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“If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.” – Yogi Berra

When planning ahead for a technical project, it's crucial to establish a clear roadmap. This includes defining project objectives, scope, milestones, resource allocation, and timelines. Additionally, risk assessment and mitigation strategies should be outlined to ensure a smooth and successful project execution. Regular monitoring and adjustment of the plan are essential to adapt to changing circumstances and ensure project success.

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In order to determine your target audience for a technical document, you should consider factors such as the purpose of the document, the level of technical expertise required, and the specific needs of the readers. Identify who will benefit most from the information and tailor the content, language, and format to suit their background and requirements. This audience analysis is critical for effective communication in technical documentation.

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The purpose of the content in a technical document should be clearly defined. It might include:

1. Informing: Providing information or facts about a subject, process, or product.

2. Instructing: Giving step-by-step guidance or procedures.

3. Explaining: Clarifying complex concepts or technologies.

4. Troubleshooting: Assisting readers in resolving issues or problems.

5. Reference: Serving as a resource for quick look-up of data or specifications.

Clearly articulating the purpose helps ensure the content is structured and presented in a way that effectively meets the intended goals of the document.

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It serves no use to write a technical document that doesn't address audience concerns or provide answers to their inquiries. The next step after determining the purpose and target audience for your specialized paper is to foresee (or, even better, ask about) any possible queries the readers may have regarding the offered product.

Your personas will be helpful in this situation. You must first define the questions to gather your ideas, construct your document appropriately, and present the most pertinent information with the most significant possible value.

Estefanie Chong

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Writing software documentation requires understanding the outlining procedure. The next step is to create a suitable design for your paper. You might need to start from scratch when writing a particular document for the first time. There are several writing services in the US, and you can get an idea by exploring their techniques.

As with everything else, no single template can be used for all types of software documentation. Your document's layout and structure will depend on the precise objectives you wish to achieve and the reading level of your audience.

Estefanie Chong

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Depending on how familiar you are with the topic, you might need to perform a lot of research to compile and verify all the pertinent data for your document. It could mean completing online research, speaking with stakeholders, conducting stakeholder interviews etc.

It may also involve reading over existing documentation, or interviewing experts or users. Convert the research material into helpful information, compile it over your outline, and include references as needed to give your article more credibility.

Estefanie Chong

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All left is to draft your technical paper now that a solid basis has been established. The drafting procedure shouldn't take long if you have produced a strong outline and gathered all the necessary data beforehand.

Here are a few brief writing suggestions:

● Avoid writing more than is necessary.

● If at all possible, refrain from employing jargon.

● To communicate your ideas, use simple language.

● Avoid being too apparent.

● Write without editing

● Keep the goal and the audience in mind while your draft to stay on course.

Estefanie Chong

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You should include a few images (images, flowcharts etc.) once you finish writing your draft to strengthen your paper. You can decide to include the graphics as you compose the document if they are available. Some author seven prefer to include them when outlining.

You have the freedom to act whichever you feel is best given your unique set of circumstances. Technical writers can use these images to highlight a point, elaborate on a technical idea, assist the reader, and improve the visual appeal of your text.

Estefanie Chong

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We still have work to do. Editing your technical document is the only thing left to do now. Depending on your writing, formatting, and research abilities, the number of revisions needed to produce the final product can range from one to many. To check for grammatical, technical, or contextual problems, you should have an editor (if one is available), a subject matter expert or just another set of fresh eyes review your paper.

Estefanie Chong

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Write technical documents with translation in mind.

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Write technical documents with translation in mind.

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When creating technical documents, it’s important to follow guidelines that will make future translations easier.

• Write short, clear sentences with simple phrasing.

• Use the active tense wherever possible.

• Keep terminology consistent in the content.

• Avoid noun strings whenever you can.

• Avoid idiomatic expressions and cultural references.

• Allow formatting room for fluctuations in text length.

• Make sure symbols are internationally recognized.

• Account for potential changes in data formats.

