In this webinar, Matt and Greg explain what Global English is and who it benefits, introduce you to some Global English techniques that you can implement immediately, and they examine a couple of case studies of companies who have implemented Global English—and have experienced dramatic results. This session is part of The Content Wrangler Virtual Summit on Advanced Technical Communication Practices, December 4-5, 2014. Hosted by BrightTALK. Sponsored by SDL, Astoria Software, Acrolinx, oXygen XML Editor, Logos, Scriptorium, and Oberon Technologies.

7. Clear and Simple:
Lower Your Content Costs
with Global English
Greg Adams
Matthew Kaul
December 5, 2014 AdamsKaul.com

8. What you’ll learn
AdamsKaul.com

9. What you’ll learn
I. What Global English is (and isn’t)
AdamsKaul.com

10. What you’ll learn
I. What Global English is (and isn’t)
II. Who Global English benefits
AdamsKaul.com

11. What you’ll learn
I. What Global English is (and isn’t)
II. Who Global English benefits
III. How Global English works
AdamsKaul.com

12. What you’ll learn
I. What Global English is (and isn’t)
II. Who Global English benefits
III. How Global English works
IV. How to apply some of the basic Global
English techniques
AdamsKaul.com

13. What you’ll learn
I. What Global English is (and isn’t)
II. Who Global English benefits
III. How Global English works
IV. How to apply some of the basic Global
English techniques
V. Where to find more information on
Global English
AdamsKaul.com

14. I. What Global English is
A form of written English that is optimized
for translation.
AdamsKaul.com

15. I. What Global English is
• It’s evidence-based
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16. I. What Global English is
• It’s evidence-based
• It eliminates ambiguity
AdamsKaul.com

17. I. What Global English is
• It’s evidence-based
• It eliminates ambiguity
• It eases translation
AdamsKaul.com

18. I. What Global English is
• It’s evidence-based
• It eliminates ambiguity
• It eases translation
• It benefits English-speaking audiences, too
AdamsKaul.com

19. I. What Global English isn’t
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20. I. What Global English isn’t
• It isn’t prescriptive grammar, which is
based on custom rather than evidence
AdamsKaul.com

21. I. What Global English isn’t
• It isn’t prescriptive grammar, which is
based on custom rather than evidence
• It isn’t dumbed-down English
AdamsKaul.com

22. I. What Global English isn’t
• It isn’t prescriptive grammar, which is
based on custom rather than evidence
• It isn’t dumbed-down English
• It isn’t an unnatural form of English
AdamsKaul.com

23. II. Who Global English benefits
• Translators
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24. II. Who Global English benefits
• Non-native English readers
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25. II. Who Global English benefits
• Non-English readers
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26. II. Who Global English benefits
• Native English readers
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27. II. Who Global English benefits
• Subject-matter experts (SMEs)
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28. II. Who Global English benefits
• Visually impaired readers
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29. II. Who Global English benefits
• Patients
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30. II. The bottom line:
• Translation costs go down
• Translation efficiency increases
• Translation usability increases
• Risk decreases
And the improved source English yields
benefits, too:
AdamsKaul.com

31. II. The bottom line:
The FDA:
“Poorly written documents, for any reason, can
impact or slow down the review process, and
may necessitate multiple requests for information and
clarification.”
– Quoted in: Wessling M, Seaman L. Strategies for working successfully with ESL authors.
Presented at: American Medical Writers Association 72nd Annual Conference; October 6,
2012; Sacramento, CA.
AdamsKaul.com

32. III. How Global English works
Global English techniques fall into one of
two categories:
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33. III. How Global English works
Global English techniques fall into one of
two categories:
1. Techniques that reduce ambiguity
AdamsKaul.com

34. III. How Global English works
Global English techniques fall into one of
two categories:
1. Techniques that reduce ambiguity
2. Techniques that make the translator’s job
easier
AdamsKaul.com

35. IV. Some Global English techniques
1. Write short sentences?
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36. 1. Write short sentences?
Try to limit your sentences to a length of
20-30 words, but…
• Don’t omit syntactic cues
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37. 1. Write short sentences?
Don’t omit syntactic cues: a, an, the, that.
• Block open port on catheter fitting.
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38. 1. Write short sentences?
Don’t omit syntactic cues: a, an, the, that.
• Block [the] open port on [the] catheter
fitting.
• Block open [the] port on [the] catheter
fitting.
AdamsKaul.com

39. 1. Write short sentences?
Don’t omit important information.
• Store in a loose coil.
AdamsKaul.com

40. 1. Write short sentences?
Don’t omit important information.
• Store in a loose coil.
• Roll the cord into a loose coil for storage.
AdamsKaul.com

41. 1. Write short sentences?
Don’t omit important information.
• Verify graft position.
AdamsKaul.com

42. 1. Write short sentences?
Don’t omit important information.
• Verify graft position.
• Verify that the graft is in the correct
position.
AdamsKaul.com

43. 1. Write short sentences?
Reusability of device depends in large part on care of device by
user. Factors involved in prolonging life of this device include,
but are not limited to: advancing through endoscope accessory
channel in short increments, gently withdrawing device from
channel, avoiding loops and/or kinks in catheter, coiling device
in a minimum 8-inch (20 cm) diameter, thorough
cleaning following instructions included in this booklet.
AdamsKaul.com

