William Oktavec

ENGL 393
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Cultural Variables in Technical Writing

Summary

Cultural Variables are the differences between the cultures of two or more groups. As our
societies are becoming more diverse, it becomes more frequent for members of different
cultures to communicate with each other. This is an especially important concept to be aware
of when communicating in the work place, both within the company and between other
businesses.

Surface Level Variables

Nancy L. Hoft (1995), in International Technical Communication, highlights some primary

categories of surface level cultural variables. The categories are Political, Economic, Social,
Educational, Technological, and Linguistic.

Political – Political variables relate to trade issues and legal problems, specifically laws about
intellectual property, product safety, and liability.

Economic – Economic variables refer to how the level of economic development in other
countries might be such that most of their people cannot access the internet.

Social – Social variables deal with things such as business customs, for example, forms of
greetings and proper business attire.

Educational – Educational variables refer to the literacy rates across countries. Some cultures
teach in a classroom setting while in others people study using their own methods.

Technological – A technological variable to consider if you are using high-tech products, is that
it’s important to keep in mind if the audience will have access to these resources.
Linguistic – Linguistic variables focus on issues like language barriers, and the orientation of text
on a document.

Underlying Variables

In 1999 the writing scholars, Elizabeth Tebeaux and Linda Driskill, identified these key
underlying cultural variables in technical communication. The variables are Focus on individuals
or groups, Business life versus private life, Distance between ranks, Specification of details, and
Attitudes toward uncertainty.

Individuals/Groups – In some cultures the individual is valued more than the group, typically in
Western cultures. This individualistic culture produces writing that is I-oriented, letters are
addressed to a specific reader and signed by the person who wrote it. Other, Eastern cultures
believe in valuing the group over their own individual interests. The group-focused culture
produces writing that is we-oriented; letters are typically addressed to “Dear Sir” and signed by
the name of the company they are representing.

Business life vs Private life – Some cultures experience a very large gap between their business
life and their private lives. When the work day has ended, most people leave the office and go
about the rest of the day doing as they please. To reflect this idea, communication is more
technically detailed, and it would not be appropriate to include personal information. The more
group-oriented cultures tend to have a much smaller distance between their business life and
private life. To these workers they are still a part of their company, and thus their
communication contains more personal information, speaking directly to the reader.

Distance between ranks – The individualistic companies tend to have a small gap between
bosses/managers and their subordinate workers. This allows for more informal communication
in the workplace such as the use of first names and informal documents like emails and memos.
The group-oriented companies have a much larger gap between positions of power within the
work environment. This requires more formal communication, properly addressing superiors,
the use of titles, and formal documents such as letters are preferred.
Specification of details – some cultures require complete communication in their writing. These
low-context cultures must be given the entirety of the information needed in each document.
Individualistic cultures tend to be more low-context, explaining tasks with vast detail. The
group-oriented cultures tend to have a lot more implications in their writing. In these high-text
societies writers can leave out information that their reader would find to be obvious.

Use of Visuals

The use of visuals is a tricky issue to handle. The use of graphics can be useful when attempting
to transcend a language barrier. If done correctly it aids in thoroughly conveying the messages
in the document. However, sometimes it can cause more confusion and possibly make it more
difficult for the audience to understand. Different cultures have both subtle and big differences
when it comes to daily life and how that will influence their perspectives on certain visuals. A
subtle difference could be the use of something that is specific to American businesses, so then
foreign companies would not quite understand the graphic. A big difference could be if a visual
is ordered from left to right and the audience is from Middle Eastern countries that read right
to left.

Suggestions for Writing

When creating a technical writing document to a multicultural audience, keep in mind some of
these key suggestions to communicate more effectively.

Limit vocabulary – Each word that is used should only have one meaning; avoid using complex
words.

Short sentences – On average try to keep sentence length to around 20 words; longer
sentences tend to be trickier to decipher.
Define abbreviations and acronyms – Some abbreviations and acronyms are different across
languages; never assume the audience is familiar with these, and be sure to define
abbreviations and acronyms early in your writing.

Avoid idioms and slang – Many if not all of these terms are culture specific and will certainly
confuse readers from different countries.

Use active voice – It is typically easier for nonnative speakers to understand the active voice
rather than the passive voice.

Sources:
Markel, Mike. "Analyzing Your Audience and Purpose." Technical Communication (Eleventh
Edition). Bedord/St. Martins. Chapter 5 (2014). 95-104. Print.