Transcript SHORT RESUME: Christopher Goddard

University of Lapland
PRACTICAL APPROACHES TO PROFESSIONAL
WRITING IN ENGLISH
TRAINING SEMINAR
ROVANIEMI
23-25 September 2014
Brief background: Christopher Goddard:
 Programme Director, MA Legal linguistics,
Riga Graduate School of Law
 Continuing Professional Development for
lawyers, judges, translators, and others
Skills and experience: law and teaching
 1965 - 1983 English lawyer.
 International training projects in Central and
Eastern Europe.
Translation
 Legal and business texts
 Target language English (mother tongue)
 Source languages: French, German, Russian
Legal and business texts
 Translating
 Editing
 Proof-reading
 Revising
Clients include, e.g.
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international law firms
universities
NGOs
banks
authors of books and articles
governments
the International Criminal Court (ICC/CPI)
the European Union
Relevant Education and Training
 Doctoral studies (legal linguistics) at
University of Lapland (Prof. Heikki Mattila)
 Master's Degree in Education (M.Ed.)
(Sheffield University) (2002)
 Institute of Linguists' Post-Graduate Diploma
in Translation (1986)
Publications
 Business Idioms International, Prentice Hall, 1994.
 Understanding EU Law (with Norbert Reich and
Ksenija Vasiljeva), Intersentia, 2003.
 Comparative Legal Linguistics, Heikki Mattila
(Ashgate, 2006) (translation from French).
English
 international language of professional
communication
 but what kind of English?
 what is correct?
 Influences
on
professional English
international
Professional communication: an
area where...
English assumes a
 high profile as a
 global common language in
 inter-cultural contexts.
Professional language
 Professional language
 = professionally relevant aspects of language
use
 = linguistic aspects of professional texts
 Linguistic operations in professional
communication
 e.g. Opinions, interpreting texts
 e.g. Argumentation (for a goal)
Professional English
 in-house company language
 international commercial transactions
Implies need for meaningful communication of
information and ideas:
 from a wide variety of source
cultures, languages, and professional
systems...
 through the medium of English by
professionals and others whose
mother tongue may not be English...
for target audiences
:
 whose mother tongue may not be
English
and
 whose professional systems and
cultures may not easily correspond
with those of the source or the
medium
English:
 a tool for mutual understanding
(Crystal 1997)
 a medium and subject of global
misunderstanding
(Spichtinger 2000)
Today’s international professional
operates
 beyond national contexts
 with
different legal regimes
 with
different cultures
 with
foreign individuals/institutions
Today’s international professional...
 brings a professional perspective that
transcends the national and cultural
perspective
 has interdisciplinary background
(e.g., economics, business, political
science, law)
Professionals as
linguists/translators
 operating in two or more languages
 using English as global professional
language
 source language
 target language
 relay language
Legal cultures: under the law…
 In Germany, everything is forbidden
except what is permitted
 In France, everything is permitted
except what is forbidden
 In (Russia), everything is forbidden,
including what is permitted
 In Italy, everything is permitted,
especially what is forbidden
 (Minow)
The rise of English as de facto global
professional language
 intensifies need for translation of
professional texts into English
and – as a corollary –
 production of professional texts in English
 In practice, both involve individuals whose
native tongue is other than English (NNS).
Traps and Challenges
 “New” professional languages
 Some languages relatively undeveloped
for e.g. business and government
Cross-cultural aspects
Cross-cultural aspects
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History and context
Concrete versus abstract
Universalism versus particularism
Accumulative and analytic
Precision
Paragraph Organization
 Different languages, different cultures :
different approaches to structuring texts,
including professional texts.
 English paragraph structure: logical and
organized
 First sentence of each paragraph is called
the ‘topic sentence’.
 This tells the reader what the paragraph is
about.
Paragraph Organization
 Sentences following either:
 support the topic sentence (opinion), or
 develop the topic sentence (process or
situation)
 Paragraphs may also contain sum-up
sentence
Connect Ideas with Care.
