0765615711 - M.E.

Sharpe - The Elements Of International English Style~ A Guide To Writing Correspondence, Reports, Technical Documents, and Internet Pages for a Global Audience - (2005)

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 Ogdens 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
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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
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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 Receivers Format 111 Tactic 51: Emulate the Receivers Opening Paragraph and Customary Closing 115 Tactic 52: Emulate the Receivers Content Restrictions 116

What about E-mail? 118 Adapting E-mail for International Recipients 119
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Discussion Questions 122 Sources and Resources 123 7. Principles of Cultural Adaptation 124 Was der Bauer nicht kennt . . . 124 Tactic 53: Be Extremely Polite and Formal 127 Tactic 54: Assess Other Cultures without Stereotyping 129 Tactic 55: Localize Radically 131 Tactic 56: Define Your Graphics Strategy 133 Tactic 57: Consider Halls Context Continuum 133 Issues of Philosophy and Hypernorms 135 Discussion Questions 139 Sources and Resources 140 Appendixes 1. Projects for Students of International English 141 2. Sentences that Need Editing 143 3. Instructional/Technical Passages that Overburden the Reader 145 4 A Portfolio of Bad News Letters 149 5. An Internationalized Website Checklist 153