Technical Communication Quarterly Jun 1992

“Ourselves among others”: A new metaphor for business and technical writing

Timothy Weiss University of Maine

Abstract

Business and technical writing grows out of a need to “build bridges” between ourselves and others. With today's diversifying readerships and increasingly global marketplace, business and industry face a new challenge that is reshaping our conception of business/technical writing and the metaphors of the genre. The metaphors of “selling” and “reader‐centeredness” demand especially to be recast and subordinated to a new metaphor of interculturalism/ internationalism—"ourselves among others.” Grounded in a social theory of language and communication, this new metaphor signifies that “bridge‐building” across differences will be the key in contexts becoming at once more heterogeneous and global.

Journal
Technical Communication Quarterly
Published
1992-06-01
DOI
10.1080/10572259209359504
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Open Access
Closed
Topics
genre theory technical communication
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (16)

  1. Yu (2012)
    Intercultural Competence in Technical Communication: A Working Definition and R…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Cardon (2008)
    A Critique of Hall's Contexting Model: A Meta-Analysis of Literature on Intercu…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. Matveeva (2008)
    Teaching Intercultural Communication in a Basic Technical Writing Course: A Sur…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  4. Crabtree et al. (2005)
    Technical Communication, Participatory Action Research, and Global Civic Engage…
    Reflections: A Journal of Community-Engaged Writing and Rhetoric
  5. Whiteside (2003)
    The Skills That Technical Communicators Need: An Investigation of Technical Com…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Show all 16 →
  1. Smith (2000)
    Strength in the Technical Communication Journals and Diversity in the Serials Cited
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. EUBANKS (1999)
    Conceptual Metaphor as Rhetorical Response: A Reconsideration of Metaphor
    Written Communication
  3. YUAN (1997)
    Yin/Yang Principle and the Relevance of Externalism and Paralogic Rhetoric to I…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  4. Miles (1997)
    Globalizing Professional Writing Curricula: Positioning Students and Re-Positio…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. SAUER (1996)
    Communicating Risk in a Cross-Cultural Context: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of …
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  6. THOMPSON (1996)
    Competence and Critique in Technical Communication: A Qualitative Content Analy…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  7. Kostelnick (1995)
    Cultural adaptation and information design: two contrasting views
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  8. Baker et al. (1994)
    The rhetoric of power: Political issues in management writing
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  9. Thrush (1993)
    Bridging the gaps: Technical communication in an international and multicultura…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  10. WEISS (1993)
    “The Gods must be Crazy”: The Challenge of the Intercultural
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  11. Ross et al. (1991)
    Communicating in public policy matters: addressing the problem of non-congruent…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication

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CrossRef global citation count: 18 View in citation network → Build reading path →

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