| Lost in Translation. | | | | is the minefield of "register". My dictionary defines |
| Websites, reports, business proposals - all can be | | | | this as " a form of a language associated with a |
| full of good information, clear argument and | | | | particular social situation or subject matter". |
| inspiring design. And all can fail totally in their basic | | | | Whether you are writing a technical paper or a |
| purpose if their language is faulty in some way. | | | | sales brochure, if you get the register wrong your |
| That's because we automatically devalue the | | | | work is wasted. |
| work that went into a badly written piece, even if | | | | So here are three golden rules. First, don't assume |
| it's only the language that is at fault. A badly | | | | that if you speak English well you can write it |
| written piece makes us uneasy about product | | | | equally well. Secondly, write exactly what you |
| quality, customer service or a host of other | | | | want to say, in your native language. Thirdly, get |
| important features of the company concerned. | | | | a bilingual service to write your message in English. |
| Now- which language can you be most confident | | | | Please note that I'm not using the word |
| of writing well? Scarcely anyone in the world can | | | | "translation" here. The final message that appears |
| be totally confident in any but their mother | | | | on your website or in your brochure will almost |
| tongue. Indeed many of us find that even the | | | | certainly not be a direct translation of your original. |
| language of our childhood can present challenges | | | | It will be a new piece of creative writing. Your |
| from time to time. And the best writers tend to | | | | original will be translated into an English draft, and |
| be those who recognise the subtle mistakes they | | | | this will be used as a reference for a new English |
| are capable of making, and automatically | | | | text |
| proof-check for them. | | | | To close, here's a thought about the Internet. It's |
| Probably fewer than one in a million of the world's | | | | less formal than the world of print. So you can't |
| population can write flawlessly in a language other | | | | just put your brochure on the web; you do have |
| than their mother tongue. And writing English, the | | | | to produce something new. It's quick and easy to |
| de facto international language, is difficult. Especially | | | | do this. But any mistake may potentially influence |
| if you were not brought up speaking it, and were | | | | thousands of potential customers. So it's even |
| not educated to a high level in it, and have not | | | | more important to make sure that whatever you |
| read hundreds of books and thousands of | | | | publish on the Internet is correct. |
| newspapers written in English. | | | | Here's a link to a group of English and Indonesian |
| Pitfalls are legion. Vocabulary and grammar, of | | | | teachers based in Jakarta who can make sure |
| course. Also punctuation, which is a real problem | | | | that your brochures, reports, proposals and |
| for many native English speakers. And then there | | | | websites are doing the job you want them to do. |