Technical Translation: Usability Strategies for Translating Technical Documentation

Representational Learning 
Representational learning is a type of meaningful learning where we learn a 
word, sign or symbol that acts as a label for an object or event. An example 
of this is the way we learn proper nouns. As mentioned earlier, we can ei-
ther learn labels before we learn the concepts or we can learn concepts be-
fore we learn the labels. Similarly, representational learning may take place 
either before or after concept learning. However, representational learning 
on its own is insufficient in terms of meaningful learning because the con-
cept is not acquired and there is no meaning or interrelationship with other 
knowledge. 
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Understanding Users 
Propositional Learning 
If concepts are like atoms and propositions are similar to molecules, it fol-
lows that out of a small number of concepts it is possible to create a large 
number of combinations (or molecules). In practical terms, the meaning we 
acquire for a concept is formed from the composite of all the propositions 
we know that contain the concept. The more propositions we have that 
contain the concept in question, the richer our understanding of the con-
cept will be (Novak 1998:40). And so, propositional learning is the process 
of linking, integrating and associating concepts to provide richer and more 
detailed meaning. The processes by which we acquire and combine new 
concepts and propositions are described below. 
Acquiring New Information 
There are two primary ways in which we acquire new knowledge: 
concept 
formation
and 
concept assimilation
. Concept formation involves construct-
ing meanings for words from observed regularities. To illustrate this, imag-
ine we have seen lions, tigers, cats and dogs and they all eat meat. When 
we learn that this common activity makes them carnivores, we form the 
concept of 
carnivore
. 
With concept assimilation, we acquire meanings for concepts by associat-
ing them into propositions which contain already known concepts. This 
can be illustrated using the example of 
scone
. We know 
scones
are a type of 
bread
which in turn is a type of 
food
. Here the new concept – scone– is 
subsumed beneath the concept of bread which is in turn subsumed beneath 
the concept of food. In this example, food and bread are subsuming con-
cepts. The process of subsumption results in changes not only to the new 
concept but also to the concepts which subsume it. Consequently, informa-
tion recalled about scones may be slightly different from that which was 
originally learned. Similarly, if over the passage of time, the concept of 
scone is forgotten or cannot be described adequately – a process known as 
obliterative subsumption
– it will have modified associated information suf-
ficiently to provide enhanced information about that particular concept 
area. So while we may not remember the precise details of the information 
we learned, we will still recall the knowledge it produced as a result of be-
ing learned. The process of concept assimilation is never fully finished be-
cause we are continually adding or associating new concepts with existing 
ones (Novak 1998:59-61). 
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Learning