Ethical Implications of Intercultural AudiencesBy Lisa HeitzmanPresented by Derek Woodward

Outline

Introduction Ideas of Cultural Awareness Approaches Conclusion

A Global Market

Many of the products we use today come from different places all over the world

To produce these items, it has become ever more important to communicate across different languages and cultures

Technical writers must be aware of this when drafting their documents so as not to cause strife when presenting ideas

Cultural Awareness

Heitzman argues that technical writers must be taught cultural awareness

Its importance lies in understanding how one’s writing can reflect different social and cultural values▪ This can translate into how well a document is

received by a foreign audience

There are different methods that writers can use depending upon the situation at hand

Universal Standard Myth

One way in which instructions can be communicated across languages is the use of visuals, or pictures

When using method, since different colors can mean different things, black and white is usually used

Although method appears to not have any drawbacks, it can as in the case of Ikea When shipping products to Muslim countries, Ikea

showed mostly men in their instructions which lead to the prime minister of Norway to label them “sexist”

English as Global Language

English is seen as an emerging global language due to its popularity in business and science

It must be emphasized that although English is being spoken more, this does not mean it is superior to all other languages

When using a single language to address an international audience, this is known as internationalization

Clarity

Clarity is often emphasized in technical writing When writing to international audience, Plain Style is

used which promotes the simplest of words choosen

This can backfire in the form of the audience not understanding certain idioms

Heintzman suggests rather than clarity, we should focus on “the astuteness of interpretation and translation” which focuses on getting the meaning across with as little “noise” as possible

Localization and Translation

The author defines localization as the writing toward a specific culture as opposed to a universal one

Translation is a method of localization which, in essence, is the converting of documents to a specific language

For technical writers, this is learning how to write to translators which involves: Carefully selecting word choices (such as metaphors) Providing translators with contextual information Chunking information

Dangers of Localization

Localization can backfire if one tries to group different cultures as one In extreme cases, can lead to myth and

stereotyping

It can also get expensive to translate documents into many types of languages

It is important to be able to strike a balance between over generalizing an audience and becoming to specific when translating documents

Conclusion

It is important to teach cultural awareness and be aware of different methods to address it

These include internationalization or universalist approach, localization, and generalization

Knowing when to use each is important to the technical writer in our vast global market i.e Airport signs universalist approach vs. a specific product

geared to a particular group, localization

We certainly want to be able to communicate universally, but also be aware of the uniqueness of each individual

Questions?