October/November 2010 GETTING STARTED: Guide

Prescription Drug ® Labeling and Translation

How Documentation and Translation ® Processes Affect Each Other

Native Speaker or Nonnative ® Speaker: That Is the Question

01 Cover#115TranslationGSG.indd 1 9/22/10 9:25:29 AM TraNSlaTiON Guide: GETTING STARTED

Getting Started: Translation is a tricky business, prone to incite Translation both praise and despair from initiates and old hands alike. Critics such as author George Borrow Editor-in-Chief, Publisher Donna Parrish claim that “translation is at best an echo,” while Managing Editor Katie Botkin supporters such as Ralph Waldo Emerson contend that “What is really best . . . is translatable Proofreader Jim Healey — any real insight or human sentiment.” However, these really are different sides of the same News Kendra Gray Illustrator Doug Jones coin. While translation may be an echo of an original, it is nearly always possible to make this Production Doug Jones, Darlene Dibble echo take on the same pitch, timbre and sense as the original, particularly if you have decent Editorial Board help. George Rimalower, Kit Brown-Hoekstra and Roberta Fischer Malara all offer help on this Jeff Allen, Ultan Ó Broin, Arturo Quintero, front to anyone interested in learning more about translation. Jessica Roland, Lori Thicke, Jost Zetzsche The Editors Advertising Director Jennifer Del Carlo Advertising Kevin Watson, Bonnie Hagan Webmaster Aric Spence

CONTENTS Technical Analyst Curtis Booker Data Administrator Cecilia Spence Prescription Drug Labeling and Translation Assistant Shannon Abromeit Subscriptions Terri Jadick George Rimalower page 3 Special Projects Bernie Nova George Rimalower founded Interpreting Services International, Inc. (ISI) in Advertising [email protected] 1982. ISI was one of the first to address the special linguistic and cultural needs www.multilingual.com/advertising of both non- and limited-English-proficient communities of the United States. 208-263-8178 Subscriptions, customer service, back issues [email protected] How Documentation and www.multilingual.com/subscribe Translation Processes Affect Each Other Submissions [email protected] Editorial guidelines are available at page 6 Kit Brown-Hoekstra www.multilingual.com/editorialWriter Kit Brown-Hoekstra, principal of Comgenesis, LLC, is an associate Reprints [email protected] fellow for STC, speaks regularly at conferences worldwide, and has authored many articles on a variety of technical communication and localization topics. This guide is published as a supplement to MultiLingual, the magazine about language technology, localization, web globalization and international software development. It may be Native Speaker or Nonnative downloaded at www.multilingual.com/gsg Speaker: That Is the Question page 10 Roberta Fischer Malara Roberta Fischer Malara is the former head of the Aermacchi (now Alenia Aermacchi) translation department. She has been a freelance translator, technical communicator, writer and editor since 1992 and contributed to the development of STE (ASD’s Simplified Technical English).

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GETTING STARTED:GuideTRANSLATION Prescription Drug Labeling and Translation

