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Scientific and Technical Translation Explained
From microbiology to nuclear physics and chemistry to software engineering, scientific and technical translation is a complex activity that involves communicating specialized information on a variety of subjects across multiple languages. It requires expert linguistic knowledge and writing skills, combined with the ability to research and understand complex concepts and present them to a range of different audiences. Using a combination of interdisciplinary research, real-world examples drawn from professional practice and numerous learning activities, this introductory textbook equips the student with the knowledge and skills needed to get started in this exciting and challenging field. It examines the origins and history of scientific and technical translation, and the people, tools and processes involved in translating scientific and technical texts.
Scientific and Technical Translation Explained provides an overview of the main features of scientific and technical discourse as well as the different types of documents produced. A series of detailed case studies highlight various translation challenges and introduce a range of strategies for dealing with them. A variety of resources and exercises are included to make learning effective and enjoyable. Additional resources and activities are available on Facebook.
Scientific and Technical Translation Explained provides an overview of the main features of scientific and technical discourse as well as the different types of documents produced. A series of detailed case studies highlight various translation challenges and introduce a range of strategies for dealing with them. A variety of resources and exercises are included to make learning effective and enjoyable. Additional resources and activities are available on Facebook.
229 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 2, 2015
I had to read this for uni. It could just as well have been titled "Scientific and Technical Translation for Dummies, as written by Captain Obvious". In this book you'll find:
- Groundbreaking and revolutionary ideas like* "you should ask your client before deciding to add a slide to someone else's PowerPoint presentation", "try to follow the client's terminology", "in chemistry there can be a difference between 1.06 mg and 1.1 mg" and my personal favourite, "scientific papers may sometimes contain numbers or equations". Apparently this greatly upsets scientific translators, since the book kept using the expression "unsuspecting translator" as if it was talking about a puma jumping on their backs from behind the paper shredder. I guess even though it's literally their job no one expects the Spanish Inquisition science to contain science-y things like equations.
*these are not verbatim quotes because a) nothing in this book is so concise and straightforward, and b) i can't be bothered to look for them. Except the "unsuspecting translator" bit, you can quote me on that.
- Random WTF moments, like presenting the concept of "translation" as too complex to be defined... what?
- The usual self-aggrandizing drivel I've come to expect: blahblahblah translation BEERRRYYY important blahblahblah people don't realize how hard it is blahblahblah without translation there'd be no civilization and the wheel would have only been invented in, like, one country because there's no such thing as learning to do something by seeing how it's done. Because everything ever thought or made needs a translated manual (and a translation brief! know your target audience, kids!), even back in the Bronze Age. I wish I was making this shit up.
- Do as I say, not as I do: lots of emphasis and self-importance regarding coherence but the book can't decide between using "ST" or "source text", tells you not to patronize your audience but *points at previous points...
- All of this is explained in more or less 4x the amount needed, so I guess the author charged per page. I took notes for the whole book and had more than enough with 10 A4 sheets.
- I feel like I just read a book meant for toddlers but at least I feel super important. The fate of civilization lies on my translator hands, peasants.
- Groundbreaking and revolutionary ideas like* "you should ask your client before deciding to add a slide to someone else's PowerPoint presentation", "try to follow the client's terminology", "in chemistry there can be a difference between 1.06 mg and 1.1 mg" and my personal favourite, "scientific papers may sometimes contain numbers or equations". Apparently this greatly upsets scientific translators, since the book kept using the expression "unsuspecting translator" as if it was talking about a puma jumping on their backs from behind the paper shredder. I guess even though it's literally their job no one expects the Spanish Inquisition science to contain science-y things like equations.
*these are not verbatim quotes because a) nothing in this book is so concise and straightforward, and b) i can't be bothered to look for them. Except the "unsuspecting translator" bit, you can quote me on that.
- Random WTF moments, like presenting the concept of "translation" as too complex to be defined... what?
translation
transˈleɪʃ(ə)n,trɑːns-,-nz-/Submit
noun
1.
the process of translating words or text from one language into another.
- The usual self-aggrandizing drivel I've come to expect: blahblahblah translation BEERRRYYY important blahblahblah people don't realize how hard it is blahblahblah without translation there'd be no civilization and the wheel would have only been invented in, like, one country because there's no such thing as learning to do something by seeing how it's done. Because everything ever thought or made needs a translated manual (and a translation brief! know your target audience, kids!), even back in the Bronze Age. I wish I was making this shit up.
- Do as I say, not as I do: lots of emphasis and self-importance regarding coherence but the book can't decide between using "ST" or "source text", tells you not to patronize your audience but *points at previous points...
- All of this is explained in more or less 4x the amount needed, so I guess the author charged per page. I took notes for the whole book and had more than enough with 10 A4 sheets.
- I feel like I just read a book meant for toddlers but at least I feel super important. The fate of civilization lies on my translator hands, peasants.
December 13, 2022
یکی از اشتباهاتی خیلی از افراد و مترجم ها انجام میدن، قرار دادن متون علمی و فنی (تخصصی) در یک دسته ست. با توجه به اینکه هرکدوم از این متون به رویکرد خاصی نیاز دارن، برای جلوگیری از مشکلات ناشی از ترجمه باید ابتدا به درستی اون ها رو شناخت، سپس کار بررسی و ترجمه رو انجام داد.
نویسنده ابتدا بصورت کامل هر دو حوزه رو توضیح میده و تفاوت ها و شباهت های آن ها با هم رو بیان میکنه، سپس راه کارهای مناسب برای ترجمه درست رو توضیح میده.
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این کتاب برای افرادی که تازه وارد حوزه ترجمه شدن یا به اون علاقه دارن میتونه مفید باشه
نویسنده ابتدا بصورت کامل هر دو حوزه رو توضیح میده و تفاوت ها و شباهت های آن ها با هم رو بیان میکنه، سپس راه کارهای مناسب برای ترجمه درست رو توضیح میده.
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این کتاب برای افرادی که تازه وارد حوزه ترجمه شدن یا به اون علاقه دارن میتونه مفید باشه
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April 23, 2020Thanks
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