All the secrets of specilized translation
How do we deal with specialized translation?
Translating a specialized text may be a challenging job. All translators know that.
For example, our recent translation jobs from Italian to English regarding a specialized text on the ‘Del Colle Folignato’ dog breeding for the Bulletin of the Italian Greyhound, or the translation of the specifications for a shipbuilding contract for the Port of Ravenna were particularly demanding both due to the short deadlines and the highly specialized language.
In short, specialized translations can be a serious challenge even for specialist translators.
Translators generally work in a variety of fields (such as law, finance, medicine or environmental sciences) and even if they are specialist, that is, they work exclusively in one or two fields, they can’t possibly know all the specialized terminology of an industry branch.
So, what do you need in order to deal with a specialized translation?
There are some very useful tools that most translators use and that help them carry out a quality translation even in very specialized fields. Let’s see what they are:
- Specialized Glossaries
- Searching for parallel texts
- Seeking the help of experts
- Bilingual and monolingual dictionaries
Specialized glossaries
Translators usually create specialized glossaries, which they consult during their translation jobs.
Some technical glossaries are also available online for consultation. If glossaries were created by others, it’s always advisable to check the accuracy of the translations before using them.
To do this, translators usually browse the web searching for parallel texts to make sure that the term in the glossary is actually used appropriately in that context.
Searching for Parallel Texts
By searching the web for parallel texts a translator can create a glossary with the sector’s terminology.
Translators usually browse the websites of the companies working in the reference sector and pick up the translation of the technical terms they needs. Technical manuals translated into more languages are often available online for consultation, too.
Parallel translations are of great help to acquire the specific terminology of a sector before and during a translation job.
Seeking the help of experts
Technical experts are a very precious resource, as they can often provide the most accurate and precise information for the translators.
As a matter of fact, they know exactly which expressions or terms are used in daily interaction on technical matters within their industrial or business field. Experts can give you invaluable information that often cannot be found anywhere else in dictionaries and even on the internet.
As an example, some days ago we asked an enologist for two Italian expressions in a winetasting translation as we couldn’t find the right English term anywhere for “gusto granitico” and “note di dulcamara”. The wine specialist was absolutely fantastic! He gave us the exact and most accurate words that he knew are used in the wine sector to refer to these two Italian expressions. Simply great!
Bilingual and Monolingual dictionaries
The dictionary is perhaps the tool that is most frequently associated with the image of a translator. However, today the dictionary, especially the paper dictionary, is the least used reference for translation work.
This is because a dictionary, even a technical one, will hardly contain the translation of highly specific terms in an industrial sector. Furthermore, specialized terms are constantly evolving and dictionaries become easily obsolete, because the language changes continuously.
The more a technical discipline evolves, the older the dictionary.
Do you need a specialized translation for your company? Trust our experience!
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