It’s time to choose.
Below is a shortlist of names for the new technical writer’s association. Some names are bilingual; some are English-only. If none appeal to you, click Other and put your suggestion.
If there’s no clear winner, I’ll run a second poll with the top picks. Voting on this poll closes on Monday, February 27, 2012 at 5 pm.
After STC-Montreal 
Re: the Trapeeze Artist post, let go of that rope and start swinging, guys! I’m still lobbying for WOMBAT (with ARMPCTS coming in a close second – thanks Chris).
Hi Jim,
The French translations don’t really work. ACTM should probably be something like ” Association pour la technologie et la communication de Montréal”, CTCM should be “Communicateurs Techniques Canadiens de Montréal”, and “Travailleurs de Contenu de Montreal” sounds more like a blue-collar job :). I’m also not sure about “communicateurs” in general, but it might be just be my opinion. Is there really a need to have a French translation?
I also prefer WOMBAT, although that probably won’t be easy to translate!
Here are my thoughts on these names:
1) ATCM – Association for Technical Communication in Montreal – Association pour technologie et communication de Montréal
I think this one is a nonstarter simply because the English and French say two completely different things.
2) BCM – Business Communicators of Montréal
This would translate as Communicateurs d’affaires de Montréal (CAM). I’m not sure what exactly it has to do with what we do, though. What’s the rationale here?
3) CTCM – Canadian Technical Communications Montreal – Communicators technique Canadiens Montreal
(Note: It should be “Canadian Technical *Communicators* – Montreal.”) As was brought up at the volunteer’s meeting, the inclusion of “Canadian”/”canadiennes” causes some problems: not all members are Canadian or even in Canada (best to make it purely regional, I say); the name implies there’s such an organization as the “Canadian Technical Communicators,” which there isn’t; and, well, sorry to say, given where we are…enough said. However, I’m all for having an acronym that works in both languages, so if we can come up with another word that starts with “c” in both English and French, something related to what we do, this one could work.
4) CTMTC – Communicateurs Techniques de Montréal Technical Communicators
This one gets my vote. Not only does it use the same acronym for both languages but it’s a bilingual palindrome. That’s just cool! (Full disclosure: I suggested it.)
5) MCW-TCM – Montreal Content Workers – Travailleurs de Contenu de Montreal
This one brings up the content-versus-techcomm debate. If few people know what technical communication is, even less will know what “content” refers to. That being said, it could work.
6) YULTC – Montreal Technical Communicators
This could also be TCYUL. I like the use of the airport code, but it’s only “TC” in English. The French would be CTYUL or, if the syntax isn’t an issue, YULCT, removing the possibility of an acronym that works in both languages. (Full disclosure: I suggested it.)
I forgot to mention that CTCM is being used by the Centre des textiles contemporains de Montréal. That could be a problem, what with the organizations being in the same city.
For that matter, CTMTC is being used by a Chinese textile-machine company. (Less of an issue, I’d say.)
Silly suggestion: How about YULC (pronounced you’ll see). Could translate in Montreal Communication (or something similar) which works in both French and English.