To Err in English...

	Gurudutt Kamath

The attempt of each of these columns has been to make you a technical writer! After long years in this field, my conclusion is that writers are born, not made. You have it in your genes or your education or whatever. If someone is not inherently a writer, then no amount of education will make him or her a writer.

Having said that, I quickly realise that every one of us is a writer! I think the second or third thing that we learnt was how to write. All through our school and college, we have been writing at exams. Yet, there are quite a few who cannot construct a single correct sentence. Akin to someone who cannot draw a straight line, I guess.

I had received a few e-mails sometime back complaining about the charlatans in technical writing. I know how the persons felt. Here they were with good English and a passion for technical writing. They had honed their skills to perfection. Now there were quite a few entering “their” field and earning thousands of dollars! These new guys could not construct a single grammatically correct sentence. Their marketing e-mails were full of blunders. Yet, they were earning thousands of dollars.

English, grammar and punctuation

There is such a desperate need for technical writers that anyone and everyone is welcome. My only fond hope is that we deliver quality. The minimum requirements for technical writing are good English-language skills, and proper use of grammar and punctuation.

Typically, in most of the user manuals that I have picked up in India, I have always found errors after browsing through a few pages. Some of these errors are gross and some of them are subtle. Some are subjective.

According to me, the use of “very” in technical documentation is a gross mistake. What does “very” mean? The printer prints at a very high speed. What does it mean? The Internet response time was very good. What does it mean? I found this ‘wrong’ usage of “very” on the first line of the first page of a technical document prepared for Microsoft.

I am not trying to suggest that the entire user manual was bad. However, when our established companies and good technical writers allow such mistakes, then how can we blame the new entrants?

At a seminar on Technical Writing conducted by Simon Fraser (Canadian University) in Chennai a few years ago, I learnt that one mistake in 30 pages is acceptable. In other words, if there were a typographical error or some other error in 30 pages, it would be pardonable. My own bet is that in most of our manuals, there will be at least 30 errors in every manual. Of course there are a few companies where there are a lot of writers and editors and a document goes through several levels of reviews and editing. In such places, the documents should be perfect. However, in most lone-writer scenarios, errors could abound.

Spelling & grammar checks

Thanks to the spellchecker, you would imagine that there would be less typographical errors. However, if you forget to spellcheck a document rigorously, some errors are bound to creep in. Typically, you add a paragraph at the last minute (but for this last minute, most of our documentation would never be done!). Someone is waiting to take the page to the press. In your hurry, a spelling error occurs. Worse, a word or two are missing. The human brain is conditioned to overlook errors. It fills in missing alphabets or sentences. Problems of usage also cause confusion. Should you use e-mail or email? Let us say you used e-mail consistently. That is fine. But after a few days/weeks, you need to add a sentence, now you say email. There! An error has crept in. Your spelling is not consistent.

The grammar checker too is a great boon. I hope all of you use it.

I have often been asked to conduct seminars in grammar and punctuation for technical writers. I have steadfastly refused. Technical writers should have good English language skills before they enter the profession. Their language, grammar, spelling and punctuation should be impeccable.

To keep myself up-to-date I have read many grammar and punctuation books. Similarly, I try to read good books in English. I am open to feedback on my language.

There are lots of books on usage and misuse, common errors in English, and so on. These books could be good starting points.

Is it English?

In India, we have many Indianisms in English. If you are writing for a local audience, you will be understood. However, if you are writing for an international audience, you need to be careful. If you write for an American audience and your writing is reviewed by a good American editor, all your errors will spew out. Most probably, your page will be riddled with revision marks and question marks. Some of your usage will not be understood at all.

There are many sites on the Web on grammar and English usage. There are sites where you can have your English reviewed as well. I dedicate this column to all my wonderful English teachers in school and college. They have really inspired me to write good English.

Gurudutt Kamath is a technical writer based in Mumbai. Feedback on the column may be sent to documentor@vsnl.com but the author regrets his inability to respond to mail soliciting jobs, training, personal advice, etc.