Do you translate?
Topic(s): Floundering Users
Submitted by: goodkat – Thu, 10/29/2009 – 19:05
Okay, I realize this is the era of un-educated individuals, and people unable to use correct grammar and spelling. Part of this is thanks to the world of texting, but a good portion of this is the lack of education. Here is a prime example of what I am speaking of - I was barely able to understand what this fellow was saying. He had asked to have Office 2007 loaded on his replacement computer, instead of 2003. This is what he gave for his reason:
"the only reason i was asking is that i have 2007 on my home computer and i have to think were stuff is
if i would have realised when i bought my computer that there was so much differance i would have tryed to get the old format "
Wow. No punctuation, no capitalization, and NO spelling. How do these people get employed, again?
Comment: We see this all the time
We see this all the time where I work. Unfortunately the worst offender is our human resources director who is more than happy to tell you about the college from which she graduated... but sends out memos in pure "ebonics" and worse. The current record is 9 misspellings and/or grammatical errors, etc. in a single 1 paragraph memo.
====================================
Democracy is a two wolves and a sheep deciding what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed sheep.
Vyper3000 – Fri, 10/30/2009 – 09:09
Comment: These people are not un-educated
just ill-educated.
Almost all will have received some education, so they are not un-educated (they could be un-educated with a baseball bat to the head).
My patricular bane is co-workers (from another sub-continent) who are culturally unaware and therefore need basics that we take for granted to be explained.
milest – Fri, 10/30/2009 – 09:45
Comment: uneducated vs. ill-educated
Ill-eductaed means poorly educated.
Uneducated means not educated.
De-educated - is what happens where you say "they could be un-educated with a baseball bat to the head".
Sorry to nitpick. :)
-- vrooomed --
vrooomed – Fri, 10/30/2009 – 10:34
Comment: "culturally unaware"
Those co-workers from that specific sub-continent can be a tough one.
I worked on a project with contractors from that same sub-continent (I'm fairly sure). It was an ongoing train wreck of misunderstanding on both sides. That is until I figured out that I needed one of "them", who was "culturally aware" of North American norms to act as a "cultural translator". I asked him, he asked them, and I would get the "correct" answer from my "cultural perspective", not the "correct" one from their cultural perspective, and everyone was happier (including my bosses). From that point things got better, not perfect, but better.
The funny thing was, a few months after the end of the project I saw a short article written by Gartner Assoc about that particular culture. It had 10 points, and as I read each one I kept saying "yup, I recognize that...". Summarized, their culture was very "top down" oriented. Disagreement, in any form, with the boss was NOT ALLOWED! So, from "our" perspective they were "cultural yes-men". They were trained to always say yes when asked something by the boss, even when the answer was "not a chance!"
One of the other comments asked "Who defines cultural norm ...". The locally dominant culture defines the norms. So in North America the norm might be characterize as WASP (minus the P). But if you happen to be in a location like "China Town", or a gang-run slum, or a mosque, you had best be prepared to conform to that sharply localized norm, or be ready to face troubles.
Ron – Sat, 10/31/2009 – 00:40
Comment: Spelling and Grammar
Everybody who embarks on a technical career path should be required to take a Technical Writing coure in college. This was one of the most useful courses I took.
A lot of people don't realize when you write an email for work, you shouldn't write it as laxly as you might a personal email to your friends. When at work, please keep it professional!
One fellow programmer at work, when I pointed out a bug in his program, said, "My bad!" I replied, "Your bad what? Breath?"
Please, when at work, try to keep your speech at a professional level. Keep your "'hood" ebonics at home!
-- Dan Clamage
dclamage – Fri, 10/30/2009 – 10:00
Comment: Culturally unaware - they or us?
Put yourself in their shoes - they are saying the same thing: we are culturally unaware; we need to to taught what they take for granted. So what is the gold standard for being culturally aware? Who decides the gold standard? Similarly, what is the standard for being professional - what is professional in the US might not be professional in a lot of the countries.
Dra – Fri, 10/30/2009 – 10:11
Comment: The US is casual
I've lived and worked in Europe and Central America. What we in the US consider "professional" is often considered very relaxed and casual elsewhere (although the concept of only shaving twice a week is a reversal of that concept).
As a rule, if your dress, language, and behavior are on a "professional" level for Europe, you'll be considered highly professional (by the people who matter) in the USA.
By contrast, if you can't spell, punctuate, or make a reasonable guess at good grammar, there might be a reason you're flipping burgers instead of managing a Fortune 1000 business. And there's no excuse for it; even the poorest schools have libraries, and even the worst teachers will make an effort to answer pertinent questions. "Going to school" is not the same as "getting an education."
Morely – Fri, 10/30/2009 – 10:30
Comment: Culturally unaware
It is true that I may be unaware of other cultures. And I am aware that I am unaware, and take steps to rectify that when I engage.
It's not about which culture is better, a "gold standard"
However, if I have people working on my projects implementing my requirements, then I will be selfish enough to expect people to be aware of my culture (enough to complete the job effectively and efficently), just as I would expect them to be appropriately skilled in other areas.
Awareness is something that can be learned, so I would expect it to be learned.
milest – Fri, 10/30/2009 – 13:26
Comment: Here is a prime example of what I am speaking of
Extraneous "of" at end of the sentence is not good grammar.
Tho, the point you're making is correct. Bad grammar reflects poorly on the speaker/writer, as does poor spelling.
Feign – Fri, 10/30/2009 – 10:40
Comment: Welcome to the future...
and this was from a literate citizen
Otherwise, it would have been "Ya want fries with that?"