Technical Translation: Usability Strategies for Translating Technical Documentation

Long-Term Memory (LTM)
Long-term memory is the final part of our memory system and it is here 
that information is stored once passed on from STM. Whereas capacity and 
retention are key factors when discussing sensory memory and STM, they 
do not apply to LTM as this type of memory is essentially unlimited in its 
capacity and information is stored there forever (Faulkner 1998:35; Coe 
1996:74; Downton 1991:25; Dix 1998:30). 
It is widely held that there is really no such thing as “forgetting” infor-
mation, i.e. information disappears from memory, rather the information is 
still stored in LTM but that as the memory grows older, the traces which 
lead to the information and help us locate it become increasingly faint and 
less defined. The result is that we simply cannot find the information we 
want (Faulkner 1998:35). Over time, it becomes more difficult to locate in-
formation and this can lead to this information being permanently “forgot-
ten”. This condition is exacerbated by the fact that information which is 
most recently and frequently used is easiest to retrieve from memory 
(Downton 1991:25). 
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Understanding Users 
Of greater interest when discussing LTM, however, is its structure and 
how information is retrieved from it. LTM can be divided into two types: 
declarative memory
and 
procedural memory
.
Types of Long-Term Memory 
Coe (1996:74) divides LTM into two primary categories - 
declarative 
memory 
and 
procedural memory
. Declarative memory is described as 
“memory what” (
ibid.
). This is memory of events, facts and images. 
“Memory how” or procedural memory is memory for motor skills, cogni-
tive skills, reflexes, how to do things etc.