GeorGe rimalower

he state of California is currently con- their medication reduces mistakes that at a more sophisticated level than is ideal Tsidering Senate Bill (SB) 1390, which, can be life-threatening. for the target audience. The result is that among other provisions, would re- While the long-range objectives are some percentage of the audience simply quire that pharmacies consider “the needs achieving and maintaining good health won’t get it. of patients with limited English proficien- for patients, the short-term objective is • Imprecise writing: Typing errors, inac- cy” when labeling prescription drugs. The to create an informed patient population. curate punctuation and/or sloppy word bill is receiving attention from health care Informed patients are much more likely to choice in the source document can change providers nationwide; it’s axiomatic that, follow the directives of health care per- the meaning of the original text in unin- as California goes, so eventually goes a sonnel, whether that involves taking pre- tended ways. Consider the phrase once a federal mandate. As the legislation notes, scription medications or adopting other day. That may be common enough, but it medication errors lead the list of medical recommended practices. happens that the spelling of the word once mishaps. Some 46% of American adults SB 1390 likewise makes good economic is the same as the spelling of the Spanish do not understand the labels on their pre- sense. In addition to the obvious health word that means eleven. scription drugs. The stakes are high, and benefits for patients, quality transla- • Inappropriate use of color: Colors SB 1390 offers an unprecedented oppor- tions help lower the overall costs associ- communicate, too, and different colors con- tunity for those who provide translation ated with health care. Patients who don’t vey distinct meanings to various cultural services to become part of the groups. While red conveys a solution. sense of danger or alarm to At the same time, arriving at North American English speak- useful can be a for- ers, for example, the color rep- midable challenge. Useful means resents a sense of happiness going beyond a literal transla- or good luck to other cultural tion of the text to express its true groups. meaning to the intended audi- • Representation of num- ence, and that involves taking into bers and dates: Language account a spectrum of language groups present numbers and and cultural sensitivities, espe- dates in different ways. In cially in a nation that hosts liter- the United States, a date is ally hundreds of languages and usually written in month/day/ dialects. When health and wel- year format; elsewhere, the fare are at stake, localization is day/month/year format pre- the soul of effective translation. vails. Announcing an upcom- According to the 2000 Census, ing health screening using the nearly 18% of the US population US format may inadvertently over the age of five speaks a lan- lead to confusion and under- guage other than English, and Accurate translation of drug labels is crucial. mine the effectiveness of the there’s every indication that the effort. It is better to spell the 2010 Census will record an even bigger understand the instructions that accom- numbers out in words or to follow the num- number. That’s why it’s incumbent upon pany their prescription drugs might bers with the spelled-out words within professional translators to assist health require multiple and wholly preventable parentheses. care providers in ensuring compliance office visits or perhaps find themselves • Cultural and religious sensitivities: with Title IV of the Civil Rights Act. And it’s in the emergency room. That’s true not Using anatomical terms that might be why SB 1390 is sound public policy. only for prescription drug labels, but for offensive to certain cultural groups can the entire range of instructional and edu- affect the ability or willingness of group Good translations make good sense cational health care materials. members to grasp the material. For health care organizations and those Five issues consistently undermine the of us who serve them, the overriding accuracy of many translations, putting Seizing the challenge imperative is to achieve positive outcomes health care providers at serious risk of To address these and other critical for patients. There’s simply no room for miscommunication: issues for the health care market, it’s error in health care communications. Help- • Literacy and educational levels: Fre- important to have systems in place. Start ing people better understand how to take quently, texts to be translated are written by developing a style guide or glossary for

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03-05 Rimalower #115 GSG.indd 3 9/22/10 9:29:16 AM TRANSLATION Guide: GETTING STARTED

Your Company’s Spanish Translators Language Division Spanish Express, a US company based in Latin Next Generation without Borders America, has been providing top quality transla- tion and localization services from English into of MT Software Translators without Borders is an independent Spanish for over 15 years. Our staff is comprised • New hybrid rule-based and statistical MT registered nonprofit association that assists of professional, experienced translators who • New languages in a very short timeframe non-governmental organizations (NGOs) reside in the country they linguistically represent • Built for enterprise use by providing free, professional translations. (Mexico, Argentina, Spain and so on). Our texts • Less-used languages not an issue Founded by Lexcelera in 1993, Translators read as if they have been originally crafted in • Full suite of web-based clients available without Borders has provided over 2 million Spanish, which is what makes us the #1 choice • Full suite of mobile-based clients available dollars worth of free translations. Thanks to of many translation agencies and direct clients • Any-to-any language, not English-centric the funds saved, NGOs are able to extend their around the world. humanitarian work. Translators without Borders Spanish Express Translations LinguaSys, Inc. Paris, France Córdoba, Argentina Boca Raton, Florida USA [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] www.translatorswithoutborders.com www.spanish-express.com www.linguasys.net

