English in a Technical Age
Progress in technolog
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Progress in technology has only increased the need for good writing. Humans must still communicate effectively: writing demonstrates the human capacity for manipulating symbols. Indeed, it is itself technological. In the field of engineering, English is particularly important. Most engineers spend considerable time writing and editing. Since certain projects receive much attention, many engineering documents are widely read. There are obviously many different types of writing. A style used for one purpose, may not be particularly suited for another (Day 1). Technical writing, for example, differs considerably from creative writing. Creative writing deals with feeling, emotion, and opinion; whereas, technical writing involves a dispassionate recording of fact. The need for simplicity, clarity, and conciseness in technical writing can be traced back as far as Francis Bacon The "so-called 'father of science,'" rebuked Renaissance writers. He claimed that they "hunt more after words than matter (Goldbort 39)." In contrast, during the 1950s, sociologist Talcott Parsons postulated that class distinctions might one day be based on technical vocabularies. He predicted that technical professionals would use language to protect their own interests; the development of "specialized lexicons" would create a "technical priesthood." Parsons believed that such a class might control the nontechnological masses through verbal and written obfu
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ufacturing and using sophisticated tools required that early humans exchange greater quantities of information. Hence, tool-making societies began to organize "arbitrary symbols for events (words) by means of symbols for relations (grammar) (Smith 572);" thus language was born.
The "technical communication model" emphasizes that English should be employed towards the realization of human need. Technology gives humans the ability to improve their circumstances. In modern society, language may control technology by enabling the management of information storage and retrieval. Through its influence on the ultimate consequences of technological development, language has proven to be the "enabling essence of homo faber's evolution (Smith 569)." The technical communication model views English as a tool. As Smith (1986) concludes, technical communication is the "species' primary survival trait," both "individually and collectively (578)."
Scholars of technical writing, however, tend to focus more on specific writing techniques than on the philosophy of language. Regardless of whether they are preparing a letter, a paper, or a proposal though, most such writers generally find themselves describing something. In technical
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Approximate Word count = 1709
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)
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