This summary begins with a summary of the sources that would give readers a better understanding of rhetorical practices related to localization. The last two sections summarize sources that contextualize the application of localization in the field of public health. As technical communicators we need to understand the process of localizing any information that will be available to the public; it is simply part of the audience analysis that we conduct before we even begin writing. Beyond that basic application, the practice of localization is essential to the social justice and accessibility movements that are a huge part of our work. Giving examples of localization in medical contexts helps us understand how important consideration of the audience can be.
Part of globalization is localization. As the world continuously evolves to become more connected, it’s important to adapt communication to be understood by the generalized international public. This is called internationalization or globalization. The practice of localization is taking that generalized information and personalizing it to a specific culture. Localization’s role in technical communication is not limited to basic translation work; considering cultural characteristics is a key part of social justice initiatives and our constant pursuit of inclusivity.
The author’s goal in this article is to explain how technical communicators can work together with community strategists to encourage more meaningful connections to diasporas. The conclusion emphasizes the need for further research to be conducted in this field.
Executive Order 13166 was created to ensure that patients who are not fluent in English are properly informed of their options in a healthcare setting. It was part of a larger push for more translation services to attain equal access to government services for all of the diverse populations living in the United States. In this article the author explains how she researched her strategies presented later in the article. She talked about the important role that culture plays in healthcare, including how different cultures may use different symptom descriptors for the same disease and that solutions for patients with limited medical literacy must be considered. If graphics are part of that solution, the characteristics of the graphic including use color must be adapted depending on the culture that the materials are targeted to. All vital medical documentation must be translated by technical communicators, which is why it is so important we are properly informed about the best way to comply with the executive order.
The author Germaine-McDaniel (2010) made the following recommendations to technical communicators who are localizing medical information:
1. Make the textual style of the information match that of the culture's expectations.
2. Research the preferences for graphics and color in medical documents for the target culture and use the preferred style in the documentation.
3. Use widely recognized symbols.
4. Use focus groups to test the localization strategy with representatives of the target culture.
5. Consider the content of the documentation when localizing, not just the style and format.
This study presents a detailed example of how localization can be applied in a healthcare setting. The author provides an analysis of a published study that collected data about Hispanic preferences for receiving medical information about the human papillomavirus (HPV). The Hispanic population and all of the different cultures that fall under that umbrella term make up a quarter of the total population of the United States, so it is vital to consider each cultural group’s preferences on a large scale. This is a great example of how localization reaches beyond translation to revise content and consider stylistic customization.
A few of the considerations that the author mentions are the preference for a formal tone, an emphasis on relationships and a low tolerance for uncertain tones. The study also identified a preference for association as opposed to linearity, which means that the information is more loosely related and the organizational structure isn’t as rigid. In this case, the HPV information was delivered with simple, unintimidating questions in each heading. The graphics should make use of brighter colors to increase the document’s attractiveness and use a greater number of realistic depictions in social settings to give context to the message.
In this article, Walton and Hopton analyze how a Vietnamese nonprofit cultivated community engagement with social health issues using rhetorical strategies. The organization that is responsible for raising funds for generational victims of Agent Orange is called the Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange (VAVA). This chemical was a weapon of war deployed by the United States during the Vietnam War to devastate crops; the use of Agent Orange also led to devastating health consequences for the humans that were exposed to it. VAVA has made use of rhetorical tools of persuasion that are familiar to the field of technical communication in order to motivate Vietnamese citizens to support ongoing support and relief efforts.
Researchers had to first seek to understand Vietnamese rhetorical practices. In this culture, direct methods of persuasion are unwelcome and there is a series of social tactics that can be employed during the community’s encounters with information about Agent Orange. The authors made note of the influence of Confucianism in developing cultural preferences such as strong camaraderie. Walton and Hopton’s (2018) findings concluded that the following rhetorical strategies were most effective:
Conveying information through activities and experiences (experiencing information), powerful images (seeing information), and numbers (quantifying information).
Using that information to promote community engagement by reducing stigma and drawing upon a sense of responsibility.
The conclusion of the study included an informative section about how technical communicators can increase community engagement (localization) in other contexts. The most impactful suggestion was to consider partnering with local organizations that are already experts in community engagement in order to be most effective in communicative efforts.