key projects in collaboration with various • Formal or informal in tone: In the IMPRIMIR, we’re leading the Spanish stakeholders. Such a guide should include United States, materials aimed at the gen- speaker (in this example) astray, lost style decisions that take into account both eral public often assume a casual, even and looking for that infernal IMPRIMIR linguistic and legal criteria. Guides can conversational tone, an approach that button. even be tailored to specific client company definitely doesn’t fly in some cultures. Glossaries can complement the style departments — the graphics department Misreading the cultural cues may prevent guide and should be regarded as living that will be designing labels, brochures engagement with the audience. documents, subject to change over time. and related materials, and so on. • Idiosyncratic titles: Many of the Glossaries ensure that consistency will It’s also wise to factor in other consider- most effective titles in English depend be maintained from document to docu- ations, among them: on wordplay, such as Dollars and Sense, ment. They also make certain that client • Level of education: It’s necessary to but these types of catchphrases obvi- preferences are understood. Glossaries select some educational level to reach ously do not lend themselves to literal may, for example, include general rules the largest percentage of the target audi- translations. Better to stay focused on governing the use of different words that ence, but what level? Does the material the essence of the message and skip the mean the same thing, such as doctor, need to be intelligible to those with a sixth- double meanings. physician or M.D. Glossary entries can grade education or above? A fourth-grade • Capitalization: The use of capitals isn’t indicate when each word is approved, education? arbitrary; it’s often fundamental to com- as well as the name of the person who • Location of the target population: munication. Capitalization varies widely approved it. They can also note whether Translations must take into account where according to language and, when used certain words or phrases are never to be the target population resides. If a text is improperly, is likely to breed confusion. used in its place. to be translated into French, for example, • Translating for the web: Even the sim- As the world becomes ever more inter- does the target audience live in Mar- plest computer instructions (such as and connected, we in the translation industry seilles? In Montreal? In Brussels? Or, a bit press Enter) may need to be rethought provide an increasingly valuable service closer to home, if a text needs to be trans- when working on material intended for by linking together different communities lated into Spanish for distribution within publication on the web, since, typically, through language and culture. Legislative the United States, do the targeted Span- the website itself isn’t translated. Con- initiatives such as SB 1390 enable us to ish speakers live in Miami? San Diego? sider that when translating Click on the play an even bigger part in this evolving New York City? PRINT button as haga clic en el botón global story. G

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03-05 Rimalower #115 GSG.indd 5 9/22/10 1:32:52 PM TRANSLATION Guide: GETTING STARTED How Documentation and Translation Processes Affect Each Other

Kit Brown-HoeKstra

ompanies that successfully integrate most mature ones integrate internation- Documentation teams must be able to Ctranslation into the documentation alization not only into the product devel- understand both the technical staff and the and product development process opment cycle, but also into their overall audience, to deal well with ambiguity, to reap the financial benefits of simultane- strategic planning and marketing. The distill reams of technical data and specifi- ous global releases; high-quality products company’s global maturity level gives you cations into usable and useful information, that meet the needs of all their and often to test the usability of customers, regardless of locale; both the product and the docu- and improved perception of cus- mentation. Technical content TRANSLATION Content and tomer service. Such integration product design Writing/editing creation is essentially a trans- also requires the localization/ Team review lation process as many users translation vendor to take a long- don’t speak geek and many term view toward its client rela- Design techies have difficulty commu- Doc review Template and Terminology tionships because, while integra- other nicating at a level that is com- style guide management research tion results in short-term loss of development Revise fortable for nontechies. The revenue on a project, the overall team also must frequently deal

