Technical translation: What is it and when to use it?

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Have you ever found yourself assembling a piece of furniture or appliance and something in the instructions seemed impossible?

Translation errors in instruction manuals can lead to many misunderstandings.

For example, on a label of a well-known clothing brand we could read the following:

“Hand wash, do not bleach. “Do not tumble cool iron.”
And below, its translation into Spanish:

“Wash your hand, don’t bleach. Don’t let the iron fall on you.”
Although it may seem comical, these are the dangers of leaving the translation work to automatic engines not supervised by professionals , or to translators not specialized in the sector for which they translate.

Well, for this we need technical translation , to deal with translations that require, hospital mailing address list in addition to mastery of the language, that professionals have technical knowledge of the sector and know how to use the appropriate terms to transmit the information as faithfully as possible to the original.

A poor technical translation can lead to wrong conclusions and misuse of the product, not to mention a bad image for the company in its communication with users.

In this article we will tell you what technical translation really consists of and which are the main sectors that require it.

What is technical translation: main characteristics
Technical translation is defined as a type of translation specialising in technical matters, that is, texts with technical language and terminology specific to a particular sector, such as, for example, instruction manuals, patents, product specification sheets, user guides, construction procedures, scientific reports, computer programmes and engineering or automotive publications, among others.

Compared to other types of translation, which allow greater freedom when adapting content from one language to another, technical translations must be more rigorous, more precise and use terminology that is usually fixed for each sector.

For this reason, it is essential for the technical translator to have a good knowledge base on the subject matter and to have the necessary tools and skills to ensure the correct correlation of terminology between the different components of the product documentation. Let's look at an example applicable to everyday objects such as a printer, a mobile phone or a digital alarm clock: