scholarly journals Translation and Technical Communication: Chicken or Egg?

2011 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 752-768 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Minacori ◽  
Lucy Veisblat
Keyword(s):  
Technical Communication ◽  
Training Programs ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
The United States ◽  
Academic Programs ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
The Core ◽  
Core Skills ◽  
Technical Communicators ◽  
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.

Technical communication or information design

2003 ◽  
Vol 11 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 185-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Reynolds
Keyword(s):  
Product Information ◽  
Core Competencies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Information Design ◽  
Technical Communicators ◽  
Technical Communicator ◽  
Job Title ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Best Fit ◽  
Ownership Of Information

The impact of technological and scientific innovations combined with consumer demands for clear, usable product information have changed the core competencies that technical communicators now need. In short, the job title, ‘technical communicator’ does not reflect what contemporary practitioners do. Despite the debate over the various meanings and ‘ownership’ of information design, the title, ‘information designer,’ appears to be the ‘best fit’ to describe the new profile of technical communicators. A study of contemporary New Zealand technical communicators reveals a shift similar to that of practitioners in the United States to redefine their roles as information designers.

scholarly journals “Picturing” Xenophobia: Visual Framing of Masks During COVID-19 and Its Implications for Advocacy in Technical Communication

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-56
Author(s):  
Tatiana Batova
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Technical Communication ◽  
The United States ◽  
Popular Press ◽  
Educational Materials ◽  
Crisis Situation ◽  
Asian Descent ◽  
Visual Framing ◽  
Technical Communicators

This article reviews images of people of Asian descent wearing masks in popular press articles discussing mask shortages and argues that visual framing had the potential of fueling racial antagonism during the initial months of COVID-19’s spread across the United States. Technical communicators need to include globalized perspectives in educational materials about masks as an advocacy strategy that can help communities and individuals to navigate the crisis situation and better protect themselves and those around them.

Toward Technical Authorship

1994 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 449-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jim Henry
Keyword(s):  
Technical Communication ◽  
Practitioner Research ◽  
Recent Theory ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
Technical Communicators ◽  
Technical Communicator

Recent theory views technical communication not as a “transmission” of a message from sender to receiver but as a complex process involving an articulation of meanings, in which the technical communicator serves as a mediator. Ethnographies composed by practicing technical communicators demonstrate ways in which this mediation takes place. As such, the mediation casts the work of technical communicators in new light, allowing us to understand their work as “authorship.” This article draws upon practitioner research to present some of the facets of such authorship.

Professional Personality of the Technical Communicator

1972 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 269-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph N. Shore
Keyword(s):  
Technical Communication ◽  
Technical Writing ◽  
Technical Communicators ◽  
Technical Communicator ◽  
Engineering Enterprise

The rhetorical and syntactic interfaces between technical communicators and readers are being affected by cost-related pressures. The resulting modification of the technical communicator's role will benefit or harm engineering and technical communication according to the developing understanding of the technical communicator. In business and in education the changing professional rationale should consider both the nature of the work and the professional personality of the technical communicator. This is because the success of an engineering enterprise depends on the cooperation and interaction of administrators, engineers, and technical communicators, and because those who are being channeled into technical writing and illustrating are being increasingly selected by educators. As the bridge between the engineer and the user, the professional personality of the technical communicator fulfills two requirements, the technical and the artistic; technical communicators typically remain suspended between technology and art.

The Lingua Franca Mandate

2019 ◽  
pp. 13-26
Author(s):  
Tsedal Neeley
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
The United States ◽  
Work Process ◽  
Marketing Manager ◽  
Work Requirements ◽  
Daily Work ◽  
The Core ◽  
English Speaking

This chapter sets the stage with the dramatic announcement by Hiroshi Mikitani, CEO of Rakuten, informing his 10,000 employees, of which over 7,100 are Japanese nationals, that from that day forward they would need to speak English in the workplace. In two years, they would be required to clear a proficiency test or risk demotion. This chapter introduces three employees who represent the categories that make up the core of the book. The first is Kenji, a Japanese engineer gripped by shock and fear that his years of hard work with the company will count for naught, who then receives the technical and emotional support to practice new English language skills. Next is Robert, a native English-speaking marketing manager from the United States, thrilled that the company is switching to his native language and who anticipates an easy career advance only to have his sense of privilege curtailed by new, daily work requirements, followed by a trip to Japan where his cultural blinders begin to loosen. Finally, there is the German IT technician, Inga, who is pleased by the announcement, who hopes it will streamline her work process—and learns that it does once she climbs the steep and often frustrating learning curve.

