For details on/of/about
Tom Donahue
worked with for some time.
>「XXXXについて詳しくはYYYYをご覧ください。」
> for details on XXXX
> for details of XXXX
> for details about XXXX
>
> 米国サイトを検索したら、上記3種類がそれぞれ100万件以上、
> ヒットしました。
> この3種類の間に意味の違いはありますか？
Assume for the moment that this is for the operation
manual of a video camera, that XXXX is "white balance",
and that YYYY is a page number or a section title
like "Making white balance settings".
(In practice XXXX is more likely to be something like
"white balance settings", but assume for the moment
that it is simply "white balance".)
Is there any semantic difference between
For details on/of/about white balance, see YYYY. ?
Or is there any reason why one might be better than another?
--
Tom Donahue
Wataru Tenga
I'd prefer something like, "See YYYY for a detailed discussion of XXXX."
As a general rule, I think the "See YYYY" more naturally comes first in
the sentence in English. Instead of "for details on/of/about..." I often
use "for more on..."; "for more about" would also work fine.
As for the specific question of what should come after "for details," I'm
not sure I like any of the options. That's why I reworded it as above. But
if forced to choose, I'd pick "about."
Here's my "naturalness" ranking, from worst to best:
for details of white balance
for details on white balance
for details about white balance
for a detailed discussion of white balance
for more on white balance
for more about white balance
wataru
Tom Donahue
> Here's my "naturalness" ranking, from worst to best:
>
> for details of white balance
> for details on white balance
> for details about white balance
> for a detailed discussion of white balance
> for more on white balance
> for more about white balance
Thanks. Sorry, I didn't want to look as if I was angling
for this answer, but this is my opinion exactly.
The root cause is that someone at the client
keeps coming back to ask why we need two
different words ("details" and "more") to translate
expressions that sound very similar in Japanese.
詳しくはYYをご覧ください。 (Details sounds OK here)
XXについて詳しくはYYをご覧ください。 (but not here)
Apparently "For details of" sounds the most natural
to a lot of non-native speakers. That is "details" maps
very well to their perception of 詳しく.
My perception too, for that matter. So I wonder
why it sounds so odd in English..
--
Tom Donahue
Marc Adler
> to a lot of non-native speakers. That is "details" maps
> very well to their perception of 詳しく.
> My perception too, for that matter. So I wonder
> why it sounds so odd in English..
It doesn't have to, as Wataru said. His example, "See YYYY for a
detailed discussion of..." sounds natural to me, and uses "details."
On the other hand, in a lot of manuals you don't want to use that much
space just for a reference, so I often try to convince the client that
a simple "See p. 123" or "See [Section Heading]" placed immediately
after the mention of the function/setting/concept/etc. in question is
enough for the reader, making the "for details on" whatever
superfluous.
--
Marc Adler
Austin, TX
Gauçac eztira multçutu, eta berretu behar mengoaric, eta premiaric gabe.
Tom Donahue
> On the other hand, in a lot of manuals you don't want to use that much
> space just for a reference, so I often try to convince the client that
> a simple "See p. 123" or "See [Section Heading]" placed immediately
> after the mention of the function/setting/concept/etc. in question is
> enough for the reader, making the "for details on" whatever
> superfluous.
Yes, that's another alternative.
The problem is that the Japanese texts have exactly 5 reference
patterns, which I think is admirably disciplined, at least as far as
user manuals go. Three of them are no problem:
(page 86)
(See page 86.)
For details, see page 86.
But throw in について and 詳しくは and the English alternatives start
to proliferate. Some sound OK to me, some don't , but they all get
millions of hits.
Anyway thanks for the comments, I will pass them along.
--
Tom Donahue