Producing an accurate technical translation is incredibly difficult.
Technical texts are known for their complex sentence structure. They are saturated with specialist terms, which carry the main semantic load and take precedence over ordinary general vocabulary. They often contain words that do not belong to the target language, truncated words, abbreviations and acronyms, which can seriously complicate the translator's work.
To translate technical texts accurately, a translator needs not only a deep knowledge of the language and terminology but also specific professional expertise.
The purpose of translating technical literature is to convey information to readers as clearly and precisely as possible, so every word must be chosen with the utmost care.
For example, to render the word «чистить», a technical translator should not reach for the first option that comes to mind, "to clean", but use "to purify" to give the text its specific technical flavor.
It should also be borne in mind that the same term can have different meanings in different fields of engineering, or even within a single industry. Moreover, as science and technology constantly advance, more and more new terms appear.
A technical translator must always be attentive and well informed.
It should also be remembered that, as mentioned above, technical literature is mostly intended for specialists. For them, technical language is a sign of technical competence, and any departure from the familiar way of presenting material often makes the facts harder to understand.
That is why the style of the translation is so important: no arbitrary interpretation of the subject matter, just a dry presentation of the facts, with unobtrusive wording and syntax that do not distract from the content.
However nice "The wire is alive" may sound in English, and however tempting it may be to render "The wire is dead" with a colorful phrase, these two sentences can only be translated as «Провод под током» and «Провод отключен».
Creative flights of fancy are unacceptable in this situation.
Where possible, a good technical translator should also avoid foreign-language words and give preference to terms of Russian origin.
Of course, the substance will not change whether you call a piece of equipment a «чиллер» or a «холодильная машина», but the class of a translator, like that of any other professional, shows in the details.
At Kerner, we take on the translation of:
and more...
We guarantee that our specialists have the technical and linguistic knowledge needed to deliver a technically sound translation that uses GOST terminology correctly.
"A bad translation of technical texts is worse than none," specialists often say with a sigh, holding yet another "slightly inaccurate" translation of an operating manual for goods received from a foreign manufacturer. TURN TO THE PROFESSIONALS!