What do bridges have in common with translations?

Every human being has probably read a translation already. Be it the favourite novel which was originally written in English and then translated into the reader’s mother tongue, a translated article in a specialist magazine or simply the menu in a restaurant down the street. Ideally, the reader does not even notice that the text is a translation.

But how can you achieve that?

In German, there is the same verb for (to) ferry (= to cross a river by a ferry or convey from one place to another) and (to) translate (= to convey a message from one language to another). It is the same word in German (übersetzen) and obviously it also has a common origin: the conception of transferring something.

"Words travel worlds. Translators do the driving."

This wonderful and well-known quote by translator Anna Rusconi uses a similar conception and perfectly describes what translation is all about. People mostly use words to communicate with each other. By translating these words from one language into another, bridges between languages, and even between cultures, are built. Of course, this also applies to interpretation, subtitling and all other language services. So, let’s say the translation itself is the bridge and the translator is the driver. What about the car?

Well, there is always an intention or message behind words which needs to be transferred. So, the message with its specific function would represent the car – fueled with (or expressed by) words. The function can be phatic, e.g. during small talk, or narrative, e.g. when talking about the latest holidays. In technical translation, the intention is rather not emotional but descriptive (in technical articles) or instructing (in user manuals). In any case, not only the words but also the intention has to be transferred correctly. Therefore, technical translators need a good understanding and deep knowledge of the subject matter in general as well as the technical terms in both the source and the target language.

Technical writers are manufacturers

Keeping the analogy of bridges and cars, the people who create the source text would be the car manufacturers. Most of the times, technical documents are either written by industry specialists or technical writers. Technical writers collect all necessary information and create texts in a way that the respective target group (either an expert audience or interested people or even laypersons) understands it.

In the automotive world, the car manufacturer and the driver are not necessarily the same person but they should definitely talk to each other. Especially in case of technical problems or subsequent amendments at the car. In my opinion, this is also true for the collaboration between technical translators and technical writers – these two fields are inevitably linked to each other. And of course, technical translation and documentation touch other interesting areas such as terminology, visualisation and quality assurance.

Car trouble, congestion and accidents

On the route, different challenges and car troubles can occur due to technical issues, external circumstances or the surrounding conditions and of course also due to human failure. Therefore, knowing about possible problems and thinking about appropriate solutions beforehand is always – and in all industries – very useful. Quite similar to the car industry, appropriate solutions for issues in translation or technical writing can be solved by building awareness, defining standards and determining processes. And if the car manufacturer (technical writer) and the driver (translator) work on a solution together, the intended message (car) will be whipped into shape.

Register for the course “MD Technical Translation and Documentation” and learn how to overcome potential car trouble, avoid congestion and prevent accidents, and what it takes to become a qualified car manufacturer or car driver.

Have a good trip!

Written by Ann-Kathrin Theil.