Re[2]: Why are we excluded AND Grammar

[David Warren <David -dot- Warren -at- NEXTEL -dot- COM>]

     Howdy!

     And then you have the following example I loved to use in my Software
     Documentation class. Supposedly, it is from an infamous US Army
     WW2-era translation of an Italian bomb defusing procedure:

     "Find and cut the wire with blue insulation leading to the serratated
     barrel nut.  Then find and cut the green wire attached to the timing
     assembly,

     (page break)

     but FIRST...."

     Supposedly, several munitions experts never got to turn the page.

     Evidently it worked great in Italian.

     Cheers!

     David T. Warren
     Publications Manager, Nextel Communications ESD
     (currently fooling with his new 1800x1440 21" monitor, and wishing it was
     attached to his PowerMac at home, instead of the puny old 1152x870 21")

______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Re: Why are we excluded AND Grammar
Author:  Lisa Comeau <COMEAUL -at- CSA -dot- CA> at INTERNET
Date:    6/5/98 1:47 PM


Kalpana wrote;
=22Why should companies hesitate to recruit technical writers working in =
India?=22

I am uncertain as to whether or not you plan to relocate to the US, but I =
think that, as our counterparts have responded, there are several reasons, =
depending on your situation.

 I have done work with people whose native language is not English, and I =
have worked with those who were =22born speaking English=22. In both =
cases, there have been examples of good and bad writing (on a pretty even =
scale). However, you often have to take into account that English is a =
convoluted language, and various grammatical errors are bound to occur =
when a person is new to ANY language, esp. English.=20

Maybe employers are worried about grammatical errors (that are not =
necessarily the fault of the writer, but the fault of differences in =
syntax), that may slip by a proofreader (if the company even has one).

An example of this would be the instructions for putting together a =
barbecue written by a colleague whose native language was not English.

1> Locate slot A on the base of the unit
2> Locate bolt B (found in the accompanying packet)
3> Insert bolt B into slot A and get screwed

(ABSOLUTELY TRUE=21)

Although this is humorous, I have come across dangerous examples as well, =
and all because of differences in syntax.=20

So Kalpana, don=27t be discouraged and think that it is a discrimination =
issue, it may not be (and I would say it is *not*)but perhaps more one of =
the company=27s lack of understanding that a native English speaker is not =
necessarily a better English writer.

-Lisa Comeau
IS Super-User/Trainer
Certification and Testing Division
Canadian Standards Association
Rexdale, ON
comeaul=40csa.ca