Technical translation is a type of specialized translation involving the translation of documents produced by technical writers (owner's manuals, user guides, etc.), or more specifically, texts which relate to technological subject areas or texts which deal with the practical application of scientific and technological information. While the presence of specialized terminology is a feature of technical texts, specialized terminology alone is not sufficient for classifying a text as "technical" since numerous disciplines and subjects which are not "technical" possess what can be regarded as specialized terminology. Technical translation covers the translation of many kinds of specialized texts and requires a high level of subject knowledge and mastery of the relevant terminology and writing conventions.

The importance of consistent terminology in technical translation, for example in patents, as well as the highly formulaic and repetitive nature of technical writing makes computer-assisted translation using translation memories and terminology databases especially appropriate. In his book Technical Translation Jody Byrne argues that technical translation is closely related to technical communication and that it can benefit from research in this and other areas such as usability and cognitive psychology.

We have a tested team of technical translation experts in over 80 languages. This includes electrical and electronic engineers, civil engineers, mechanical engineers, materials scientists, physicists, chemists and chemical engineers, as well as other industry specialists. The industries we serve are diverse.

The technical documents we translate include technical manuals, Users Guides, system requirement documents, patents, installation instructions, service manuals, tender documents, technical training material, technical brochures, data sheets and more.

Urgent delivery

Contact us if you need to translate a large amount of technical material quickly. We have teams of translators that we can deploy quickly to deliver technical translation of hundreds of pages a day.

We can handle any file format

Most technical documents are written in MS Word. But we also support other file formats such as Adobe Framemaker, InDesign, XML and just about any other document file format. If your technical documents have technical drawing and illustrations, we can translate the textual callouts and captions.

Technical Terminology

A key to a good technical translation is the consistent use of correct terminology. At the start of a project, our project manager will compile a glossary which lists the unique industry-specific technical terms used in your project. Translation of the terminology into each language is done at the beginning of the project in order to promote consistency and accuracy in the technical translation.

Use of Translation Memories

The use of translation memories will not only yield a better translation, it will help save lots of money in the long run. Since technical translations are very often updated, you will only need to translate the revisions in each update.