Technical translation involves the translation of materials dealing with scientific and technical fields.
A variety of material types require technical translation. It can be articles from scientific, medical, engineering and technical journals that require linguists with university training in the relevant field as well as professional translation skills. Or it can be product specifications, technical manuals, CAD drawings, engineering projects where the translator requires a working knowledge of the terminology used.
One can see why the translation of these documents requires a certain skill as well as adequate scientific and technical knowledge.
An article in the ATA Chronicle, the official publication of the American Translators Association, argues that technical manuals should have a completely objective tone, with “no sign of authorship or trace of subjectivity.” The writer explains, “technical texts are intended to convey information in a completely objective manner to help the reader accomplish a predefined task.”
The use of plain language makes user manuals a good prospect for machine translation combined with post-editing. Manufacturers and technology firms that create and update a variety of manuals can especially benefit from this technology. Thus maintaining a translation memory (TM) should reduce costs and increase the efficiency of creating and updating multilingual technical manuals.
Technical drawings, for example, require specialized translators and tech-savvy project managers who know how to work with specialized file formats. Additional steps involve integrating localized tags, metrics, and visuals, and addressing text expansion.
At Valley Center translation offices, we have experience in translating the following types of technical documents:
- civil and industrial engineering projects
- feasibility studies
- documentation for tenders
- user manuals
- instructions for use
- CAD drawings
- patents
- operating and maintenance instructions
- product catalogs
- certificate, license
- specifications
- occupational health and safety rules
- fire prevention and extinguishing rules
- reports
The range of domains includes:
- Energy field
- The electric field
- The mechanical field
- Construction field
- Medical technique
- The oil industry
- Auto industry
- Transportation