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Avoid hard and soft returns when aligning texts

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Avoid hard and soft returns when aligning texts

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A hard return signifies the actual end of a paragraph, whereas soft returns just indicate the end of a line. When translating technical documents, or writing them with translation in mind, it’s best to avoid this distinction.

Using hard and soft returns can add extra time at the translation stage. Broken sentences can cause difficulties for linguists, as well as for tools like translation management software or machine translation.

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Table of Contents (TOCs), Indices (IX), cross references, variables and internal/external links can all be automated to streamline translation workflows. Also, we recommend using style sheets, which instantly apply any updates or resizing.

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If your source language is in English, you’ll want to allow 20% more space for most target languages. You’ll want to account for text expansion when designing or creating your original printed piece, including artwork, graphics or charts.

You may also need to resize your documents (for example, U.S. letter sizes are normally converted to A4 for foreign markets).

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We advise linking graphics in technical documents rather than embedding them, which simplifies replacements in localized versions and future updates. It also reduces file size to better accommodate translation tools.

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Editable/layered source files, including images, are key to a high-quality translation — especially for any digital designs or artwork. If you don’t add them, you may need to recreate them before translation. Of course, that can add considerable time and cost to your initiative.

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When delivering files, compression helps protect corruption-prone fonts and transmission speeds during tight schedules.

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Plan updates in advance to avoid surprises

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Plan updates in advance to avoid surprises

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A solid plan made ahead minimizes rework and avoids budgeting and scheduling issues. An experienced technical document translation service provider will advise you on the best, most effective ways to coordinate updates.

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Technical content is particular and requires utmost accuracy and precision when translating into other languages.Technical terminology refers to terms or phrases with specific meanings whose use is restricted to certain fields.

These vocabularies usually make communication among professionals in particular fields concise and unambiguous.

Technical translation involves translating materials or documents produced by experts in fields that use specialized terminologies.

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Aurora. There are various types of technical translations, depending on the nature of the content. Some common types include:

1. Engineering Translation: This type of translation involves documents related to various branches of engineering, such as mechanical, electrical, civil, and aerospace engineering. It includes technical manuals, product specifications, CAD drawings, and engineering reports.

2. Medical and Healthcare Translation: Medical translation covers a wide range of materials, including medical records, clinical trial documents, patient information, pharmaceutical labeling, and healthcare guidelines. Accuracy and precision are critical in this field.

3. Scientific Translation: Scientific translation involves research papers, scientific articles, laboratory reports, and publications related to various scientific disciplines. It often includes highly specialized terminology.

4. Legal and Patent Translation: Legal translation encompasses legal documents, contracts, court transcripts, and patent-related materials, such as patent applications, specifications, and legal agreements. These translations must be precise and adhere to specific legal terminology.

5. IT and Software Translation: This type of translation focuses on software documentation, user manuals, website content, and other IT-related materials. It often requires adapting user interfaces and software strings to different languages and cultures.

6. Automotive Translation: Translating technical materials related to the automotive industry, such as user manuals, repair guides, technical specifications, and marketing materials, is a specialized field that requires knowledge of automotive terminology.

7. Aerospace and Aviation Translation: Aerospace translations involve technical documents related to aircraft, spacecraft, and aviation systems. This may include maintenance manuals, safety procedures, and aviation regulations.

8. Environmental Translation: Environmental translation covers documents related to environmental impact assessments, reports on sustainability, and documents addressing ecological and environmental issues.

9. Telecommunications Translation: Telecommunications documents include technical manuals, product documentation, and user guides related to communication equipment and technologies.

10. Manufacturing and Industrial Translation: This type of translation involves documents related to manufacturing processes, industrial machinery, quality control, and product assembly instructions.

11. Energy and Utilities Translation: Translating documents in the energy sector includes materials related to power generation, utilities, renewable energy, and technical specifications for energy-related products and equipment.

12. Construction and Architecture Translation: Translation in the construction and architecture field involves documents like architectural plans, construction contracts, building specifications, and construction safety guidelines.

