Re: Tech. writing as parables? Japanese style

Subject: Re: Tech. writing as parables? Japanese style
From: Jim Bauman <James -dot- Bauman -at- SAFETY-KLEEN -dot- COM>
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 1997 11:04:01 -0500

From: James Bauman on 08/07/97 11:04 AM


To: TECHWR-L @ LISTSERV.OKSTATE.EDU
cc:
Subject: Re: Tech. writing as parables? Japanese style

Geoff Hart wrote: ..."I've
always read that Japanese technical style differs
dramatically from English style: English cuts right to the
chase and states things explicitly, whereas Japanese
circles around the issue, never confronts it directly, but
nonetheless leads you to the correct place... or so "they"
say. (Tie-in: that sounds a bit like parables to me.) Can
anyone who works in Japan confirm this, or elaborate (e.g.,
provide an example)?"

To see an interesting letter to the editor on this topic, you can read
Frank Duffy's in the June,1997, STC INTERCOM magazine
on page 3. Frank is a member of the Tokyo chapter.

One snippet states, "...one might assume that Japanese-language technical
documents are concise, minimal, of the essence.
Far from it."

Jim

mailto:jbauman -at- safety-kleen -dot- com

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