WORKSHOPS
Agnes Kiss, Head of the Translation Unit, Continental Timișoara, Romania
Technical Translation and Quality Assessment
Technical translations are not everyone's cup of tea. Technical translations in the field of the automotive industry might sound even less appealing and interesting considering the attention to details and level of accuracy imposed by the precision needed when translating documents such as customer requirements specifications, test reports or quality standards. When it comes to these types of texts, quality is paramount. There is no room for errors as the smallest detail counts. Translate "turn on the light" instead of "turn off the light" or permit a small typo, misreading and you compromise hours of testing effort, possibly causing costs with use of equipment and/or a lot of extra man-hours that will affect the development project you are translating for. Linguistic and technical accuracy are not sufficient. It takes passion, curiosity, a well-defined process, and special skills to ensure translation quality. Our workshop will focus precisely on these elements to show how quality can be ensured when these elements are mixed by a dedicated team.
Annmaria Kilyeni, Associate Professor, Department of Communication and Foreign Languages, Politehnica University Timisoara, Romania
Technical Translation and Terminology Management
In today's globalized world, effective communication of technical information across languages is paramount. One of the biggest challenges in technical translation is the specific terminology it involves. That is why translating technical content needs particular focus on good terminology management. Terminology management is the process of identifying, storing and documenting specialized terms in a systematized way, to ensure content accuracy and consistency across languages. This workshop will allow participants to gain both theoretical and practical insights into terminology management. More specifically, the first part of the workshop will focus on some key principles, activities and tools involved in terminology management. The benefits of using terminology management in technical translation will also be highlighted. During the second part, participants will get some hands-on experience with terminology management. In particular, participants will use a terminology management web application to create their own multilingual terminological records.
Carmen Toma, Romanian Language Department, DGT Brussels, Belgium
Computer-Assisted Technical Translation in DGT: Workflow, Tools, and Resources
The workshop will begin with a brief presentation of the translation workflow in DG Translation, from the beneficiary's request to the delivery of the final product. It will include an overview of the IT tools that the European Commission translators use to help them translate a large variety of what we call 'technical texts', with a focus on the benefits and limitations of using SDL Studio and eTranslation/NMT. These will be illustrated with a few examples of machine-translated texts based on which the participants will be invited to discuss the challenges of technical translation and the specific skills that translators should have for this type of texts.
Dana Szabados, Freelance translator, Romania
The Art and Science of Technical Translation, a Quality Management Approach
Quality management is a broad concept that encompasses all the activities of an entity, large or small, in order to assure the consistency of its products and services. The principles of quality management are transposed in standards and the criteria set therein provide the answers to customer focus, process approach and continual improvement. While such criteria seem daunting and not fundamental for the processes freelance technical translators run, they are straightforward and easy to apply, resulting in improvement.
The implementation of quality management systems according to ISO 9001 has an integral role in our sustained success as service providers, while ISO 17100 adds the specific elements of the quality and delivery of translation services.
This workshop aims to enhance the understanding regarding quality management, its importance in supporting the art of technical and scientific translation, and provide examples of how to implement the criteria for better outcomes and improved processes.