UNIVERSITY OF BUEA
ADVANCED SCHOOL OF TRANSLATORS AND
INTERPRETERS
ASSIGNMENT: Make a popularised summary on
the article ‘The importance of technical translation’
Course Title and Code: HISTORY AND THEORY OF
TRANSLATION TRA605
Instructor: Dr SAKWE George
Njoka Marvin Suyru
AS15P058
What is Technical Translation?
The title of the document given us to make a Popularised Summary is ‘The
Importance of Technical Translation.’ It aims at establishing a theory of technical translation,
thus asserting its position in the world as a discipline of its own.
A theory on technical translation has not been considered as being important, as up to
a certain period, very few publications on the issue existed. However, the domain is
inevitable, given its economic importance. It is rooted deeply in commercial translation and
technical communication.
Kingscott 2002:247 tells us that 90% of the world’s annual translations are technical.
This is as a result of the importance of the availability of technical information in various
languages; international focus of many companies, because of legislation, such as the
European Union Council 1989b, International Standards (EN-292-2), just to name a few. The
increase in scientific, technological and industrial activities worldwide makes technical
translation important. To rightly appreciate technical translation, it is important to note the
following:
There is a difference between Specialised and Technical Translation. A text can be
specialized but not different. We could have special domains like Religion, Law, Sports and
even History, which are not technical.
Terminology is not the most important aspect of technical translation. Newmark
(1988) claimed that terminology makes up a maximum of about 5% of the content of the
technical text.
Style is utmost importance in technical translation. Style in a literary context is of no
use to technical translation, but if we view it from the point of view of our choice of words
and how we used them, then style matters.
Technical translation is also creative, as the translator looks for novel and creative
linguistic solutions to pass across the message.
It is not restricted to experts in the domain. One just needs to have a good
understanding of the principles and technologies.
Technical translation is not only about conveying specialised information. The
translator’s task goes beyond simple translation, as he takes into consideration his audience.
On the difference between scientific and technical translation
Scientific translation is about pure science while technical translation is about the
practical use of scientific savoir. The two also differ in terms of:
Subject matter
Type of language
Purpose
Hence, technical translation is geared at making the translation of the technical text
consumer friendly. As such, anyone reading the translation will easily, properly and
effectively understand the target text as if he was reading the original or source text.
Translation as a Communicative Service
Making allusion to economics, we can say a technical translation in its communicative
service, is the supply for a demand in technical information. It should be the passerelle
linguistique for technical information, as it should become a bridge that runs from one
language shore to the other. Various people are involved in the technical translation process.
They are:
The document initiator, who produces the original or source language document.
The writer or text producer, who workers under the instructions of the document
initiator to produce documentation.
The translation initiator, who starts the translation process.
The translator, who does the translation proper.
The user, who is the most important person in the process, as the translation is being
done for him/her.
The translator very often than not is the intercultural or cross-cultural technical writer
(Göpferich, 1993). Mossop (1998:40) describes translation as being a process with five tasks
and three stages of production. The five tasks are:
Interpreting the source text
Composing the translation
Researching on the source text and his translation
Revising the translation
Deciding the implications of the commission
The three stages are
Pre-drafting
Drafting
Post-drafting
As already said above, over the years, translation theory has always over shadowed
technical translation to the point that the latter can be considered as having been ignored.
Translation theorists have set up a set of rules governing translation. We have:
The translation must give the words of the original
It must give the same ideas
It should read like the original text
It should be read like a translation
The style in the translation must be a mirror of the original
It should have the same style
It should be able to be considered as a contemporary version of the original
It must be read like a contemporary version of the original
Elements can added or omitted in relation to the original
Elements may never be added or removed, in relation to the original.
Approaches to translation
1. Source oriented approaches
a) Equivalence
The relationship between two entities with similarities, equalities or sameness in terms
of any number of potential equalities.
Levels of equivalence
Denotational meaning
Connotational meaning
Textual Norms
Pragmatic meaning
Types of equivalence
Formal equivalence, which has to do with form and content (Formal Correspondence).
Dynamic equivalence, in which the target text ought to have the same effect on the
audience as the source text had own its audience.
b) Functionalism
An ideology based on the extralinguistic, pragmatic and communicative factors of
translation. Functionalism however, presented some problems, such as
The function of the target text cannot be attained through an analysis of the
source text.
Determining the type of text from the text is a quasi-impossibility.
2. Target oriented approaches
a) Relevance
According to Gutt(1991:22), translation should be approached only from a
communicative point of view.
The Skopos Theory
According to this theory, translation should be done consciously and consistently,
while respecting the principles of the target language, and the theory can be applied
arbitrarily.
There have been criticisms of the Skopos theory, such as the fact that it makes
mercenaries of translators who are only interested in pleasing their customers. This is not
actually true. However, modifications are usually needed to make the text understandable.
Conclusion
Various translation techniques exist, but not all can be applied to all types of texts.
According to the Skopos theory, no theory of translation explains technical translation. Free
or faithful translation may be required, depending on the type of text. So, while translating,
dynamism is advised (switching between free and literal translations in sentences or blocks of
paragraphs.) A communicative approach should be used. Thus, when translating technical
texts, the needs and wants of the target audience should be considered.
