Paper to online-the new profile of the technical communicator

Translation starts with a document in one language and ends with a document with the same meaning in another language. Technical communication entails designing and writing a document from scratch in one language. The answer to the question of “Which, of translation or writing, comes first?” seems relatively obvious – the document needs to be written before it can be translated. However, when looking at translation and technical communication as professions and examining how the professionals are trained, the answer is not quite as clear-cut. In the United States, translators and technical communicators have different qualifications, different skills – in particular different language skills – and have degrees in different fields. Only recently has there appeared a certain convergence between the professions. In Europe, and more specifically in France, the profession of technical communicator is quite recent, as are the corresponding academic programs. Many technical communicators came to the profession from translation. The convergence therefore is perceived as being far greater. The purpose of this paper is to launch a comparative study of the competences or skills of translators and technical communicators, based on the existing European Master’s in Translation (EMT) list of competences for translators. The goal of this study would be to define the core skills for technical communicators, to examine to what extent they overlap with the competences of translators and ultimately, to establish a referential for training programs in technical communication.

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Why are Today's Technical Descriptions Still “A Journey through the Unknown?”

Journal of Technical Writing and Communication ◽

10.2190/emcg-vxv0-dqcq-xjyb ◽

1982 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 161-166 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Sigmund Tveito

Keyword(s):

Technical Communicator ◽

The Relationship ◽

And Training ◽

Development Engineer

In order to repair defective equipment in the shortest possible time, the repairman needs functional service manuals. These manuals are made by the technical communicator, who gets his “input” from the development engineer. Three different people, with different background and training. This article concentrates upon the relationship between the engineer and the communicator. How can they help each other in order to obtain a useful manual?

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The Technical Communicator as (Post-Postmodern) Discourse Worker

Journal of Business and Technical Communication ◽

10.1177/1050651916667531 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 31 (1) ◽

pp. 3-29 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Greg Wilson ◽

Rachel Wolford

Keyword(s):

Critical Theory ◽

20Th Century ◽

Economic Conditions ◽

Late 20Th Century ◽

Postmodern Theory ◽

Puzzle Piece ◽

Technical Communicators ◽

Technical Communicator

This article reexamines Henry’s 2006 proposal for training technical communicators as “discourse workers,” as a solution within a certain postmodern problematic, in which changing economic conditions in the late 1990s and early 2000s made workers vulnerable to exploitation, outsourcing, and layoffs. Henry used postmodern and critical theory to describe discourse as a medium of leverage for enabling workers to define new workplace agencies. Even though Henry’s discourse worker is an appealing concept buttressed by solid theory, it did not become a widely implemented model for pedagogy or workplace practice. To reexamine Henry’s concept, the authors exchange late 20th-century postmodern theory for the more recent articulation of “post-postmodern” theory proposed by Nealon and explore the implications of swapping out the postmodern puzzle piece for a post-postmodern puzzle piece in Henry’s formulation of the discourse worker.

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George Washington Carver and the Art of Technical Communication

Journal of Technical Writing and Communication ◽

10.2190/v4kk-uqkx-qht8-01qx ◽

1979 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. 217-225 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Stephen Gresham

Keyword(s):

Technical Communication ◽

Agricultural Experiment Station ◽

George Washington ◽

Tuskegee Institute ◽

Experiment Station ◽

Technical Communicator ◽

Agricultural Experiment

The achievements of great men like George Washington Carver are often perpetuated by myth; but more often they are simply overshadowed by the stature of the man himself. Such is the case with Carver. Thus, this article seeks to identify Carver's achievements as a technical communicator through a brief analysis of some of the technical bulletins he wrote while directing the Agricultural Experiment Station at Tuskegee Institute.

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