Re: English vs American English etc.

On Feb 22, 2005, at 10:15 PM, Ferry Triyana wrote:

> I've seen a lot of people who can not speak and/or write English
> properly, but they can performed many tasks assigned to them with a
> result that even a pro would accept it.
I claim that engineering is a communications discipline--an individual who cannot make himself or herself understood in the language required for the project is likely to be a danger to everyone and may end up performing the wrong job stating requirements in a misleading fashion. In forty-plus years in this business, I've seen a lot of bad science remedied by good communication but none at all where good science could remedy bad communication.

People can be good or poor engineers in any language in the world, but no mater how skillful, if they can't make themselves understood their technical skills are meaningless. Once more, the issue is not that people don't speak English, the issue is inability to make oneself understood. Think how aggravated you'd get if I walked into your office and started saying 'You fella makee weldee plenty damn fine. Lookee her upclose on sound wavee lookee him in x-ray picture. Crackee, slagee, plenty damn bad--no want.' in broken Indonesian. You might be tolerant, although I doubt it--I wouldn't be, but even if you were, you couldn't make any use of all that gibberish.

I had an interesting experience years ago with some Korean engineers, who had come to this country to check progress on a system I was helping to design. I was introduced to their piping guys and asked to explain an analysis I was doing. I did, but it was obvious from the beginning they had no idea what I was talking about. I talked loud and slow, like Americans do, and I'd stop every so often and ask if I was making myself clear. Both engineers invariably nodded, 'yes' but it was obvious after they'd left and started writing letters that they should have shaken their heads, 'no' because they didn't have enough English and I didn't have enough Korean to communicate. The problem had nothing to do with competence and everything to do with understanding.

> I also have seen some Americans that claimed themself as a pro, and
> then
> proved to have less knowledges and experiences than local engineers
> (who
> can not speak English properly). And to add more in this unfairness
> story, these Americans' salary is 5 - 10 times bigger than local
> professional engineers.

Incompetence is international--there isn't a nation in the world without incompetent engineers. I daresay there isn't a subscriber to this list who hasn't had someone waltz in from out of town proclaiming himself or herself to be God's gift to everyone and turn out to be totally inept. On another list I've seen literally dozens of posts from all over the world from people carrying titles like senior engineer and section chief with questions that were embarrassingly ignorant of the field where they claimed expertise. What's new?

> Would this fact still arising some hard feelings from fellow Americans?
Sure. Incompetence always arouses hard feelings.

Christopher Wright P.E. |"They couldn't hit an elephant at chrisw@skypoint.com | this distance" (last words of Gen.

.......................................| John Sedgwick, Spotsylvania