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Technical translation and related disciplines
Abstract
The article discusses recent developments in technical translation and the ways they will affect future training of technical translators. Technical translation already looms large in that it comprises more than 90% of the translation of the professional world output. Technical translators will still have to master a foreign language as they already have contingent liability and are legally responsible for translation errors. The functions of technical translation are gradually fusing or becoming difficult to distinguish from those of technical writing as both professions have an interest in producing unambiguous messages. The technical translator also has to take into account the audience to a more marked extent. This means that deliberate formatting of texts to local “styles” and the use of controlled language will become more pronounced and used more often by translators. In addition, localisation, especially software localisation, and the extensive use of translation memories mean that technical translators will come to rely less on traditional source texts. This implies that translators must also command content management and make use of tagging and metadata.
... Technical texts are considered the main target of MT systems and they were used in many studies of MTPE that included different numbers of language pairs (Krings 2001;O'Brien 2006;Haji Sismat 2016;Yang et al. 2020). According to Kingscott (2002) All English texts were meticulously chosen in the sense that they reflect some of the main characteristics of scientific and technological texts, as required by the objectives of the course. In particular, the research study focused on the translation of expository texts (Hatim and Mason 2014). ...
The modern translation industry is using machine translation post-editing (MTPE) widely, and the translation industry in the Arab World is following the global lead. However, while MTPE training is offered in many language pairs around the world, MTPE training in English-Arabic is still not officially offered in translation training programmes in the Arab World. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of MTPE training in a female undergraduate translation programme in Saudi Arabia by examining students’ opinions about MTPE and comparing its productivity and quality with an established practice in the translation classroom, i.e., human translation (HT). To achieve its aim, this study used a mixed-method design of the ‘Kirkpatrick Model of Learning Evaluation’. Focus group discussions and retrospective pre-test surveys were used to examine students’ opinions as well as a pre-post experiment which involved two groups of students (29 in the control group and 31 in the experimental group) that was used to compare the productivity of students and the quality of translated texts when using MTPE as compared with HT. Students’ opinions that were revealed through the pre-intervention focus group discussions were generally mixed with a preference shown in favour of HT, except for translation speed as most of the students thought that MTPE was the faster method of translation. As for the survey, students’ pre-intervention responses supported those opinions revealed in the focus group discussions. However, post-intervention responses revealed a statistically significant shift towards more acceptance of MTPE training and use, indicating that the more students learned about the features of MT and MTPE skills and practiced them, the more positive their opinions became. Statistical results from comparing students’ productivity showed a medium effect size which indicates that MTPE cannot be ignored as a method to increase productivity in translation. The effectiveness of MTPE in translation quality was evaluated by measuring error count and error type. Error count analysis indicated that students who used MTPE have increased scores in a similar manner to those who used HT but not more. The analysis of error type showed that while MTPE helped students avoid deletion and technical errors, the number of errors relating to accuracy, comprehension and grammar were more frequent in Arabic MTPE translated texts.
... The rapid development in scientific and technical fields has led to the growing demand for the technical translation since most products are published in English as a universal lingua franca. In this light, a technical translation could be viewed as one of the essential branches in the field of translation since what we have seen today is that approximately 90% of the translations on the global market are technical ones (Kingscott, 2002). However, dealing with such specialized texts is not easy because several issues and factors affect these texts, such as style and terminology (Al-Abbas & Haider, 2021). ...
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... The rapid development in scientific and technical fields has led to the growing demand for the technical translation since most products are published in English as a universal lingua franca. In this light, a technical translation could be viewed as one of the essential branches in the field of translation since what we have seen today is that approximately 90% of the translations on the global market are technical ones (Kingscott, 2002). However, dealing with such specialized texts is not easy because several issues and factors affect these texts, such as style and terminology (Al-Abbas & Haider, 2021). ...
The demand for scientific and technical translation has increased because of the rapid scientific and technological development in developed countries and the need to spread these sciences and technologies in developing countries. This study aims to investigate the main problems encountered by translators in translating scientific texts from English into Arabic and reveal the main reasons behind these problems. In this study, a qualitative research design is applied, and the sample of this study consists of one scientific text with (938 words) translated by twenty BA students. The study reveals that translators faced lexical and syntactic problems while translating scientific text, such as word diction, preciseness, terminological consistency, word order (markedness), agreement, tense and aspect, and passive structure. Moreover, the study shows that a lack of translators' experience in this domain, students' total dependence on a literal translation, and the lack of awareness of the sensitivity of scientific texts are some of the most important reasons for these problems.