13. Chemical and Pharmaceutical Translation: This type of translation covers pharmaceutical product information, chemical safety data sheets, clinical trial reports, and documentation related to chemical processes and regulations.

14. Geological and Geophysical Translation: Geological and geophysical documents may include geological surveys, reports on mineral exploration, and geophysical studies for environmental or resource purposes.

15. Marine and Maritime Translation: Translating materials in this field can include maritime regulations, ship documentation, navigation manuals, and marine engineering documents.

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Many industries deal with specialized documentation full of jargon which is hard to understand for an average citizen, let alone a foreigner. Thus, conveying a solid technical translation is crucial for international companies. What is technical translation, why is it important, and what are its main types? We answer these questions below.

What are technical translations?

The term 'technical translation' refers to the translation process of various documents related to technical and science industries like metallurgy, software development, chemical technology, automation etc. Therefore, technical translators must not only be experts in both the source and target language, but also have in-depth knowledge of the given field, as each industry operates on its own specific terminology, jargon, or even specific writing conventions.

Why is technical translation important?

Besides providing a way to reach Non-English speakers and linking your business, professional technical document translation services will prevent problems with local regulations and potential health and life hazards that mistranslation could cause. Technical terminology can be tricky and mistakes may cause serious problems. Thus, documents such as user manuals should be translated using high-quality technical translation services.

Mistranslating just one word can have dire consequences, a great example of this is the Treaty of Waikiki from 1840, which sparked a serious conflict that lasted for over 100 years. Although treaties aren't considered technical documents, this example illustrates perfectly how critical it is to get an accurate translation.

If you want to learn more about the process of technical translation and preparing technical documentation for translation, don't hesitate to read our blogposts dedicated to these subjects.

Main types of technical translation

Technical translation services may have many branches, depending on the nature of the technical documentation involved. Let's take a closer look at some of the most commonly translated technical document types:

User manuals

An informative, yet easy to read and understand user manual is a must if you aspire to make a good first impression with your product. Thus, translating user manuals should have high priority when you're opening for new markets. Simple transition between languages is rarely enough and might lead to serious misuse of the product - that's where seemingly stupid instructions such as 'don't stop the chain with hands or genitals' come from. Yes, someone must've really done it, if it ended up in later versions of the manual.

Financial and technical reports

This type of documents is presented to the stakeholders/business partners, maximal readability without any ambiguities is a must. With the help of a qualified technical translator, you can engage your foreign stakeholders and potential business partners, thus benefiting from their unique input.

Technical tenders and proposals

Being able to present your requests, projects, and pitches comprehensively is crucial in any business-related interactions, especially those involving technical terminology and very specific data. This category covers documents such as:

Technical proposals

Project bids

Presentations and multimedia content

RFQ (request for quotation)

RFI (request for information)

RFP (request for proposal)

Maintenance manuals

A precise maintenance manual is an important part of running a prosperous facility - they contain information on effective upkeep and procedures, tools, team members, and third parties involved in solving the most likely crisis scenarios. Maintenance manuals should be direct and consistent, as they are most useful during emergencies, any ambiguity or hard-to-follow wording is absolutely out of the question.

Material safety data sheets (MSDS)

MSDSs are documents containing information on potential hazards and safe ways to work with chemical products. This makes them one of a company's health and safety policy's cornerstones. While dealing with translation of this type of documents, precision is of utmost importance, even a small departure from the original text can lead to life-threatening situations, as the controlled substance might seem less dangerous than it really is.

Patents

Although patent translation services fall into the legal category, many patent documents include technical data, terminology, and industry-specific jargon that should be handled by a technical translator. Any ambiguity in these areas could lead to failure in securing patent rights outside the original country, patents are regional-based and in most cases country-specific, so they must be acquired independently for each new market.

How to get the best technical translations?

