Summary [long]: Writing for "the touchy American"

[Steven Jong <SteveFJong -at- AOL -dot- COM>]

On 1/8/99 I wrote (quoting myself 8^):

>I am wondering: For writers working outside the US, are there...
>anecdotes and advice about how to write for the US market? Are there things
>that writers have to watch out for to avoid offending touchy Americans? Are
>Americans considered tolerant of everything? Or do you guys not care? 8^)

This question drew quite a few responses. For reasons which will become
apparent, I will not name names.

Some people seemed to be Americans replying with tongue in cheek. One
ribald reply was certainly from an Aussie 8^) We got one vote of confidence
("Americans aren't touchy about anything") from a writer in Greece. On the
other hand, there was one comment about the general self-centeredness of
Americans in general, and one that Americans are *not* seen as tolerant.

Others had specific observations and suggestions. Four mentioned the need to
use American spellings; for example:

>> For some reason, Americans are very sensitive about using

>> American English.  They'll go through a document and

>> the only thing they'll call customer support about is to

>> report that "color" was spelled with a "u" (colour), and

>> that "z" had suddenly been substituted for "s" in all sorts

>> of words (appologize, capitalize, etc).


Two mentioned gender issues:

>> I work in Paris, and we definitely watch out for non-politically correct
>> text in our English documentation as well as in our graphics.  For example,
>> the logo for our company was kind of an abstract, stylized version of a
>> man's head.  When an American consultant came over, he told us to get rid
>> of it because he found it discriminating to women.  We also try to get
>> around the "he/she" debate by using "you".
--------------------
>> In my experience, one 'hot topic' for Americans is gender... That is
>> why we have adopted "Dear Sir or Madame"; he/she, "chair" instead of
>> "chairman, "people" instead of "mankind", etc. On the one hand, ignoring
>> the gender issue will get you no points. On the other hand, a
>> consistently tortured use of "he/she" looks like a political statement.
>> So it is necessary to phrase your document to be discreetly and
>> unobtrusively gender-neutral.

Two mentioned that Americans seem litiginous (why I cannot imagine 8^(:

>> [T]echnical matters being put aside, one main concern is with the armies of
>> lawyers and the legal issues involved.
--------------------
>> The first thing that comes to my mind is the warnings and cautions that
must
>> be put in black-on-white about many things we european find self-evident.
>> (To avoid being sued for millions and millions of dollars)
>> I find this to be the most difficult - and different - about writing for
>> americans; trying to cover every possibility (mostly of injury and damage)
>> so no-one can sue me (or -actually- my company).

Other general comments:

>> Colour:  We here in North America understand almost intuitively the
>> implications of green-amber/yellow-red.  Red simply doesn't mean "danger"
>> in every culture.  Better find a different way to warn the nuclear plant
>> operator that he is about to gain first-hand experience in what a melt-down
>> is.
>>
>> Sports anologies:  I grew up in the States.  I know what "3rd and long" or
>> "bases loaded, two out, and a 3-and-2 count" mean.  Chances are someone who
>> doesn't watch US sports doesn't.
--------------------
>> Bring instructions positively. Americans love checklists, positive hints
>> and tips; prescription to follow. They dislike mistakes and critics: "am
>> *I* wrong..." It is a general impression, but safe to follow
--------------------
>> Some words have negative connotations; e.g., abort Vs cancel,
>>  manipulate Vs maintain or change.

          -- Steve

=========|=========|=========|=========|=========|=========|=====
Steven Jong, Documentation Group Manager ("Typo?  What tpyo?")
Lightbridge, Inc., 67 South Bedford St., Burlington, MA 01803 USA
mailto:jong -at- lightbridge -dot- com -dot- nospam          781.359.4902 [voice]
Home Sweet Homepage: http://members.aol.com/SteveFJong

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