Are Style Guides Controlled Languages? The Case of Koenig & Bauer AG

TL;DR

This paper examines how Koenig & Bauer AG developed a controlled language for technical documentation, showing how style guides can evolve from non-linguistic rules into a formal, prescriptive controlled language to improve authoring processes.

Contribution

It demonstrates the emergence of a controlled language from style guides based on non-linguistic factors and analyzes its transition into a formal, prescriptive system.

Findings

Style guides can evolve into controlled languages.

Non-linguistic considerations influence language control.

Transition from recommendations to formal rules is feasible.

Abstract

Controlled natural languages for industrial application are often regarded as a response to the challenges of translation and multilingual communication. This paper presents a quite different approach taken by Koenig & Bauer AG, where the main goal was the improvement of the authoring process for technical documentation. Most importantly, this paper explores the notion of a controlled language and demonstrates how style guides can emerge from non-linguistic considerations. Moreover, it shows the transition from loose language recommendations into precise and prescriptive rules and investigates whether such rules can be regarded as a full-fledged controlled language.