Technical Translation: Usability Strategies for Translating Technical Documentation

The Trouble with Translation Theory 
(Larson 1991:1) 
When trying to explain or situate technical translation within a theoreti-
cal framework it is often extremely difficult to know where to begin. This 
is made all the more problematic when we consider the shockingly diverse 
Good theory is based on information gained from practice. Good practice
is based on carefully worked-out theory. The two are interdependent.

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Theory in Technical Translation 23 
range of approaches, models, rules and theories. This can be illustrated us-
ing a much quoted example from Savory (1957:49) who compiled the fol-
lowing list of “rules” of translation from a variety of “authoritative” sources 
on translation which state that a translation: 
must give the words of the original 
must give the ideas of the original 
should read like an original text 
should read like a translation 
should reflect the style of the original 
should possess the style of the original 
should read as a contemporary of the original 
read like a contemporary of the translation 
may add to or omit from the original 
may never add to or omit from the original 
These rules are, without doubt, contradictory and at times paradoxical but 
they cannot be dismissed completely since each one will find legitimate ap-
plication in a specific translation context. And this is, perhaps, where we 
should begin our attempts to situate technical translation in its own theo-
retical “space”, if such a thing is possible. Looking at the professional con-
text upon which this book has as its background, we can describe technical 
translation in very basic terms as a communicative process, or rather, a ser-
vice provided on behalf of someone else for a particular purpose and within 
a particular situation and environment. In fact, the constraints and circum-
stances affecting technical translation are really quite similar to those affect-
ing technical writing which will be discussed in the next chapter. 
So how does this help us find a theoretical basis for technical translation? 
To answer this, we first need to look at the most prevalent theoretical ap-
proaches to translation to see where this communicative, reader-orientated, 
service approach fits in. We can broadly categorise the different theories ac-
cording to the emphasis they place on the source text (ST) and/or target 
text (TT). It should be noted, however, that such is the situation with 
translation theory that there is frequently an overlap between these two 
within the theories. Far from being a ground for questioning the decision 
categories; while a theorist may ostensibly be in favour of concentrating 
on the target text, there may be varying levels of source text-orientation
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24 Technical Translation 
to divide theories in this way, this fact serves to highlight not only the diffi-
culty in developing a theory of translation but also in placing technical 
translation within a particular theoretical framework. 
However, a useful starting point, particularly for technical translation, is 
the idea presented by Toury (1995:56-7) that translation is essentially af-
fected by two major roles: 
1. the translation is a text in a particular target language and culture 
2. the translation constitutes a representation in one language of another 
text existing in another language and culture 
He states that the basic choice which is made by a translator in deciding be-
initial norm. 
the translation can be regarded as 
adequate
 or 
acceptable. 
Thus he says: 
phasis in original] 
We can see, therefore, that adequacy is typically regarded as a term associ-
ated with source text-orientated attitudes and approaches; acceptability on 
the other hand, by its very implication of a target audience focuses on the 
target text. Relating this to technical translation, we can say that, in general, 
the aim of a technical translation is to achieve a high level of acceptability, 
primarily because technical texts, particularly instructional texts, are in-
tended to function first and foremost as a target language text. 
Toury goes on to say that adequacy and acceptability can be manifest on 
both a macro and a micro-level. Thus, on a macro-level, the text may sub-
scribe to target culture norms but on a micro-level, not all translation 
choices and strategies need to comply with the overall macro-level strategy. 
In effect, we can see that we can still produce a target-orientated text even 
if we have to resort on occasions to source-orientated strategies on a lower 
level. This is especially true of technical translation where some sentences 
can and need only be translated literally while other sentences or even para-
graphs need much more radical translation strategies. 
Larson (1987:69) provides some additional insight when she states that 
“the goal of most translators is to produce translations which are acceptable 
…whereas adherence to source norms determines a translation’s aade-
quacy as compared to the source text, subscription to norms originating 
in the target culture determines its aacceptability. (Toury 1995:57) [em-
for the audiences for whom the translations are produced”. This acceptability,
This choice with regard to preferences for either role determines whether 
tween the requirements of the two different roles represents an 

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Theory in Technical Translation 25 
which will guide him [sic] as he works and by which he can measure his fi-
nal product”. Crucially, she says that these criteria vary from project to pro-
ject - 
or from translation to translation. 
The notion that a technical translation must be acceptable to the client is 
echoed by Pinchuck (1977:205) who states that what both the client and 
translator want is a satisfactory translation which is achieved with a mini-
mum expenditure of time and effort. It should be pointed out at this point, 
however, that Pinchuck does not make a distinction between acceptability 
and adequacy like Toury. While Pinchuck refers to the adequacy of transla-
tions, it is used in the same way as Toury uses acceptability - in other 
words, the translation is adequate for the needs of the target audience. In-
deed, Pinchuck says an adequate translation is always a compromise be-
tween conflicting demands in that has a tendency to concede fidelity to the 
requirements of intelligibility and of speed. The extent of this, Pinchuck 
maintains, depends on the circumstances in which the translation is pro-
duced (1977:207). 
In general, an inferior translation according to Pinchuck 
(ibid.) 
is “a 
work that is unreadable, or difficult to read, and possibly also inaccurate”. 
Pinchuck goes on to say that in any case, an adequate translation will always 
be one that has been produced utilising just enough time and energy to en-
sure that the needs of the consumer are met. The translation should not be 
of a higher quality than that required by the client, particularly if this in-
volves a higher cost. Having said that, the quality should not be lower if it 
means that the reader will have to spend a lot of time and energy on deci-
phering it. The technical translator, according to Pinchuck, aims to achieve 
adequacy and not perfection in translation. Realistically, this should be the 
goal for any translator or writer because we can never assume that a com-
municative act will run perfectly smoothly and that nothing will be lost.