One of the areas of practice of our company is technical translation of texts, manuals and documentation into various languages.

Perhaps everybody knows that when it comes to technical translation, command of the English language is of strategic importance.

It so happened that in this age of intensive development of industry technical translation is of huge popularity. English language on a par with Chinese is the most popular in this area, especially in Moscow.

Under technical translation we traditionally understand translation of technical literature. Technical text can never be confused with any other: firstly, by the presence of special formulas and tables, and secondly, by the style to which the text of translated materials belongs. Typically, this is the formal-logical style (rich with the form "we"). The main feature of this style is the accuracy of presentation, as wells as lack of emotion and impersonal formulation.

Translation of technical documentation can be divided into several subtypes; this classification is based on the method of processing raw textual material that is selected by the translator.

Usually special requirements are applied to specialist for performing technical translation: having linguistic competence is not enough - one should also have knowledge of highly specialized fields. Translation agencies that are engaged in technical translation use two methods of work:

1. Initially, the translation of technical literature is done by the translator who does not have expertise in the field to which the text material belongs. Subsequent editing and proof work on the accuracy of language and common terminology is performed by the staff or freelance specialist in this field.
2. The second method involves the reverse process: firstly, the work on the text is done by the practicing engineer who has knowledge of a foreign language, sufficient for understanding the meaning of the original text, and only then editing is done by the staffer.

Depending on which approach a translation agency chooses, requirements for people who perform technical translation may range. In general, they are as follows:

• Knowledge of one or more foreign languages ​​to the extent necessary to understand the meaning of the original text;
• Knowledge of the native language to the extent that is necessary for competent and correct statement of the meaning of the original;
• Experience of using special sources of information;
• Knowledge of and ability to apply different types of translation of technical literature;
• Availability of linguistic and specialized technical education.

As it was already mentioned, the most popular is the technical translation from English. German technical translations are also in great demand in the market, together with the translation of specialized texts from French, Chinese and Italian.

The main problem faced by the agency while performing technical translations, is a combination of decent knowledge of the language with knowledge of technologies. Our staff successfully copes with the technical translations, combining both approaches to the treatment of the original text.

The cost of technical translation

We offer pleasant rates for translations of documents of various kinds. For example, the price of translation from English into Russian is €0.025 per word, from Chinese - €0.06 per word. Information on the cost of translation from other languages ​​can be found in the "Pricing" section.

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