Linguistic Approaches to Technical Documentation and Technical Texts

Zol án Somogyi182 Linguis ic App oaches o Technical Documen a ion and Technical Tex s doi.o g/10.35321/ e m29-10 Linguis ic App oaches o Technical Documen a ion and Technical Tex s ZOLTÁN SOMOGYI Ká oli Gáspá Uni e si y o he Re o med Chu ch in Hunga y ORCID id: 0000-0002-3721-6513 Ágo a Fó is, And ea Bölcskei (eds.) 2021: LINGUISTIC RESEARCH IN THE FIELD OF CONTENT DEVELOPMENT AND DOCUMENTATION, Ká oli Gáspá Re o má us Egye em, L’Ha ma an, Budapes –Pa is, 389 p. ISBN 978-2-343-25167-7. The main goal o he book Linguis ic Resea ch in he Field o Con en De el- opmen and Documen a ion is o sha e he unique indings on he linguis- ic aspec s o documen a ion, con en de elopmen , and echnical w i ing wi h a much b oade audience. The au ho s ocus on he p ocess o ech- nical documen a ion, he ea u es o echnical ex s, and hei ansla ion mainly om he aspec s o e minology, ansla ion s udies, and ex lin- guis ic esea ch. The ele ance o his esea ch is connec ed o he ad- ancemen o echnology and he changes in how we collec , sha e, and unde s and in o ma ion as a esul . The selec ed pape s a e he English ansla ions o he o iginal Hunga ian ones, which we e published in wo sepa a e olumes in Hunga ian. The book is spli in o h ee main pa s: he i s chap e examines echnical communica ion om a b oad pe spec- i e, he second chap e ocuses on he connec ion be ween documen a- ion, e minology, and ansla ion, and he book ends wi h s udies abou linguis ic analysis o echnical ex s. 183Te minologija | 2022 | 29 The i s pa begins wi h Ágo a Fó is’ pape i led ‘Con en De elop- men and Documen a ion om he Pe spec i e o Hunga ian Linguis ics’. The au ho explains he aims and me hods o he esea ch p ojec (‘The Hunga ian Language and P o essional Cul u e. Hunga ian Linguis ic Re- sea ch in he Fields o Con en De elopmen and Technical Documen- a ion’) conduc ed by TERMIK (Te minology and Communica ion Re- sea ch G oup), whose achie emen s a e p esen ed in he book, as well as he signi icance and applicabili y o i s esul s in highe educa ion. She hen desc ibes he place and ole o linguis ic s udies in con en de el- opmen and documen a ion, and in he di e en possible aspec s o such s udies. This is ollowed by a gene al o e iew o he cha ac e is ics and sys ems o mode n con en c ea ion and managemen p ac ices. The au- ho also ou lines he cu en ends in he ield and commen s on he impac hey ha e on echnical w i e s and end-use s. The nex pape , ‘P o essional Documen a ion in he 21s Cen u y’, is by Esz e B. Papp. Recen changes in echnical documen a ion can be explained by changes in he way in o ma ion is c ea ed and ecei ed; all hese new phenomena a e subsumed unde he concep o ‘In o ma ion 4.0’. The s udy p o ides a de ailed o e iew o how indus ial and echni- cal documen s in use oday can be g ouped. Mode n in o ma ion sys ems a e mo ing away om p in and he lowing ex . Scalabili y (p o iding jus as much in o ma ion as he use needs), sea chabili y, he e o less way o e ie al, eusabili y, and in eg a ion in o au oma ion p ocesses a e becoming inc easingly impo an . To mee hese demands, in o ma ion is c ea ed and s o ed as sel -con ained, meaning ul uni s and modules, and he indi idual modules a e o ganised in o la ge uni s along wi h docu- men maps. The pape concludes, wi h some case s udies, on he bene i s o selec ing he igh in o ma ion, using con olled language in documen- a ion and enume a es he challenges aced by echnical w i e s who do no w i e in hei na i e language. The second s udy o he same au ho , ‘Documen a ion 4.0’, gi es a mo e nuanced pic u e o he cons an ly changing en i onmen in which echnical documen a ion is embedded. One o he di ec e ec s o Indus- y 4.0 is ha pape -based