Language as a connector
 Connectors, language signals,
transition words, linking words,
signposts, or guideposts
 Linguistics: “discourse markers”
 Discourse = text
 Marker = sign (direction)
 Connectors > coherence – natural,
reasonable, logical connection.
Connect Ideas with Care.
 Language as a connector
 Result: text easier to understand
 Connectors often not present in
professional and official writing
 Connectors help the reader
 Connectors used for transition.
 Transition = moving from one idea to
another
 Connectors link sentences and paragraphs
TEXT COHERENCE
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Repeating a Key Term or Phrase
Synonyms (!!)
Pronouns
Transitional Words
Sentence Patterns
TRANSITIONAL EXPRESSIONS
 Amplification or addition
 Cause and effect; consequence or
result
 Comparison or analogy
 Contrast or alternative
 Condition or concession
TRANSITIONAL EXPRESSIONS
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Conclusion
Emphasis
Illustration or example/clarifying
Relationship in time
Professional Writing Style
 Good grammar: step 1 towards good
writing.
 Communication skills vital.
 Professionals judged by written
communication skills.
Professional Writing Style
 Professional writing skills may be
inadequate, e.g.:
 Skills acquired during studies:
 may not include writing skills at all, or
 skills not appropriate to professional
writing.
 Poor quality writing
Professional Writing Style
 Not easy to improve professional
writing.
 Successful writing is clear,
logical, factual, concise, and
persuasive.
Professional Writing Style
 Appropriate language to show
causality or logic
 Replace unclear connecting words by
specific words with clear meaning
 Use affirmative language
 Avoid expletives where possible
Professional Writing Style
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Put modifiers where they belong
Variation: too much or too little
Avoid adjective buildup
Don’t shift your point of view
Punctuation Marks: Commas
 English does not use commas in the
following situations:
 Before the word that
 I trust that you will return the money I
lent you.
English does not use commas
 Before the word because
 I trust him because he has always paid
me in the past.
 After the word please
 Please do not hesitate to contact me if
you have further questions.
These are some of the challenges
 So, what are the solutions?
Solutions
 State one thing and only one thing in
each sentence.
 Divide long sentences into two or
three short sentences.
 Remove all unnecessary words. Strive
for a simple sentence with a subject
and verb. Eliminate unnecessary
modifiers.
Solutions
 If only one or two simple conditions must
be met before a rule applies, state the
conditions first and then state the rule.
 If two or more complex conditions must be
met before a rule applies, state the rule
first and then state the conditions.
 If several conditions or subordinate
provisions must be met before a rule
applies, use a list.
GUIDELINES FOR BETTER PROFESSIONAL
ENGLISH
 Match function and style of the text
according to the reader
 Avoid long + embedded sentences:
rearrange long sentences
 Avoid complex structures
 Use active verbs instead of
passive, if possible
GUIDELINES FOR BETTER PROFESSIONAL
ENGLISH
 Avoid double negatives, exceptions
to exceptions
 Avoid unnecessary synonym pairs
(e.g., null and void)
 Avoid Latin and foreign words if
possible
GUIDELINES FOR BETTER PROFESSIONAL
ENGLISH
 Avoid over-technical terms and overcomplicated expression.
 Eliminate archaic terms.
 Keep subjects and verbs together
GUIDELINES FOR BETTER PROFESSIONAL
ENGLISH
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Keep compound verbs together
Sentences: put verbs early
Main idea: at start of sentence
Parallelism in lists
Use verbs instead of nouns
GUIDELINES FOR BETTER PROFESSIONAL
ENGLISH
Avoid jargon
Avoid it is and there is/are
Avoid shall (e.g. use present tense)
Be uniform (consistent) with
terminology
 Prefer simple words
 Cut needless words
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GUIDELINES FOR BETTER PROFESSIONAL
ENGLISH
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Use concrete words
Avoid gender specific language
Use short paragraphs
Structure the text
Use headings to help the reader
Make the text coherent
 more coherent = more understandable