Linguocultural features and the Internet?
The Internet represents a model of the unification of mankind, being the vanguard of the globalization of the modern world.
Interestingly, when creating a website, the linguocultural features of future users are rarely taken into account.
Are there any? And should we pay attention to them?
All these arguments are inspired by the article "Navigation of the website: linguocultural features"
Often when creating websites are guided by the principle of the average user. Our future users are all web users. That is, unification is occurring - one size fits all.
But one should take into account not only the quality of the intended target audience (age, gender, financial situation, values, etc.), but also the mentality, linguocultural features of those for whom we are creating the site.
On the one hand, it seems strange, but why do we need this? It seems we understand the goals and objectives of users. We create an interface / site that meets their needs and that's all - it's a matter of the hat.
Google also thought so when making Google Maps for Japan. But they did not take into account cultural features. They consisted in the fact that they were not looking for addresses, looking for places of interest. That is, not the City, the Street, the House number, but the location next to such a temple, etc.
Miscalculation? Imperfection? It is difficult to judge. The pattern and the general approach to creating interactive applications dictated their requirements, which went against the mentality.
Also, an interesting observation can be made about Western sites. In the West, Protestant ethics is strong in many respects (see Weber), the values ​​there are individuality and work. This value system is reflected in the structure of Western web resources. Thus, the section of the corporate website of a western company often contains a page called “Executive Biography”. This page details the company’s management, a list of personal achievements.
The author of the article correctly noted:
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So are there linguocultural features? Should I take them into account? What other examples of such features we forget?
Interestingly, when creating a website, the linguocultural features of future users are rarely taken into account.
Are there any? And should we pay attention to them?
All these arguments are inspired by the article "Navigation of the website: linguocultural features"
Often when creating websites are guided by the principle of the average user. Our future users are all web users. That is, unification is occurring - one size fits all.
But one should take into account not only the quality of the intended target audience (age, gender, financial situation, values, etc.), but also the mentality, linguocultural features of those for whom we are creating the site.
On the one hand, it seems strange, but why do we need this? It seems we understand the goals and objectives of users. We create an interface / site that meets their needs and that's all - it's a matter of the hat.
Google also thought so when making Google Maps for Japan. But they did not take into account cultural features. They consisted in the fact that they were not looking for addresses, looking for places of interest. That is, not the City, the Street, the House number, but the location next to such a temple, etc.
Miscalculation? Imperfection? It is difficult to judge. The pattern and the general approach to creating interactive applications dictated their requirements, which went against the mentality.
Also, an interesting observation can be made about Western sites. In the West, Protestant ethics is strong in many respects (see Weber), the values ​​there are individuality and work. This value system is reflected in the structure of Western web resources. Thus, the section of the corporate website of a western company often contains a page called “Executive Biography”. This page details the company’s management, a list of personal achievements.
The author of the article correctly noted:
')
On the western resources, the phrase, when clicked on which the user gets on the corresponding page, is formulated as “How To Use”, and in Russian - as “Help”. In the semantics of the word "help", in our opinion, there is a certain passive attitude: a user who has lost his orientation, by clicking on a link, expects real help. The English-language resource on a similar page usually offers only a manual for using the site, sometimes far from easy to read. Russian collectivism forms the expectation of help in the user's situation and the willingness to help — in the situation of the owner (moderator) of the resource.
So are there linguocultural features? Should I take them into account? What other examples of such features we forget?
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/25457/
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