LEVEL 3
(ENG1281)
SEC: 044-045-048-049-41-42
1
Technical translations are one of the
most demanded translation services
nowadays, closely intertwined with
technical developments in the
modern world. Because of the
constant evolution of technology,
technical translations have become
almost indispensable.
What is technical translation?
It is a type of specialized translation involving the
translation of documents produced by technical writers,
or more specially, texts that relate to technological
subject areas or texts that deal with the practical
application of scientific and technological information.
* Technical translation deals with texts on
subjects based on applied knowledge from the
natural sciences.
What are the areas in which technical translation takes place?
Technical translation is always associated with applied sciences, and it, in the broader
sense, involve any non-literary translation, such as:
chemistry
computer science
Geology
oil refining
mechanical engineering
Patents
User manuals
Food technology
Mathematics
Physics
law
etc.
Who needs technical translation?
Typically, this type of technical translation is needed by the
following categories of people:
- Scientists who keep up with the times and follow the latest news in
a particular field of activity;
- Students who want to expand their knowledge base and write
meaningful term papers or thesis;
- Specialists working with foreign equipment (technologists,
adjusters, etc.);
- Users of household or computer equipment.
The essential areas of expertise for
technical translators are the following:
Subject knowledge
Writing skills
Research skills
Knowledge of genres and text types
Pedagogical skills
Features of Technical Texts
The main features can be classified into four categories: morphology, lexis,
grammar and style
Morphological Features
1. Affixation
Aerospace= aero(air) + space الطيران
Hydrology= hydro (water) + logy (science) علم المياه
.
2. Compounding
Bridge-builder
Rainbow
Mother tongue
3. Acronyms + Abbreviations
Laser= light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation
UNESCO= United Nations Educational, Scientific, and cultural
Organization
CD قرص مضغوط
Lexical Features of technical
Translation
Lexical items in the technical domain consist of
common words and many other specialized
terms.
Dictionaries do not always provide the right
answers to technical terminology problems.
Obviously, the correct choice will depend on
the context. A technical translator will know
the proper term to use.
Example
What is the accurate equivalent of the
word pin?
مشبك ?? دبوس? مسمار
Even if the terminology and all information contained in the
document is correct, technical writing has a style that is difficult, if
not impossible, for a non-technical person to imitate. A high-quality
technical translation combines correct terminology and a style
appropriate for the type of document and the intended
audience. A text describing a surgical procedure will use a
different terminology and style depending on whether it is
intended for physicians or laypersons. Excessively technical
terminology may not be understood by the layman, while the
specialist may be offended by use of popular language. Therefore,
the translator must know when to use "kidney toxicity" and when
to use "nephrotoxicity."
Syntactic Features of technical Translation
1. Nominalization
In English, noun phrases are more frequently used in technical language than in
general English. This is because technical writing often involves more abstract
concepts like definitions, principles, laws, conclusions, etc.
Example
اجري تحليل المتوسطات الحسابية لبحث آثار العمر ونوع الجنس و التعليم على أداء
االختبار
An analysis of medians was conducted to examine the effects of age,
gender, and education on test performance.
In general English, the above sentence can take the following form:
We analyzed medians to examine the effects of …….
Or
Medians were analyzed to examine the effects of……
2. Use of passive structure
In academic texts, the passive voice is often used to show that the doer is
unknown or unimportant, and that the action or the fact is more important. The
passive voice may cause a problem during the translation from Arabic into
English, due to the fact that Arabic grammar does not use it frequently, unless
the doer is unknown. So, the translator should take into consideration during the
translation process whether the action or the doer is more important in the
sentence.
For example:
وتبعا لذلك قسمها الجغرافيون الى أربعة أنواع من الصحارى
due to that, the area was divided into four types by the geographies
In this example, the passive voice is used to indicate that the action (dividing
the area), is more important than the doer.
3. Use of general and impersonal pronouns
In technical writing we tend to use impersonal style. Impersonal style includes
the passive voice, impersonal pronouns such as it, there, that, ….
In technical writing, the author tries to be more objective and hide his/her
personality throughout the work.
Compare the following sentences:
We used a standard graphical representation to …… استخدمنا المثيل. ........ل
البياني القياسي
A standard graphical representation was used to….. ُاستخدم الرسم البياني
القياسي ل....
4. Very precise, detailed, informative and free from any ambiguities
5. The use of present tense
The difference between technical and
scientific translation
Despite the obvious connection between the two, i.e.
they both deal with information based on the work of
scientists, scientific translation is quite distinct from
technical translation. Scientific translation relates to
pure science in all of its theoretical side while technical
translation relates to how scientific knowledge is
actually put to practical use.
Exercise 1Translate the following sentences:
1. Ecosystems help purify the air we breathe and the water we drink.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
……………………………………….
2. Recently, the use of nuclear power for desalination PURPOSES HAS GAINED INCREASED
ATTENTION.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………..
3. يمكن للتكنولوجيا الحيوية أن تسهم بقدر كبير في تكثيف الزراعة.
….........................................................................................................................................................
4. This PDA is infected with an extermination virus.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………….
5. يبدأ استخراج النفط الخام طبيعًيا بحفر اآلبار في الخزان األرضي.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………….
Exercise 2Identify the technical features in the previous
sentences.
Feature Example
Morphological features
Lexical features
Syntactic features
