World English: Communicating with International Audiences

English is now firmly established as the lingua franca of the global economy. As native English speakers interact more with non-native speakers in this globalized context, a framework called World English can help both parties understand each other better.

Perlman, Alan M. Communication World Bulletin (2005). Articles>Writing>International

World English: How to Communicate with an International Audience

World English is the result of applying a set of writing and editing principles to create a simplified, highly-intelligible international dialect. The principle is similar to that of Basic English, which was developed by linguists during World War II. While Basic English had only 800 words, you could really say a lot of things with it. The number of situations where misinterpretation can take place is practically infinite. But a fairly small number of writing and editing principles will cover a very large number of cases and considerably reduce the burden on the non-native reader and listener.

Perlman, Alan M. Communication World Bulletin (2005). Articles>Writing>International>Language

The World Grows Small: Open Standards for the Global Web

We know that crafting a more accessible website relies on understanding and using web standards including (X)HTML and CSS. It's interesting to see how the same practices relate directly to the design and development of internationalized sites.

Holzschlag, Molly E. List Apart, A (2006). Design>Web Design>International>Standards

World Usability Day in Boston

Boston's little-known secret is that regardless of how renowned its citizens are for their literacy and tech savvy, we find consumer electronics just as hard to use as everyone else. The World Usability Day planning committee knew that as we raised awareness of usability and its related fields.

Blostein, Judy. Usability Professionals Association (2005). Articles>Usability>International

A Worldwide Phenomenon  

The movement toward a global standard definition for our profession will be a long process, but it is already underway. STC is playing an important role in ensuring that the process benefits its members and contributes to the competitiveness of the firms that employ them.

Burton, Susan. Intercom (2007). Articles>TC>Professionalism>International

Writing Across the Curriculum in International Contexts: An Introduction    

As is the case with the first-year composition class, we tend to think of WAC programs as an exclusively U.S. phenomenon, or at least a North American phenomenon.

McLeod, Susan H. LLAD (2001). Articles>Education>Writing Across the Curriculum>International

Writing for a Global Audience? Be Careful How You Say It

Basic miscommunication can litter the path to understanding—and worse. You may recall that a few years ago the Mars Climate Orbiter failed to achieve the correct altitude for its orbit of Mars, and was destroyed by atmospheric pressure—all due to a little misunderstanding. It seems that some crucial data had been calculated in English units, while the navigation team had expected to receive metric units and used the data that way.

Canavor, Natalie and Claire Meirowitz. Communication World Bulletin (2006). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing>International

Writing to a Global Audience  

Writers and communicators responsible for conveying information to global audiences must take extreme care when developing communiqués. To ensure that messages are conveyed in a sensitive fashion, all communicators and writers must be aware of the cultural and social contexts in which information is received. Thus, it is important that writers and communicators take appropriate steps to fully understand the standards and conventions used by a particular audience outside the United States, and become familiar with the societal, cultural and belief systems of a target group before the distribution of communication materials.

Erwin, Gary J. STC Proceedings (2001). Articles>Writing>International

Your Clients are Going Global: Can You Keep Up?

As more companies conduct business globally, their printing needs often involve more foreign language translation and typesetting. Being able to meet such growing needs may give your business a major competitive advantage. So, have you considered adding translation and typesetting to your printing offerings? The one-stop convenience may be a major draw for businesses that have frequent dealings overseas. They will most likely choose a printer that can handle everything rather than dividing the work up for several printers to handle. So what do you need to do to get started?

WTB Language Group (2004). Careers>Consulting>Publishing>International

Перспективи за Постигане на Универсална Езикова Комуникация

В съвременната епоха съществува неутолима потребност от взаимоопознаване и сътрудничество. А едно от най-сериозните препятствия за пълноценната глобална комуникация на основата на информационните технологии е езиковата бариера. В статията се набелязват от една страна пътищата, по които се осъществява сближаване между езиците – чрез подезиците на науката и технологиите и чрез социолектите на различните субкултури, носители на универсализираната масова култура. От друга страна - посочват се мерките, взети за разрешаване на проблема – и технически, и социални. Правят се изводи по повод уловената от нас тенденция към оформяне на универсален език и езици-регионални медиатори. Използването от всеки човек на повече езици, съобразени със социалните, професионалните и националните територии, в които той се движи, многократно повишават неговата комуникабилност и я правят независима от други външни фактори – технология, решаваща речеви и ортографически трудности, наличие на преводач и т.н. Тогава, изборът да превключи на определен език зависи единствено от комуникативната ситуация. Би- и полилингвизмът се сочат като най-естественото и тотално разрешение на проблема за уникалната езикова комуникация днес, при неимоверното увеличаване на преките и непреките езикови контакти.

Kirova, Ludmilla. Liternet (2001). (Bulgarian) Articles>Language>International

Localizing the Internet Beyond Communities and Networks    

As the numbers of internet users worldwide continue to grow, the internet is becoming `more local'. This article addresses the epistemological challenge posed by this global process of internet localization by examining some of the conceptual tools at the disposal of internet researchers. It argues that progress has been hampered by an overdependence on the problematic notions of community and network whose paradigmatic status has yet to be questioned by internet scholars. The article seeks to broaden the conceptual space of internet localization studies through a ground-up conceptualization exercise that draws inspiration from the field theories of both Pierre Bourdieu and the Manchester School of Anthropology, and is based on recent fieldwork in suburban Malaysia. This exploration demonstrates that a more nuanced understanding of the plural forms that residential sociality can take is needed in order to move beyond existing binaries such as `network sociality' versus `community sociality'.

