Sensitivity in Writing

— Meghashri Dalvi

The biggest impact of globalization is our vast exposure to diversity. Compared to earlier generations, we regularly come across a variety of different people. As professional communicators, it is extremely important for us to recognize this diversity and represent it sensitively in content that we develop.

What is sensitivity?

Sensitivity in approach suggests that we:

  • Recognize the diverse groups, their history, culture, beliefs, customs, conventions, and ethics.
  • Respect individuals, and their freedom of choice within legal boundaries. Lifestyle choices, such as career, ideological preferences, food habits, hairstyle, clothes, body art, entertainment preference, and sexual orientation, are often knowingly taken up by the individual, with full awareness of their implications.
  • Understand circumstances such as social and economic situation, education level, marital status, employment status, available free time, weight, accent, and state of health. Some of these circumstances are quite often beyond the control of the individual.

Best practices

With awareness and empathy, it is not too difficult to ensure sensitivity in writing. The following best practices are based on a simple structured approach and constant alertness:

  • Identify possible traps

Country—or culture-specific references are the usual suspects. Sometimes these references just don’t click. For example, using cricket references (like “googly” and “bouncer”) for U.S. audiences will fail to convey the meaning just as using baseball references (like “home run” and “ballpark figure”) will miss the mark in Asia. Sometimes, however, these references can hurt. Phrases like “holy cow,” “wizard,” and “devil” have altogether different meanings in many cultures. It is best to avoid such phrases.

Political references are a strict no—no. And so are references to historical, cultural, and sports icons. Our vocabulary already supports politically correct words for disabilities, gender neutrality, and racial references. Use them consciously to avoid problems.

Sometimes, seemingly harmless phrases evoke strong responses. In 2004, Los Angeles actually banned the use of “master-slave,” a common computer networking term. The Global Language Monitor 2006 report cites the bizarre example of using “writing block” in place of “flip chart” so as not to offend Filipinos! These examples may sound over the top at first; but the concern for respecting all cultures and situations is very evident.

Note that when content gets translated or localized, the meaning can get further twisted, inviting more potential problems. The notorious anecdotes of christening a car model as Nova and losing market in Spain (“nova” in Spanish means “no-go”), or naming a curling iron as Mist and losing face in Germany (“mist” means “manure” in German), are no longer mere gaffes but a serious concern for organizations. How text can be misinterpreted by the localizer is one of the writing traps that you should keep in mind.

A new front is now opening toward sensitivity-how more prosperous cultures behave toward the less prosperous ones. As affluent societies get exposed to underprivileged societies, they learn that not all have access to technology, education, and health. Objects such as cars that are considered a necessity by some can be considered a luxury by others. These nuances in outlook are getting clearer. Try to incorporate them in your writing.

Recently in a management training conference, one of the attendees had an interesting experience to share. Word problems or quizzes are often used in management training. However, for a global training program, the trainers could not use these traditional methods because some of the attendees did not understand the clues at all and some were offended by the clues. In certain cultures, even the idea of adults trying to solve word problems is ridiculed.

Given sufficient time to get familiarized with global culture, most people can manage. However, the process of globalization has accelerated to such an extent that there is hardly any buffer time to understand each other. Identifying and avoiding possible traps is the best interim solution.
  • Develop guidelines

It would be a good idea to start early and make a simple set of guidelines-for your own use and for the team. Go on adding to these guidelines as you come across more information or more directions from clients. The Internet offers lots of resources that you can customize according to your content needs.

Keep checking the news and current events-they offer a true reflection of global concerns about sensitivity-and see if any of them can add to your guidelines. A recent incident was about the Chinese stumbling on the word “stakeholder” in U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick’s speech. It took quite some time to sort that out. Not understanding a certain, fairly common English buzzword had led to the Chinese desperately searching for its full meaning-whether the connotation of the word was positive or negative for them.

Another interesting anecdote refers to how minorities in a country are being referred by several newly coined terms, “asylum seekers,” for example. In another report, terrorists are now being labeled “misguided criminals.”

On another level, if you know your audience preferences, you can build a vocabulary master with equivalent words for different audiences. British-American word lists, which are now very common, highlight differences like “gas and petrol” and “parking lot and car park.” You can make similar lists for your audience.

While you are at it, you can also prepare a list of words that may be misinterpreted in other cultures. In English, the adjective “sweet” typically indicates “good” or “nice.” In Japanese, however “sweet” conveys “bad” or “immature.” A “sweet person” in English has all the possibilities of getting interpreted as a “rather pushy, spoiled person” in Japanese. A Bobby (policeman) is immediately recognized by those who have had a brush with British culture, either directly or through literature. But “Bobby” may have an altogether different meaning in other languages and cultures, leading to possible embarrassment from its use.

Titles referring to the marital status of a woman (“Miss” or “Mrs”) are considered unprofessional and offending in several western cultures, but omitting such a title is a big offence in the Eastern culture. You can choose a middle ground, like addressing a woman by the title “Ms.”

Go on adding such points to your guidelines. Over time, they will serve as pointers that help you design and deliver sensitive writing.
  • Pay attention to design elements

Besides the obvious words and phrases, other aspects of content can also lead to possible sensitivity issues-especially design elements such as fonts, colors, pictures, and illustrations.
Fonts may seem noncontroversial, but recently Kathy Porter, an HR trainer in a multinational company embarrassed herself when she used a font style that is commonly used for funeral announcements in the Czech Republic. She now advises people to stick to 3 to 4 common fonts for all communication that may or may not be intended for a global audience.

Choosing colors is also a major issue. White color generally indicates purity and peace, but in Japan it is associated with death. Some colors like red, orange, and green are clearly associated with religions or ideologies, and some hues convey masculinity in some cultures. Neutral colors and universal hues may make your work look a little boring, but they are, nonetheless, safe to use!
Pictures, photos, and illustrations need to be examined very carefully. Quite a few cultures have taboos about photos of living people. When using illustrations, keep lifestyles in mind. Showing a plumber arriving at work in a car is acceptable in the United States, but may raise eyebrows in India. Even a lapse like using old or controversial maps of countries can make the communication insulting.

Designing graphics that can be later adapted for languages that are not left-to-right reading is also a big step toward sensitivity.

Metaphors in graphics make them appealing, but they can also make them insensitive. Making an OK sign by touching the thumb and forefinger, while the rest of the fingers are held straight, is actually considered an insulting gesture in parts of Australia and Indonesia. Caricatures are considered offensive in the Eastern culture, and using children in illustrations is becoming a sensitive issue. Tread these zones carefully.

Using noncontroversial and universally understood metaphors is a good solution. An envelope always represents letter, mail, or post. A book represents a set of pages or papers that have a common theme. Up/down arrows indicate upward/downward directions. These are simple and clean metaphors that are globally effective.

Keep yourself updated about how the global perspective on sensitivity keeps adjusting-and reflect that in your writing.

About the Author

Meghashri Dalvi has combined her love of writing with an engineering and management background to create a successful career in technical communication. She currently works as Consulting Technical Communicator, and is pursuing her doctoral research in management. You can write to Meghashri at meghashri_dalvi@hotmail.com.
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