On 03/30/2010 08:23 PM, Steve Edwards wrote: > +1. > > If a company can't be bothered to proof-read their copy and > correspondence, will they bother to take care of me and my data? > > I'll cut non-native English speakers a bit of slack, but if I was trying > to market my services in their country, I'd hire a "native" to read my > stuff.
Agreed! Two things on that: 1) As I habitually point out, the fact that non-native English speakers have less than perfect written English is not in itself the problem. That is to be expected, and hardly something to fault someone for. It's a global market, and national or linguistic chauvinism has no place in it. It is possible to see, however, evidence of underlying intelligence and effort, regardless of the outcome. I've seen far more credible and intelligent posts from people whose knowledge of English is clearly far more impaired than that of the people under discussion here. Anatomising the essence of a poor English speaker's good post vs. a mostly-decent English speaker's bad post comprehensively is difficult, but it can be summed up as: you can see that they (the former) tried. They really, honestly went through the thing, proofread it, consulted a dictionary, asked a friend or coworker to look over it, and genuinely tried to come across in a well-meaning, considerate way. The actual formulation can also give a lot away, although, again, difficult to generalise in abstract. Smart people employed by dependable companies who have clear, meritorious thoughts in their native language find ways to port them into their use of their non-primary languages. Even though it may not sound idiomatically English, the message is somehow well-crafted. Contrast that with people who, for example, post in "txt speek" with the knowledge that their written English is not ideal. They really are shooting themselves in the foot; that's not their foreign relationship with English asserting itself. That's just straight-up, old-timey _laziness_, and, perhaps stupidity. It's rude, self-entitled, and inconsiderate, which is why you see it get the kind of response from me that it does. 2) Hiring a "native" to read your stuff: indeed. It is, in all probability, more often a reflection on the choices of the company doing the marketing to have someone they know will do a poor job produce the copy than on the person just doing their job. -- Alex -- Alex Balashov - Principal Evariste Systems LLC Tel : +1 678-954-0670 Direct : +1 678-954-0671 Web : http://www.evaristesys.com/ -- _____________________________________________________________________ -- Bandwidth and Colocation Provided by http://www.api-digital.com -- asterisk-biz mailing list To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-biz
