what do technical translators need/want from a technical translation course?
Thread poster: Paola Gatto
Paola Gatto
Paola Gatto  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 19:32
Member (2004)
German to Italian
+ ...
Jan 14, 2020

Technology is rapidly changing all over the world and it is changing our life standards and our way to work. I wonder if the needs of technical translators have changed today. I have been working in translation for a long time and I would like to understand, whether human technical translation is still requested and appreciated or if our customers tend to rely more and more on machine translation. I am thinking over all the features that a training course in technical translation must have to gi... See more
Technology is rapidly changing all over the world and it is changing our life standards and our way to work. I wonder if the needs of technical translators have changed today. I have been working in translation for a long time and I would like to understand, whether human technical translation is still requested and appreciated or if our customers tend to rely more and more on machine translation. I am thinking over all the features that a training course in technical translation must have to give the today's technical translators what they need. Let's say, for instance, that it is possible to jointly create some content for a technical translation course. What content would you suggest? Would such a course be out of fashion due to the rapid technology development? What are the most popular languages for such a course and what are the most common and interesting technical topics to deal with? Finally, what do you think is the right approach to effectively communicate technical information today and what is really missing/what would help? I know there are a lot of questions in this section. If you are a technical translator, your opinion is highly appreciated.

[Edited at 2020-01-15 08:44 GMT]

[Edited at 2020-01-15 08:45 GMT]
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Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 19:32
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
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@Paola Jan 15, 2020

Paola Gatto wrote:
What content would you suggest? Would such a course be out of fashion due to the rapid technology development? What are the most popular languages for such a course and what are the most common and interesting technical topics to deal with? Finally, what do you think is the right approach to effectively communicate technical information today and what is really missing/what would help?


Perhaps you should repost this question as a non-inclusive topic. "Inclusive" topics limit the number of times people can respond, and it limits their answers to short answers, but you're asking for a lot of information.

[Edited at 2020-01-15 11:12 GMT]


Paola Gatto
Kay Denney
Jorge Payan
Michele Fauble
 
A. & S. Witte
A. & S. Witte
Germany
Local time: 19:32
German to English
+ ...
Regarding technical translators Jan 16, 2020

Legal translation seminars are booked by practising legal translators, even experienced ones.

Financial sector translation seminars are booked by practising financial translators, often already semi-experienced ones.

IFRS vs. national GAAP translation seminars are booked by practising, often slightly less experienced accounting translators.

Copywriting seminars are booked by beginner copywriters with some experience in that service who lack the theoretical
... See more
Legal translation seminars are booked by practising legal translators, even experienced ones.

Financial sector translation seminars are booked by practising financial translators, often already semi-experienced ones.

IFRS vs. national GAAP translation seminars are booked by practising, often slightly less experienced accounting translators.

Copywriting seminars are booked by beginner copywriters with some experience in that service who lack the theoretical background knowledge in copywriting.

Technical translation seminars are booked by translators, too. However, these are hardly ever practising technical translators. These are broadly educated and experienced translators or sometimes general beginner translators that fill openings with those numerous agencies that tend to avoid the actual technical translators for one or two reasons or, and this is not such a rare thing, do not know any that cover their technical fields specifically.

Why is this? I think the reason is this: in order to be able to live off technical translation, general technical thinking, general technical understanding and general practical talent (for example, fixing a broken sink without calling the plumber) are much more important than being a walking encyclopedia about several technical fields at once. Also, once established in the broader field (viz. technical translation as such), once you have learned the general ropes of the game, accessing specific technical subject matter and doing specific technical research online and in bookshops/libraries becomes much easier. That is why you never see the actual technical translators at those technical translation seminars that focus on a specific technical field, such as, for example, mechanical engineering or, to name something way more off the beaten track, paper mills. If at all, you will see them at those refresher courses that teach general technical thinking and/or style, which are super rare (or at least rare in the case of the latter) over here in Germany, which is one of the motherlands of on-site translator training besides ATA's America.

Cheers,

Sebastian Witte

[Edited at 2020-01-16 23:16 GMT]
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Jorge Payan
 


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what do technical translators need/want from a technical translation course?






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