1. Chapter 5 Technical Communication in a Transnational World

2. The Term“Transnational”
Encompasses multi-national, cross-cultural, global, and international audiences
Envisions the global community without national borders
Suggests a sense of movement, particularly the flow of goods and services and the flow of communication and information
Suggests connectivity despite differences

3. Learning About Difference
Working beyond the broad term “culture”:
Language
Technology
Education
Politics
Economics
Society
Religion

4. Language Variations The target language Official national languages
International English
Text directionality
Writing styles

5. Technology Access to technologies differs across the globe
Identify commonly used technologies and the reliability of those technologies
Machine Translation software automatically translates documents into different languages
Translation software relies on a restrictive grammar called “Controlled English” and is both expensive and rare

6. Educational Variations
Literacy rates
Learning styles
Common bodies of knowledge gained through schooling

7. Politics and Law Trade issues Legal issues Political traditions
Import/export practices
Legal issues
Copyright, trademark, liability, and fraud standards
Political traditions
Forms of government
Significant dates
National symbols

8. Economics Understand the basics of currency values and exchange rates.
The value of objects, both common goods and status symbols, varies significantly across cultures.

9. Society Consider societal attitudes towards: Age Business etiquette
Family and social interaction

10. Religion Understand the basic tenets
Understand the role of religion in personal and governmental affairs
Understand the significance of religions symbols and colors

11. Avoiding Stereotypes
There's no “simple formula” for understanding another culture.
Instead, be attentive to differences and focus on developing an accurate understanding of your audience.

12. Avoiding Stereotypes
Never expect that everyone in a culture can be understood in the same terms.
When in doubt, ask questions instead of making assumptions.
Treat the translator as a collaborator who can help you understand linguistic and cultural nuances.

13. Enhancing Translation
Terminology: specialized terms often do not translate directly
Clarity: avoid idioms, acronyms, and unnecessary complexities in grammar or syntax
Cultural & Rhetorical Differences: humor and pop culture references often don't translate
Design: organize information clearly to accommodate differences in writing

14. Localization
Is defined as “adapting a product and translating a document for a specific local audience”
General Localization addresses superficial differences like language, currency, and date/time formats.
Radical Localization focuses on substantive cultural differences, and can drastically change the design and approach of the document.

15. Localization Localized products improve sales.
Localized products overcome cultural differences.
Localization helps overcome inherent resistance.
Localization helps to reach world markets and to enter global niche markets.
Still, the process can be expensive, time-consuming, and complicated.

16. Internationalization
Is defined as: “the process of writing, rewriting, designing and redesigning documents so that they can be more easily localized to any transnational audience”
Core information is information that can be reused.
International variables are parts of documents that can be localized. Internationalization identifies these variables for later localization.

17. Globalization Truly “global” documents are not possible.
Many companies avoid localization costs by developing documents that can be read and understood by as many audiences as possible.
Using visuals helps to account for linguistic differences, but visuals are also culturally influenced.

18. Verbal Communication Speak slowly and enunciate clearly
Have face-to-face conversations
Avoid noisy locations
Pause often and ask if you’ve been understood
Speak slowly when giving a phone number, address, or some other number
Use simple sentences
Use widely accepted international business terms

19. Verbal Communication Use common words found in simple dictionaries
Choose a single common verb that explains the action of a sentence
Avoid two-word verbs ending with OFF, UP, or ON. (“She quit” instead of “She gave up.”)
Avoid idioms, idiomatic phrases, or any metaphors
Assume and accept that your listener does not understand everything you’ve said

20. Transnational Ethics
Workplace writers must know that ethical understandings don’t always cross borders.
What you may see as an ethically appropriate choice may not appear so to other audiences.

21. Transnational Ethics From a broad perspective, consider:
Universal and local ethical traditions
How business practices interact with ethical understandings
Whether a country has industry-specific expectations
From a specific perspective, consider:
The accuracy of the translation
Cultural differences
Whether liability issues have not been obscured or misrepresented

22. Guidelines for Writing Clearly
Use correct punctuation
Include definite articles
Avoid pronouns
Use terminology consistently
Avoid idiomatic language
Avoid comparatives

23. Guidelines for Localizing Your Writing
Recognize alphabetic differences
Use local numbers
Be alert to time differences
Avoid references to holidays
Avoid cultural references
Avoid humor

24. Guidelines for Visual and Auditory Differences
Consider visual representation when possible
Avoid images of people and hand gestures
Reevaluate design elements and principles
Account for differences in sound interpretations