at- SoleraTec -dot- com>
>I had no idea that tech docs are being outsourced to India or that such
> a thing was practical. I've known and worked with many well educated
> Indians, but not one was capable of writing professional quality
> edited
> American (or British) English. For all, English has been a second
> language. With all due respect to Tagore, how do they get around the
> limitation of not having native speakers of English?
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Leonard -dot- Porrello -at- soleratec -dot- com -dot-
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