Translation and its types

Word "translation" sounds simple and clear. Most people think that this is an ordinary transfer of the text from one language into another by writing or printing. In fact, in a professional sense, a concept of "translation" is multifaceted and complex.

What is translation? Translation is a separate type of professional translation that considers all the features of the source and target languages for the most accurate interpretation of the content. That is, a person who is not a specialist, even with a good knowledge of a language, will not be able to do all work that the translator does.

Types of translation

Translation includes many characteristics, so its types are divided into categories. There is a classification according to different criteria:

• completeness of a translated text,
• purposes of the translation;
• thematic focus.

Usually, translators use a classification based on the subject of the source text provided by the Customer. In other words, the specialist considers the object of translation from the point of view of belonging to a certain type of activity.

1. Technical translation. Features of translation of technical documentation provide accurate interpretation of terms, units of measurement, technical abbreviations, designations on drawings.
2. Literary, or so-called artistic translation. Such work should not only convey the meaning of the text, but also its character, genre, and style. This is practically the creation of a new literary work. Literary translation includes translation of prose, poems, and songs.
3. Economic translation. The translator must have specialized knowledge or experience in this field. This is not only a knowledge of the terminology of the source language, but also a constant study of the world economy.
4. Medical translation. Medical translation is one of the most difficult types of translation. To translate a medical document, you need to have an excellent command of medical terminology, be able to use specialized reference books and dictionaries.
5. Legal translation. The main problems of such works are specific design and excellent knowledge of the concepts of the legal system of different states.

How to perform a written translation

The translation process is complex and time consuming. What is included in quality translation? It is necessary not only to avoid grammatical and syntactic mistakes, but also to understand and deepen knowledge in a particular specialty, to observe the accuracy of terminology, to navigate the variety of metric systems and units of measurement.

Text formatting is also important. It must match the source text. All divisions of the text - paragraphs, chapters, and titles must match.

Translation and its features dictate the rules of the game. Even despite the technological progress and automation of processes, such activities are not carried out by computerized systems, but by people. Turning to specialists, you can be sure of the correctness of the text, its meaningful presentation, as well as compliance with the spelling rules.

Stages of translation

By answering the question of what translation is, we found out how difficult it is. Therefore, the correct approach to performance of any translation involves several stages:

1. Reading and understanding the entire text. Some "experts" do not even read the sentence to the end, just translate it word by word. This adversely affects the quality of the resulting material.
2. Data analysis, collecting additional information for a deep understanding of the source code are very important stages of translation. It is especially important for the medical translation.
3. Translation of logically completed parts of the text. It is not recommended to translate the text in violation of the rules of consistency and systemacity.
4. Proofreading. A special role is played by competent editing of the text in accordance with international standards.