documen a ion o he pas is being eplaced by digi al, well-s uc u ed in o ma ion, simul aneously a ailable on mul iple de ices, which can be in e p e ed by machines and human use s alike. O cou se, mode n documen a ion also akes he changes in use ’s habi s in o Zol án Somogyi184 Linguis ic App oaches o Technical Documen a ion and Technical Tex s accoun . The au ho also poin s ou ha English has become he dominan language in documen a ion due o i s global sp ead. In his con ex , he au ho p esen s some key ea u es o documen s p oduced by na i e and non-na i e w i e s, as well as he speci ic documen a ion- ela ed concep s and s anda ds. This is ollowed by And ea Bölcskei’s pape ‘P ac ices in Technical Communica ion and he La es Challenges’, which opens wi h an o e iew o he basic concep s o echnical communica ion and documen a ion. The au ho discusses he ci cums ances o and he s eps in ol ed in he c ea- ion o echnical documen a ion, as well as he legal and s anda disa ion equi emen s ha go e n hese s eps. A e his, he pape highligh s he u u e impo ance o echnical documen a ion, he ele ance o he c e- a ion o in elligen in o ma ion p oduc s, and he signi ican ole o e - minology in documen a ion. I concludes wi h an o e iew o he skills needed o good echnical communica o s. The au ho ’s nex pape , ‘Wha Do Technical W i e s Do and Wha Do They Lea n?’, p o ides a de ailed desc ip ion o echnical w i ing as a job and o e s an o e iew o he aining cou ses cu en ly a ailable in highe educa ion and in some o he educa ional p og ammes in some coun ies. The au ho poin s ou ha language skills a e becoming mo e alued in a numbe o p o essions, including echnical w i ing. The pape app ecia es he TecCOMF ame amewo k, which desc ibes he knowledge, skills, and abili ies o echnical w i e s and de ines hem along six dimensions. The s udy hen gi es a gene al pic u e o he labou ma ke demand o echni- cal w i e s, no ing ha he e is an excessi ely high demand o such p o- essionals ac oss Eu ope. Examples om Eu ope, Canada, and he Uni ed S a es show ha aining cou ses in echnical documen a ion a e o e ed a se e al le els (e.g., bachelo and mas e ) and in se e al o ms (mino s, specialisa ions, s and-alone cou ses, specialised aining p og ammes) in highe educa ion. This chap e closes wi h he pape ‘How is Technical Con en C ea ed? The Li ecycle o Technical Documen a ion’ by Ágnes Czinkóczki and Ildikó Fehé . Since he au ho s a e p ac icing echnical w i e s, he pape p o ides i s -hand in o ma ion on he mys e ies o echnical documen a ion, complemen ing he heo e ical issues p esen ed in p e ious a icles. In his s udy, hey de ine he e ms echnical con en , echnical documen a ion, echnical ex , echnical w i e , use , and a ge audience. The de ini ions also 185Te minologija | 2022 | 29 show he di e si y o he wo k o echnical w i e s who no only w i e con en , bu also plan and schedule he p ocess o p oducing echnical documen a ion, esea ch he ele an subjec , which includes ga he ing in o ma ion, consul ing wi h expe s, and, whe e app op ia e, es ing he p oduc . Fu he on, he au ho s p esen hei de ailed model o he p ocess o echnical w i ing. A he end o he a icle, he eade s lea n some basic ules o con en c ea ion, including he impo ance o legal compliance, a ho ough unde s anding o he a ge audience, and guidelines o keeping con en simple and concise. The second pa o he olume s a s wi h Ágo a Fó is’ and And ea Faludi’s s udy ‘Rela ions o Documen a ion and Documen Managemen wi h Te minology and T ansla ion’. This pape aims o delimi he ield o documen a ion and documen managemen and examine i s ela ionship wi h ansla ion and e minology managemen . In his ega d, he pape gi es a de ailed pic u e o how documen managemen is ca ied ou and how i accompanies he