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Technical manuals - The use of "you" Thread poster: Michael Harris
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Michael Harris 
Germany
Local time: 10:57
Member (2006)
German to English
I just have a quick query. I am just making some corrections for a customer that have beed translated by someone else. One comment that the customer has written is that he is convinced that "you" should not be used in technical instructions.
As I have never encountered this and have also never had a problem with the "you" word, I just wanted to double check this.
E.g. :
This operating manual helps you to familiarise yourself with the products of ....
... See more I just have a quick query. I am just making some corrections for a customer that have beed translated by someone else. One comment that the customer has written is that he is convinced that "you" should not be used in technical instructions.
As I have never encountered this and have also never had a problem with the "you" word, I just wanted to double check this.
E.g. :
This operating manual helps you to familiarise yourself with the products of ....
I dont see why "you" should not be used?
Appreciate any critic or comments on this.
Thanks ▲ Collapse
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| Formal speech is in the third person | Jul 7, 2011 |
So your sentence would be "The operating manual familiarises users with..."
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Milos Prudek
Czech Republic
Local time: 10:57
English to Czech
+ ...
This operating manual helps you to familiarise yourself with the products of ....
I dont see why "you" should not be used?
AFAIK it is completely idiomatic to use "you" in technical manuals written by native English speakers. Your client seems to prefer a completely impersonal style, but it will make the text harder to read.
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Maureen Wilkins (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:57
French to English
+ ...
Hi Michael
I would have no problem in using "you". It gives a more friendly and helpful feel to a manual, rather than using passive construction of sentences.
I just checked a couple of computer manuals on my bookshelves at random and both of these use "you" extensively.
Best wishes
Maureen
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Michael Harris
Germany
Local time: 10:57
Member (2006)
German to English
TOPIC STARTER
first of all. I was thinking the same and had never heard of this before. Thanks for confirming.
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| See no problem | Jul 7, 2011 |
but I would say "helps you to become familiar with the products" instead of "helps you to familiarise yourself"...
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B D Finch
France
Local time: 10:57
French to English
+ ...
| "You" is probably best | Jul 7, 2011 |
Using the third person can sound rather stuffy nowadays. By using "you", you are directly addressing the reader and this is generally accepted as more user-friendly.
This manual seeks to help familiarise you with ...?
[Edited at 2011-07-07 14:41 GMT]
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Michael Harris
Germany
Local time: 10:57
Member (2006)
German to English
TOPIC STARTER
just one of many sentences where "you" is used. This was just one example to see if you are all the same opinion or not.
Thanks a lot everyone
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Henry Hinds
United States
Local time: 02:57
English to Spanish
+ ...
In memoriam
Just to second the opinion of others, "you" is used extensively in English in such contexts, and I think it is fine. In other languages that may not necessarily be the case.
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Tina Vonhof (X)
Canada
Local time: 02:57
Dutch to English
+ ...
| You is appropriate | Jul 7, 2011 |
If the client insists, there is nothing you can do but comply.
But you could point out to the client that technical manuals are the equivalent of personal instruction and the use of "you" is appropriate in that situation. I agree with Milos that an impersonal style is much harder to read and the information is less likely to be absorbed.
I don't translate technical manuals but in medical information sheets for patients I always say "you" to speak directly to the patien... See more If the client insists, there is nothing you can do but comply.
But you could point out to the client that technical manuals are the equivalent of personal instruction and the use of "you" is appropriate in that situation. I agree with Milos that an impersonal style is much harder to read and the information is less likely to be absorbed.
I don't translate technical manuals but in medical information sheets for patients I always say "you" to speak directly to the patient (e.g., you will have to see your doctor for a follow-up visit every 3 months).
However, Phil gives some good examples of alternatives that can be used in certain contexts to make the instruction even more direct. ▲ Collapse
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Rodion Shein
Russian Federation
Local time: 11:57
English to Russian
+ ...
| Source Language | Jul 7, 2011 |
Michael Harris wrote:
...One comment that the customer has written is that he is convinced that "you" should not be used in technical instructions.
...I dont see why "you" should not be used?
Hi Michael,
Perhaps, it's just the influence of the client's source language. For example, 'you' must not be used in Russian technical instructions — it's considered a stylistic blunder.
Sometimes, clients try to apply requirements of the source language to the target, and it takes fairly long to make them understand that it's a wrong approach.
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| The problem is | Jul 7, 2011 |
whereas in some languages there is an impersonal form and you don't need to use a subject with a verb, in English you need the subject and the impersonal one is "one". This makes for terrible reading in technical manuals and you is standard. However, quite often the whole problem is eliminated by using an imperative like in Phil's example. But don't worry, the use of you is standard practice.
Eileen
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Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 10:57
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
| Impersonal, formal, passive | Jul 7, 2011 |
.. are features of formal style. English is overloaded with passives.
I think Phil's examples illustrate it best, and I would also say English "loves" impersonal forms in user guides.
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Dave Bindon
Greece
Local time: 11:57
Greek to English
In memoriam
Lingua 5B wrote:
.. are features of formal style. English is overloaded with passives.
True, formal English did/does overuse passive sentence constructions. At school I was taught to use them sparingly, and most modern style-guides also advise against overusing them.
In Greek, however, we have what is called the "medio-passive voice". Instead of using syntax to construct a passive sentence, Greek just changes the verb-ending. Depending on the context, the same medio-passive endings can have other meanings, such as reciprocal actions. So, in Greek, you only need a single word to say things like "it is considered", "I got bitten", "they were discovered", "we used to write to each other", etc.
Because it's easy to construct and has a wide range of uses, it's extremely common and not considered at all formal. So imagine the 'fun' I have translating Greek sentences with half a dozen 'medio-passive' verbs into anti-passive English!
Getting back to Michael's question... I agree with the others: using 'you' would sound fine to me.
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