Introduction

It might seem obvious, but the critical difference between regular content and technical content is that technical content is written specifically to help people better understand a technology.  It’s usually written by a technical professional, and is highly complex in nature.  These days, technical content is ubiquitous. Scientific knowledge databases, technical product user guides, and software applications all contain specialized terms and concepts that require accurate explanations for the reader, while balanced with a sense of familiarity of the technical subject being described.

This is where Technical content translation comes in.  Technical content translation prioritizes precision in conveying specialized content, especially scientific-based and engineering documents. It focuses on maintaining the integrity of technical terminology, ensuring that the reader comprehends the technical concepts exactly as intended.  Translators with specific technical backgrounds are a key success factor for technical content translations.

Challenges Faced With Technical Content

Accuracy takes on an especially greater focus when it comes to technical translations. Small errors can results in significant setbacks, including fines, lawsuits, even patent rejections.  Many of these can hinder a company from continuing to operate in a meaningful way.  Adding complexity, every category of technical content has its own unique terminology and requires a subject matter expert (SME) group of linguists who are knowledgeable of the industry and its nuances.  With technical intellectual property, including patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and licensing rights, technical translators are also frequently required to be knowledgeable of regulations in the language and country where these translated are required.

Preparing For Technical Content Translation

In order to meet time-to-market deadlines and stay within reasonable cost, preparing for technical content translation is a key necessity.  Here are four steps to follow to ensure project success:

Conduct A Through Content Review

Conducting a comprehensive content review involves assessing the technical documentation for clarity, consistency, and accuracy. Identifying areas that are unclear or ambiguous from the onset will lay a strong foundation for an effective translation.

Identify Cultural Requirements

Understanding the specific regions and languages in which the technical documentation will be used helps in tailoring the translation to the cultural and linguistic nuances needed. This will ensure that the translated content is contextually appropriate and resonates with the local recipients.

Set Clear Expectations

Setting clear expectations involves defining the desired tone, style, and terminology guidelines to ensure consistency across the translated documents.

Timelines And Budget

Aligning at the beginning of the project on the timeline, budget, and any specific localization requirements will increase the probability of a smooth and efficient technical content translation.

Best Practices For Technical Content Translation

Here are four “best practices” to follow, for any technical content translation your organization is planning on completing:

Terminology Management

According to the American Translators Association, “Terminology management is the process of identifying, storing, and managing customer, company, or product-specific terminology that needs to be translated in a definitive way. Simply put, it’s the process of building a glossary with preferred translations (or ones the client doesn’t want used due to personal preferences) that you’ll then upload to a termbase. The termbase is comprised of not only terms, but also essential information about them, such as images, notes, definitions, and examples.”

Key benefits of an effective terminology management process are:

1) organization of terms with a clear set of rules so that the correct term is used within a specific context

2) consistency across all projects which reduces the possibility of incorrect translations for specific terms

3) a quick way to check that terms are used correctly

4) easy management of preferences in a centralized place

Cultural and Linguistic Adaptation

Adaptation for localized needs goes beyond simple translation. It’s about tailoring technical content, products specs, or software services for true contextual meaning with a specific audience’s cultural, linguistic, and regional preferences.

Via this process, linguists transform the technical content so that it feels specific for the local market. These experts have a deep understanding of the unique idiosyncrasies of a culture, and as a result, the translated technical content enables trust and familiarity.

Using Certified Technical Translators

There are many benefits of a Certified Technical Translator:

1) Accuracy and Reliability: Certified technical translators have subject matter expertise in both the target language, ensuring that technical documents are translated accurately. This reduces the risk of errors.

2) Legal and Regulatory Compliance: Many countries require technical translations to comply with the local regulatory standards. This is not just a bureaucratic issue; certification ensures that all technical information is correctly interpreted and contextually relevant.

3) Professional Standards: Certification bodies set high standards for technical translators, including local knowledge of technical terminology. This ensures that certified technical translators can accurately translates complex technical terminology, and the perceived understanding this terminology can have in the country where it is being translated.

4) Trust and Credibility: Certified technical translators build trust with industry leaders, researchers and regulatory bodies. It demonstrates a commitment to quality and professionalism in handling complex technical information.

5) Confidentiality: Certified technical translators are trained to handle confidential technical information with the utmost care, ensuring data security.  This is especially true for technical products that have yet to be released in the marketplace.

Periodic Review Process

With accuracy and contextual relevance being critical issues for all technical material, it is important to institute a periodic review process, ensuring that the certified technical translators on-staff are up-to-speed with the latest in technical advancements and terminology in their industry of expertise. Their deep understanding of the relevant scientific and technical fields requires continual education and training, thereby maintaining the highest standards of quality.

Conclusion

As a reliable translation partner for all your technical translation needs, Language Scientific has developed an AI-optimized approach to the technical translations we conduct. Our translation methodology incorporates the latest in AI-enabled technology, supplemented with technical SME’s in the relevant industries, ensuring the highest level of accuracy, contextual relevance and quality.

Check out the Language Scientific AI-Optimized approach to all your technical content translation needs.

Or Contact Us to learn more.