| 423.12.1 : INTRODUCTION |
| 423.12.1.1 : THE TECHNICAL TRANSLATOR |
The twentieth century has been called the "Age of translation" (Jumpelt 1961) or "reproduction" (Benjamin 1923); whereas in the nineteenth century translation was mainly a one-way communication between prominent men of letters, and to a lesser degree, between philosophers and scientists and their educated readers abroad. The exponential increase in technology (through Patents, Specifications, and Documentation, for example), the attempt to bring it to developing countries, the simultaneous publication of the same book in various languages, the increase in world communication have all correspondingly increased requirements. That was why the scientific, technical and medical journals are translated wholesale in the U.S.A and in the former U.S.S.R. nations. |
Savory (1957) and Reiss (1971) suggest that the technical translator is concerned with content, whereas the literary translator with form. Nevertheless, translation is an art which demands the rigour and discipline of science. It may be counted as a craft or a science. When it comes to 'Technical Translation' where the subject alone matters, the form need not be recreated in Translation. The translator of a technical document can approach the text with the detachment of a scientist (see also 411.5.2.4). |
| |
| 423.12.1.2 : PROBLEMS OF TECHNICAL TRANSLATION |
The problem and the degree of difficulty in Technical translation depends on Linguistic and Non-Linguistic considerations. The linguistic difficulty is related to the distance between the SL and the TL. For example there is a greater translation distance between Hindi and Marathi, than between Hindi and Panjabi-partly as a result of degree of cultural exchanges over the centuries. |
The degree of difficulty is also determined by the subject matter and the nature of discipline. Certain technologies are also advancing faster than others, and consequently yield a bigger crop of neologisms. Sometimes an entirely new field falls into the same category as Computational Linguistics, Machine Translation, etc. |
The difficulty in translation is related to the text, too - depending on whether it is an article in a journal, a textbook, worksheet, a letter, a notice or a memo. |
Lastly, interference of mother tongue or a language acquired / learned with a purpose as a second language such as Hindi in South India may also pose a few problems in Technical translation. |
| |
| 423.12.2 : OFFICIAL LANGUAGE |
| 423.12.2.1: OFFICIAL LANGUAGE ACT |
| The Official Language Act 1963 was enacted to provide facilities for the languages which may be used for the official purposes of the union, for transacting business in Parliament and for the Central and State acts. The government makes use of English in addition to Hindi for all the official purposes of the union for which it was being used immediately before the Indian independence. Apart from the tradition of business in Parliament, use of English was accepted for Communication between the union and the state which has not adapted Hindi as its official language. Communication in Hindi is to be accompanied by its English translation if the receiving state of the concerned communication has not adopted Hindi as the official language (1963). |
| |
