This article is part of a series in which we talk to our translators of one certain specialty to discuss their experiences and share their ideas on how to write a patent in such a way that facilitates the work of the translator, thus avoiding future problems in the presentation of the same in other countries. This time we will try mechanics documents, in particular, patents.
Provide a reliable source as a reference
When the translator provides material that has been previously translated, is greatly facilitates its work since provided clues that help you determine the most suitable terminology, as well as other elements of style. The most important thing is that the documents provided as reference is reliable, to maintain consistency in all translations related.
Consistency
On numerous occasions, in the original text more than one word is used to express the same concept or to represent identical parts. This is very useful in texts of informative, general, etc. However, patents can backfire, since it can create ambiguity and also hinder the work of the translator, you will need to use multiple words in the target language, one for each of those that appear in the original text. In many cases, there is a translation suitable for both terms, which reduces the level of quality of the resulting translation.The best thing is to keep a terminology more consistent and simple as possible, avoiding the use of synonyms to expedite the translation and eliminate possible confusion.
Simplicity in the numbers and figures
Mechanics documents refers to several parts, using many reference numbers. Sometimes, the order of reference numbers, especially when the system becomes complicated, induces an ambiguity that endangers a good description of the part or item referred to it. This situation hinders the work of translators when they attempt to verify that the numbers are correct and are well-placed in the sentence, especially if they are not well or are written by hand (as in the case of handwritten texts or corrections). The key is to have a system organized, ordered, and with an easy to understand pattern.
Conclusion
In the end, editor and translator are able to improve their collaboration, will result in a great improvement in the final texts, and of course a better understanding by the reader. Mechanical papers are very complicated, since they contain ideas that are not transmitted easily; Therefore, to get a good final product, it is important to give translators the best possible tools.
Versure 