Translating technical documents is very different as a process from translating a literary piece or a business document. The process involves and encourages active participation of Subject Matter Experts (SME) and the translators need to take extreme care and do extensive research for translating these copies. Technical translation services are required for translating texts pertaining to different technological subject areas that may describe a theory or some development or the practical application of a new scientific formula. Software program API guides are also written in different languages for the help of the off shore software developers and designers. If you are looking for a technical document translator now, the first thing you need to check is how many jargons and technical terms have been used in your origin al copy. This is because you may not need the help of a technical translator if your document contains few technical jargons and any linguist with little or no technical knowledge can do the job. Both technical and legal translation services require a paramount knowledge of the related areas and the translators should be highly conversant in the terms and jargons used in the related field.
Maintaining consistency in terminology
The biggest challenge of technical document translation is translating the purely technical terms and the patented terms. Technical translation is very much like technical communication as you have to convey the right implication of technical terms to people who do not know the language in which the technical document is written. Therefore, the process of technical translation is very much dependent on intensive research and cognitive psychology and lone language or literary skills do not just suffice. The translators need to keep in mind the usability of the translated texts as technical documents are often taken reference from for the sake of pragmatic application of a new formulae or some theory. In other words, translators have their responsibility to bring out the right words and phrases that can help native speakers of other languages in interpreting the technical texts without taking resort to dictionaries. At the same time, they need to keep some terms exactly the same as in the original documents just because these terms are internationally recognized and changing the terms could only lead to confusion.
Technical translation services are very much about maintaining the right balance between the art and science of writing. While translating widely known terms can be overwhelming, the translators need to tread on a very narrow path of dilemma as to which terms to translate and which not to.
The role of human translators
Technical translators do not just transmit information in other languages, but they also construct the procedural discourse in many cases and act as technical writers. They do not just reproduce old information, but also put high emphasis on making new meaning of translated copies. Technical and legal translation services can only be provided by professionals who have cross-discipline knowledge and should come from respective academic backgrounds. Till date, no machine translator has been invented that can do the job of human technical and legal translators more efficiently. Therefore, if it’s a technical document you need to get translated in another language, always choose human translators.
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