Tehnika (Jan 2016)
The use of simplified English language for writing technical documentation: The proposal for a research project
Abstract
Natural language permits an enormous amount of expressive variation. Writers, especially technical writers, tend to develop special vocabularies (jargons), styles, and grammatical constructions. Technical language becomes opaque not just to ordinary readers, but to experts as well. The problem becomes particularly acute when such text is translated into another language, since the translator may not even be an expert in the technical domain. Controlled Languages (CL) have been developed to counter the tendency of writers to use unusual or overly-specialized, inconsistent language [1, Section 7.6]. Engineering professionals know that making text understandable is very challenging in domestic environment (Serbian language), and especially in an international environment (mostly English language). Simplified Serbian language could help in domestic environment. Simplified English language already helps in international environment. Simplified English is sometimes used as a generic term for a controlled language. Simplified English is the original name of a controlled language originally developed for aerospace industry to facilitate the use of maintenance manuals by engineers for whom English is not the native language. It is now officially known under its trademarked name as Simplified Technical English (STE). Although STE is developed for use in the aerospace and defense industries, other industries have used it as a basis for developing their own controlled English standards, which are mostly used for making appropriate technical documentation.
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