The industrial sector is characterized by very high competition and the quality of the documentation accompanying the machinery or their presentations at sectoral events and trade fairs can open or close the doors of a foreign market. The quality of industrial translations has a strong impact on the perception of the quality of a machine or a production process, which is why it is essential that technical translations are precise and are not simple literal or, worse, automatic translations.
Translations of manuals for the industrial technical sector
The translation of technical manuals requires specific skills, among which two can be highlighted. On the one hand, it is necessary to have a good understanding of the intrinsic characteristics of a technical text. On the other hand, it is necessary to know the sector of activity in question.
For example, when translating an appliance manual, the translator will need to be familiar with several factors. Among these, we highlight the format and design of these texts, as well as the specific terminology and operation of the product in question. More generally, there are resources and strategies that facilitate the translation of a technical text, optimizing its quality, regardless of the topic of the text. Let’s see them together.
Preparation of a specialized glossary to be translated in a coherent manner
Ensuring consistency, especially in terms of terminology, is one of the difficulties of technical texts. The development of a glossary that collects all the technical terms of a text will allow the translator to translate the terms according to the same criteria.
Furthermore, in case there are multiple technical manuals to translate, the glossary can be easily reused and even updated and completed. This will save the translator’s time and provide greater quality assurance for translations.
Creation of a translation memory
The translation memory completes the glossary. It consists of recording text segments that regularly appear in technical manuals together with their translation into the target language. In this way the translator will be able to guarantee, once again, perfect coherence in the translation of technical texts.
Having a translation memory is essential if we need to translate a large number of technical documents. Especially when it comes to texts from a similar product range. Partially matching segments and repetitions will be automatically detected and directly translated correctly.
Use of computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools
Computer-aided translation tools (or CAT tools), not to be confused with machine translation, offer valuable help when it comes to translations, especially when it comes to technical translations.
They allow us, among other things, to create glossaries and create translation memories. Thanks to the use of a CAT program, the translator will be able to save a lot of time in his work. Likewise, these allow you to optimize the quality of translations and ensure the consistency and accuracy of the translated terms.
Both the translator and the client enrich the program database with the specific terminology of the technical text in question. Far from replacing the skills and experience of a professional translator, a good CAT translation program carries weight when it comes to performing a technical translation.
Contact a translation agency
For the translation of manuals, documents or, more generally, technical texts, it is advisable to contact a translation agency like LingoYou. Since these texts require specific experience and skills, the help of a professional is the only thing that can guarantee the quality of the project. In fact, using a translation company brings a series of advantages:
- Rigorous project management that guarantees good control.
- The selection of specialized and experienced professional translators.
- Management of large translation projects in any existing format (Word, InDesign, QuarkXpress, etc.).
- The ability to perform layout or integrate it into the translation process.
- The creation and management of a glossary and a translation memory.
- Real-time update of project progress, related changes made, etc.
For more information, consult our offer of services relating to industrial and technological translations.
The translation of manuals, documents or industrial and technical texts is a rigorous and demanding discipline. In addition to specific technical skills, it requires impeccable consistency. Specialized translators tasked with translating technical documents must be specialized in their field so that their translations are reliable and of high quality.
A company that offers professional translation services has the advantage of being able to select the best translators specialized in the translation of different types of technical texts, based on their skills and experience.
If you need to translate technical documents, at LingoYou we have years of experience in this matter, as well as in the use of assisted translation tools.
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