If you want to make sure that your technical documents' translations will be impeccable and meet all legal and practical requirements, you should choose a reputable, professional translation agency that specializes in technical texts. You don't have to look far, here at TEXTOLOGY, we can provide you with the highest quality technical translation services for various industries. Our experienced translators possess deep technical and specialist knowledge that enables them to catch all the linguistic or cultural nuances involved in technical document translation. You want to make sure we're up to the task? Submit a free quote and learn what we can do for you and your business.

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The Types Of Technical Translation | TEXTOLOGY

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What are technical translations? ➢ Why is technical translation important? ➢ Main types of technical translation. Learn more below!

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Technical terminology evolves due to the need for
experts in a field to communicate with precision and brevity, but
often has the undesired effect of excluding those who
are unfamiliar with the particular specialized language of the
group. This can cause difficulties as, for example, when a
patient is unable to follow the discussion of medical
practitioners, and thus cannot understand his own condition and
treatment. Differences in jargon also cause difficulties where
professionals in related fields use different terms for the same
phenomena. For instance, substantial amounts of duplicated
research occur in cognitive psychology and human-computer
interaction partly because of such difficulties.

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Technical terminology refers to specialized terms and vocabulary used in specific fields or industries. This type of language is characterized by precision and clarity, aiming to convey information with minimal ambiguity. Technical terminology is essential for effective communication within professional communities, ensuring that experts in a particular field can understand each other accurately. Here are some key aspects of technical terminology:

1. Precision and Specificity:

Technical terminology is designed to be precise and specific. It often includes terms that have very distinct meanings within a particular context, reducing the chance of misunderstanding.

2. Standardization:

Many technical terms are standardized within industries or fields. Standardization ensures consistency in communication and allows professionals worldwide to use a common language.

3. Acronyms and Abbreviations:

Technical fields often use acronyms and abbreviations to represent complex terms or concepts concisely. Understanding these acronyms is crucial for effective communication.

4. Constant Evolution:

Technical terminology evolves over time, especially in rapidly advancing fields. New terms emerge as technology and knowledge progress, reflecting innovations and changes in the industry.

5. Jargon:

Each technical field has its own jargon — specialized vocabulary understood by professionals in that field. While jargon facilitates communication among experts, it may be a barrier for those unfamiliar with the industry.

6. Cross-Disciplinary Communication:

In interdisciplinary or cross-disciplinary projects, professionals from different fields may need to understand and use technical terminology from multiple domains. Effective communication in such contexts requires a shared understanding of terms.

7. Terminology Management:

Many industries and organizations employ terminology management to control and standardize the use of technical terms. This involves creating glossaries, databases, or other tools to ensure consistency.

8. Localization and Translation:

In global industries, technical documents often need to be localized or translated. This process requires careful attention to technical terminology to maintain accuracy and consistency across languages.

9. Accessibility:

Effective communication in technical fields also involves making information accessible to a broader audience, including those who may not be experts in the subject. Clear explanations and definitions are crucial for knowledge dissemination.

10. Interpretation Challenges:

Misinterpretation of technical terms can lead to errors or misunderstandings, emphasizing the importance of clear communication and a shared understanding of terminology.

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The terminology of technical translation refers to the specific vocabulary and terminology used in translating technical content from one language to another. Some common terms and concepts include:

1. Source language: The language from which the content is being translated.

2. Target language: The language into which the content is being translated.

3. Source text: The original technical content that needs to be translated.

4. Target text: The translated technical content.

5. Terminology management: The process of establishing and maintaining a standardized set of technical terms and their translations.

6. Translation memory (TM): A database that stores previously translated segments or sentences for reference and consistency.

7. Localization: The process of adapting the translated content to suit the cultural and linguistic conventions of the target audience.

8. Glossary: A list of specialized terms and their translations or definitions for consistent and accurate usage.

9. Style guide: A set of guidelines and rules for maintaining consistency in writing style and formatting.

10. Proofreading: The process of reviewing and correcting the translated content for errors or inconsistencies.

These are just a few key terms in technical translation, but there may be additional terminology depending on the specific field or industry being translated.