UNDERSTANDING BILINGUAL TRANSLATION OF SPECIALIZED TEXTS

What is a translation ? Translation is the process of changing something into what it is not so that it will be itself- but for another audience. When translating we should stop using our mother tongue as a system of reference and use the rules of the foreign language independently of the mother tongue. Translators are intermediaries between source and target languages and cultures.

What stages are involved in the translation process ? There are some stages of the translation process: find as much information as possible read the text carefully, paying attention to its content, purpose, modality, style, stressed words, connotations etc; find synonyms in the target language for the words that require special attention; make the rough translation; make the final translation.

What is a specialized text translation ? Rendering the meaning of technical words from specialized texts into the target language. Specialized writing is the production of non-literary, pragmatic texts designed for use in a specific field or discipline, such as science, technology, healthcare, business, administration, or tourism. The text usually contains terminology and concepts particular to the field and often follows conventional formats.

The purpose of the specialized text is primarily informative, and the translator’s concern is for clarity, precision and effectiveness in the transmission of information.

What are the goals of a specialized text translation ? A first goal of specialized writing exercises is to develop a certain versatility in the translation by providing writing practice in some specialized fields.

A second goal of specialized writing exercises is to shore up writing confidence in the dominant language, so as to reduce the risk of interference during translation.

This is important since certain specialized text types follow different conventions in source and target languages.

What will a student acquire after this kind of translation? Specialized text translation aim to give students a METHOD for acquiring the specialized concepts and writing conventions of different fields of knowledge.

What are the steps taken during the courses? Specialized writing is presented to the students.

First, there is a set of parameters according to which students are taught to analyze specialized texts, and then give examples of types of specialized texts that students work with.

Four parameters that the student should consider in any specialized writing assignment are: -- the purpose of the text -- the target audience -- the subject matter -- the conventions of the field.

Purpose The specialized text is often a vehicle of research, instruction, clarification, or dissemination of information. The student must determine whether the text is purely informative, or if it has other purposes as well, such as to attract the reader's attention or to promote something.

Target Audience The student must determine who the reader is and how the reader will use the text. If the text is designed for a specialized or non-specialized readership.

Subject matter The student should have a general knowledge of the field and be able to understand the concepts and vocabulary used in the text.

Conventions In specialized writing, conventional formats are usually followed. It is important for the student to consult similar texts for examples of layouts and the use of terminology.

Text structure is particularly important in specialized writing, since the pattern is generally more rigid and the cues to the pattern more explicit than in non- specialized writing.

What is the aim of the course? the course aims to sensitize students to the types of texts used in specialized fields, and to help them develop skills that can be applied when writing in such fields.

What does the work itself consist of ? Students study samples of technical writing, such as formal reports, technical descriptions, or operating manuals, to become familiar with the style, formats, and subject material of the texts.

For assignments, students are asked to: write technical descriptions of objects or procedures they are familiar with edit technical or scientific articles write abstracts of technical documents.

How does the feedback work in a computer assisted teaching when translating specialized texts ? the student will be given a first sight relevant text; they will first have to understand the text and its structure on the whole; they will have to identify the branch of science it belongs to;

individual or team translation begins with the help of a computer; variants of translations will be compared between the course participants or between the teams; mistakes are corrected the course participants will debate and a final version of the translation is suggested.

Objectives of translation experiments To develop a methodology of situated analysis, useful for the evaluation of terminology resources meant for translation.

Specialized Translations and Hot Potatoes A useful type of exercise that can help students remember the keywords from a specialized translation can be done using JCross, one of the six programmes of the Hot Potatoes software.

JCross type of exercises The new words from a specialized text translation are used to build up an exercise of the “ Crossword” type in the programme JCross. These words are given some definitions or some clues which will help the student during the exercise to find the correct word to insert in the Crossword.

Specialized Translations and Hot Potatoes

The example has as a title “ The automobile”; the subtitle is “ Essential parts of the car”

In order to be given the definition that helps finding the correct word, we have to click on the first square for each word.

There are some hints also that can help the student find out the first letter of the word.

When all the crossword is completed we can click “ Check” to find out the score.

Conclusions A specialized text requires team work. Working in pairs or teams of 3 may be a good option when these kind of texts are involved. When discussing new and maybe better choices are made Comparing the variants in writing for each part of the text allows students to improve their way of perception, their vocabulary.

A good specialized text will be of interest to the student as long as the text is relevant and resourceful enough for the student; the students will enrich their vocabulary, will improve their skills and abilities, and will be able to exchange useful information during discussion classes and create a bank of resourceful terms in several fields of activity.