The Elements Of International English Style: A Guide To Writing Correspondence, Reports, Technical Documents, and Internet Pages for a Global Audience

182 Pages·2005·0.9 MB·English

by  Edmond H. Weiss

The Elements of
INTERNATIONAL
ENGLISH
Style
The Elements of
INTERNATIONAL
ENGLISH
Style
A GUIDE TO WRITING
CORRESPONDENCE, REPORTS,
TECHNICAL DOCUMENTS,
and INTERNET PAGES
FOR A GLOBAL AUDIENCE
EDMOND H. WEISS
M.E.Sharpe
Armonk, New York
London, England
Copyright © 2005 by M.E. Sharpe, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form
without written permission from the publisher, M.E. Sharpe, Inc.,
80 Business Park Drive, Armonk, New York 10504.
All brand names and product names used in this book are trade names,
services marks, trademarks, or registered trademarks of their respective owners,
and have been appropriately capitalized. M.E. Sharpe, Inc., is not
associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Weiss, Edmond H.
The elements of international English style : a guide to writing English correspon-
dence, reports, technical documents, and internet pages for a global audience / by Edmond
H. Weiss.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7656-1571-1 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. English language—Style—Handbooks, manuscripts, etc. 2. Communication,
International—Handbooks, manuals, etc. 3. English language—Textbooks for foreign
speakers. 4. Web sites—Design—Handbooks, manuals, etc. 5. Technical writing—
Handbooks, manuals, etc. 6. Report writing—Handbooks, manuals, etc. 7. Letter
writing—Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. Title.
PE1421.W39 2005
808’.042—dc22 2004021680
Printed in the United States of America
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Sciences
Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials,
ANSI Z 39.48-1984.
~
BM (c) 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For My Daughter, Meredith
An appropriate style will adapt itself
to the emotions of the hearers . . .
—Aristotle
Whether you are developing information for
non-native speakers of English or information that
a vendor is going to translate, you must write
in an international style that transcends culture.
—Marlana Coe
Contents
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xvii
1. The Language of Global Business Is International
English 3
A Riddle 3
What Is International English Style? 4
The Two Strategies: Culture-Free, Culture-Fair 11
Discussion Questions 13
Sources and Resources 14
2. Principles of Simplicity 15
Meaning and Risk 15
Ogden’s Basic English 17
Tactic 1: Adopt a Locally Invented, Controlled English 18
Tactic 2: Adopt a Reduced Dictionary 19
Tactic 3: Adopt an Industry-Sanctioned Controlled English 19
Tactic 4: Choose Words with One or Few Meanings 21
Tactic 5: Avoid Verbs with Two or Three Words in Them
(Phrasal Verbs) 24
Tactic 6: Use the Simplest Verb Forms 25
Tactic 7: Define Many Terms in a Glossary 26
Tactic 8: Choose Words that Are Pronounceable 28
Tactic 9: Do not Coin Words that Are not Needed 29
vii
viii
Tactic 10: Avoid Redundant and Wordy Expressions
for Time and Place 30
Tactic 11: Avoid Unhelpful Redundancies 32
Tactic 12: Avoid Nominalizations 33
Discussion Questions 36
Sources and Resources 36
3. Principles of Clarity 38
The Problem: Clear Only If Known 38
Tactic 13: Be Careful of Loosely Connected Words and
Phrases 40
Tactic 14: Be Aware of Frequently Misplaced Descriptive
Words 42
Tactic 15: Do not Confuse Frequently Confused Terms 43
Tactic 16: Form Words in Standard Ways 45
Tactic 17: Use Standard Spellings 46
Tactic 18: Avoid Converting Nouns into Verbs 46
Tactic 19: Be Aware of the Several Englishes 47
Tactic 20: Be Careful with Money and Dates 48
Tactic 21: Avoid Illogical or Arbitrary Idioms 48
Tactic 22: Avoid Words that Can Have Opposite Meanings 50
Tactic 23: Avoid Abbreviations, Contractions, and Acronyms 51
Tactic 24: Avoid Figurative Language in General 51
Tactic 25: Avoid Literary and Cultural Allusions 52
Tactic 26: Avoid Military and Sports Vocabulary 53
Tactic 27: Avoid Technical Terms Used with Nontechnical
Meanings 55
Tactic 28: Avoid Business Jargon and Fashionable Business
Terms 56
Tactic 29: Avoid Regionalisms and Slang 57
Tactic 30: Avoid Sarcasm or Irony 58
Tactic 31: Avoid Humor and Wordplay 59
Tactic 32: Suit Your English Idiom to the Local Language 60
Discussion Questions 61
Sources and Resources 62
4. Reducing Burdens 63
Reading and Stress 63
Tactic 33: Prefer Shorter Sentences 65
ix
Tactic 34: Prefer Simple Sentences to Compound Sentences 66
Tactic 35: Prefer Simple Sentences to Complex Sentences 67
Tactic 36: Retain Certain Optional Words 68
Punctuation and International English 69
Tactic 37: Use Commas Aggressively 72
Tactic 38: Use Hyphens Aggressively 73
Tactic 39: Avoid Quotation Marks 75
The Burdensome Page 77
Tactic 40: Do not Justify Text, but Do not Break Words
at the Ends of Lines 78
Tactic 41: Create a Readable, Accessible Page 80
Tactic 42: Reduce GOTOs 84
Tactic 43: Break Apart Long Paragraphs 85
Tactic 44: Convert Some Paragraphs into Lists 86
Tactic 45: Convert Some Paragraphs into Tables 87
Tactic 46: Convert Some Paragraphs into Playscripts 87
Tactic 47: Convert Some Paragraphs into Decision Tables 88
Tactic 48: Convert Some Paragraphs into Logic Diagrams 89
Reducing Burdens as an Ethical Objective 90
Discussion Questions 90
Sources and Resources 91
5. Writing for Translation 93
Limits on Translation 93
Translation Is a Business Expense 95
Preparing a Manuscript for Translation 97
Controlled Language and the Future of Translation 99
Discussion Questions 103
Sources and Resources 104
6. Principles of Correspondence 105
Business Letters: An Exercise in Style 105
Tactic 49: Eliminate Western Letter Lingo and Formats 107
Tactic 50: Adopt the Receiver’s Format 111
Tactic 51: Emulate the Receiver’s Opening Paragraph and
Customary Closing 115
Tactic 52: Emulate the Receiver’s Content Restrictions 116
What about E-mail? 118
Adapting E-mail for International Recipients 119