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Some Misconceptions about Technical Translations
Posted by: Estrella Ruiz, Project Manager
Technical translations are often regarded as the less attractive or non glamorous type of translations, especially in academic circles.
There are some misconceptions about technical translations, one of the most widespread being the inclusion of many different areas such as economics, law and business within a classification of technical translations.
Why is that? Why do people put so many industries under the one category of ‘technical’? Apparently, the main reason is because we tend to mix two different subject areas: specialized translations and technical translations, instead of including the second in the first one. That’s a mistake, since, just because a field or subject area uses specialized terminology it doesn’t necessarily make it technical, but each area has its own unique characteristics and conventions. For instance, technical translation is in reality a translation of technological texts, such as technical manuals, instructions, guides, etc.
Technical translators do not have the same linguistic and writing skills as other types of translator. For example, a literary translator or a linguist who works with advertising material has a completely different approach to their work, in addition to a distinct writing style, which is alien to the technical translator. This is because the conventions of technical writing are much stricter. Technical terms almost always have a standardised equivalent in the target language, whereas literary works offer a much more free and creative approach.
Although some translators do work in varied subject areas, Veritas choose to work with linguists with expert knowledge of a small number of subject areas. This means that all of our technical translators have a vast amount of experience working with the type of work that our clients need.
Are you a technical translator? Are you one of the many translators who prefer more arts-based work? What are your favourite areas to work in? Please share your experiences with us!
For more information about how Veritas can provide you with translating technical manuals and other material, please visit our technical translations page.
Discussion
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February 7, 2012
Great article, Estrella. I think it’s really important to differentiate between ‘technical’ and ‘specialist’ texts, as even though a specialist text may seem quite straightforward at first glance, it is hugely important that the terms used are correct and not ambiguous.
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About the Author
It has always been clear to Estrella what she’s wanted to do for a living, what really fulfills her, which is the industry of languages, tourism and translation. Having graduated in Business and Tourism Activities in 2006 at the University of Granada (Spain), and in Translation and Interpreting (English / French / Spanish), she spent a year studying at Swansea University and decided to stay in Swansea for the foreseeable future. She is currently working at Veritas as Spanish Project Coordinator, carrying out work in the area of Spanish translation, customer support and research.