Writing for a Global Audience

By Anuja Aggarwal

English is the lingua franca of the world. It has become an international language, and is widely spoken. It is one of the commonest communication tools and bridges the gap between known and the unknown.

While writing for a global audience, keep your content simple and to-the-point. When you're writing for audiences for whom English is not the native language, you run into problems of obscurity and miscommunication. To overcome this, you are encouraged to write in international English, which means that you must un-Americanize your writing so that anyone who understands the English language can fully comprehend your writing.

Writing in international English for a global audience isn't difficult if you are aware of your words. If you divert yourself while writing, you might use vernacular language or words, which tend to have two or more meanings that can easily be misinterpreted. Your job is to make your writing easy for your global audience to understand.

Avoid using phrasal and modal verbs. Phrasal verbs are those that have two or more words. For example: Please "call up" your friend for dinner tonight. "Drop out", "turn out" are other such phrases you should avoid while forming a sentence. Always use a one-word verb that speaks the similar meaning. Modal verbs include words such as "should," "can," "might," or "may." These words can be made use of only when there is an absolute necessity in formation of a sentence.

Avoid Americanisms, clichés, and slang. Certain slang words and phrases are never understood by the masses, sometimes not even by the American audience. Also stay away from jargons and short forms.

Make sure you write a complete sentence, which makes sense. Sentence fragments might make sense in English, but they are difficult to translate. Be precise. Vagueness almost always misleads the reader. Shun analogies and metaphors that are irrelevant to a particular audience. Be consistent and never be biased. There should not be any repetitions in your sentence formation.

Write short and straight sentences. Use simple sentence constructions. Short sentences that have fifteen to twenty words are always easier to read.

Use positive language. Never use negative constructions, which can be hard to translate. It is advisable to use the active voice often. When you use passive verbs you risk making your meaning ambiguous. Use pronouns with simple, common words, which convey clear meanings.

Proofread very carefully. Your content should be grammatically correct. Many of the readers are generally good with English grammar and if you do not follow the basic rules of grammar, you are out there to confuse the audience at large. Instead, get some help! Always ask someone to read your copy for clarity and to help you identify potentially offensive or misleading language.

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