Translating the Ideas, Not the Words

[Lisa Pena <pena -at- MMSI -dot- COM>]

On Aug 16, Mark Margolin (75211 -dot- 77 -at- compuserve -dot- com) wrote the following:

     >> Past attempts to translate the procedure manual have failed,
     >> because the users find the translation difficult to understand.
     >>. Essentially, what we hear is that the translation service (yes, the
one
     >> with the well-known name!) translates the words ok, but not the ideas.

     >> How do others out there deal with this problem? How can we assure
     >> that a translator translates the concepts rather than the words?

As a translator/tech writer,  let me assure you that this is a common
problem. In this field, as in any other, one finds translators who seem to
turn out "better" work than others, although one would not expect  "well
known" translation services to have translators who cannot do quality work.
A truly qualified translator should not only have the training and know-how
needed for translating well, but also  the resources (dictionaries, etc)
that are needed to turn out quality work. BUT, let me quickly add that
(IMHO) even the best translators in the world may produce what may appear to
be a "word for word" (as opposed to a "conceptual") type translation on any
given document. ... and let me explain why.

I would venture to say that this type of  translation frequently occurs when
the material to be translated is very technical or relating to a very
specific (obscure?) topic. But, I have found that it can be avoided, to some
extent, if the translator UNDERSTANDS the document's  context and concepts.
One way that you, as the person hiring the translator, can help to avoid a
word-for-word translation is to:

- Provide the translator with supplemental information that will add a bit
of context and background information to the document being translated
- Provide the translator with  any other documents that have been translated
previously (into the same target language) with similar content, to maintain
consistency in ideas and terms that are used

This helps the translator UNDERSTAND the document, rather than having to
translate words, without a clue as to what those words mean. There is often
more than one way to translate any given word, so if you don't understand
the context, it is difficult to know exactly which translation of that word
would be more accurate for that specific sentence/document.

Another way to avoid translations that are "word for word" (getting more
towards the "ideas"),  is to use the same translator over and over again.
This way the terms become more familiar to the translator, and the documents
will be more accurate and easier for your readers to understand.

If your company is continually translating documents, and there is enough
work to justify the expense, it might be worth considering hiring a
translator as a full time employee; this way the translator is IN the
company, understands what the company does, and can provide "better"
translations (higher quality, easier to understand).

This is a bit of what I've learned over the years and it has helped to
improve the quality of our translations. Hope it helps.

Lisa Pena
pena -at- mmsi -dot- com