Specialized translation 1

SPECIALIZED TRANSLATION

Terminology is a crucial characteristic of specialized texts: 'the translation of any text in which there is a specific terminology belonging to a professional or academic field' (Aixelà).

Byrne suggests that the primary function of 'technical texts' is informative, whereas a scientific text will discuss, analyse and synthesise information with a view to explaining ideas, proposing new theories or evaluating methods'. Hence, Byrne concludes, the language used to fulfil these communicative aims is different, with consequences for choosing appropriate translation strategies.

The label 'specialized text' is narrowly constrained to a highly restricted set of genres or limited subjects, and translators even of scientific and technical texts would need to be versatile and inventive. Specialized or LSP will be used to indicate the non-literary translation.

LSPs vary 'horizontally' from subject field to subject field, and

elements in LSPs is crucial, as it helps bridge the gap between different cultures and facilitates effective communication. Translators must be aware of cultural nuances and adapt their translations accordingly to ensure that the target text is culturally appropriate and meaningful to the target audience. In addition to cultural considerations, LSP translators also need to pay attention to the specific genre and purpose of the text. Whether it is a legal document, a technical manual, a marketing brochure, or a scientific article, each genre has its own conventions and requirements. Translators must be familiar with these conventions and be able to produce accurate and stylistically appropriate translations. Furthermore, LSP translators often work with specialized terminology and jargon. They need to have a good understanding of the subject matter and be able to research and verify terminology to ensure accuracy in their translations. Terminology management tools and resources are often used to assist translators in this process. Overall, LSP translation requires a combination of linguistic, cultural, and subject-specific knowledge. Translators must constantly update their skills and stay informed about the latest developments in their fields in order to provide high-quality translations that meet the needs of both authors and readers.factors in specialized translation has been demonstrated in relation to the configurations which map conceptual fields, not only in the example of legal, commercial and political discourse, but also in science and technology, in which problems can arise for translating terms with a metaphorical base. The scope of 'culture' includes technical issues, such as format of measurements, dates, times and numbers. Localisation is a category of translation associated with certain genres and subject matter. It focuses on cultural adaptation. LSP texts always have a communicative purpose which is situated in a particular socio-cultural context, often linked to a particular professional discourse community. The range of communicative functions which such texts cover is very broad. LSP texts can inform, instruct, persuade, warn, regulate, describe, and explain. What they do not do is entertain. As these functions are performed in a particular domain and language; and incorporate different purposes fordifferent readerships, the textual forms (genres) which the texts take is highly varied.
In order to produce texts which are fit for purpose, the creator of LSP texts must be versatile with knowledge of genres formats. Must also have the ability to use language to achieve the relative communicative function. The skilled writer develops an understanding of the motivations for decisions at both the microlinguistic and the macrolinguistic levels.
The importance of linguistic decisions for the translator at the microlinguistic level can be illustrated by the use of certain phrases. At the macrolinguistic level, at issue are features such as the order or inventory of moves (identifiable parts of a text), which are conventionally used in a particular genre.
The importance of the order in which the content of an LSP text is presented for fulfilling its purpose can be illustrated by the various patterns: chronological, spatial, general to specific, more important to less important, compare and

contrast; classification and partition; problems-methods-solutions; cause-effect.

Terms as they are used in texts are an important referential source of information about new developments, but they also tend to be variable and unstable in many contexts. Attempts to standardise the use of vocabulary can act as a potential restriction on the rate of change, since specialised vocabulary are still dynamic.

Terms have other functions beyond the designatory or referential; operationally and ideologically motivated, a fact to which specialised translators need to be sensitive when they make the choice of words.

In a text, the view of an object – material or abstract – may also be dynamically built up from many different perspectives, focusing on this or that characteristic. The way in which texts can perspectivise items is not always immediately apparent. It is in translation that the different perspectives presented in texts often emerge as the translator's interpretative skills are deployed.

A bilingual study of terms may serve as a source of insights not only for Translation Studies but also for relations between terms, terminologies and texts in general. Far from being simply an issue of 'knowing the terminology', specialized translation clearly involves a knowledge of generic norms, register and purpose, as well as an ability to apply such knowledge by observing the norms of textuality, genre and culture in a different language. Closing the gaps A gap can be a particular word missing in a target text or a lexeme missing in one language in a bilingual glossary. The words and terms which fill those gaps are, of course, 'neologism'. Rey affirmed that the language of science is characterised by neologisms, borrowings and calques. Bellos discusses three ways of making a new word: foreignism (importing from the source language), calque (analogy with the source language term), or semantic expansion (expanding the use of an existing word). Gotti describes a number of.

Possibilities including 'resemanticisation', coinage through affixation and compounding, as well as borrowing and use of loans.

In much of Terminology Studies literature published in the 1970s and 1980s, the principal narrative was one of regulation and control of the terms.

Termbanks – based on electronic databases – were a way of controlling use of terms by recording them, their definition and their domain, in order to avoid terminological variation within and between texts.

In the absence of a term to designate a particular concept, one could be formed and added to the termbank.

It was only in the 1990s that attention in Terminology Studies turned to the analysis of terms in text, with its own constraints and grammar in which variation could in some cases be seen as functional.

Modern-day translators whether there is actually a 'gap' in the target language, decide how to fill it.

Once a solution has been found by the translator, it cannot be assumed that the

First translation solution will become the accepted norm. Moreover, the concept which has created the gap in the target language may itself not be stable or clear. Over time, attempts may be made through official and professional bodies to standardise both concepts and terms on an international basis. The regulation of language use, however, is difficult.

Borrowings. When languages and cultures come into contact, it is quite natural that linguistic changes occur. A loan, or borrowing, covers at least two possibilities: can be transferred with or without assimilation to the target language. In languages which inflect for case and gender, articles and modifiers may indicate a degree of assimilation, even if the noun itself remains unchanged. Orthographic assimilation includes transliteration (for example, from Arabic to Greek).

Within Translation Studies, borrowing is seen by some authors mainly as a strategy to convey so-called 'cultural words'. There is often some political resistance.

order to maintain the meaning and structure of the original text. Calques are translations of idiomatic expressions or phrases, where each word is translated literally, resulting in a new expression in the target language. Loanwords, on the other hand, are borrowed directly from the source language and used in the target language without translation. These borrowings can enrich a language and contribute to its development, but they can also pose challenges in terms of pronunciation and understanding for native speakers. Overall, the use of borrowings in translation is a complex and dynamic process that requires careful consideration of linguistic and cultural factors.

Specialized translation. There is uncertainty for the translator in knowing how to deal with source-text neologisms. Newmark, for instance, advises against translators creating neologisms in 'non-literary texts' unless they have authority, or unless they create it by readily understood Greco-Latin morphemes. By contrast, in literary texts it is duty to re-create any neologism.