ABC panel calls for a new framework of collaboration in business communication
December 29, 2006
The Association for Business Communication sponsors a session on global business communication at the Modern Language Association's convention in Philadelphia
"Translators play an increasingly important role in global business communication," stated panel chair James Archibald, ABC Vice President and Director of 捆绑SM社区's Department of Translation Studies.
Panelists from the United States, Canada and Sweden at the joint ABC/MLA session on multilingual business communication pointed out how language professionals must not only be involved in communication strategy planning and implementation, but they must also have a high degree of sensitivity to issues such as identity per se and language as a carrier of identity. Yet, faced with significant cultural differences in texts and Web-based documents, many translators neutralize their output in order to avoid cultural misunderstandings. This occurs in both standard text translation and in localization projects where effective cross-cultural communication is paramount to success. As translation-adaptation gains in importance in cross-cultural business communication, despite the persistent tendency among translators to cling to outdated norms, research shows that translators are only beginning to embrace adaptation in target texts by allowing these to speak to a given target culture's tolerance for cultural differences.
Multilingual global communication in text production and the localization of electronic documents including software and Web sites requires greater degrees of collaboration among text producers. Panelist called for a new framework of collaboration which would allow for the development of information systems for different countries across cultures and borders. Indeed, information and communication technologies in a shrinking world have created new conditions under which global multilingual communication can only succeed through collaboration, which panelists described as a way to "create together" in a proactive manner. Examples of this may be seen in multilingual interactive Web sites, which must be flexible enough to permit users of information to react in real time to linguistic and cultural situations marked by their inherent diversity. In terms of practice, panelist agreed that this state of affairs has a direct effect on writer/translator/communicator responsibility.
For this reason, panelists concluded that the teaching of cross-cultural communication, including translation, must put more emphasis on the respective roles and the sometimes conflicting needs and expectations of different partners involved in intercultural communication processes.
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