Technical Communication and Cross-Cultural Miscommunication: User Culture and the Outsourcing of Writing

10.2190/cptc8 ◽  
2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Jeyaraj
Keyword(s):  
Technical Communication ◽  
Cross Cultural

An Online Approach to Teaching International Outsourcing in Technical Communication Classes

2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirk St. Amant
Keyword(s):  
Technical Communication ◽  
Production Method ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
International Outsourcing ◽  
New Production ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Online Interactions ◽  
Cross Cultural Communication ◽  
Approach To Teaching ◽  
Communication Practices

The growth of international online access has given rise to a new production method—international outsourcing—that has important implications for technical communication practices. Successful interactions within international outsourcing require individuals to understand how cultural factors could affect online interactions. Today's technical communication students therefore need to understand how factors of culture and media could affect the success with which they operate in international outsourcing activities. This article provides technical communication instructors with a series of Web-based exercises they can use to familiarize students with different aspects that can affect intercultural online interactions. It also provides a series of online resources students can use to enhance their understanding of cross-cultural communication in cyberspace.

scholarly journals On some persuasive strategies in technical discourse: Cross-cultural analysis of directives in English and Czech technical manuals

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 72-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renata Povolná
Keyword(s):  
Technical Communication ◽  
Cultural Analysis ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Persuasive Strategies ◽  
English Translations ◽  
Technical Discourse ◽  
Cross Cultural Analysis

Abstract The aim of the paper is to provide a cross-cultural analysis of selected linguistic realizations of persuasion in the language of technical communication represented by the genre of technical manuals (TM) and to identify the differences and similarities between the ways persuasion is expressed in this type of specialized discourse in English and Czech. More specifically, the paper attempts to discover which linguistic realizations of directives are applied to persuade the readers of the correctness of the instructions and the necessity of reading and following them. The results demonstrate that the main lexico-grammatical devices are quite similar in all the data. There are only minor frequency differences between English and Czech manuals, which are naturally reflected in their parallel Czech and English translations. The findings indicate that the quality of written instructions, including the degree of persuasiveness, is of great importance since it can influence prospective users of particular technical devices when making a choice about what to buy.

The sense of obligation is culturally modulated

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Bender
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Studies ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Cultural Group ◽  
Target Article ◽  
Sense Of Obligation ◽  
Cross Cultural Studies

Abstract Tomasello argues in the target article that, in generalizing the concrete obligations originating from interdependent collaboration to one's entire cultural group, humans become “ultra-cooperators.” But are all human populations cooperative in similar ways? Based on cross-cultural studies and my own fieldwork in Polynesia, I argue that cooperation varies along several dimensions, and that the underlying sense of obligation is culturally modulated.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document