Last updated on February 18th, 2022 at 05:45 pm

What is Technical Translation?

We provide technical translation services for companies in the US and around the world.  Today in this language services blog, we’ll cover what technical translation means, how it’s used, how you can use it, and what you should know before starting your project. 

First, what is technical translation?  Technical translation is a specialized type of translation applied to technical documents and pieces of media.  It is different from other types of document translation services in that there is a third language at play—the language of the industry involved.  Read on to learn how we handle our clients’ technical document translation needs. 

Why is Technical Translation Important?

It is a complex endeavor that requires knowledge and skills.  After all, it’s not like technical manuals are trending topics on social media, nor is it often mentioned on the news.  But take a moment to think about how our world might look if we were unable to translate technical documents. 

• Technical translation enables multilingual experts, companies, and employees to collaborate.  From a quick review of an email to a multimillion-dollar research project, technical translation advances our understanding and usage of technology.
• Technical translation enables billions of dollars’ worth of commerce every year.  If our transactions were limited by language barriers, imagine how much smaller our world would be. 
• Technical translation promotes safety.  Technical translation services give a business the confidence of knowing that their employees who speak Canadian French are watching the exact same safety video as their employees who speak Costa Rican Spanish. 
• Technical translation ensures compliance with government regulations and insurance. A list of translated documents must be produced and maintained current to comply with regulations, and certain postings must be made visible in the workplace in languages all employees understand.

Translation for Technical Documents

When it comes down to the project, what kinds of technical materials do we translate?

• Training materials and content of all kinds.  This could mean multilingual online e-learning course, the translation of video for training for the workplace, to technical manuals hundreds of pages long.
• Patents, licenses, and certificates that must stand up to multilingual scrutiny and possible international legal review. 
• Glossaries and style guides.  These will then be used in other translation projects, and they are valuable company documents in their own right for consistency and brand’s voice.
• Product descriptions and specs.  If you’re looking to sell some new IT equipment, you’ll need to translate the specs in your pitch accurately to land that million-dollar account.

Technical Translation in Action

Spanish Technical translation lets a Spanish-speaking student in the Canary Islands go through an e-learning course to earn a certification that gets them a coveted job.  Technical manual translation guides a Chinese engineer through precise instructions on how to use a robotic arm.  Technical document translation enables NASA’s staff to exchange information with aeronautic stations around the world.  Technical translation forms an integral part of how we learn together globally, not as isolated language groups.  By presenting professionally translated technical material to go with presentations and supporting documentation, we can form quality connections that grow and evolve. 

Industries That Use Technical Translation

Technical translation for medicine and healthcare.  Consider all the equipment used in medicine—robotic surgical equipment, radiology machines, magnetic and electric brain stimulators, etc.  Minds from all over the world come together to invent medical equipment, test drugs, and develop new therapies, and medicine leaves no margin for error. 

Mining for oil, gas, metals, minerals, and more.  Technical translation helps run our cars, cool our offices and storefronts, build our roads, outfit our homes, and season our food.  Consider a multinational natural gas operation headquartered in Texas that employs crews in Peru, Colombia, and Chile.  Among their technical translation needs will be Spanish technical translation for manuals used to run their computers and mining equipment, and those must be professionally localized for the dialect of Spanish spoken in the area where they will be used.  

Technical translation for IT is more important than ever as our world globalizes and the Internet becomes more widely available.  Code must be written precisely to function, and most of equipment we’ve talked about so far runs on computer programming of some sort.  A less than perfect IT translation could lead to massive financial losses as well as a damaged reputation. 

Our Technical Translators, Our Company

We use only professional translator and industry experts for our clients’ technical translation projects.  We feel that this is only right due to the depth of knowledge and experience required to accurately translate industry terminology.  We can handle any language pairing required, localize for any region and/or dialect, and use any degree of formality to suit.  Our technical language experts use clear language that can be updated to keep up with the evolution of your products and services. 

Your Technical Translation Project

We have some tips for how to get the most out of your technical translation project by helping your technical translation company help you. 

• Provide the final version of files in the file type that is best for your goals.  Editable electronic files are preferable to PDFs or hard copies (examples are word files, XML files, InDesign files).  Providing the fitting source material will save time and cost. 
• Specify your timeline and/or deadline.  This will help us set up the appropriate workflow for your project so that everyone can work together efficiently. 
• What kind of file(s) do you need for the final product?  This also affects our workflow and methods for translating your technical documents, video, audio, etc. 
• Do you have previous translations, style guides, or glossaries?  This will give us examples and terminology already implemented in your multilingual content.  Those documents give insights of the industry terminology and writing style used for your company. 

Our translation company has experience and knowledge to evaluate your translation project to offer solutions for your case. We build or review translation memories, help AI learn for your industry and content if machine translation services is a tool for your translation services solution, and maintain excellent records for our clients and project.  Contact us today to talk about your technical translation needs.