44. 1. Write short sentences?
[The r]eusability of [the] device depends in large part on [the] care of
[the] device [that is provided] by [the] user. Factors [that are, and
factors isn't the right word here] involved in prolonging [the] life of this
device include, but are not limited to: advancing [the device] through
[the] endoscope accessory channel in short increments, gently
withdrawing [the] device from [the] channel [gently should go here],
avoiding loops and/or kinks in [the] catheter, [rolling the]
coiling device [into a coil that has] in a minimum 8-inch (20 cm)
diameter, thorough[ly] cleaning [the device] following
[the] instructions [that are] included in this booklet.
(The translators had to fill in this missing information and correct the
usage errors.)
AdamsKaul.com

45. 1. Write short sentences?
The reusability of the device largely depends on the user’s care of
the device. The following practices can prolong the life of the
device:
• Advance the device through the accessory channel in
short increments.
• Withdraw the device from the channel gently.
• Avoid looping and kinking the catheter.
• Roll the device into a coil that has a diameter of 8
inches or greater.
• Clean the device thoroughly according to the
instructions that are included in this booklet.
AdamsKaul.com

46. 2. Avoid slashes.
Advance the guide catheter/sheath.
• The catheter and the sheath
simultaneously?
• Either the catheter or the sheath?
• The catheter and sheath are the same
thing?
AdamsKaul.com

47. 3. Use the active voice.
• The dog chases the cat.
• The cat is chased by the dog.
• The cat is chased.
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48. 4. Use active verbs.
The combination of the passive voice and
nominalizations (nouns made from verbs or
adjectives) creates ambiguity.
• “The operation of the system increases
efficiency.”
• Your operation? My operation? Its
operation of itself?
AdamsKaul.com

49. 4. Use active verbs.
• Utilization, facilitation, activation,
completion, movement, reaction,
discovery, difficulty
AdamsKaul.com

50. 5. Write translatable bulleted lists.
This bulleted list:
• uses the bulleted points to complete the
sentence.
• follows from the introductory element.
• is a hassle to translate.
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51. 5. Write translatable bulleted lists.
This bulleted list has the following
attributes:
• It doesn’t require the bulleted points to
complete the sentence.
• It isn’t a hassle to translate.
• It doesn’t force the translator to reorganize
and rewrite the entire list to accommodate
languages that have a different word order.
AdamsKaul.com

52. 6. Avoid broad-reference pronouns.
• Our new monitor has virtually no
background noise, which should
substantially reduce the number of false
positives.
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53. 6. Avoid broad-reference pronouns.
• Our new monitor has virtually no
background noise, which should
substantially reduce the number of false
positives.
• Our new monitor has virtually no
background noise. That’s why it should
substantially reduce the number of false
positives.
AdamsKaul.com

54. 7. Avoid ambiguous pronouns.
• In order to sterilize a reusable product
using an autoclave, it must first be
properly cleaned and disinfected.
AdamsKaul.com

55. 7. Avoid ambiguous pronouns.
• All
• Another
• Any
• Each
• Either
• Few
• Following
• Many
• Neither
• None
• One
• Other
• Rest, the
• Same
• Several
• Some
• Such
• That
• Them
• These
• Those
(Of what? Of which? As what?)
AdamsKaul.com

56. Case Study 1: SAS Institute
• Sentences translated via machine
translation
• Increase from 27% to 68% in sentences
that were rated “good” or “excellent”
• Reduction from 63% to 32% in sentences
that were rated “medium” or “poor”
AdamsKaul.com

57. Case Study 2: Cook Medical
Before:
“As part of Cook's ongoing support for our
distributor partners in remaining compliant
with company policies, and those of your
respective governments, respecting the laws and
trade association requirements that must be
followed, Cook has focused on providing both
face to face training and e-learning modules to
increase compliance knowledge.”
AdamsKaul.com

58. Case Study 2: Cook Medical
Before:
“As part of Cook's ongoing support for our distributor
partners in remaining compliant with company policies,
and those of your respective governments, respecting the
laws and trade association requirements that must be
followed, Cook has focused on providing both face to
face training and e-learning modules to increase
compliance knowledge.”
After:
“Cook provides face-to-face training and e-learning
modules to help our distribution partners comply with
laws, company policies, and trade association
requirements.”
AdamsKaul.com

59. “The Global English guidelines help illustrate the fact that
the quality and consistency of the source text, not the
skill or competence of the translator, are often the
biggest factors that affect translation quality.”
– Kohl JR. The Global English Style Guide. Cary, NC; SAS Institute Inc.; 2008:xiii.
AdamsKaul.com

60. V. For more information
• AdamsKaul.com
• Kohl JR. The Global English Style Guide.
Cary, NC: SAS Publishing; 2008.
• Microsoft. Microsoft Manual of Style. 4th
edition. Redmond, WA; Microsoft Press;
2012.
• Sun Technical Publications. Read Me First! A
Style Guide for the Computer Industry.
Upper Saddle River, NJ; Prentice Hall; 2003.
AdamsKaul.com

61. Questions?
• Greg: adams@adamskaul.com
• Matt: kaul@adamskaul.com
AdamsKaul.com