Guideline for Technical German

A clearly defined language makes it easier to create texts and translate them subsequently. Technical writers will thus save time and enhance the legal security of user manuals and operating instructions. Yet, what are the rules that should be used to define language, and standardize it ultimately? What are the specifications that exist already, and what rules should be thought of for technical communication? A work group of the tekom looked into these questions. The result is the German guideline „Regelbasiertes Schreiben, Deutsch für die Technische Kommunikation“ (Rules-based authoring: German for technical communication).

Text by Isabelle Fleury

Inhaltsübersicht

Guideline for Technical German

Germany is one of the countries that achieve the highest export quotas. Above all, plants and machinery made in Germany are very much in demand in the global market. Whether a company is able to hold its own in foreign countries or not will depend on factors such as adherence to schedules, costs and product quality. Not to forget, of course, the documents that accompany the products, which help the user to operate the machine or installation correctly and safely at his location. As the volume of manuals and instructions that need to be translated increases, the need for reusable texts also goes up. The tekom work group has focused on this problem: standardization of texts produced in terms of a set of rules, which is designed to ensure consistency and translatability, and a simplified quality assurance.

Who is the guideline meant for?

The new guideline is intended for managers of ...