budget for localization doesn’t Usability with multiple, shifting priorities typically go down. Instead, those testing while still meeting deadlines. Information short-term savings go toward architecture Q/A Documentation is almost never adding languages, improving development allowed to hold up a product the product’s internationaliza- release. tion, localizing marketing, or Unfortunately, the transla- other initiatives that improve the Project Final tion/localization process is a Approval company’s global presence, all post-mortem deliverables “black box” for most docu- of which represent revenue op- mentation teams, and this lack portunities for the savvy local- of insight can cause issues ization vendor. with both the quality of the Figure 1: Documentation process. Regardless of your role in the source documentation and translation process (content cre- the translations, particularly ator, translator, project manager and so an idea of how difficult it will be for the for companies that have implemented con- on), you need to understand how both the client localization manager or documenta- tent management without fully integrat- documentation process and the translation tion manager to effect change and helps ing the translation team and process into process affect each other, where the prob- you understand the company’s cultural the workflow. Taking the time to educate lems occur, and how to integrate the two so milieu. Companies that have globalization the documentation team on translation that the company can meet its goals in the and internationalization built into their and localization issues can significantly global marketplace. overall strategic plan will be more open to improve the product’s global appeal and suggestions and better able to facilitate marketability. In addition, the earlier an Documentation process changes at all levels of the organization. issue is caught in the design process, the Quality translation really begins with While most documentation teams have less expensive it is to fix and the more likely content creation and the processes that little control over the overall corporate that the fix will get made. support it, as well as the degree to which strategy and corporate-level processes, the company incorporates internation- they often significantly influence the prod- Translation process alization into the product development uct development and control the docu- Translation, the act of taking content cycle and its strategic planning. There mentation process. in one language and transferring it to are essentially four levels of internation- The documentation process is one of cre- another, is only part of the process for alization in a company, and it’s impor- ation and iteration. The documentation team making a product and documentation set tant to understand that each level both typically is responsible for every aspect of ready for a new language market. Good affects and is affected by the others: the documentation, from researching and translators must not only speak both the organizational, process, product and participating in product development team source language (SL) and target language documentation. meetings to developing templates, style (TL) fluently, they must also understand Companies vary greatly in their global guides, and glossaries to content creation the industry and products that they are maturity at each of these levels, but the and management to publishing. translating the content for. Because they

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are native speakers of the TL, they also from the documentation, translation and making it indistinguishable from best usually have native understanding of the development teams, as well as the in-country practices: Internationalization is, ideally, target culture. In addition to the actual reviewers. When done as an ongoing activ- not a separate process, but is built into translation and editing process, the trans- ity and especially when new products are the very design of the products, strate- lation/localization team must ensure that developed, you can ensure more consis- gic planning and cultural milieu. It’s much the content is culturally appropriate and tency throughout the product, documen- easier to design something that considers make adjustments where necessary. tation, marketing and language products. global needs than it is to retrofit it later. It The localization/translation team is The approved terms can be loaded into the takes time to build the initial understand- also typically responsible for desktop translation memories (TMs) early in the ing and shift the corporate culture, and publishing for print and engi- the process is ongoing as the neering output for electronic teams reach new levels of media. And the team must Project File prep knowledge and understand- Translation work closely with the client’s kick-off meeting and analysis ing. Once that integration designated in-country review- occurs, however, companies ers, who might or might not begin to reap the rewards have formal language or prod- in terms of faster time-to- Q/A uct training. market, fewer cultural issues, Translation and localization improved customer service are acts of transference rather and potentially, larger mar- than development. The trans- ket share. In-country lation of the content is usually DTP/engineering With integrated documen- review separated from the desktop tation and translation pro- publishing and engineering cesses you can also move functions and performed by dif- some translation tasks earlier Project ferent sub-teams. Because Final deliverables DTP/QA/testing in the development process, post-mortem of this separation, good pro- where they can save signifi- ject management is critical to cant costs. These activities ensure that each functional include pseudo-translations, group understands how its Figure 2: Localization process. where you test the user work affects the other team interface to ensure that field members. project and, for software projects, used in labels and other elements fit properly, and One of the biggest challenges for trans- tests of the user interface. pre-translations, where you run a draft in lation/localization teams is that the trans- • Style guide and template review and the SL through the TMs to identify potential lation tends to be pushed to the very end internationalization: Desktop publishing issues with the content. For example, a lot of the product release cycle and, if dead- and engineering are often the largest costs of 90%-95% matches might indicate that lines aren’t met, can cost companies mil- in a . By ensuring that preferential editorial changes are being lions of dollars in delayed releases. Most the templates work with all languages, made to previously translated content or countries’ regulations demand local lan- you can significantly reduce problems that content is being rewritten instead of guage products, particularly for products and overtime costs at the end of a pro- reused. that involve public safety, such as heavy ject. Better yet, automating the publishing In addition, each team can improve equipment or medical devices. by using a content management system integration by doing the following on the and structured authoring saves costs and development side: Working together without colliding enables you to more effectively focus your • Involve the localization project man- Simultaneous releases are de rigueur resources on the quality of the content ager early in the product development for most products and industries, which itself. Cautionary note here: It takes sig- process. This early involvement will help means that translation and localization nificant effort to move to content manage- the localization project manager allocate must become more fully integrated into ment and structured authoring, and doing resources and will enable them to identify the documentation process. This integra- so is not a panacea. So, be sure to perform areas where the translation team can con- tion requires that both the company and a cost/benefit analysis before leaping in. tribute throughout the development cycle. the translation/localization vendor have • Periodic content and process audits • Train team members on best prac- a good relationship with each other and for internationalization and translation tices. Improving the documentation for have a solid understanding of each other’s issues: These audits help you identify translation not only helps the customer existing processes. appropriate metrics, identify what you are who uses the translated products, it also Several aspects of both the documen- doing well, and show you where there is improves usability and consistency of the tation and localization processes can be room for improvement. When done consis- source product. divorced from individual projects and tently, the audits help you to prioritize your • Establish effective editing, change assigned to senior team members who efforts and give you the information you management, and in-country review pro- work closely with their counterparts: need to make sound business decisions. cesses. Editing best practices are vital. • Terminology management: Create a • Integration of internationalization Translation is very much a “garbage in, sub-team that includes a representative tasks into the fabric of every process, garbage out” process. The higher the

