tekom-Jahrestagung 2012 - ActiveDoc

Lokalisierung und Übersetzung / Localization
LOC 25
Partner presentation
Multimodal Texts: Reading, comprehension
and writing, in Brazil and in Germany
Prof. Ana Elisa Ribeiro, Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica de Minas Gerais (CEFET-
MG), Brazil
Sabrina Bauer, Hochschule Karlsruhe – Technik und Wirtschaft, Germany
Reading, multimodal texts and technical documentation
This work starts from some ideas about reading, multimodal text and
technical documentation. We understand that reading is essentially a
hypertextual and multisemiotic process, but it depends on activations
given by the texts we have access to. Therefore, hypertextuality is constitutive
of texts, as pointed out by Coscarelli (2003, 2006, 2009). Texts
are always composed of several languages, since they are at least visual
and verbal, simultaneously. Therefore, multimodality seems an inherent
element of texts, as claimed by Kress and Van Leeuwen (1998),
when dealing with newspapers: «All texts are multimodal». In technical
documentation, several languages are also applied in compositions that
strive to make sense to a reader who wants, for example, follow instructions
or perform a task. These were the cases we analyzed, especially in
our studies with Sabrina Bauer (2011) and Marta Costa (2012).
The participants
Types and distribution
of technical documents
Technical documentation in Brazil and in Germany
The master thesis “Qualitative research interview in the context of
intercul tural communication – using the example of the research project
’Technical communi cation in Brazil’“gives an insight on status, development
and processes in technical communication of companies based in
Brazil.
Besides quality and status of the technical documentation, the research
focuses on internal and external knowledge management and information
structures.
Participants with different background knowledge and from various
work areas took part in this research project. A very heterogeneous
group of specialists had to complete either an on-line questionnaire or
attend a personal interview. The participating professions ranged from
Technical Translators, Product Managers, Electrical Engineers to Technical
Writers coming from different industries such as software, manufacturing
and service business.
The main document types developed by the participants are user and
service manuals as well as training material and process documentation.
Multimedia technical documentation like animations, apps, videos
as well as graphics are seldom. The most common visual content that is
developed in the participants’ departments are photographs and illustrations.
The same classic approach can be applied to output formats
which basically consist of PDF, DOC and PowerPoint presentations.
The main platform to share documentation is the company’s website.
Alternatives like YouTube, social networks and wikis are mentioned but
not preferred. Thus, classic documentation and classic communication
channels still remain first choice.
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tekom-Jahrestagung 2012