An Approach to Developing Communicative Competence in Scientific and Technical Communicators

1980 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 213-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
David R. Brandt ◽  
William G. Powers
Keyword(s):  
Information Management ◽  
Technical Communication ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Technical Information ◽  
Communication Competence ◽  
Testing Program ◽  
Scientific And Technical Information ◽  
Technical Communicators ◽  
Technical Communicator ◽  
Potential Benefits

The management of information has become one of the central competencies needed in a technological society. The development of systems for the storage, retrieval, editing, packaging, dessemination, and utilization of scientific and technical information is especially needed. Just as crucial, however, is the necessity to train individuals who can assume information management and “linkage” roles. The scientific and technical communicator is one such individual. This paper attempts to explicate the concept of technical communication competence and demonstrate the potential utility of its operational counterpart in the training of students in scientific and technical communication. The potential benefits of implementing a technical communication competence testing program in scientific and technical communication curricula are explored, both for students and for educators and professionals.

How to bridge the gap between translators and technical communicators?

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-151
Author(s):  
Birgitta Meex ◽  
Daniela Straub
Keyword(s):  
Technical Communication ◽  
Academic Programs ◽  
Mutual Understanding ◽  
Global Information ◽  
Source Language ◽  
Technical Communicators ◽  
Information Products ◽  
Knowledge Competencies

In this contribution, it will be shown which tasks within the process of the development of information products in the source language have high relevance for later translation, localization, and interculturality. Put differently, while focusing on intercultural issues we will outline the knowledge areas to be shared by translators/localizers and technical communicators. The overarching aim is to foster the mutual understanding and learning of translators/localizers and technical communicators, hence facilitating the translation and localization workflow. It will further be shown which knowledge competencies are necessary to fulfill the typical tasks within the process of global information development and should therefore be part of academic programs in technical communication and its neighboring disciplines.

scholarly journals ADVICE FROM A PROFESSIONAL: The DNA of a Technical Communicator

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 64
Author(s):  
Mette Nyberg
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Technical Communication ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
The Internet ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Us ◽  
Technical Communicators ◽  
Technical Communicator

Unlike our peers in the US or UK, the technical communicators in the Danish/Scandinavian region have not had the luck of easy access to formal education within the field of technical communication. I claim that most of us technical communicators in the Danish/Scandinavian region do not have a formal technical communication degree. We have learned on the job – spiced with relevant courses (such as Information Mapping), and we have kept ourselves up to date by attending conferences, reading books and articles. For the past 10 years or so we have been blessed with the growing wealth of information on the Internet to keep us in the loop and the social media to exchange views and experiences.This article discusses the evolution of a technical communicator profile as known in the Danish/Scandinavian region and what it takes to become a good technical communicator. What is indeed the skill set of a good technical communicator? Is there at all a future for technical communicators - and is it a promising career path?

scholarly journals Impact of COVID-19 on an Academic Pain Fellowship Program

2020 ◽  
Vol 4S;23 (8;4S) ◽  
pp. S433-S437
Author(s):  
Anand Prem
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Medical Education ◽  
Training Programs ◽  
Free Fall ◽  
The United States ◽  
Fellowship Training ◽  
Academic Programs ◽  
Pain Clinic ◽  
Fellowship Program ◽  
Clinic Medical

Background: While the COVID-19 pandemic still rages on in the United States, leaving in its wake hundreds of thousands of infected patients, families shattered by the untimely death of their loved ones, an economy in free fall that hit all-time highs barely a few months ago, and a fearful citizenry unsure of what the future holds, the effect it has had on residency and fellowship training programs across the country may appear inconsequential to the general populace. However, if you are a graduating trainee confronted with this unusual set of circumstances, fear of the virus is not the only thing that is foremost in your mind. Methods: Literature review. Results: We discuss the unique challenges our pain fellowship program continues to deal with during this pandemic and particularly its impact on our fellows. It is entirely likely these concerns are mirrored in academic programs all over the United States. Limitations: A narrative review with paucity of literature. Key words: COVID-19, pain fellowship, interventional pain, graduating trainees, pain clinic, medical education during a pandemic

PRACTICAL BASE OF FORMULATING RETRAINING PROGRAMS ON ETHNIC MINORITY AFFAIRS KNOWLEDGE FOR CADRES, CIVIL SERVANTS UP TO 2030

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nguyen Van Dung ◽  
Giang Khac Binh
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Minority ◽  
Training Program ◽  
Political System ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Training Programs ◽  
Civil Servants ◽  
The Political ◽  
Target Groups ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Past

As developing programs is the core in fostering knowledge on ethnic work for cadres and civil servants under Decision No. 402/QD-TTg dated 14/3/2016 of the Prime Minister, it is urgent to build training program on ethnic minority affairs for 04 target groups in the political system from central to local by 2020 with a vision to 2030. The article highlighted basic issues of practical basis to design training program of ethnic minority affairs in the past years; suggested solutions to build the training programs in integration and globalization period.

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