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quality of the source content, until you are doing the transla- the better the translation will be. Info arch/ tion or the desktop publishing, template content Writing/editing Change management allows you & product design Team review it’s too late. The documentation to be more proactive about how team has moved on to other pro- and when you submit changes jects by then or is scrambling to to translation. If a project is document the latest feature that already in post-editing or desk- Terminology Revise got added at the last minute. management top publishing when you make Pseudo- • Offer to train the documen- the change, it will cost a lot more translation Pre-translation tation team on how to write for than if the content is just being translation. Such workshops started. In-country reviewers Q/A help the documentation team can completely derail the pro- Internationalization see how their job affects the cess because translators depend company’s bottom line. In most on them for quality assurance Localization cases, your suggestions will (QA) approval. Ensuring that the project mgmt. Localization Approval require only a slight change reviewers are trained in both the in the way the documentation products and are native speak- team works and will save sig- ers of the TL, and that the review Figure 3: Integrated documentation and localization process. nificant localization costs. Take is part of their job description graphics, for example. Simply will help facilitate a smoother process. up in a project meeting that affects the removing the text from the graphics and • Communicate regularly and proac- documentation, that means it also affects using a legend could save the company tively with the localization project manager. translation. thousands of dollars every project. In You should have primary and secondary • Consider modularizing your documen- this example, if one graphic costs $50 to points of contact to act as liaisons with tation, and implementing a content manage- create and you have 100 graphics being the translation team. If something comes ment system (CMS) workflow. Modularizing translated into 20 languages, all of which the content enables you to send the content need to be reworked to accommodate the in chunks to the localization vendor, start- text, that’s $100,000. In another example, ing with the most stable content. Also, if one error in the source help content might you are using a CMS, you can send only the cost $50 to fix. If you are translating into content that’s changed to the translation 20 languages and don’t catch the error in team, automate the publishing, and modify the source, that one error costs $1,000 to the translation QA process to ensure that fix. It doesn’t sound like much until you the output is correct. The business case multiply that $1,000 by every error that for each company will be different, but you gets missed in the source and fixed dur- could potentially save over 20% of your ing translation. localization costs by implementing an effec- From a technical and process stand- tive workflow. point, this integration is relatively simple, On the localization side, each team can: though, as with any major change, it can • Communicate proactively with cli- be difficult to get the initial buy-in and ents. If clients are consistently submitting overcome inertia. problematic source content, tell them. It’s a good idea to start with a pilot pro- Work with the documentation manager ject staffed by innovative, motivated and to train the team. Educate clients on what open-minded team members who under- you need to be successful. Let them know stand the business reasons for integrat- the financial considerations for their deci- ing the translation and documentation sions, but phrase it in a way that lets them processes, as well as having the technical know you are looking out for their best skills to pull it off. Pilot projects allow you interests. For example, “We can certainly to work out any kinks and to set up met- do X; the cost is Y. I suggest Z, which will rics before changing everyone over to the Visit us at our exhibition booth cost less and still do what you need.” new processes. No. 21 at the Localization World • Establish primary and secondary Understanding how documentation and Conference in Seattle, USA, which is held from 6 through 8 October 2010. contacts with the client team. You need translation each affect the quality of the EUROPEAN UNION FUND EUROPEAN REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT FUTURE YOUR INVESTMENT IN to establish a rapport and habit of regu- other enables you to identify ways to inte- lar interaction with the client. Doing so grate the processes to improve quality, helps you find out earlier of impacts to while reducing costs and time-to-market. the translation process and facilitates the Effective content management and work- project management. flow facilitate this integration. With inte- • Review the templates, terminology, gration, it becomes even more important style guides and so on early in the pro- to nurture your relationships between the ject. Provide the feedback early. If you wait documentation and translation teams. G