whole li e cycle o a documen . The au ho s con- clude ha e minology managemen plays a key ole in he documen a ion p ocess, bo h because p o essionals use e minology uni s o o ganise in- o ma ion and because a well-de eloped e minology ensu es consis ency o con en in exis ing and u u e documen s. In addi ion o he desc ip ion o he c ea ion o o iginal documen a ion, he au ho s also discuss in de ail he p ocesses and ools in ol ed in ansla ing documen s, including he a ious ools ha assis in ansla ion, publishing so wa e, in o ma ion managemen s anda ds, and ile o ma s (e.g., DITA XML) ha a e p esen in he ield o documen a ion. The nex pape in he olume, ‘Technical W i ing and Documen a- ion as In alingual Technical T ansla ion’, is also by he abo e co-au ho s. I begins wi h how he concep o ‘documen a ion’ can be in e p e ed. The au ho s came up wi h h ee di e en app oaches which also leads o making p og ess in he de elopmen o which e ms could ep esen hese concep s in Hunga ian in his ield, which is also one o he aims o he Hunga ian e sion o he book and he esea ch p ojec . Cla i y and com- p ehensibili y a e wo key aspec s o good echnical documen a ion. Cla - i y can be achie ed p ima ily h ough he app op ia e use o concep s and e ms, which also enhances he alue o a well-de eloped na ional e minology. Comp ehensibili y is ensu ed by he app op ia e ‘ ansla ion’ o echnical e ms wi hin he language. This sheds ligh on he aspec s and Zol án Somogyi186 Linguis ic App oaches o Technical Documen a ion and Technical Tex s issues o in alingual ansla ion. The au ho s conclude ha he seconda y communica ion si ua ion ha a ises du ing he documen a ion p ocess can be conside ed as ‘in alingual ansla ion’, adding ha his phenomenon is mainly p esen in he communica ion be ween p o essionals and laype - sons and is e lec ed, abo e all, in he co espondence and unde s anding o he e ms. The nex pape is he s udy ‘Fea u es o Tex s on Websi es and Cha - ac e is ics o hei T ansla ion’ by Má a Kóbo . The pape aims o p esen he dis inc i e ea u es o w i ing o he web and hei implica ions o ansla ion, and o p o ide a basis o he de elopmen o he cu iculum o ansla ion echniques on his opic. The au ho discusses he ypical cha ac e is ics o websi es and he possible ca ego isa ion c i e ia. She con- cludes ha ansla ing websi es equi es ansla o s o ha e a basic knowl- edge o web echnology in addi ion o hei ansla ion skills. La e on, he au ho examines in de ail he o eign and Hunga ian language cha ac e - is ics o he publicly a ailable B2C and E2L websi es. In he pape ‘Te minology Wo k in he P ocess o Technical W i ing and T ansla ion’, And ea Faludi p esen s he esul s o an in e iew en- qui y on he ole o e minology wo k in he ansla ion p ocess and high- ligh s he ole ha ho ough and well-s uc u ed e minology wo k should play in he i s place in he c ea ion o he sou ce language ex , be o e i is ansla ed. The au ho used he me hod o s uc u ed in e iews o in es i- ga e he place and ole o e minology wo k and e minology managemen in he p ocess o echnical w i ing and in ansla ion o echnical ex s. Dó a-Má ia Tamás’ s udy ‘Te minology and Documen a ion in Te - minology Da abases’ also examines he ela ionship be ween e minology and echnical documen a ion. The s udy begins wi h de ining he concep s o ‘ e minology managemen ’ and ‘ e minology da abase’. The e mino- logical wo k i sel in ol es documen a ion, which mus be p esen a all h ee s ages o he p ocess ( he p epa a o y phase, he elabo a ion phase, and he inal phase o e minology wo k). The p esence o documen a ion can also be a gua an ee when assessing he quali y o a da abase. One o he end p oduc s o his p ocess could be, o example, an edi o ial guide ha se es as a e e ence o sou ce managemen , copy igh