Centre for European and International Studies Research (CEISR)

Profile

My PhD seeks to extend the boundaries of existing controlled languages which focus on improving international English language technical documentation quality in terms of its comprehensibility and readability through linguistic ambiguity resolution. It aims to do this by identifying the most widely agreed upon and accepted linguistic and non-linguistics features of the language that contribute directly towards English language technical documentation comprehensibility and readability from international (English language) literature on technical communication and information design and then using these features as the basis for the development of a broader, more holistic controlled language model.

My research interests are centred on controlled languages and the history of English language technical writing and editing. I have worked as a technical translator (Japanese to English) and a technical writer.

Qualifications

• PGDip (Distinction) University of Portsmouth
• MA (Distinction) University of Portsmouth
• PGCE Jordanhill College of Education
• BA (Hons) University of Kent

Research Clusters

• Language Across Borders

Current Research Projects

• PhD Thesis: 'An investigation into the development and evaluation of a controlled language for English language technical documentation'.

Research CV

Book Chapters

• 2010 Controlled Languages for Technical Writing and Translation. In I. Kemble (Ed.), The Changing Face of Translation: Proceedings of the Ninth Annual Portsmouth Translation Conference held on 7 November 2009 (pp. 48-62). Portsmouth: University of Portsmouth.

• 2010 Chaucer: a father of instruction manuals. Communicator, Autumn 2010, 12-14.
• 2009 The ‘quality’ in quality documentation. Communicator, Spring 2009, 27-30.

Papers Given

• 'Controlling language through controlled languages' at The 5th Meeting of the Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators (ISTC) Southern Group, Portsmouth, 23rd March 2011.
• ‘Negotiating language barriers in industry: controlled language approaches to internationally-oriented English language technical documentation’ at Sociolinguistics Symposium 18: Negotiating transnational space and multilingual encounters, University of Southampton, 1st - 4th September 2010.
• ‘Controlled languages for technical writing and translation’ at The Ninth Portsmouth Translation Conference ‘The Translator as Writer’, University of Portsmouth, 7th November 2009.

Grants Received

• 2010: University of Southampton bursary to attend and present at Sociolinguistics Symposium 18
• 2009: Arts and Humanities Research Council PhD Studentship

Memberships

• Member of British Standards Institute (BSI) Technical Committee TS/1 for the development of a new simplified natural language standard.