Technical translation
Technical translation is a type of specialized translation involving the translation of documents produced by technical writers, or more specifically, texts which relate to technological subject areas or texts which deal with the practical application of scientific and technological information. While the presence of specialized terminology is a feature of technical texts, specialized terminology alone is not sufficient for classifying a text as "technical" since numerous disciplines and subjects which are not "technical" possess what can be regarded as specialized terminology. Technical translation covers the translation of many kinds of specialized texts and requires a high level of subject knowledge and mastery of the relevant terminology and writing conventions.
The importance of consistent terminology in technical translation, for example in patents, as well as the highly formulaic and repetitive nature of technical writing makes computer-assisted translation using translation memories and terminology databases especially appropriate. In his book Technical Translation Jody Byrne argues that technical translation is closely related to technical communication and that it can benefit from research in this and other areas such as usability and cognitive psychology.
In addition to making texts with technical jargon accessible for a wider ranging audience, technical translation also involves linguistic features of translating technological texts from one language to another.
Translation as a whole is a balance of art and science influenced by both theory and practice. Having knowledge of both the linguistic features as well as the aesthetic features of translation applies directly to the field of technical translation.
Background
As a field, technical translation has been recognized, studied, and developed since the 1960s. Stemming from the field of translation studies, the field of technical translation traditionally emphasized much importance on the source language from which text is translated. However, over the years there has been a movement away from this traditional approach to a focus on the purpose of the translation and on the intended audience. This is perhaps because only 5–10% of items in a technical document are terminology, while the other 90–95% of the text is language, most likely in a natural style of the source language.Though technical translation is only one subset of the different types of professional translation, it is the largest subset as far as output is concerned. Currently, more than 90% of all professionally translated work is done by technical translators, highlighting the importance and significance of the field.
Methods and practices
Technical translator
The role of the technical translator is to not only be a transmitter of information, but also to be a constructor of procedural discourse and knowledge through meaning, particularly because often, the technical translator may also take on the role of the technical writer. Research has demonstrated that technical communicators do, in fact, create new meaning as opposed to simply repackaging old information. This emphasizes the important role that technical translators play in making meaning, whether they are doing technical translation in one language or in multiple languages.Much like professionals in the field of technical communication, the technical translator must have a cross-curricular and multifaceted background. In addition to grasping theoretical and linguistic orientations for the actual translation process, an understanding of other subjects, such as cognitive psychology, usability engineering, and technical communication, is necessary for a successful technical translator. Additionally, most technical translators work within a specialized field such as medical or legal technical translation, which highlights the importance of an interdisciplinary background.
Finally, the technical translators should also become familiar with the field of professional translation through training.
Technical translation requires a solid knowledge base of technological skills, particularly if the translator chooses to utilize computer-assisted translation or machine translation. Though some technical translators complete all translation without the use of CAT or MT, this is often with pieces that require more creativity in the document. Documents dealing with mechanics or engineering that contain frequently translated phrases and concepts are often translated using CAT or MT.
Translating technical texts
AnalysisTranslators might read the document to understand what they will be translating, and determine the context of the text. In technical translation, the register and tone would then be determined based on the type of text and the context, although generally the tone of technical texts are neutral. The register can be very formal and scientific, or made to be easily understood by the general public. A translator might also need to use documentation techniques find resource materials as aids in order to translate the text.
Comprehension
Depending on the translator's experience and nature or the text, the translator might need to assess the degree of difficulty and type of difficulty in a text, such as whether they are able to translate the text properly in a timely manner, or whether there are more specific translation problems that they do not understand. Often, translators may have an area of expertise, and may be very familiar with certain terminology and texts. However, when a translator cannot learn all of the subject knowledge, it is possible to transfer over knowledge from other subjects that might be similar in nature, or do some research.
Research enables translators to have a “good and solid understanding of the basic principles and technologies…” The translator must not only translate the terminology, but also the style in which the author originally wrote the document, to create the same effect in the target language. Along with previous subject knowledge, research helps the translator understand the basics of the text. Some of the tools a technical translator might use as well are glossaries, encyclopedias, and technical dictionaries, most of which may be recently published, as technology evolves quickly. The translator must always keep up to date with new technologies in the field they are translating into as well, by attending conferences or courses, or subscribing to magazines, so that they are using the latest terminology.
In the case of terminological or language issues that the translator cannot solve on their own, the translator may do research or call on the experts of a particular field for more clarification and explanations. This includes working with all types of workers in certain technological and industrial fields, such as engineers, managers, etc. Two types of experts that a translator may consult while translating are the author who wrote the text in the source language and the expert in the target language. The author can explain the context and what they are trying to say, whereas the expert in the target language may be able to explain the terminology or what the author was trying to convey in the target language. Translation is teamwork rather than strict cooperation between the translator and the experts. However, if the information the experts provided does not resolve problems, for example, if there are terms that are difficult to translate and some that cannot be translated, it may be possible to explain concepts in the target language through examples.
Translation
Translators may bounce back and forth between steps, depending on their time constraints and their experience in translation. For instance they might revise at the same time as they are translating. A translator may also go through their reference materials and research depending on how familiar they are with the type of text. If they need to find the closest matches for clients, they may use translation memories or machine translation software. The translation process also depends on the laws and ethics codes put into place in certain regions, as well as any censorship, which might affect the outcome of the text.
Revision
Revision may depend on the translator's experience or nature of the text. In translation agencies, revisers may be hired to do the revising, but a freelancer may have to revise their own work. In the case of a pharmaceutical text, depending on the laws, it would require revision since the information in the source text could cause potential harm if mistranslated. There also may be certain style guides that the translation agencies may use that must be followed.
Technical writing
Although technical writing and technical translation may be similar in the content they work with, they are different as translators translate what the technical writers produce. The purpose of technical writing, is to explain how to do something. Technical translating is similar, however it attempts to communicate how someone else explains how something is done. “The technical translator, like the technical writer, wants to produce a document that is clear and easy to understand”. Translators may also consider controlled language and whether it applies in their target language culture.Machine translation
Overview
Practitioners within the field of technical translation often employ what is called machine translation, or machine-assisted translation. This method of translation uses various types of computer software to generate translations from a source language to a target language without the assistance of a human. There are different methods of machine translation. A plethora of machine translators in the form of free search engines are available online. However, within the field of technical communication, there are two basic types of machine translators, which are able to translate massive amounts of text at a time. There are transfer-based and data-driven machine translators. Transfer-based machine translation systems, which are quite costly to develop, are built by linguists who determine the grammar rules for the source and target languages. The machine works within the rules and guidelines developed by the linguist. Due to the nature of developing rules for the system, this can be very time-consuming and requires an extensive knowledge base about the structures of the languages on the part of the linguist; nonetheless, the majority of commercial machine translators are transfer-based machines. Yahoo! BabelFish is a common example of a platform that uses this type of translation technology.Data-driven machine translators, also known as statistical-based machine translators, work by aggregating massive amounts of previously translated bits of information, and uses statistical analysis to determine matches between the source language and target language with the previously aggregated corpora. This method is less expensive and requires less development time than transfer-based machine translation, but the generated translation is often not to the same quality as transfer-based translation. The translation services offered through Google use transfer-based translation technology. Technical translation could raise privacy concerns for some professional or corporate translators.