issues, he s uc u e o he e minology da abase, and he eco ding o he da a associa ed wi h e ms. I may also be impo an o c ea e documen a ion con aining in o ma ion on he use o he eady da abase o he end use s. 187Te minologija | 2022 | 29 This pa concludes wi h he s udy ‘Concep s Rela ed o he Te m Doc- umen a ion in Ce ca e m, a Ca alan Te minology Da abase’ by Esz e Se - mann, who gi es a comp ehensi e o e iew o he changes in he s a us o he Ca alan language and he ole o language planning, including e mi- nology planning in his p ocess. The pape p esen s in de ail he Ce ca e m da abase, which eco ds he esul s o Ca alan e minological wo ks. In he second hal o he pape , he au ho examines he e m documen a ion and i s ela ed e ms in he da abase. The las pa o he book begins wi h Csilla-Ilona Dé ’s pape ‘Scien i ic Gen es – Specialized Gen es’, which ocuses on he de ini ion and di e - en ia ion o scien i ic gen es. These gen es a e pa o a b oade scien i ic discou se ha is linked o o he p o essional discou ses. The au ho con- cludes ha scien i ic gen es should be conside ed in he con ex o aca- demic, scien i ic, p o essional, pedagogical/ins i u ional discou ses. In he es o he pape , he au ho examines in mo e de ail he gen e and clas- si ica ion sys ems o he Da abase o Hunga ian Scien i ic Wo ks (Magya Tudományos Mű ek Tá a, MTMT). A e a de ailed cha ac e isa ion o i s classi ica ion sys ems, one o he au ho ’s c i icisms is he con adic ion be ween he scien i ic and he educa ional classi ica ions, which means ha , o example, a ex book w i en o educa ional pu poses canno be conside ed a scien i ic wo k e en i i mee s he c i e ia o scien i ici y. Nó a Cson os’ pape , ‘Technical Tex s om he Pe spec i e o Tex Ty- pology. Tex Typology Analysis o Ins uc ion Manuals’, examines he ex ype o ‘ins uc ion manual’ wi hin he amewo k o he unc ional cog- ni i e heo y o ex ypology and p agma ic app oach. A he beginning o he pape , he au ho b ie ly e iews p e ious esea ch on ex ypology and no es ha i lacks homogeneous ca ego ies: he di e ences lie in he heo e ical amewo ks wi hin which he ex is app oached. The co pus is based on p in ed and online ins uc ion manuals, wi h he cen al heme o he cogni i e uni o echnical subjec and i s o ien a ion owa ds i . The aspec s o analysis include he discu si e ela ionship, he ocus o a en ion, concep ual schemas and sc ip s, he complexi y o he echnical subjec , he pu pose o he ex , i.e., he speech ac , and hei ypical lin- guis ic cons uc ion. The second pape by he same au ho , ‘Means o Sha ing Knowledge in Technical Tex s: “A Possible In e p e a ion o he Technical Tex Types”’, examines echnical ex s in a socio-cogni i e amewo k and es ablishes Zol án Somogyi188 Linguis ic App oaches o Technical Documen a ion and Technical Tex s a possible ypology o echnical ex s. The pape desc ibes he language use ’s expe ien ial knowledge in connec ion wi h echnical ex s, as well as he componen s o knowledge in educa ion and o he ins i u ionalised and con en ionalised con ex s, and hei ela ionship o each o he . To assess knowledge elemen s and o in es iga e he language use ’s pe cep ion o he echnical ex , he au ho conduc ed a ques ionnai e su ey, and, as a esul , she ound ha se e al knowledge componen s could be ac i a ed simul aneously du ing he o ma ion o he ypes o echnical ex and language use s cons uc ca ego ies based on hese. In hei s udy ‘Types, and Cha ac e is ics o Technical Tex s’, Ágnes Czinkóczki and Ildikó Fehé also look o common cha ac e is ics o echni- cal ex s, mainly om a non-linguis ic poin o iew. The main unc ion o echnical ex s is o p o ide he eade wi h complex echnical in o ma ion while ensu ing ha i is concise, ele an , and accu a e o he a ge audi- ence, and is accessible quickly and