Controlled Language 4-99 (December 1999) by Ron Blicq

In a 22nd October 1999 article in Canada's newspaper The National Post, Canadian author Peter C. Newman describes how, in today's increasingly global marketplace, English has become the predominant language of commerce.1 He writes:

"Although English is the mother tongue of 380 billion people, 1.6 billion (i.e. 1.6 thousand million) have learned to speak it - that's almost one-third of the world's population."

He demonstrates how ministers of state who speak different languages often choose English as the most convenient language of communication. He cites the 11-nation European Central Bank in Frankfurt as a typical organization that works only in English. And he notes that many of the journals published by respected international organizations such as the Pasteur Institute also are published in English. TC-Forum is another example.

A driving force behind this quiet revolution, Newman claims, is the Internet: "Recent surveys show that 80% of the wired world's Web entries - and there will be a billion sites on stream by the end of this year - are in English. That's profoundly significant, because the Internet is the favoured medium of the young and the upwardly mobile. They thus require a working knowledge of English, wherever they live."

 

Impact on Technical Writers

There are significant implications for us, as technical writers of English-language documents destined for international use. The primary question is: which dictionary should we choose as our standard for spelling? Should we rely on a British dictionary that declares favour, theatre, and manoeuvre are the correct spelling, or should we rely on an American dictionary that recommends favor, theater, and maneuver? Table 1 contains a representative list of spelling variants between Great Britain and the US.

 

Typical Variations Between British and US Spelling

Table 1

Establishing a standard for spelling in English-language technical documentation is going to be difficult. But the choices go far beyond spelling; we have to decide whether to use certain words that are entrenched differently in the language on both sides of the Atlantic. In the world of the automobile, for example, windscreen and petrol are British whereas windshield and gasoline are American. (For years, Americans have considered Britain's use of bonnet and boot for what Americans refer to as the hood and trunk as decidedly quaint.) And the quest will go much further, for there are also variations in spelling and local expressions in countries such as Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. Table 2 contains a representative list of words used differently in each country.

 

Some Words and Expressions Used Differently in Britain and the US

Table 2

 

What Is Done in Canada?

At first glance, the Canadian experience parallels the situation I have just been describing and so should provide us with a model to follow. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

Historically, up to about 1950 most Canadian immigrants came from Europe, with a strong British component. So in Canada's early years the British spelling style was much more predominant.

However, because most Canadians live within 100 kilometres of the Canada-US border, there has been a strong influence to adopt the American spelling style. This has been accentuated by American television and the incursion into Canada of US products and learning materials.

Consequently there is a wide disparity among Canadians, some favoring the 'modern' American spelling style and others favouring the historically well-established British style. Even Canadian dictionaries have different points of view, depending on whether the dictionary has been developed by a principally US publisher or British publisher. (There are marked differences, for example, between the Funk and Wagnalls Canadian dictionary and the new Canadian Oxford University Press dictionary.)

 

What Guidelines Are Used for TC-Forum?

For TC-Forum, two years ago your editors made a two-part decision:

• For articles, such as this one, to use the British style.
• For letters to the editor, to retain the spelling style predominant in the country of the writer.

Yet we would have felt much more comfortable if there had been an international standard to guide us.

 

Proposed Plan to Establish an International Standard

At Forum 2000 I will be inviting Technical Communicators attending an Idea Market to discuss whether there is a need to establish a standard for spelling and word choice in English-language international technical documentation.

Each participant will be asked to complete the questionnaire. I will then assemble the answers into a database that I can use to write a report to the INTECOM executive recommending that we either embark on a more intensive research project or shelve the idea (that is, continue as we are currently doing).

To obtain as broad a range of responses as possible, I am asking you, as a reader of TC-Forum, also to complete the questionnaire and submit it to me electronically or by surface mail (the questionnaire can be answered very quickly, as shown at the foot of the questionnaire at the end of this article).

 

Impact on My Writing

The results of the study could have a significant effect on future revisions to two of my textbooks: Technically-Write!2 and Communicating at Work3. At the end of each book there is a glossary that identifies the correct spelling and usage of numerous words and expressions.

In the American versions of the books the recommendations are definitive. But in the Canadian versions the glossaries show the alternative British and American spellings and only suggest which the reader should use.

My co-author, Lisa Moretto, and I would welcome INTECOM establishing a standard, so that we could write definitive recommendations in future issues of our Canadian books!

 

References

1. Peter C. Newman, "Armed with English in the new millennium", in The National Post, 2 October 1999.
2. Ron Blicq and Lisa Moretto, Technically-Write! 5th edition, Prentice-Hall Canada, 1998 (in US: Prentice-Hall, 1999).
3. Ron Blicq, Communicating at Work 2nd edition, Prentice-Hall Canada, 1997.

 

Spelling Standards Questionaire

Your answers to these questions will help the INTECOM delegates decide whether INTECOM should research and possibly establish standards for international English-language technical documentation.

• Should INTECOM be researching spelling and word choice, and then establishing standards?
• If so, should the standards be based on British or American practices?
• In which of the following geographical regions to you work and write?
  1. Central Europe, including France and Italy
  2. Scandinavia
  3. Great Britain
  4. Mediterranean (North Africa, Egypt, Israel, etc)
  5. India/Pakistan
  6. Asia
  7. Australia/New Zealand
  8. USA
  9. Canada
  10. South America
  11. Russia/Ukraine
  12. Other: ______________
• Which way do you think the following words should be spelled or used:
  1. grey or gray?
  2. sulphur or sulfur?
  3. spelled or spelt?
  4. caulk or calk?
  5. recognise or recognize?

Please send your answers to me in one of the following ways:

• By email to rgi_ron@compuserve.com
• By fax to +1-204-488-7294
• By mail to 569 Oxford St, Winnipeg MB, R3M 3J2 Canada

Your answers can be quite short, like this:

• Yes
• British
• France
• a. grey
  b. sulfur
• etc

"transline Deutschland - Übersetzungsdienst für technische Übersetzung"