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Luisa Carrada conducted this
interview in September 1999 for her web site Il mestiere di scrivere
(The Craft of Writing). The interview was abridged and edited for
brevity and clarity.
Translating technical documents from English into Italian
Technical translation is a job for specialists. And yet, we who write
in the business world find ourselves doing translations that could be
defined as "technical," whether it is a product description,
a booklet, etc. What are some basic guidelines to keep in mind? This is
the subject of my on line interview with Roberto
Crivello, a free-lance technical translator who has translated
nearly every possible type of technical document over the years, from
simple instruction booklets to technical web pages to complex machinery
and equipment manuals.
Luisa
When we speak of technical translation, we think of highly specialized
things: manuals, the operation of equipment, machinery, and so on. So,
first of all, what constitutes a "technical translation?"
Roberto
Product manuals certainly represent the majority of technical translations,
but product brochures, company newsletters, reports, feasibility studies,
commercial letters, slide presentations, and many other types of documents,
paper or not, can require "technical translations." I think,
though, that we are dealing with a technical translation when most of
the concepts, terms and expressions in the document are technical, or
when the document is tied to other technical matters, as would occur,
for instance, in a marketing document for a high-tech product, or on the
web site of a machinery manufacturer.
Luisa
Before continuing any further, could you clarify exactly what you mean
by "technical expressions"?
Roberto
I will give a simple example from some instructions on troubleshooting
an engine. If you write start breaking the engine down to fix this
bug, you are using a colloquial expression. If, on the other hand,
you write to correct this structural defect, the first step is to disassemble
the engine, you are using a technical expression.
Luisa
What are the main tools of a technical translator? It certainly is not
enough to sit down at a computer with a good English-Italian dictionary.
What kind of background work is necessary?
Roberto
It should be obvious, but often is not, that one must have a thorough
understanding of written English and a thorough comprehension of the technical
concepts in the original document. Otherwise, one produces literal translations
that either have no meaning or that contain redundancies and thus become
frustrating or amusing for knowledgeable readers.
Two examples. The first comes from the field of electricity: people often
translate the term current flow word for word, without realizing
that this is incorrect. By definition, the current is the rate of flow
of electrical charges, so flow of current means literally flow
of the flow of charge. One should write either current or flow
of charge. The second example is mechanical: in references to the
clutch of a vehicle, one can come across the term torsion springs.
Even in an automotive dictionary, I have seen this mistranslated as molle
di torsione, which means literally springs of torsion. The
correct term for this kind of flexible coupling is molle parastrappi.
Someone who does not know technical English very well or does not know
how a clutch works (or both) could be easily mislead by the "reasonable"
sound of the false cognate.
Luisa
It seems to me that this all comes down to one piece of advice: do not
translate literally! Could you cite from your experience any major blunders
that resulted from literal translations?
Roberto
I came across a funny example while editing the translation of a stereo
equipment manual. The sentence The equipment is fused against shorts
was translated as The equipment is melted versus shorts. The author
misused the verb to fuse to say that the circuits were protected
against shorts by means of one or more fuses. Then, the translator failed
to go beyond the written word to arrive at the true meaning of the sentence.
More serious than this case are the terrible blunders that translators
can make if they forget that the verb to replace means not only
to substitute, but also to put back. Thus, they could write
in step 2 of a procedure that a specific component must be removed and,
in step 11, that it must be substituted, when really it should be put
back where it belongs.
Luisa
Returning to the question of background work
Roberto
One must try to obtain as much reference material on the subject as possible,
starting of course with a good general dictionary and, if possible, various
English-Italian technical dictionaries compiled by specialists. On my
web site, there is a list of useful books
and dictionaries for technical translators. The resources available
today on the Internet should be added to this list. With search engines,
one can find sites relevant to technical translation, for example, the
sites of manufacturers or distributors. Reading such sites allows translators
to familiarize themselves with characteristics of products or services,
to obtain terminology, and to determine the appropriate register for a
specific field. However, to apply this last method effectively the translator
must possess a sound understanding of the concepts.
Luisa
Could you offer a few basic suggestions?
Roberto
I will try. Let me start by pointing out that offering general advice
is not enough. We need practical examples, or we end up presenting useless
truisms, such as "use the appropriate register" or "avoid
false cognates." So I will illustrate each suggestion with examples.
Other examples can be found in the
articles on my web site.
Basic guidelines and examples
Use the appropriate register.
That is, always keep in mind who your reader is. If you are addressing
an engineer or a technician, you must use technical terms and expressions.
When addressing a reader who is not trained in the subject of the document,
you should employ less specialized terms and expressions that adequately
communicate the necessary information without seeming too casual. For
example, in translating procedures related to positioning and connecting
cables, which require various and complex operations (i.e., the routing
of cables through conduits, either underground or on the surface), it
is appropriate to use the word posa, which is the exact equivalent
of routing and is used in the context of technical operations.
