General English Translation Questions

[Giugiaro]

Good news everyone!

It seems we had the go-ahead with our proposal. So we should be seeing some of the work here on the coaches in two months.

I'll check back on you whenever other questions arise.

Thank you!

 

[DelW]

The English reads well to me, but I'm very surprised at the order of paragraphs. I would normally start reading at the upper-left of such an instruction sheet, which in this case is "In an accident", something I imagine is as rare in Portugal as it is in Britain.

I would expect the order of paragraphs to be the most likely occurrence first, so probably something like:

1. If you need help
2. First aid and medical emergencies
3. Other recommendations (possibly retitled "General safety guidance" or similar)
4. In case of fire
5. In any evacuation
6. In an accident

That way, the reader reaches the most beneficial advice as quickly as possible, though in this case, (4) and (5) could really go either way round depending which occurs more frequently.

Then the question is whether people read across-then-down or down-then-across:

1 - 2 - 3 or 1 - 3 - 5
4 - 5 - 6 2 - 4 - 6

I think I'd find across-then-down more natural.

 

[alxndr]

The English reads well to me, but I'm very surprised at the order of paragraphs. I would normally start reading at the upper-left of such an instruction sheet, which in this case is "In an accident", something I imagine is as rare in Portugal as it is in Britain.

I would expect the order of paragraphs to be the most likely occurrence first, so probably something like:

1. If you need help
2. First aid and medical emergencies
3. Other recommendations (possibly retitled "General safety guidance" or similar)
4. In case of fire
5. In any evacuation
6. In an accident

That way, the reader reaches the most beneficial advice as quickly as possible, though in this case, (4) and (5) could really go either way round depending which occurs more frequently.

Then the question is whether people read across-then-down or down-then-across:

1 - 2 - 3 or 1 - 3 - 5
4 - 5 - 6 2 - 4 - 6

I think I'd find across-then-down more natural.

My thinking was the opposite, deal with the situations that are most urgent, and knowing what to do is most pressing, first. In those cases you're less likely to have time to hunt for, or read, the information so are relying on having seen it before. If it's at the end people may have gotten bored before getting there or had to skim all the other headings first to find what they need.

I'd say down and then across is more natural (for a westerner), it's how we read other documents that are in multiple blocks of text, such as newspapers or books.

 

[Giugiaro]

Good afternoon everyone!

Just to keep you posted on the project: Some of the things we've discussed here might actually be installed on the coaches!

Cheers.