easily. In his espec , h ee subca ego ies a e dis inguished: desc ip ion, ins uc ion, and e e ence. In his con ex , he au ho s desc ibe he DITA au ho ing s anda d, which is widely used oday in he ield o echnical w i ing. Ano he impo an aspec o conside is he publishing channel, i.e., how a gi en piece o con en o in o ma ion is deli e ed o use s. Along hese lines, he au ho s iden i y se e al di e en ex ypes, which hey analyse in de ail by desc ibing he publica ion chan- nel, he cha ac e is ics, and linguis ic ea u es o he con en . In he s udy ‘Seman ic Fea u es in he Te ms o he Hunga ian Ve sion o an EU Regula ion’, Réka Sólyom examines he ela ionship be ween concep ual me apho s and me onymies and EU e minology in a cogni i e seman ic amewo k by analysing EU egula ions. As a esul o he anal- ysis, he au ho was able o iden i y dis inc ypes o me apho s, me ony- mies, and pe soni ica ions, o g oup hem by hei speci ic cha ac e is ics, and de e mine hei p opo ions in he co pus. In he second pape , ‘Concep ual Me apho s and Me onymies in a Technical Tex Rela ed o Quali y Managemen Sys ems’, Réka Sólyom examines he appea ance and unc ions o concep ual me apho s and me- onymies in a unc ional cogni i e amewo k wi hin a speci ic ex , he EN ISO 9001:2009 s anda d on quali y managemen . While e iewing he heo e ical backg ound, he au ho b ie ly summa ises he main ideas o li e a u e on me apho s and me onymy, which ha e hei oo s in he o i- cal wo ks. The au ho poin s ou ha he basic unc ion o hese linguis ic 189Te minologija | 2022 | 29 ools is o help he ecipien s unde s and abs ac concep s o p ocesses abou which hey ha e no o jus limi ed expe ience. In he analysis, he au ho does no conside he whole ex bu ocuses only on ce ain wo ds and ph ases. As a esul , she inds ha he e a e se e al ypes o me apho s in he co pus, mainly e bal me apho s and pe soni ica ion, as well as o ien a ional me apho s, which a e also common in colloquial language, making i easie o he eade s o unde s and he ex . The e has been ela i ely li le p agma ic esea ch on echnical docu- men s in connec ion wi h he Hunga ian language. In he las s udy o he olume, ‘Abou he Usage o Discou se Ma ke s in A chi ec u al Technical Documen a ion’, Csilla-Ilona Dé a emp s o ill in his gap. Fi s , he au- ho cla i ies he concep o discou se ma ke s and explains how hey can be classi ied. The co pus o he s udy consis ed o eely a ailable echnical documen a ion on building a chi ec u es, om which he au ho ex ac ed he discou se ma ke s manually, hen iden i ied hei unc ions, so ed hem in o g oups, and used s a is ical me hods o examine hei p opo ions. All s udies in his olume ha e a s ong connec ion o e minology and e minology managemen , as hey p o ide a specialised amewo k o echnical documen a ion in which he heo e ical and p ac ical app oaches o dealing wi h e ms a e embedded. By gi ing an o e iew o he cha - ac e is ics o echnical documen a ion and he ela ed wo k o echnical w i e s, he p ocess o c ea ing echnical documen a ion, and he a ious ea u es o specialized echnical ex s, whe e p ope e minology manage- men has a high ele ance, he au ho s desc ibe he en i onmen whe e specialised e ms and concep ual hie a chies a e p esen in high num- be s. The olume can be used by p o essionals in ol ed in all p ocesses o documen a ion, especially e minologis s, who would like o gain a be e unde s anding o he impac s o e ms in c ea ing and eading echnical ex s, and o e minology managemen in he whole p ocess. Besides, i can se e as a ex book in cu en and u u e highe educa ion cou ses. Gau a 2022-08-29 Zol án Somogyi Ká oli Gáspá Uni e si y o he Re o med Chu ch in Hunga y Te minology and Communica ion Resea ch G oup Re iczky u. 4, Budapes , Hunga y E-mail zol an.somogyi@p o onmail.com