slightly long and detailed proposal for documentation-translation workflow
Jim Gettys
jg at laptop.org
Tue Oct 16 11:26:39 EDT 2007
Ah, the manuals are needed to keep teachers and parents in their
"comfort zone". That the children will teach each other we have no
doubt at all, but older people have different expectations. And keeping
them comfortable with OLPC is also needed.
Also remember that the collaboration aspects are new, and not what
people have seen before. I would expect that there is where we should
concentrate our effort most.
- Jim
On Mon, 2007-10-15 at 17:09 -0700, Steve Fullerton wrote:
> Hi Ed and all,
>
> I fully appreciate the detail. However, IMHO I think that there is
> some re-thinking required re: the traditional "user" documentation.
> The core of the OLPC (literally one laptop per child; the model does
> not work as well if there is not possession of a laptop for each
> child) is that of collaboration.
>
> One child learning something and then teaching his/her classmates.
> OLPC machines are not meant to be used in isolation. You could
> actually make a credible argument that user manuals are bad for the
> project.
>
> The highly intuitive design of Sugar and the experience of the pilots
> bears this out. The children seem to do just great without manuals,
> discovery is enhanced, and many of the constructionist ideals are
> realized.
>
> What do you think?
>
> On 10/15/07, Ed Trager <ed.trager at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi, Michael,
>
> Just a few comments for consideration by everyone:
>
> > ...
> > Doc writing conventions:
> >
> > Some linguistic research has been done on "simplified
> English" as a
> > subset of English to use for low-level learners, and I think
> that it
> > might be a good place to look for ways to simplify the
> source_docs.
> > But just thinking intuitively, I have cooked up the
> following
> > suggestions in order to generate discussion:
> >
> > * Pronouns.
> > o Use the first-person singular pronoun "I" to
> represent the
> > author of the docs,
> > o the second-person singular pronoun "you" to
> represent the
> > reader of the docs, and
> > o the first-person plural pronoun "we" to
> represent the OLPC project.
> >
> > o Examples. "We have designed a screen that
> switches to
> > black-and-white to conserve energy. I will explain how to
> switch your
> > screen to black-and-white. First, you press the X button on
> your
> > keyboard...." Because we want the docs to be easily
> translated and
> > easily understood, the tone should be personal, using "I"
> for the
> > voice of the writer. This will be easier for amateur
> translators to
> > translate and easier for younger readers to understand. This
> will also
> > help the writer avoid the passive construction, which is
> very
> > difficult for some non-native English speakers to
> understand.
>
> I agree completely that the English passive construction
> should be
> avoided at all times.
>
> I mostly agree with your suggestion on use of pronouns. Use
> of "I"
> and "we" are fine.
>
> REGARDING THE PRONOUN "YOU" IN ENGLISH:
> ----------------------------------------------------------
>
> However, as a native English speaker, I find the use of the
> pronoun
> "you" in the imperative mood often quite jarring.
>
> Imperative sentences in which the "you" is absent are
> understood by
> native speakers of English to convey a softer, less imperative
> tone.
> Such sentences are considered more polite. Compare:
>
> (A) "First you press the X button on the keyboard."
>
> ... versus:
>
> (B) "First, press the X button on the keyboard."
>
> One or two instances of "you" in imperatives or directions in
> spoken
> or written English may not seem too bad, but after a series of
> them,
> it becomes irritating.
>
> So while I have no objection to simple English which will be
> easily
> understood by younger learners of the language, we must also
> be sure
> that we do not proscribe an incorrect idea regarding the usage
> of the
> pronoun "you" in imperative sentences in English.
>
> In short, it is *not* OK to use "you" repeatedly in a series
> of
> imperatives or directions (such as instructions for using a
> laptop).
> The absence of the pronoun "you" is preferred when giving
> directions
> in English.
>
> REGARDING POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS:
> -----------------------------------------------
>
> Look again at the sentances Michael used for his example:
>
> > I will explain how to switch your screen to black-and-white.
> > First, you press the X button on your keyboard...."
>
> English speakers make frequent use of possessive pronouns, as
> is the
> case here with : "your screen" , "your keyboard" .
>
> But in many other languages (perhaps most other languages?) we
> would
> not use possessive pronouns here at all. All of these English
> "your"s, if translated quite directly into foreign languages,
> results
> in very annoying and unnatural sounding texts in my
> experience.
>
> So I would advise we try to fix the English from the start by
> avoiding
> unecessary invocations of possessive pronouns, especially
> "your":
>
> I will explain how to switch the screen to
> black-and-white.
> First, press the X button on the keyboard...."
>
> I basically agree with the rest of Michael's suggestions, so
> that's
> all the comments I have.
>
> -- Ed Trager
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>
>
> --
> Regards,
>
> Steve
> ____________________________
> Steven C. Fullerton
> email: fullerton.steve at gmail.com
> cell/voice mail: 619.339.9116
> ____________________________
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--
Jim Gettys
One Laptop Per Child
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