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09 Showcase #115 GSG copy.indd9 9 9/22/10 9:31:50 AM TRANSLATION Guide: GETTING STARTED

Native Speaker or Nonnative Speaker: That Is the Question RobeRta FischeR MalaRa

ranslation, always a thorny issue, has subtleties of the SL that may elude the my turf, and, second, the tight rules that Tbeen considered something of a nec- native speaker of the TL. govern the use of the English language in essary evil since time immemorial. Let me highlight here that it is entirely that technical context definitely make it a One question that has probably been in possible for a person to achieve better very good example. vogue since translators first existed is if the fluency in a second language than many A short list of the primary rules that translator should be a native speaker or a native speakers, even if you compare such must be followed when writing, say, the nonnative speaker of the target language fluency with that of well-educated native maintenance manual of an aircraft or a (TL). With 30 years’ experience in the field, speakers. This point has been proven: helicopter, is possibly in order here to ITRANSLATION would say that there is no clear-cut an- Think of the several famous writers who shed further light on this aspect of the swer. I believe that both native speakers wrote in a language that was not their matter. These are the same rules to use and nonnative speakers can provide the first language. Among them you can find when translating user manuals or tech- best service to the customer — promot- Joseph Conrad, né Jósef Teodor Konrad nical manuals covering other kinds of ing the profession in the meanwhile — de- technical subjects and come from Sim- pending on their skills. plified Technical English, Specification What bothers me is that there is a strong ASD-STE100: bias in the Anglo-Saxon world against ranslators worth • If you have a choice, use the shortest nonnative speakers. They are somehow T and simplest name. considered second-class translators when their salt, regardless • Do not make noun clusters of more they translate into English. Many native than three nouns. speakers of the TL argue that only a native of their first or • Use only the infinitive, imperative, speaker knows the grammar, peculiari- simple present, simple past and simple ties, idioms and rhythm of the language second language, future tenses and use the past participle in sufficient depth to provide a transla- as an adjective only. tion that doesn’t read like a translation. will always strive • Keep sentences as short as possible. Such knowledge is certainly possessed by • Use paragraphs to show your reader native speakers having a solid educational to provide the best the logic of the text. background, yet all too often the quality • Each paragraph must have only one of being a native speaker of the TL over- possible service. topic. rides most considerations regarding quali- • Always start the paragraph with the fication for the job and proficiency in the topic sentence. source language (SL). • Present new and complex information A number of translation agencies adver- Korzeniowski in Berdyczów, Poland (now slowly. tise their offers by underscoring that their Ukraine); Vladimir Nabokov, born in Saint You should observe that these rules translators are native speakers of the TL, Petersburg, Russia; and Samuel Beckett, were not designed for translators, but for but do they always consider end-product who was born in Dublin, but wrote most of writers writing in English. Yet experience quality? Freelancers having the TL as their his works in French and was awarded the has demonstrated that engineers and mother tongue do the same, in part for obvi- Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969. Irène technical writers in several countries are ously understandable, self-serving reasons. Némirovsky, who was born in Kiev in 1903 still unable to write directly in English. This Nonnative speakers point out that they and died at Auschwitz in 1942, mastered is even more true when a peculiar style and have studied and learned the grammar of seven languages, but picked French for structure are required. Enter the translator. the TL thoroughly because they intended to her books. Elias Canetti, a Bulgarian-born The essential points for a good translation make translation their career from the start. writer, had German as his fourth language, in technical English are proficiency in both They will point out that they use reference but nonetheless chose it to express his the TL and the SL, and, above all, a sound sources in the TL. They will say they strive works. He was awarded the Nobel Prize knowledge of the technical subject being to improve their proficiency in their second for Literature in 1981. Thus, Shakespeare’s dealt with. This also means that transla- language continually by reading documen- “That is the question” becomes “What is tors should decide early the field in which tation in it and by constantly distilling the really important?” they want to work, specialize in it and in elements that contribute to enhance their I would like now to restrict my discussion the related fields — aviation-related fields fluency from every book, magazine article to translations into technical English for are, for instance, most high-tech sectors, or any other text they go through. They will two good reasons. First, technical transla- but definitely not philosophy or archaeol- also say that they are able to understand tions, in particular in the aviation field, are ogy — and stick to them.

