Re: Punctuation tips (not that you need them!)

[Tim Altom <taltom -at- SIMPLYWRITTEN -dot- COM>]

What you say is true, but multinational corporations still need a consistent
style throughout their materials, or pay enormous costs doing several
different styles. And if you look at English around the world, American
English is as close to a de facto English standard as we're likely to get.
Notice that most Europeans and Asians posting on this list do so in a style
that's almost indistinguishable from the ones Americans post. This isn't
because Americans are cooler or smarter, but because, as you say, there are
just more of us writing many more pages. Volume has its own powers of
imposition.

We often advise clients going overseas, and who don't want to maintain
materials in different languages because of the cost, to use a simplified
English that's shorn of vernacular and uses a basic set of punctuation and
usage guidelines. We've found that, rather than catering to a regional
preference, we can often achieve good results by simply being short, to the
point, and consistent. If we're ruthlessly consistent, regional variations
are generally manageable. If you say, for example, "push the button" rather
than "press the button", the reader can pick up on it pretty quickly even if
the local preferred variant is "prod the button". Of course, this level of
consistency requires a strong style guide. The usage may tick off some of
our European brethren, but at least the message gets across, which is about
all you can really expect given the inherent inadequacy of the medium.
Language is intrinsically a poor method of communication, even if it's the
best we have over long distances.

Tim Altom
Adobe Certified Expert, Acrobat
Simply Written, Inc.
The FrameMaker support people
We train and consult on the Clustar Method
for single source documentation
317.562-9298
http://www.simplywritten.com


>
>You seem to presume that all tech writers are from the US. Consequently,
>I think an industry-standard styleguide is a terrible idea. Since most
>tech writers do reside in the US, it would no doubt use US-based
>spelling and punctuation - and there is no way I am going to adhere to
>that. I, and my European readership, find US style just plain wrong.
>
>Remember there is life outside America!
>
>Aoidin
>
>
>Aoidin,
>
>Certainly there are international differences in punctuation and spelling.
>That doesn't mean that a style guide is a bad idea, only that it would be
>more beneficial in certain parts of the world. There are some things that
>are common across technical documents (lets limit this to Western
>languages) that might be addressed by a style guide. For instance:
>
>Should captions be above or below a picture?
>
>Should illustrations have a border around them?
>
>Where should trademark information be listed?
>
>What symbols should be used to identify warnings or cautions?
>
>What is the difference between a Warning and a Caution? Danger?
>
>If nothing else, a US English Technical Writing Style Guide would probably
>make a good starting point for other countries that speak English to make
>their own style guide for country-specific punctuation and spelling. In
>fact, it might make it easier for those of us who find ourselves writing
>for other markets if we could pick up the version for Canada or England or
>Ireland.
>
>Tom Johnson
>Elk Rapids, Michigan - On the freshwater coast
>
>johnsont -at- starcutter -dot- com     work
>thomasj -at- freeway -dot- net          personal
>
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