... Technical translation, in particular, is a core discipline which plays an important part in preparing students for a very demanding and challenging translation market. Its importance was highlighted by Kingscott (2002), who claimed that "90% of the translations on the global market are technical translations" (Kingscott 2002: 247). The need for research in this field was justified by Byrne (2006), whose claim that "technical translation has been neglected in the literature of translation theory" (Byrne 2006: 1) is a rational impetus for translation researchers and scholars who aim to contribute with their findings to the development of the discipline and of the market, as well. ...
In the recent past, 30 or 40 years ago, the terms technical and scientific were used interchangeably when discussing about communication, texts, terms, vocabulary or writing. Due mainly to this reason, the lines separating technical and scientific translation became increasingly blurred and little or no distinction was made between the two terms; as such, technical and scientific translation was regarded as one type of LSP translation. Using genre knowledge, in this article we show that technical translation and scientific translation can and should be treated separately, as two distinct types of LSP translation, for both educational and research purposes. We present two genre-based models for setting-up the technical and scientific curricula, aimed at familiarising students with these interrelated , yet different types of LSP translation, and which can also be used as starting points for research in these two fields.
... This type of text usually contains standard and normalized expressions or technical terms (Wang 2018). Technical translation accounts for large amount of the world's total translation output (Kingscott 2002). In view of this, we chose technical texts as the translation materials. ...
... This type of text usually contains standard and normalized expressions or technical terms (Wang 2018). Technical translation accounts for large amount of the world's total translation output (Kingscott 2002). In view of this, we chose technical texts as the translation materials. ...
Usability is a key factor for increasing adoption of machine translation. This study aims to measure the usability of machine translation in the classroom context by comparing translation students’ machine translation post-editing output with their manual translation in two comparable translation tasks. Three dimensions of usability were empirically measured: efficiency, effectiveness, and satisfaction . The findings suggest that machine translation post-editing is more efficient than human translation and post-editing produces fewer errors than human translation. While the types of errors vary, errors in terms of accuracy outnumber those related to fluency. In addition, participants perceive the amount of time and work that is saved when post-editing to be greater benefit than the overall utility of post-editing. Likewise, students report a strong desire to learn post-editing skills in training programs.
... This has been the case in Europe in practical work. Geoffrey Kingscott (2002) mentions that when a British translator must render the German instruction, for instance, for a lawnmower, he will disregard the general introduction which is part and parcel of an instruction in German, and go straight to the instruction itself. Similarly, most international companies today either use 'localisation' in their translation work, or have staff from their foreign markets produce public relations material, ads and the like, so as best to reach potential customers. ...
... This has been the case in Europe in practical work. Geoffrey Kingscott (2002) mentions that when a British translator must render the German instruction, for instance, for a lawnmower, he will disregard the general introduction which is part and parcel of an instruction in German, and go straight to the instruction itself. Similarly, most international companies today either use 'localisation' in their translation work, or have staff from their foreign markets produce public relations material, ads and the like, so as best to reach potential customers. ...
... Se constata así un enorme desfase entre la investigación y la realidad profesional. En efecto, como menciona Rogers (2015: 20), varios autores, como Wilss (1999), Kingscott (2002) y Franco Aixelá (2004 han estimado el peso de la traducción especializada a unos 80-90% del total de las traducciones hechas en el mundo. ...
Este artículo propone una aproximación a la traducción especializada desde fuera del campo mismo, concretamente desde la historia de la traducción y la edición científica, campos de trabajo de los autores. Cuatro aspectos principales se abordan: el lugar de la traducción especializada en los fundamentos de la Traductología, en la formación profesional, en la historia de la traducción y finalmente en las revistas de Traductología. Se revisa primero el concepto de traducción especializada con relación a los otros tipos de traducción. Luego, se sitúa la traducción especializada en el marco de la formación profesional de los traductores, así como en el de la investigación, con un estudio de caso. El tercer aspecto se refiere al tema de la traducción especializada en la historia de la traducción. Finalmente, se aborda la presencia de la traducción especializada en las revistas del campo y, en particular, en la revista Meta.
... 9). Uma das conclusões interessantes deste estudo é o de que a tradução de textos especializados (técnico-científicos, de marketing, jurídicos, sobre telecomunicações, biomedicina, etc.) corresponde à esmagadora maioria do volume de tradução na Espanha, resultados estes que estão em total consonância com estudos anteriores desenvolvidos em outros países, tais como os de Wilss (1999), Kingscott (2002) e Aixelá (2004). ...
Nos dias de hoje em que as traduções estão praticamente em todo o lugar (televisão, produtos de consumo, software, livros universitários, etc.), é importante conhecermos os responsáveis por esse tipo de produção intelectual. A pesquisa que aqui apresentamos procurou entender quem são, no Brasil, os responsáveis pela tradução de textos de não-ficção (também chamados de ‘textos especializados’ ou ‘textos técnicos’). A tradução desse tipo de textos tem sido pouco explorada pelos teóricos da tradução, apesar de ela representar atualmente a maioria do volume de trabalho dos tradutores. Depois de selecionarmos um corpus de cerca de 300 traduções do inglês para o português tratando de assuntos diversos (matemática, psicologia, história, direito, física, etc.), buscamos em cada uma os seguintes elementos de informação: nomes e formação dos tradutores; marcas dos tradutores, tais como prefácios assinados por eles e notas de tradução. Verificou-se que quase todos os livros indicam o nome do tradutor, mas são poucos aqueles que incluem os outros tipos de informação. Os resultados da pesquisa mostram que o tradutor de textos especializados é, de uma maneira geral, uma figura ainda bastante invisível, mas essa invisibilidade tem diminuído consideravelmente nos últimos sessenta anos.Palavras chave: tradução especializada, livros traduzidos publicados, (in)visibilidade do tradutor.
... The above knowledge and skills in engineering professions should be integrated into training of technical translators. G. Kingscott (2002) argues that in the last ten or twenty years the impact of software localisation has changed the world translation business, and we have seen emerging for the first time the first multinational translation companies: «There are now six of these companies: Berlitz, Bowne, Lionbridge, RWS-Polyglot, SDL and Star, all with a turnover well in excess of 50 million US dollars a year. These companies are taking more and more of the market, certainly for big projects, and all without exception grew to their present size from the boom in software localisation. ...
The article describes an original approach to training of technical translators. The authors present a model describing formation of translation competences in students/graduates of nonlinguistic higher schools which has been tested throughout 15 years in the Engineering Academy of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia. Key competences of technical translators were defined, examined and systematized. In particular, these include intercultural, communicative, special, social and personal competence. The authors propose a phased approach to the formation of translation competences during fulfillment of relevant tasks by translators. This gave the possibility to point out four main training stages – professional orientation, analysis, synthesis and correction. Each tasks referring to the above stages formed the basis of the original training modules which include the following components: tasks, ways of its solution, relevant competences and external assets, certain exercises developed to check formedness of relevant knowledge and skills in the field of technical translation. The developed model has an important feature which implies integration of knowledge and skills referring to a particular industry in students/graduates of higher educational institutions. © 2017, Slovenska Vzdelavacia Obstaravacia. All rights reserved.
... On the one hand, most of the texts to be translated in general tend to be of pragmatic and informative nature, for which "the purpose or function of the Target Texts is of overriding importance" (Sun, 2005) and in this regard, content matters significantly more than form. It is estimated that in general, about 90% of what circulates in the language industry involves specialized communication (Esqueda & de Jesus, 2015;Kingscott, 2002), and the number is also reflected in the Chinese context: some 96% of the translation activities conducted in China every year are on pragmatic texts (Chan, 2014, p. 330). In technical communication today, the ST is no longer as authoritative as it used to be, and the aim of the translator, therefore, is not so much to "foreground the ST author's views" in ways advocated by old translation theories (especially the ones before functional theories), but to translate the document "on time" and "accurately", conforming to the norms of the technical domains in which he/she is translating while "benefiting from so-called artificial equivalence" (Odacıoglu & Kokturk, 2015, p. 1091. ...
Despite all the criticisms on the “poor” quality of Machine Translation (MT), the use of MT for information circulation is not to be ignored. Meanwhile, recent MT systems have been equipped with increasing customizability, allowing users to tailor the software to specific texts for better output. This thesis intends to investigate the output of MT for specialized language and its lexical customization: a case study of using SYSTRAN to translate abstracts of domain-specific academic articles. The translation of abstracts is not only suitable for MT, but largely meaningful given the massive demand for information-oriented translation.
Starting from a general discussion of the theoretical perspectives regarding MT usage, translation, and specialized language, the thesis points out a conceptual gap in MT evaluation and takes the functionalist perspective with information assimilation as the primary purpose. The case study then uses the 2014 volume of Applied Optics for an in-depth analysis of the MT system’s raw output and lexical customization. The totally 1,328 abstracts are first systematically sampled for a preliminary discussion of the Source Text (ST) features concerning lexical ambiguity, together with SYSTRAN’s disambiguation results. This is followed by further lexical error analysis, providing the basis for glossary modification in SYSTRAN. The comparison between the initial translation and the customized translation shows significant improvement beyond the lexical issues, and indicates the effectiveness of the customization conducted.
Further discussions beyond the sample show that the modified glossary entries are representative of the entire journal, as well as other similar journals. This is conducted via corpus-based investigations of Applied Optics and two other journals of the same kind –– Optics Express and Optics Letters.
SYSTRAN’s automatic process of lexical customization is also discussed, where the results show considerable inaccuracy but can shed light on what words to add into the User Dictionary before translating an ST.
These investigations not only argue for a proper perspective of MT use, but also provide an implication for the practical methods for lexical customization.
... By an illustrated tec hnic al text, the article hence refers to an informative, instructive text that explains how something works by both verbal and visual means. Illustrated technical texts could well be the most common type of illustrated texts being translated today; technical texts constitute a significant share of all translated material (Kingscott, 2002, p. 247, Byrne, 2012) and, as remarked by Byrne (2012, p. 26, 54) and Tercedor et al. (2009, p. 143), different types of images are an integral feature of technical documents. Yet, research into the translation of illustrated technical texts so far has been rather scarce, focusing mainly on providing criteria for choosing appropriate images in technical and scientific texts (Tercedor-Sánchez and Abadía-Molina, 2005) and technicallyoriented terminological databases . ...
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Abstract: This study set out to characterize the qualitatively different ways in which a group of master’s level translation students conceptualized the interaction of verbal and visual information during the translation of an illustrated technical text. The research approach chosen for this purpose was phenomenography, which aims to identify the differences in the ways people conceptualize various phenomena. The data of the study consisted of translation diaries written by the students. The study identified two qualitatively distinct main categories of conceptualizing the interaction of verbal and visual information: either conceptualizing the combination of modes as an entity to be perceived as a whole, or conceptualizing the modes as competing sources of information. It was concluded that the students conceptualized the images as an important part of the source text, capable of amplifying, specifying and even annulling verbal information.
... At the turn of the millennium, Wilss (1999: 9) estimated that socalled "specialist" translation accounted for some 80% of the total volume of translation (the other 20% being literary and Bible translation). Early in the noughties, Kingscott (2002) gave an even higher estimate, claiming that over 90% of the world's translation output was accounted for by "technical and commercial translation". A similar estimate has been made by Franco Aixelà (2004: 42). 2 Describing-as I have done-the bulk of the world's translation activity in negative terms ("non-literary") is, however, not particularly helpful when it comes to understanding what types of translation actually belong to this major source of global communication. ...
This paper addresses the notion of “domain” from a number of perspectives, identifying issues of common interest to Terminology and ESP and charting the relations between Languages for Special Purposes and the domains they articulate. The importance of domain specification is highlighted for the practice of both Terminology and ESP, using illustrations from a number of domains. Modern dynamic notions of “domain” are then shown to be a relatively recent phenomenon, as knowledge became more specialised during the 20th century. The paper ends with a brief case study which leads to the conclusion that a reformulation of the original “what” question to a “where” question would be more productive in so far as authors and translators do not communicate in domains, they communicate in texts for which genre is a key concept for both production and analysis.
... Here the writer highlights the results of the research and the beneficial effects of tea consumption to reduce certain health risks. In this sense, the translation of informative texts is quite distinct from the translation of technical and scientific texts, which require highly specialized knowledge on certain topics in both the source and the target languages (Kingscott, 2002;Montero Martínez, Fuerte Olivera & García de Quesada, 2001;Montero Martínez & García de Quesada, 2003;Pilegaard, 1997;Pinto, 2001;Sager, 1994). ...
This study investigates the most common challenges confronted by the graduates in Translation Studies in translating military terms from English to Sinhala. To achieve this objective, the researcher selected a sample of (10) graduates in Translation Studies from Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka and were administrated an English to Sinhala translation test, containing (20) sentences. The results of this study demonstrate that the most common challenges faced by passed-out graduates are terminological knowledge due to the fewer experiences and subject knowledge in the military sector. It indicates the need for more attention on military translation in academic institutes in Sri Lanka. Based on those identified challenges, several recommendations are suggested including the need for military translation as a course unit in the field of Translation Studies in Sri Lanka to produce graduated translators with sufficient terminological and subject knowledge regarding the military.
The present study investigated the EFL translation students' attitude toward the difficulties and challenges of translations. The participants of the study were translation students of both genders were selected from Iran universities based on the convenience sampling. A questionnaire was the instrument being employed in this study. The questionnaires were distributed to them and the participants had to fill them carefully without any time limitation. The results of this study indicated that the majority of the respondents agreed that the translation challenges in texts are not only inadequate lexical knowledge, but involved in grammatical problems. That is to say, the most problematic area has been highlighted as little cultural backgrounds.
This introductory chapter defines the object of specialised translation, i.e. Languages for Special Purposes or ‘LSPs’, focusing both on the formal differences of LSPs resulting from the different specialised domains, and on the pragmatic variation of LSPs’ features in response to different situations of language use, either academic or professional or technical. After an overview of the general pragmatic criteria of use of LSPs and the general formal features which are distinctive of LSPs vs everyday language, the distinctive linguistic features of LSPs are analysed from the higher levels of text and discourse to the lower ones of syntax and terminology. It then discusses the dominance of English and Anglo-American models in the communication of scientific and technological knowledge and the importance of specialised translation in today’s language industry. Finally, it provides a first stab at identifying the scope of specialised translation by defining it contrastively vis-à-vis literary translation.
ثمة افتراض شائع مفاده أن النصوص التقنية يتعين أن يترجمها المترجمون "المختصون" عبر استخدام مصادر "خاصة". غير أن هذا الافتراض ينطوي على تصوّر خاطئ بشأن مفهوم الاختصاص في مجال الترجمة التقنية من اللغة العربية وإليها. ويروم هذا المقال البرهنة على أن الترجمة التقنية لا تتطلب فقط معرفة مختصة وإنما تتطلب أيضاً مهارات ترجمية مقبولة، بالإضافة إلى مصادر كافية للمصطلحات ومهارة بلاغية عالية المستوى، قصد تمكين المستخدم النهائي من الحصول على النصوص المترجمة وفهمها واستعمالها بسهولة، من أجل الوفاء بمتطلبات التواصل في المجال التقني، كما يراه بايرن (2006). وتتمثل أطروحة هذا المقال في أن هذا التصور الخاطئ ينجم عن النقل المنقوص للمعارف الذي يميز مجال الترجمة التطبيقية، ما يستدعي وضع أنموذج لنقل المعارف التقنية في دراسات الترجمة التطبيقية من شأنه إيجاد السبل لمنح الممارسين فرصاً لطرح تساؤلات بشأن الانشغالات التي يصادفونها في ممارساتهم اليومية، وإشراكهم في عملية إنتاج المعارف في هذا المجال (العلوي 2015، 2018). سنتطرق في القسم الأول من هذا المقال لمحتوى الترجمة التقنية. وسنتناول في القسم الثاني متطلبات الترجمة التقنية الأساسية التي يتعين على الباحثين والمدربين والمتدخلين الآخرين أن يكونوا على علم بها. وسنحاول في القسم الثالث إبراز بعض التصورات الخاطئة بشأن المترجمين التقنيين "المختصين" ومصادرهم المعتمدة. وسنخصص القسم الرابع لمسألة نقل المعارف وأهميتها في ممارسة ترجمة النصوص التقنية. وندعو الباحثين إلى أن يعيروا اهتماماً أكبر لتحديد عملية واضحة المعالم لنقل المعارف من شأنها أن تسهم في تصحيح التصورات الخاطئة بخصوص ترجمة النصوص التقنية والحد من استحكامها من وجهة نظر الممارسين والمدربين باعتبارهم القيّمين على تطبيق المعارف في مجال الترجمة التقنية في العالم العربي.
كلمات مفتاحية: نقل المعرفة، تصورات خاطئة، النصوص المتخصصة، نظرية الترجمة، ممارسة الترجمة.
Corpus-based approaches to the study of language and the compilation of a corpus are increasing at an unprecedented rate in recent years. The majority of the corpus was compiled from newspaper articles or by combining literatures with non-literatures. Corpus in specialized fields is mostly related to legal language, with very few monolingual or parallel corpora in the technical field, not to mention diachronic corpus. The building of a corpus and corpus-based studies facilitates terminologists, translators, researchers, and teachers in specialized English a basis in their analysis and interpretation of specialized terminologies. Diachronic corpus helps us understand the development of language and explores the changes and uses of specialized language in a specific field, in order to provide terminologists and translators a reference when defining specific terms. This study compiles a diachronic corpus of Chinese patent claims and abstracts to explore the linguistic features of the Chinese patent terminologies, the development, and variations of patent terminologies. With the diachronic corpus of Chinese patent claims, the development of patent terminologies can be analyzed. The patent is a strong indicator of the economic power of a country. The authentic material collected in the patent corpus provides representative research data, which, in turn, increases our understanding of the use of terminologies of patents.
The nature of translation projects and tasks in the language industry has undergone significant changes due to a widespread adoption of the subcontracting model and recent technological trends. Managing increasing terminological complexity, higher task specialisation, and higher levels of technical expertise have become essential elements of a translator’s professional profile. Nonetheless, the requirement of such a sophisticated professional profile has challenged novice translators in their incipient careers because of limited knowledge and training opportunities. Since many changes have occurred to the profession over a relatively short span of time, this article studies sources of translator satisfaction and dissatisfaction that may affect their perception of work as well as the language industry at large. This study reports results from an ongoing investigation into the ‘expertise effect’ measured through translator satisfaction in relation to two main categories: (a) professional satisfaction and (b) task satisfaction. A student’s t-test is used to compare perceptions of novice and expert translators (N=250), and the results suggest a gap in critical sources of satisfaction between the two populations. The findings could be applied to determine possible means of mitigating career turnover among translators and used by translator trainers to comprehend the needs of novice professionals.
Z E T G ünümüzde bilgi, sermaye, mal ve hizmetler ve işgücünün uluslararası serbest dolaşımının art-masıyla, daha fazla uluslararası sözleşme yapılmakta ve bunun sonucunda daha fazla çeviri uygulamaları görülmektedir. Deniz ticaretinin artmasıyla, bugünkü anlamıyla dünyadaki ilk sigorta uygulamaları 14.yüzyılda başlamışken, ülkemizde 1860'lı yıllarda faaliyete geçmiştir. Yerli sigorta şir-ketlerinin o dönemlerde bulunmayışı sebebiyle sigortacılık işlemlerinde önceleri daha çok tek yönlü yabancı dil kullanılıyordu. Zaman içerisinde Türk sigorta şirketlerinin kurulması ve sigortacılık işlem-lerinde Türkçe kullanılmasının zorunlu hale gelmesiyle birlikte çeviri faaliyetleri artmıştır. Çeşitli alan-lara özgü uzmanlık terminolojisi ve bilgisi gerektiren sigortacılık metinlerinden özel sigorta poliçeleri, bu araştırmanın nesnesi olarak seçilerek, Justa Holz-Mänttäri'nin 'Çeviriye İlişkin Eylem Kuramı' ve Hans Vermeer'in 'Skopos Kuramı' çerçevesinde sigorta poliçelerinin çeviri sürecinde yer alan aktörler betimlenmektedir. Bu tanımlamalarla hem özel alan çevirileri içerisinde yer alan sigorta poliçe çeviri-lerinin içerik açısından işlevi ile ilgili hem de sınırlı sayıda yapılan edebiyat dışındaki metin çeviri çalış-maları için kuramsal tabanda ihtiyaç duyulan yeni veri girişinin sağlanması amaçlanmaktadır. Bu tür çalışmaların çoğalması, çeviri uygulamalarının sigortacılık sektöründeki koordinasyonuna katkı sağ-larken, sigortacılık metin çevirilerinde kaliteyi ve dolayısıyla sigorta sektörüne de güveni arttıracaktır. Anahtar Kelimeler: Sigorta poliçe çevirisi, özel alan çevirisi, çeviri sürecinde yer alan aktörler A B S T R A C T F ollowing the increase in the free movement of knowledge, capital, goods and services, and workforce , more international trade agreements are made; hence, more translation practices are performed. Along with the progressive expansion of the maritime commerce, the first insurance practices were observed around the world in the 14 th century; whereas, the Turkish insurance sector became operational in the 1860s. In the beginning the insurance transactions were conducted unilaterally
This paper is an attempt to reveal and analyse potential challenges a translator can face when translating technical texts connected with the timber industry. In modern linguistics there are several approaches to the definition of technical translation based on characteristic features of translated texts. As there is some difference between technical and scientific types of translation there are various requirements put to these types of translation. However, the terminology is an integral part of both types of texts and sometimes it can be difficult to translate it. Though there is no one generally accepted definition of the notion "term" linguists mention its unambiguous nature, lack of synonyms, precise meaning. The analysis of timber industry texts showed that these qualities of the terms can be lost when it involves translation. It is conditioned by different meanings of the term in different spheres of knowledge, its belonging both to terminology and spoken language, different scopes of the concept in different languages, influence of linguistic and situational contexts, lack of equivalents and usage of the shortened forms.
The purpose of this article is to review various approaches to translation of cognitive information in English technical text into Russian. The focus of this study is to specify the equivalent translation strategies used to convey English technical terms and abbreviations being the source of cognitive information. The analysis of the empirical material, i.e., the original and translation of the English photographic equipment manual, revealed that, possible equivalents, equivalent counterparts and such translational transformations as omission of redundant elements, lexeme addition, generalization, semantic modulation and complete transformation are predominant choices. We have described the following two basic strategies for translating abbreviations. The first one is applied to common, frequently used technical terms and actualizes the reference to the dictionary equivalents; the second strategy is applied to terms specific for the analyzed photo printer manual and results in the use of the source text words.
This chapter, using three MTI courses as case studies, focuses on investigating how this professionally oriented translation programme is presented within Chinese traditions in teaching and learning from the perspective of course aims and module content. The specific aim of the Chinese MTI Programme is to produce graduates who are equipped to become high calibre professional translators to serve the nation’s economic, social and cultural development. This aim could be achieved through ‘training’ by providing students with a number of transferrable employability-related course components. In this vein this chapter also analyses how the selected case studies embed the ethos of ‘profession’ in their own curricula.
O presente artigo apresenta uma reflexão inicial sobre o papel da expertise por interação como componente necessário da competência do tradutor de textos técnicos e científicos. Mais especificamente, com base no modelo de expertise, preconizado por Collins e Evans (2007, 2010), e na noção de escrita mediante transformação do conhecimento, trazida por Scardamalia e Bereiter (1991), propõe-se que a interação entre tradutor e especialista em atividades de prática deliberada (ERICSSON; CHARNESS, 1997) fomenta processos tradutórios que levam à produção de textos de chegada adequados às expectativas das comunidades discursivas a que se destinam. Exemplos são apresentados para mostrar a pertinência da proposta e evidenciar que a expertise por interação é necessária para o sucesso da prática tradutória e para a elaboração de tarefas de prática deliberada voltadas à formação e à especialização de tradutores.
Recent decades have witnessed the development of translator- and interpreter-training programmes at various levels worldwide. Researchers have paid increasing attention to translator and interpreter training but there is a dearth of meta-analyses of research in this field. There has been no systematic and comprehensive review since 2000. The aim of the current article, therefore, is to map the research in this field by constructing a database of publications on translator and interpreter training, covering major translation and interpreting journal articles during the period 2000–2012. The analysis of the database was conducted using a combination of scientometric methods, thematic analysis and corpus analysis tools. Both top-down and bottom-up thematic analyses were performed and a multilayer categorisation scheme applied. This article presents this analysis and also addresses the social-geographical distribution of the data entries, including those providing information on (co-)authorship, institution and country. A general picture of studies on interpreter and translator training since 2000 is shown. The database is intended to serve as a resource for translation and interpreting (T&I) researchers, providing them with the most up-to-date information on developments in T&I, problems with current T&I programmes and possible directions for future research.
This collected volume brings together the contributions of several humanities scholars who focus on the evolution of language in the digital era. The first part of the volume explores general aspects of humanities and linguistics in the digital environment. The second part focuses on language and translation and includes topics that discuss the digital translation policy, new technologies and specialised translation, online resources for terminology management, translation of online advertising, or subtitling. The last part of the book focuses on language teaching and learning and addresses the changes, challenges and perspectives of didactics in the age of technology. Each contribution is divided into several sections that present the state of the art and the methodology used, and discuss the results and perspectives of the authors. The book is recommended to scholars, professionals, students and anyone interested in the changes within the humanities in conjunction with technological innovation or in the ways language is adapting to the challenges of today's digitized world.
The results of this study present the extent to which technical translations in Romanian follow the recommendations regarding the properties and qualities of target texts. Cases of acceptability, faithfulness, informativity, grammaticalness, connectedness, clarity, and naturalness are analysed on a series of texts, and several recommendations are made, useful to curricula developers, translation scholars and translation students.
This paper focuses on two contract subgenres: software licenses and
warranties of goods. Both illustrate the interdisciplinary nature of texts in
commercial translation processes. Although professional translators are
likely to become experts through practice in one particular sector or
subject-field, the skills required to identify, understand and solve problems
in areas outside their main fields of expertise are essential if quality
translations are to be produced. Legal and contract clauses are particularly
important given their complexity and ubiquity, and also for the fact that they may imply contract liability. This paper uses two case studies –
software licenses and warranties- to examine contract language and the
difficulties it may pose for translators. These two contract subgenres are
naturally found in technical information environments and typically require
an instrumental approach to translation (Nord. 1997). Every translator
should have a basic grasp of the foundations of legal translation and its
possible associated legal responsibilities.
This book is an introduction to technical translation and usability for translators and researchers. It draws on a broad range of research and makes it both accessible and applicable to those involved in the practice and study of translation. After exploring various theoretical aspects of technical translation, readers learn how to improve and assess the quality of technical translations by using cognitive psychology, usability engineering and technical communication to develop skills which can be implemented during the text production stage of the translation process. A practical usability study is described to illustrate the theories, methods and benefits of usability engineering. This book is unique in that it discusses technical translation from a theoretical and practical point of view. Without this book, translators and researchers would have to read numerous books in a wide range of areas.
Recent decades have witnessed the development of translator- and interpreter-training programmes at various levels worldwide. Researchers have paid increasing attention to translator and interpreter training but there is a dearth of meta-analyses of research in this field. There has been no systematic and comprehensive review since 2000. The aim of the current article, therefore, is to map the research in this field by constructing a database of publications on translator and interpreter training, covering major translation and interpreting journal articles during the period 2000 to 2012. The analysis of the database was conducted using a combination of scientometric methods, thematic analysis and corpus analysis tools. Both top-down and bottom-up thematic analyses were performed and a multilayer categorisation scheme applied. This article presents this analysis and also addresses the social-geographical distribution of the data entries, including those providing information on (co-)authorship, institution and country. A general picture of studies on interpreter and translator training since 2000 is shown. The database is intended to serve as a resource for translation and interpreting (T&I) researchers, providing them with the most up-to-date information on developments in T&I, problems with current T&I programmes and possible directions for future research.
Students entering undergraduate translation programs tend to rely on their instructors' general knowledge, and indeed on information of whatever kind that can be gleaned from this source. At this stage, they still lack real world knowledge and often language competence too. Hence, instructors worry about what they should include in their introductory courses for such students. The present study tries to determine whether a learner-centered approach to the problem, in which reading parallel texts and exposing beginners to information on a topic, its vocabulary and structure, helps with understanding a source text and producing its target equivalent.
At the very heart of translation studies is the issue of translation quality. Yet, while there are numerous methods for assessing the quality of translations, little is known about what happens when a translator produces a bad translation. This paper will show that translation error, as a whole, can have significant consequences for both translator and client and by examining a number of case studies gathered from official reports and communications, court records, newspaper articles and books it will illustrate the diversity of situations which can arise as a result of translation errors. The paper will then examine the issues of liability and negligence to illustrate the legal means by which translators can be held accountable for the quality of their work. By understanding how liability for faulty translations arises, it will be possible to see the implications of laws and directives governing technical translations which are subsequently examined. This paper examines specific legal requirements relating to technical translation and discusses the consequences of translation errors using specific case studies relating to technical translation.
This article addresses 'authoritativeness' of translations as an issue which merits interest. The first example, an Internet translation, is used to illustrate that traditional Translation Studies concepts do not always adequately describe many factors and phenomena in translation. The present article is an attempt to show that more forces are at play. Translation is discussed as a process which, from a 'text', creates a 'translation', and it is this very process and the existence of a translational product which turns the first text into 'an original' when it is defined in relation to the product in the target language. It is posited that the 'original' and the 'translation' are not authoritative in the same way. This is discussed in more depth by dividing 'translation' into boxes, referring to (a) the first text, (b) a translational process, and (c) a translational product in a target culture. The interrelation of various agents and interlinked factors in each context is then discussed. It is shown that there is fluctuation in terms of stability of source texts and that this becomes more pronounced when texts, even prominent religious texts, are handled by target-language users. The conclusion is that the authority and authoritativeness of a translation will always be questioned in a way, with an intensity and fierceness, which that of an 'original' never is.
SUMMARY Modern scientific terminology is still drawing from the Greek and Latin linguistic heritage. We observe, however, that the terminology and the morphosyntactic structure of the Greek specialised texts are more and more influenced by the English language on all levels of their (re)production. So we see that Greek language is less introvert (cf. Decsy 1973: 184) than it was traditionally considered. We shall try to classify the groups of the linguistic phenomena influenced by English and expose our views on the future of the Greek specialised language.
Modality as a major exponent of interpersonal relations has been extensively studied. It is mostly studied in a highly individual centered view that individual speakers and their relations to one another are central, and social relations are built up through the linguistic interactions of speakers. In most case, a modal verb expresses the speaker’s or the author’s attitude at the time of speaking. So, it is very necessary that we learn the meaning of the modal verbs in translation. This paper aims at explaining the difficulties involved in the treatment of modals by presenting meaning-definitions through paraphrases which take underlying culture-based assumptions into account.
The technical writer Proceedings of a conference, Le nuove professioni per il traduttore e l'interprete
- Geoffrey Kingscott