

Ask HN: How to tell a coworker his writing is incomprehensible? - swah

I have a colleague that is writing important documentation in English by first writing it in our local language and then translating it using Google Translate (or at least borrowing heavily from Translate).<p>This generates <i>very</i> confusing text (not just bad punctuation like this text, heh). He normally asks for reviews, and I comment on the worst mistakes, but I&#x27;m embarassed to say that <i>everything</i> is confusing.<p>What should I do in this situation?
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maheshcr
The solutions are not simple and quick. But could yield results over long
term. I have practiced this. As an ex-copywriter I have had my writing
critiqued by creative directors many times. So I state this as someone who
learnt a little about written communication.

\- Review material written by non-native speakers. Look for cultural
anachronisms, cliches, grammatical errors etc..before all this one has to
ensure if the message is functionally correct. Provide feedback. Can't
emphasize how important this is. Everybody wants to be good at communicating.
So tell them why you find it wrong. That would become a guideline to be
followed.

\- Suggest what material they should read to become proficient in using your
target language. Reading good literature and comprehending it, somehow deepens
ones understanding of how to use a language.

\- Let them practice. More pointed feedback you give along with opportunities
faster they learn. Expecting progress without this is just wishful thinking.
You should not blame the other person!

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vizeroth
Interpersonal issues can be difficult, but the longer it takes for someone to
come forward and point out that the process is wasteful and producing poor
English documentation, the harder it's going to get. If the English
documentation is valuable enough to produce in the first place, it's valuable
enough to turn over to someone that can do the translation with little/no help
from software translators.

In some cases, the process of translating the documentation can be at fault.
It may be easier for someone to produce new documentation in English, using
the original only where necessary, or as a guide for the structure and focus
of the documentation.

As previously mentioned, it's likely this person's time would be better spent
elsewhere, and reviewers would be better off reviewing someone else's
translation.

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xauronx
Suggest that his time is much too valuable to be spent doing this, and that
your company should hire an intern that knows english/your native language to
do it for him.

