TECHNICAL TRANSLATION
Translation manuals, user guides, instructions
Technical translation is the translation of technical writings (owner manuals, user guides, instruction manuals, etc.) or specifically, texts that contain a high amount of terminology, such as words or phrases that are used within a specific profession or that describe that profession in great detail.
Technical translation involves the translation of many kinds of specialized texts with a high level of industry-specific terminology. For example: engineering, automotive, chemical, electronics, mining, telecommunications, metallurgy, construction, and many more.
This type of translation requires special handling and must be carried out by professional technical translators, translators of documents who have extensive experience and, above all, who are specialized in translating documents from the industrial sector to which the text to be translated refers. The translator, in addition to linguistic ability, must also have a perfect command of the specific terminology of the sector in which they specialize.
Translation skills and technical skills
At FAST.txt, we have translators who are specialized in the technical sector and who are originally engineers by profession. Therefore, the have both the translation skills that a translator must have and the technical skills of an engineer.
On many occasions, our customers commission us to carry out large technical translation projects. For these projects, we create teams of several translators with specializations in the technical sector, as well as a terminologist who is generally one of our translators who has both translation and engineering backgrounds working in conjunction with each other, and who finally delivers the document to a specialized proofreader or a native speaking engineer specialized in the corresponding technical sector, so that the terminology is standardized throughout the project. In this way, terminological coherence is achieved in the final document.
High degree of globalization
Unlike other specialized branches of translation, this procedure has certain advantages. The terminology tends to be relatively international. There is a high degree of globalization in the industry, so a refinery or an electrical substation is similar in the country of origin as well as in the country of destination of the translation. In other words, the processes, machinery, techniques, etc. are similar and are often supplied by the same companies in different parts of the world. For example, one type of pump used in water pipes works the same way in the United States, Australia and Germany. In this sense, a technical translation requires less interpretation than, for example, a legal translation. This type of translation does not allow for much deviation from the original, i.e. the translation is usually quite literal, since the type of text does not allow for much «deviation» from the original either, but rather the more consistency there is, the better.
Graphics, tables, diagrams, expanded views
However, technology evolves and changes very quickly so it is important to keep up with it. Every day new terminology emerges in the industry. Even completely new industries can emerge. It is a sector that is constantly on the move. A technical translation may contain graphics, tables, diagrams, expanded views, etc. embedded in the text. That is why we always recommend having our document management and layout team in place, as it is very important to prepare the document before translating it. This type of text is usually very extensive, so it is good to work on the format before translating. Below are some of the documents that would require translation for the technical sector:
- Translation for the automotive sector
- Translation of tenders
- Translations of manuals and user guides
- Translation of technical data sheets
- Translation for architecture and construction
- Translation of specification documents
- Translation of patents
- Translation of user instructions
- Translation of civil works
- Translation for renewable energy technology
- Translation of blogs
And much more… For more information about our services, please, contact us.