Postill, John. New Media and Society (2008). Articles>Web Design>Localization>International

The Internet's Impact on International Knowledge    

With data from a national telephone survey, the current study examines the comparative and synergistic influence of the internet on international knowledge. Independent and interactive media effects are considered in terms of four medium-specific measures of international news attention. Internet news attention had the most positive effect on international knowledge of any of the news measures. In terms of the other three news attention measures, the effects of newspapers and cable TV were positive, while that of network TV was non-significant. In addition, the interaction of internet news attention and network TV news attention positively predicted international knowledge. In contrast, the interaction of newspaper news attention and network TV news attention negatively predicted international knowledge. These findings indicate the positive comparative and synergistic influence that the internet can have on international knowledge development in the United States.

Beaudoin, Christopher E. New Media and Society (2008). Articles>Knowledge Management>Publishing>International

Transforming Taiwan Aboriginal Cultural Features into Modern Product Design: A Case Study of a Cross-Cultural Product Design Model

With their beautiful and primitive visual arts and crafts, Taiwan’s aboriginal cultures offer great potential for enhancing design value and becoming recognized in the global market. Evidence shows very high prospects for Taiwan’s local cultures to become crucial cultural elements in future design applications. The purpose of this paper is to explore the meaning of cultural objects from Taiwan’s aboriginal cultures and to extract their cultural features. The paper attempts to illustrate how, by enhancing the original meaning and images of these cultural features and by taking advantage of new production technologies, they can be transformed into modern products that meet the needs of the contemporary consumer market.

Lin, Rung-Tai. uiGarden (2008). Articles>User Interface>International

Why You Should Care About the New ISO User Documentation Standard  

Why should technical communicators be interested in ISO's user documentation standard? Hayhoe discusses the various advantages of this new systems and software engineering standard, and makes an argument for how the profession can gain by adhering to it.

Hayhoe, George F. Intercom (2008). Articles>Documentation>Standards>International

Going Global the Centralized Way

Creating a user interface that is consistent across a website isn't easy. But managers of sites that serve multilingual, multinational users are going to have to rise to the task, however daunting it may be.

Rosenfeld, Louis. CIO Magazine (2000). Articles>Web Design>International>Localization

Us vs. Them - Vocabulary Makes a Difference

Vocabulary used when talking about intranets reveals a lot about an organisation's model and approach to becoming more international, or global. Which raises the question: what's the difference between global and international? I've included a snapshot of a slide on this point which I use in workshops.

NetStrategy-JMC (2006). Articles>Web Design>Intranets>International

Conducting International Usability

User testing is a valuable tool, but how does one conduct user tests internationally? This essay draws from my experience leading an international user testing project, and I hope you can learn from my mistakes and successes.

Merholtz, Peter. Adaptive Path (2003). Articles>Usability>Testing>International

Language is Critical to Usability

Did you catch usability guru and world traveler Jakob Nielsen's latest Alertbox, "American English vs. British English for Web Content?" It's a good reminder that language and the use of language to communicate is not always as easy as we may think, especially if we are writing (or conducting usability evaluations) for clients in other countries.

Tomlin, Craig. Useful Usability (2008). Articles>Usability>Writing>International

American English vs. British English for Web Content

Users pay attention to details in a site's writing style, and they'll notice if you use the wrong variant of the English language.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2008). Articles>Usability>Writing>International

Avoid Culturally Specific References

One of the tenets of good technical communication is to avoid culturally specific references, especially if your material is to be translated into other languages. But what’s a culturally specific reference? In simple terms, it’s a word or phrase that has meaning for members of a cultural group, but has limited meaning, no meaning, or some other meaning for people outside that group.

CyberText Consulting (2009). Articles>Writing>International>Technical Writing

Writing Global English

Unfortunately, there seems to be no such thing as simplicity-checking software - even remotely like the description above. Audience Dialogue tried to persuade a few software developers to make their fortunes by writing this software, but with no success so far. In the meantime, there are a few widely available tools to use.

Audience Dialogue (2007). Articles>Language>Minimalism>International

Navigating the International Virtual Workplace: Strategies for Smooth Sailing in Global Communication    

Focusing mainly on cultural factors, linguistic factors, technical factors, and legal factors, Thakur discusses best practices for becoming globally savvy in an increasingly globalized work environment.

Thakur, Priti. Intercom (2009). Articles>Workplace>International

South Korea Beckons: Global Awareness and Cultural Sensitivity Strategies for Western Technical Communicators    

As an Indian living in South Korea for the past few years, Rahul Prabhakar has had the opportunity to gain a unique perspective of global awareness and cultural sensitivity. In his article, he details the positive and negative aspects of living and working amidst a different culture.

Prabhakar, Rahul. Intercom (2009). Articles>TC>International>East Asia

Cultural Contexts in Technical Communication:    

Explores how and why the German and Chinese cultures differ in the presentation and perception of technical information. Presents a theoretical framework for technical communication across different cultures. Provides guidelines to technical communicators in Sino-German technical communication and services.

Wang, Yiqin and Dan Wang. Technical Communication Online (2009). Articles>TC>Cultural Theory>International

A Map Of Social (Network) Dominance

Even on the Web, world dominance must be achieved one country at a time. While Facebook has long been the largest social network in the world, and should soon pass MySpace in the U.S., it is not the largest social network in every country.

Schonfeld, Erick. TechCrunch (2009). Articles>User Centered Design>Social Networking>International