Technical texts focus on a specific topic within a narrow subject field and require an understanding of the relevant terminology. As a rule, they are embedded in a very precise subject context and can only be understood holistically against a background of relevant specialist knowledge. They are therefore texts that require expert attention.
In contrast to translation software that only translates the individual words, professionally qualified translators must first understand the specialist text. For this they need the appropriate specialist knowledge. In order to then translate it accurately into the target language and phrase it appropriately, they also need professional training in translation. This enables them to turn an expert text in language A into a matching expert text in language B.
NATIVE SPEAKER’s technical translators
Translators build up their knowledge and skills in the course of academic study and professional training that lasts many years. The expertise in a particular field in which they specialise is acquired during their training and in the further course of their professional activity.
That is why we at NATIVE SPEAKER attach great importance to ensuring that our technical translators have undergone professional training in translation – preferably as part of a university degree – and have at least three years’ professional experience in their specialist field.
We believe that this is the best guarantee for the quality of a technical translation. And, as with non-specialist translations, our guiding principle at NATIVE SPEAKER is that specialist translators only translate into their mother tongue.
Specialists in advertising: Adaptation of advertising texts
Advertising is a specialised field within technical translation for the reason that it requires understanding of technical terms as in a regular technical text while at the same time employing non-technical subtleties such as puns, humour, allusions and deliberate ambiguities.
For successful translation of advertising copy, these two components must also be incorporated into the translation, taking into account the norms and conventions of the language and culture into which the translation is made. If this is not done, even large international advertising campaigns can fail – companies simply embarrass themselves and become the butt of laughter.
To take one example from the German market: The slogan chosen by the perfume chain Douglas was “Come in and find out” but this was understood by many Germans to mean “Komm rein und finde wieder heraus” (Come in and find your way out again), which was clearly not what the company intended.
In order to avoid damage to corporate image and to reach the target customers, advertising cannot simply be translated into another language; it has to be subtly adapted. As a result, the foreign-language slogan may sound different from the original and need to make use of different images and associations, but it addresses the target customers in a similar or comparable way, thus achieving the same objective as in the original language.
Areas of expertise for which NATIVE SPEAKER offers professional technical translations:
- Communication agencies (brochures, flyers, questionnaires, concepts, market research, press releases, product catalogues, websites etc.)
- Culture (exhibition descriptions, press releases for museums and galleries)
- Authors and publishers (literary translations)
- Film and television (scripts, subtitles)
- Tourism (hotel descriptions, travel guides, menus etc.)
- Business (tenders, applications, annual reports etc.)
- Health and cosmetics (product descriptions, packaging labelling)
- Law (GTCs, Legal, DSGVO)
In order to achieve perfect adaptation of specialised texts, it is necessary to have specially trained translators who have excellent knowledge of the culture and language into which they translate. This is why it is important to us that all our specialist translators are permanently resident in the country of the language into which they translate, i.e. their mother tongue.
Learn more about NATIVE SPEAKER’s quality standards.
