Translation agency Scriba translation services

Technical translation

Translation of technology texts forms a large part of the current translation market, for the field of technology translation comprises multiple domains and there are very few areas without any connection to technology. Thus, translation of technology texts encompasses various domains:

• user manuals;
• maritime industries;
• medicine;
• information technology;
• natural sciences;
• environment protection and technologies;
• construction, civil and other engineering etc.

Classification of a text into technology or legal or any other area is obviously conditioned, for the borders between the areas could be undistinguished.

Translation of technology texts is an interesting field of translation for it brings together experts in their fields with required professional knowledge to translate well and accurately on the one hand, and translators, who are educated in the field of philology and who can probably provide a linguistically better translation, on the other hand.

Thus, people with both linguistic education and, for example, an education in medicine or physics, stand in high value. The greatest advantage of professional experts is that they are well versed in their respective terminology and can understand the texts to be translated very well. Even though absurd mistakes have become rarer in the work of experienced translators, those lacking technology experience may with their mistakes bring about dramatic consequences.

Translation of technology texts mostly involves the following aspects:

• accuracy and correctness,
• careful reading,
• common sense,
• good imagination,
• consideration of the reader.

It is evident that accuracy and correctness are not only required for the presentation of insight or other artistic expression of the author. An error in a user manual may in the best case result in angry calls to the manufacturer and be nerve wrecking for the client, but in the worst case it may even bring about a serious accident.

The translator of technology texts must be able to imagine what the described device, apparatus, etc. looks like. It may happen that the source text, which could already be a translation, also contains mistakes, but careful reading, common sense and good imagination should ensure that the errors of the original text are not carried over into target language.

As it is with any other text type, a technology translation also requires consideration of the readers, i.e. the target group. The readers’ assumed knowledge determines which terms the translator and editor are justified to use. A text meant for surgeons, which describes a medical apparatus, uses more specific terms (often in Latin) than the booklet meant for the patients who will be treated it with. Thus it all boils down, as it usually is the case with all scientists, to the need to talk about and explain complicated things in the language that even the layman can understand.

Translation of texts related to machines and programs is facilitated by the opportunity to use or inspect the machines and programs oneself, or observe how others operate them. In this way it is much easier to imagine what is described in the text and avoid silly mistakes that otherwise may occur in the translation.

In that respect the client may help the translator and, if possible, introduce to the translator the machine or program described in the text. This, however, it is not always feasible, in which case the translator may have to look up the product at the vendor (provided, of course, that the product is already marketed) or to rely on visual aids.

Like the case is with legal translations, technology translation also requires attention to the following aspects of the text:

• it must be unambiguous,
• it must be easily understandable,
• it must be as concise as possible (for example, warnings in user manual).

Two types of technology translation, i.e. user manuals and translation of medical texts are described in more detail under corresponding links.

Translation of technology texts

Upon working with technology texts, linguistic skills do not actually bear the highest importance. The use of language is generally laconic, and as a rule, there is no hidden meaning. One should remember, however, that the use of nominative style makes the reading of a text more difficult, wherefore direct address should be preferred, especially in user manuals.

At the same time, a person with only philological background may end up in difficulties because of the lack of sufficient knowledge in technology terms and relevant slang. Translation of technology texts requires the use of imagination, especially if the machine or device described cannot be seen in a picture, for this helps to avoid major mistakes. Thus the push buttons will not end up in the wrong place nor is it taken for granted that a device with a couple of metres in diameter is easily portable.

Terminological dictionaries

The best friends of the translator and editor of technology texts are terminological dictionaries. It cannot be said that there is a lack of terminological dictionaries, for there are different lexicons available, starting from construction and ending with Judaism, and these have become increasingly accessible on the net. However, one should apply caution in using any dictionaries, for everybody can make mistakes. A good translator knows the employed aids thoroughly and knows how to consider drawbacks in dictionary entries or keywords.

Terminology of technical translation

The correct use of terminology is one of the key aspects of technology translation. Help is available from different sources:

• experts on the field,
• dictionaries,
• texts published on relevant subject.

The easiest case is an expert available at the other end of the telephone line, but this is often not the case. Furthermore, even, for example, a computer specialist does not always know all the correct computer terms by heart.

Consequently, it is important for the translator to be able to identify the Estonian language equivalents from specialist literature or terminological dictionaries, but this also requires assessment of reliability of the given source. One possible solution is to leave a foreign language word (loanword) in the text, especially if that is commonly used. Certainly, one cannot devise a new term oneself, for this would confuse the readers (and possibly also the editor).

It is relatively frequent that one English language term has several equivalents in Estonian, and vice versa. In that case we consult with the client and ask whether the company has any preferences or whether they have used one specific term before. Naturally, we provide the client with advice, if required, as to which linguistic usage would best suit their company.

Term bases

Many companies have developed term bases that consolidate terms which are frequently used in their industry and also reflect the company’s preferences. Such term bases are of great help to the translator and help maintain terminological uniformity. If you have not prepared your term base yet, this should be given reference when commissioning a translation so that our translators could start to compile it.

Fight the Fog

Fight the Fog is a campaign that was launched in 1998 by the translation department of the European Commission, the aim of which is to fight against the so-called foggy or unclear Euro language. This concerns legal translation and technology translation in the European Union, and is meant to aid both writers of initial documents and translators thereof.

Even though, at the moment, the style guide available on the webpage of the European Commission has been engineered for a person operating with the English language, some of the recommendations could also be used in the Estonian language, especially when translating into English. Among other things, the style guide also includes the following:

• writing should proceed from the reader,
• verbs should be used instead of nouns (e.g. ”to analyse” instead of “to conclude an analysis”),
• words with abstract or unclear meaning should be avoided, etc.