Lingua Translations

Just imagine what an incorrect translation of safety would mean to a technician whose job is to maintain a large machine. Getting technical translation right is not as easy as it may seem. There can be quite number of significant differences in English terminology between seemingly similar fields. In a technical translation, a technical translator must not only possess an excellent command of both the source and target languages, but also an in-depth understanding of the subject matter, its terminology and right way of expressing in a catchy and simple language.

A key to a best technical translation is the consistent use of correct terminology. It plays the role to promote consistency and accuracy in the technical translation. A Technical translator should be much familiar with technical jargon in both languages. A major part of technical translation is technical writing or a good technical translation requires good technical writing. The main challenge a technical translator face during technical translation is that documents are often written with different stylistic conventions in different languages in a given industry or the standard market prevailing in that region. Technical translation is not like translating literature. There are no cultural cues to preserve and no great literary techniques to convert into specific rules. What needs to be preserved is the technical content of the document in the right manner.

So far, your business has shown steady growth and you are ready to grab your piece of the global market. However, once you begin your campaign to other countries you should realize that the potential clients may have difficulties in understanding what your product or service is and what it does. The reason this is true, is that even if English is the major language throughout the business world, only around 25 percent of the world speaks English. This means your information will be mumbo jumbo to 75 percent of the world. The only way to reach the vast population of individuals that do not speak English is with the aid of a translation service. Of course, this goes the other way as well, if you wish to reach the English speaking countries you may need your information translated into English. Either way, a professional translation service will be able to provide you with high quality translations that will ensure that all individuals will be able to receive your material in their native tongue.

In the United States, a recent report stated that many US companies are losing billions of dollars per year due to incorrect or inept language translations. These documents are a reflection of the company, thus if the material is not proper, individuals will not be able to trust the company. If they cannot ensure their own documents are readable in the foreign language, how will they ever be able to meet the needs of customers that speak that language?

If a person or company wants a technical report of some 600 pages translated in two days for use at an important international meeting, the translator will have to discuss this problem with the person concerned and offer suggestions on what is really required, since it probably will not be possible to make a full translation within the short time available. The price for the translation might also be discussed, since work at night or over the weekend could also be necessary

If the translator cannot produce the best possible full translation within the time available, then an “optimal” solution should be agreed upon.

Such translations could fall into one of the following categories:

- “a translation that provides what is necessary for the stated purpose”

- “as good as possible in view of the customer’s requirements”.

In the case of the 600 page technical report mentioned above, the “ideal” translation might consist of faithful adherence to the source text, which would involve full reproduction of the detailed report. On the other hand, providing the persons attending an international meeting with 600 pages of typescript is certainly not the best way of communicating the contents of the report to them. Due to the obvious time limitations, a summary could be proposed as an alternative. This could have the additional advantage in that key bullet points raised for discussion in the international meeting would be more easily accessible in a summary.

Equivalence in Translation Between myth and reality
This article is dedicated to express the equivalence as a theory in various points of view taken from theorists. The winter says the theorists are divided into two groups. The first group is in favor of linguists approach in translation. The second group is in favor of cultural approach toward translation and most importantly the equivalence. The writer also defines a mediocre place for scholars who do not belong to the first or second group. Scholars for the first group are Vinay, Catford, Darbelnet, Jakobson and Nida. Vinay and Darbelnet defined the equivalence as a procedure which replicates the same situation as in the original while using completely different wording. They also said that the equivalence is the ideal method in dealing with proverbs, idioms, clichés, etc. Jakobson considered three types of translation. They are inter lingual (between SL &TL), intra lingual (within one language), and inter semiotic (between sign systems). Nida`s theory was defined by the writer. Nida defined two types of equivalence. They are formal equivalence and dynamic equivalence. Writer says the formal equivalence focuses on the message itself. However, the dynamic equivalence is based on the equivalent effect. Catford is the next theorist who believed in linguistic approach toward translation and equivalence. He defined his theory based on the extent of translation, grammatical rank and the levels of language. He, later on, explained his notion of shifts. They are structure shift, class shift, unit shift, and intra system shift.
In the second part of the article, the writer introduces House`s theory as a cultural or functional approach toward the notions of translation and equivalence. House defined two types of translation namely overt and covert translation. In the overt translation the TT audience is not directly addressed. On the other hand, the covert translation is the production of a text which is functionally equivalent to the ST. in the final part of the article, Baker`s theory of equivalence was defined. The writer says Baker explores the notion of equivalence at different levels. They are word level, grammatical level, textual level, and pragmatic level. Finally, the writer concluded that equivalence is still problematic in terms of definition, theoretical aspects, and practical aspects.

Translation memory, commonly referred to as ‘TM’, is a database that stores previously translated text. Most commonly used in conjunction with computer aided translation (CAT) tools, such as Trados or DejàVu, it is utilised during the translation process to help with new similar translation content.

Nowadays, a vast amount of translators and translation agencies use CAT tools and TMs as part of their daily work. Translation agencies are able to develop client-specific translation memories in order to produce consistent and cost-effective translations, even when different individual translators are used.

A translation memory consists of text segments (paragraphs or sentences, but not single words) in a source language and their translations into one or more target languages. Together, these pairs of segments form so-called translation units.

Although TMs can be employed in a variety of translation scenarios, they are at their most beneficial when used with highly repetitive texts. They are also particularly helpful when translating newer versions of previously translated documents. In this situation only new content would need to be translated as the TM will identify previously translated content. This can represent a considerable time and cost saving as well as aiding in the production of consistent translations.

Translation memories are extremely advantageous in numerous ways:

Consistency
TMs help to ensure consistency through the presentation of previously translated content. This is particularly important if a number of translators work for the same client or on the same project over time.

You have made the decision to utilize a translation services firm and now you are wondering about the cost. All firms will use almost the same factors in arriving at a cost of providing the service to you. You should get a quote for your service before it is performed. Many of the firms want partial payment upfront with the balance paid when the product is delivered. The factors used in determining your costs include the following items.

One of the most important factors (if not the most important) is the number of source words. The source language is the language of the original document and the target language is the language into which the original document is being translated. It is not very surprising that the number of words is a major factor in determining the cost. It is only common sense that a larger document will cost more than a smaller document.

Another aspect in calculating the cost is the challenging nature of the translation. The more complex a document is the more it will cost per word. This again should not come as a surprise. An extremely challenging document will cause the translator to do research and call on his or her specialized knowledge. The complexity of the translation will also cause the translator to use much more creative writing skills. Any document with no technical terms will be priced lower than any document with technical terms like a technical manual or complex legal contract. A personal letter will be priced at the lowest price and the more complex, technical text will be priced higher.