Written Instructions in Japanese and English: A Comparative Analysis

Using a contrastive rhetoric approach, instruction manuals for electronic consumer products written in British English & Japanese are compared. It is contended that British & Japanese linguistic resources & sociocultural contexts of producing texts must be analyzed to explicate differences in linguistic selections & illustrate translation difficulties. The comparative analysis of British English & Japanese instruction manuals revealed the following: Japanese texts were more interpersonal & exhibited greater concern for the consumer; British English manuals used graphic devices less frequently; whereas Japanese manuals employed simple declarative statements, British English manuals utilized imperative sentence forms; use of politeness forms in Japanese manuals varied according to several determinants, eg, how actions were to be performed. The study's implications for translators, second-language instructors, & associated professionals are considered. 12 Figures, 1 Appendix, 40 References. Adapted from the source document