But the word posa would sound awkward in instructions for a consumer
setting up a computer, who needs simply to place the cables so that no
one will trip on them.
Avoid bureaucratic language in technical translations.
Many people believe, consciously or not, that big words give a document
prestige and precision. In addition to this, Italians who haven't learned
to write clearly tend to use nominalizations in their writing, that is,
they use too many abstract nouns, relegating the verb to secondary status.
The following type of translation arises from such tendencies: To start
the machine, proceed as follows is translated, in bureaucratese, as
Follow carefully the procedure shown below to effectuate the starting
of the machine.
What matters is the clarity of the information communicated. If difficult
or complicated words or expressions do not add anything to the information,
the translator should not use them.
Avoid false cognates.
That is, avoid incorrect translations due to false analogies between English
and Italian. A good English-Italian dictionary can often help one to avoid
using relatively simple false cognates. For example, the Italian triviale
does not translate trivial, but vulgar. To catch false cognates
in technical terms or expressions, I recommend the following method: every
time you write a word or expression that seems to be a literal rendering
of the English, check both a monolingual English dictionary or manual
and an Italian one for all possible connotations of the word or expression.
For example, the term versus often accompanies charts (A versus
B, where A and B are two physical quantities; e.g., power versus rpm
for an engine). Versus is often mistranslated as a synonym of against,
causing funny renderings in Italian. Consulting English-only engineering
manuals would reveal that versus is used interchangeably with as
a function of. Therefore, the correct Italian translation is in
funzione di, which you can verify in Italian manuals.
Luisa
So you suggest always double-checking in dictionaries?
Roberto
Sometimes it is enough to think before translating and to ask oneself,
"What does this mean? How do I say it in Italian?" But other
times some technical competence is necessary. For example, to keep
track is often translated as tenere traccia, a loan translation
that sounds vaguely like to hold the track, but that is not an
Italian expression. Instead, if the phrase is to keep track of the
developments, then the correct Italian translation is to keep informed.
If the phrase is to keep track of the temperature, then the appropriate
translation is to monitor the temperature.
The key is to be careful. Loan words are constantly being adopted, and
translators end up using them automatically, even outside the fields into
which they were imported. An example of this type of error is the verb
supportare, a false cognate of to support that is used even
outside the field of software, despite the fact that it means only to
bear or hold up (a load, mass, structure, etc.). We often find
A supports B, when the phrase should instead say A operates
with B, or A permits the use of B, or a number of other options.
Luisa
How does one become a technical translator? And, more specifically, what
steps did you take to become one?
Roberto
There are many possible routes to take. The "normal" way is
to study at an Italian school of translation and interpretation, and then
enter the market. In the area of technical translation, however, the problem
with these schools is that they do not offer technical training, so people
who have degrees in translating often lack a thorough understanding of
technical subjects, which is one of the main requisites for producing
accurate technical translations. Technical training can be acquired through
courses in engineering, for example.
Another fairly common scenario is that of Italians who live in the English-speaking
countries, for personal or professional reasons, and begin to practice
this profession because they know both English and Italian very well.
In any case, experience is essential. Those who have no technical training
make serious blunders in the beginning. By reading good translations,
one learns bit by bit.
In my case, after working in Italy as an electronic engineer in research
and development, I moved to the US and worked for several years as a researcher
for the microwave laboratory of the University of Utah's electrical engineering
institute. Later, I met a technical translator and decided that I would
like to do technical translations. Thanks to my technical background,
entering the market was fairly simple. And that is how I discovered my
professional calling: technical communication, which takes the form of
translating technical English into Italian.
Luisa
One last question. You work as a free-lance translator in the United States.
What role does the Internet play in your work? I am referring less to
the endless modes of documentation, or the wide range of uses for e-mail,
than to the possibilities for marketing your skills and services. Does
your site give you effective exposure and help you to find new contacts
and clients?
Roberto
As far as the Internet is concerned, the translating profession, like
many others, is still developing. Potential clients do look for translators
on the Internet, but not exclusively. They also look at lists of translators,
place ads asking for rÈsumÈs to expand their databases of
translators, or ask translators they trust to suggest other translators.
The less direct marketing strategy of professional referrals by colleagues
depends on being recognized and respected by other translators, but it
is very important in this field.
For a couple of years now, I have noticed a gradual increase in the number
of potential clients who find me by searching for specialized translators
on the web. Having a web site is even more important in the second phase
of contact with potential clients, when you invite them to visit your
web site for further information. That is your chance to exhibit a superior
level of professionalism. Within perhaps two or three years, what happened
with e-mail will happen with web sites: everyone will need one, and the
ability to present a hypertext brochure to clients will be essential.
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E.E., M.E.,
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2059 East Wilmott Dr.
Salt Lake City, Utah 84109
Phone: 801-278-7757 · Fax: 801-278-4211
e-mail: mail@robertocrivello.com
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