Journal of Business and Technical Communication Jan 1998

Genre and Technical Translation

PHILIP EUBANKS

Abstract

Carolyn Miller's definition of genre as “social action” has become widely accepted in writing studies; this acceptance has prompted troubling questions about the teaching of professional genres. Because current research emphasizes Miller's reconceptualization of “exigence” as a socially construed need for particular kinds of writing and talk (155-58), some researchers now suggest that unless a genre's social exigence can be fully replicated in the classroom, the genre cannot be taught effectively. Genres, however, entail several kinds of exigence: social exigence that prompts generic writing; social exigence that is reflected in the generic text; textual exigence that shapes the rhetorical situation; and what I call educational exigence, an exigence that prompts writers to learn explicitly how to compose generic texts. Educational exigence was evident in the writing processes of two technical translators who composed in a variety of genres, both familiar and unfamiliar to them. The translators not only responded to educational exigence but also followed a well-considered strategy for gathering information about generic texts.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
1998-01-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651998012001003
Open Access
Closed
Topics
writing across the curriculum multilingual writers

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (2)

  1. Weedon et al. (2021)
    Embodied Genres, Typified Performances, and the Engineering Design Process
    Written Communication
  2. Weedon (2020)
    Emotion and the Economy of Genre in a Design Presentation
    Technical Communication Quarterly

Cites in this index (6)

  1. Charney et al. (1995)
    Learning to Write in a Genre: What Student Writers Take from Model Texts
    Research in the Teaching of English
  2. FREEDMAN et al. (1994)
    Wearing Suits to Class
    Written Communication
  3. Fahnestock (1993)
    Genre and Rhetorical Craft
    Research in the Teaching of English
  4. Freedman (1993)
    Show and Tell? The Role of Explicit Teaching in the Learning of New Genres
    Research in the Teaching of English
  5. Williams et al. (1993)
    The Case for Explicit Teaching: Why What You Don’t Know Won’t Help You
    Research in the Teaching of English
Show all 6 →
  1. SCHRYER (1993)
    Records as Genre
    Written Communication
Also cites 3 works outside this index ↓
  1. Berkenkotter, Carol
    Genre Knowledge in Disciplinary Communication: Cognition/Culture/Power
     ↗
  2. 10.2307/358391
     ↗
  3. 10.1080/00335638409383686
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 5 View in citation network →

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