Metro Phoenix Technical Communicators

Presented by: Dr. Erika Konrad
Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics
Northern Arizona University

“The equivalence check is checked equivalency in each block unit and whole chip level. And in case of the chip whole level, each phase UPF is attached RTL or Netlist. Therefore, the equivalence including UPF is checked.”
--Excerpt from a document submitted to a technical writer for editing

The trend toward globalization has had a profound impact on how we document technical products. Tech writers now engage regularly with engineers from around the world. These highly-skilled engineers sometimes have difficulties rendering technical concepts into well-written English sentences. As a result, native English-speaking technical writers are faced with the task of deciphering non-native grammatical structures and ambiguous vocabulary in order to re-write a sentence.

At another level, the number of technical workers fluent in a variety of English other than American English or British English is expanding rapidly. In India, for example, approximately 160 million people speak their own variety of English fluently—more than twice the population of England itself and nearly half the population of the United States. Given these circumstances, who owns Standard English? How does this phenomenon affect technical and professional writers?

In the first segment of this two-part seminar, Dr. Konrad leads us in an interactive session in which we analyze and edit examples of seemingly incomprehensible sentences written by learners of English. Next, Dr. Konrad will interview technical writer and Arizona STC President, Lou Kummerer, to discover how he deconstructed those sentences in order to understand what the writer was trying to say.

In the second segment, Dr. Konrad discusses various forms of English that are emerging around the world and how this trend affects how professional and technical writers make decisions about grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation. We will look at some World English workplace writing examples together and make decisions about how or whether to edit them.

We're back in the East Valley for April. Come join us.

Last spring fling before the summer heat sets in. Get mellow at our May happy hour as we return to the Mellow Mushroom in Mesa. Join us for some good food and great conversations.