Pages in topic: [1 2] > | "Please" in an instruction/user manual - to use or not? Thread poster: Dan Lucas
| Dan Lucas United Kingdom Local time: 12:29 Member (2014) Japanese to English
Generally speaking I like to avoid the use of "please" in an equipment manual, as the context is one in which the user is seeking guidance and the manual is transmitting instructions to the user. That is, the user asks "How do I do ABC?" and the manual answers "Like this". A construction such as "Please insert the key into X and rotate" therefore seems redundant. 1) What is your view? 2) What do style guides say on this? Regards, Dan | | | Samuel Murray Netherlands Local time: 13:29 Member (2006) English to Afrikaans + ... It depends on the language | Dec 8, 2020 |
Dan Lucas wrote: 1) What is your view? It depends on the language. In some languages, "please" means "this is a request" or "I'm really begging you", and there are other words that operate as politeness words. But there are also languages in which "please" is even more of a politeness word than in English. Which language is this for? Dan Lucas kindly wrote: 1) What is your view, please? | | | Lingua 5B Bosnia and Herzegovina Local time: 13:29 Member (2009) English to Croatian + ... What’s the product? | Dec 8, 2020 |
I translate a lot of manuals from English, often times native English. For a better answer, it’d be ideal to know what the product and average user profile is. There’s a high tendency to use “please” repeatedly which each new prompt or line. Of course, I don’t render this to my target language as it doesn’t work in my language and sounds odd. | | | Lingua 5B Bosnia and Herzegovina Local time: 13:29 Member (2009) English to Croatian + ... He translates JP to EN. | Dec 8, 2020 |
Samuel Murray wrote: Dan Lucas wrote: 1) What is your view? It depends on the language. In some languages, "please" means "this is a request" or "I'm really begging you", and there are other words that operate as politeness words. But there are also languages in which "please" is even more of a politeness word than in English. Which language is this for? Dan Lucas kindly wrote: 1) What is your view, please? It’s probably English, his target language. Also, there may be differences with this please overuse between different English variants. I assume it’s overused in English as other forms of paying respect or being formal in English don’t exist, such as plural verbs ( eg. Sie, vous/ DE, FR). | |
|
|
Sheila Wilson Spain Local time: 12:29 Member (2007) English + ... My reaction, FWIW | Dec 8, 2020 |
Dan Lucas wrote: Generally speaking I like to avoid the use of "please" in an equipment manual, as the context is one in which the user is seeking guidance and the manual is transmitting instructions to the user. That is, the user asks "How do I do ABC?" and the manual answers "Like this". A construction such as "Please insert the key into X and rotate" therefore seems redundant. 1) What is your view? 2) What do style guides say on this? 1) My reaction as a native English speaker and layperson is that this is over the top politeness. Although I could see a place for it in a FAQ -- where the assumption is that an individual has asked the question and deserves personal help. 2) Every style guide I've seen on the subject says to use plain English and simple instructions: Do this; don't do that. | | |
I don't translate manuals but I've never seen it in a manual and wouldn't dream of writing it. It's called an instruction manual, after all, not a request manual | | | From source text English | Dec 8, 2020 |
1) I hardly see any "please" in manuals originally written in EN, except sometimes in safety warnings (please read carefully), legal notices (you are entitled to...) or introductions to the product (thank you for purchasing blah blah). And Q&A if any (please contact tech support). So from what I see, both please and no-please can therefore coexist, but in clearly separated sections of the manual and with consistency maintained within. In FR, a similar issue to using "please" o... See more 1) I hardly see any "please" in manuals originally written in EN, except sometimes in safety warnings (please read carefully), legal notices (you are entitled to...) or introductions to the product (thank you for purchasing blah blah). And Q&A if any (please contact tech support). So from what I see, both please and no-please can therefore coexist, but in clearly separated sections of the manual and with consistency maintained within. In FR, a similar issue to using "please" or not would be using infinitive or imperative. If I can't or don't feel like asking, my approach is to ask myself what option I'd like better as a reader of these instructions. 2) With manuals, it seems that a style guide, and therefore style, is irrelevant, as I have never seen any specifically written for instruction/maintenance/user manuals ▲ Collapse | | | Lingua 5B Bosnia and Herzegovina Local time: 13:29 Member (2009) English to Croatian + ...
I see this a lot, especially in IT industry, or any IT systems and prompts for front users. And they were definitely drafted by native speakers, but that doesn’t mean they were using styles correctly. Or, most probably, it was a style requested by their own company (doesn’t have to match the official styles). Sometimes CEOs and marketing managers believe certain styles will influence their buyers/users better. | |
|
|
Lingua 5B Bosnia and Herzegovina Local time: 13:29 Member (2009) English to Croatian + ...
Philippe Etienne wrote: 2) With manuals, it seems that a style guide, and therefore style, is irrelevant, as I have never seen any specifically written for instruction/maintenance/user manuals Yes, because they are written and decided on within a company, internally. Usually in marketing department. | | |
Dan Lucas wrote: 2) What do style guides say on this? From the Microsoft Style Guide: Avoid please except in situations where the customer is asked to do something inconvenient or the application or site is to blame for the situation. Example The network connection was lost. Please reenter your password.
[Edited at 2020-12-08 15:48 GMT] | | |
I'd avoid it. It's an extra word that doesn't add anything (and sounds a bit odd). I do see things like 'please refer to our website for further details' quite a lot though. Maybe that falls into the category of things that are inconvenient!
[Edited at 2020-12-08 16:53 GMT] | | | Tom in London United Kingdom Local time: 12:29 Member (2008) Italian to English
I've never read an English-language instruction manual that said "please". Funniest instruction ever seen in an instruction manual: it was many years ago, for a Japanese audio amplifier: TURN ON/OFF SWITCH TO ON | |
|
|
Lingua 5B Bosnia and Herzegovina Local time: 13:29 Member (2009) English to Croatian + ...
Rachel Waddington wrote: I'd avoid it. It's an extra word that doesn't add anything (and sounds a bit odd). I do see things like 'please refer to our website for further details' quite a lot though. Maybe that falls into the category of things that are inconvenient!
[Edited at 2020-12-08 16:53 GMT] Or: “If you have any questions, please contact our support at XY” (inconvenience). | | | Ian Mansbridge United Kingdom Local time: 12:29 Member (2012) Italian to English + ... Slightly off topic, but... | Dec 8, 2020 |
...my sat nav (in a Spanish car) begins every sentence with "please" - "please turn right after 500 yards", "please take the third exit", like I'm doing it a favour. So irritating! | | | Dan Lucas United Kingdom Local time: 12:29 Member (2014) Japanese to English TOPIC STARTER
Thanks to you all in general for the helpful responses, which seem to confirm what I already felt, and to Hans in particular for the link to Microsoft's style guide, which expresses it well. Dan | | | Pages in topic: [1 2] > | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » "Please" in an instruction/user manual - to use or not? TM-Town | Manage your TMs and Terms ... and boost your translation business
Are you ready for something fresh in the industry? TM-Town is a unique new site for you -- the freelance translator -- to store, manage and share translation memories (TMs) and glossaries...and potentially meet new clients on the basis of your prior work.
More info » |
| CafeTran Espresso | You've never met a CAT tool this clever!
Translate faster & easier, using a sophisticated CAT tool built by a translator / developer.
Accept jobs from clients who use Trados, MemoQ, Wordfast & major CAT tools.
Download and start using CafeTran Espresso -- for free
Buy now! » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |