Translation of technical texts: basic algorithm and nuances

Who has at least once had to translate technical documentation: an English-language instruction or a drawing, know how difficult it is to do even with "institutional" or "school" knowledge of a foreign language. It would seem that there is a complex one: textual information is not very much, but on almost every page there are detailed illustrations. Of course, in reality everything is not as simple as it might first seem.

Technical translation is not accidentally estimated about 20-30% more expensive than the standard one: the abundance of terms inherent in a specific professional field and the narrow specificity make this type of translation one of the most difficult and laborious. Without experience in this field of translation, it is practically impossible to translate the technical text at the required qualitative level. That is why most people prefer to turn to professional technical translators, which, in principle, is correct and logical. On the other hand, there are situations where a translation is needed, as it were, "for yourself" - then with the available knowledge in the technical sphere, you can take the risk of translating this text yourself. The algorithm described below is very approximate, so this particular list of actions does not pretend to be convenient for all novice translators.

1) First, a glossary is compiled, in other words, a list of key words and expressions from which the unique terminology of the technical documentation is formed: the names of the device control buttons or, for example, the details of the mechanism. This can be done using the dictionary of technical expressions of the industry in which it is necessary to choose from a variety of meanings of the term appropriate in the context. When translating instructions to complex technological mechanisms and devices, if the professional sphere of the text is not completely understandable or unfamiliar, it is better to try to collect as much information about this topic as possible before it starts to compile the glossary, which in the future will help to understand it more quickly.

2) After the technical terminology of the text is disassembled and ordered, you can carefully re-read all the material again in order to more accurately capture the essence of the actions described in the instruction, and also, if necessary, clarify the meaning of certain terms and expressions.

3) In certain cases, technical translation is advisable to begin with a text that precedes the illustrations or follows them, in order to immediately understand the meaning of the actions and cycles depicted in the picture.

4) Sometimes, to facilitate the translation of technical texts, a well-matched analogue of the instruction or specification can be used. When choosing such analogs, one should pay attention not only to the common features, but also to the existing differences in the arrangement of mechanisms, as, for example, different models and brands of equipment may possess not only different functional parameters, but even different from the other operating principle. That is why when translating technical manuals, specifications, instructions it is necessary not only to understand the specifics of the industry sphere, but also to understand the peculiarities of a specific model of the device or equipment to which technical documentation in a foreign language is attached.

5) It should be taken into account that the translation of technical topics can take a lot of time: since the speed of even professional technical translators usually does not exceed 11-12 pages per day.

The described algorithm of actions can help the beginning translator to translate the searched text independently, having spent thus some effort and time. Of course, you must always measure your expended work with their money equivalent and the cost of professional translator services. The quality of the text obtained as a result of the self-translation may be different, but in any case, your own efforts will certainly help you to get new and useful knowledge in various technical fields along with the translation.