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You may at this point wonder why trans- thing, the Italian translation sounded into technical English in compliance with lators, who focus on language, should something like “Single-chair carrier-borne the rules set forth above, native-speaker be required to have a profound technical airplane with on-board food provision.” knowledge of the SL may be more impor- knowledge of the field they are working in The correct definition would have been tant than native-speaker knowledge of the most frequently. But it is so. You may oth- Monoposto imbarcato con sistema di TL. Translators, in fact, are required to do erwise read awful translations irrespec- rifornimento in volo or “Single-seat, car- extra work on and devote extra effort to tive of whether the translators are native rier-borne aircraft with flight-refueling the SL. This means that they have to de- speakers, what their academic qualifica- system.” structure and restructure it. They must tions are and how fluently they speak both Translators can accrue technical exper- cut the original text into sentences that languages. tise with the help of an editor keen to pro- do not comply with the general rules of Two examples of this come from liter- vide advice, a lot of teamwork with the the TL, but rather with the strict rules of a ary and technical fields. One was an Italian engineers and specialists dealing with the specific subset of the TL, in this case Ead’s paperback issue of Vol de Nuit (Night Flight) subject of their first assignments, much Simplified Technical English. Hence, all by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, containing a reading of the specialized press — in the the nuances of the SL must be thoroughly sentence reading: The essence was over. TL in case of nonnative speakers — and understood. But essence in French means gasoline. The further education in the elected field. I All in all, therefore, there should be no actual meaning was the more down-to- took a yearly course in engineering draft- bias against nonnative speaker translators earth, more understandable — not to say ing practices at the Polytechnic of Milan of the TL as happens out there in the real technically correct — There was no more to be able to read the drawings and give world. When assigning a job, the customer gasoline in the tank. them appropriate titles when involved in should consider expertise in the field first. The other one comes from a placard the engineering drawing title standardiza- There are several ways of assessing whether seen at the Le Bourget Air Show in Paris tion program of the company I was work- a translator possesses all the required char- quite a few years ago. The placard in front ing with at that time. When experience is acteristics in the correct mix. A test, a sur- of a carrier-borne aircraft read Mono-siège gained, translators are able to work mostly vey of excerpts from previous translations, embarqué avec ravitaillement en vol and on a standalone basis. CVs and so forth may work well. Translators in Italian Monosedia imbarcato con vet- It should be clear by now, but let me worth their salt, regardless of their first or tovagliamento in volo. My colleagues took underscore it once again: Expertise in the second language, will always strive to pro- pictures of the placard because it was so field is paramount, and fluency in both vide the best possible service. For disam- incredible. To give you an idea of the whole languages a must. Yet for translations biguation, my first language is Italian. G

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