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THE TRANSLATION OF TECHNICAL-SCIENTIFIC
TEXTS — A BRIEF ANALYSIS
Renata Jorge Vieira UFSC
A written text is, by definition, a permanent linguistic expres- sion and as such constitutes a permanent temptation to the un- wary to invert the logical sentence of translation, that is, to translate first (in the hope of understanding lazer), rather than understanding before translating. When the translator is not as familiar with the original language, nor as fully cognizant of the subject matter as the native render, there is an immediate risk that he will resort to linguistic equivalents and that his render- ings will no longer stem from the ideas contained in the original text but from the meanings individual works have as such... Seleskovitch, D. (1976:95).
TRANSLATING HAS TRADITIONALLY BEEN based on equivalence. Therefore, this view is changing. What is important in the transla- tion of a text, nowadays, is not only the equivalence between words, but the translation of the main ideas, concerning the cultural back- ground of the target language. In translating technical-scientific texts, one must first be aware of the accuracy of the translated text, in terms of how it transmits the goal of the writer of the source text to the reader of the translated text. Thus, the translated text will be able of contributing instrumentally to the technical-scientific area as a whole. The aim of this paper is to analyze critically the translation of chapter 5 of the book Cost Management for Today's Advanced Manufacturing — The CAM-I Conceptual Design (1988), by José
436 Renata Jorge Vieira
Luiz Basseto, 1992. I will begin by addressing the choices for the
verb focus and the conjunction because in the introduction of the
chapter. I will then focus on the additions, omissions and misun- derstandings of the translator. These items will be analyzed seman- tically as well as technically, in the area of application of the book, which is familiar to my teaching expertise. I will focus on the issue of the improvement or non-improvement of the book's content in general, in terms of its scientific applications, though it is impor-
tant to make clear that, for the present analysis, omissions in the
translated text do not necessarily mean loss, as well as addition
does not necessarily mean gain.
As a specific technical support, I consulted three specialists in the area*, frorn the Post-Graduation course in Engenharia de Produção at UFSC concerning the specific items which may be relevant to this analysis. I analyzed their opinion and took into account whenever it was relevant to this paper as a whole. I will continue with some brief considerations of the differences between the translation of technical-scientific texts as compared to the translation of poems. As a conclusion, I will address the knowl- edge and awareness of the translator of technical-scientific litera- ture, thus giving the reader an idea of the main problems that ed- itors encounter in their search for accurate translators. I will then offer some plausible solutions for these problems. *Acknowledgements: To Antonio Valdivia Altamirano (Master in Engineering, Doctored in Engenharia de Produção, in course), João Medeiros Tavares Junior, (Professor Especialist — ETFCE, Doctored in Engenharia de Produção on Environmental issues — in course), and Valdirene Gasparetto (Accountant, Master in En- genharia de Produção, in course). For their helpful evaluation of the items translated by the author of the TT in terms of the rel- evance, gain or loss to the specific subject, during the interviews carried out for the writing of this paper.
438 Renata Jorge Vieira
the English and Portuguese languages, (1979) ; Longman English Dictionary for Portuguese Speakers, (1989)). I find this translation is not in accordance with the collocation for the expression "em função de". Thus, it seems that the most adequate way for collocating "em função" in this sentence would be
As curvas dos custos incorridos aumentam durante a pro- dução. Em função disso, o registro contábil concentra-se neste estágio,
instead of
Em função de que os custos incorridos aumentam durante a produção, o registro contábil encontra-se neste estágio.
Therefore, if the translator chooses to use this word in the beginning of the sentence, it would be better to use 'Devido ao fato de que', or simply Por que', or even 'como'. As a consequence, the reading would be more fluent and the reader would not have to stop to ponder the meaning of the expression 'em função de'. It seems to me that, as the text presents the expression 'em função de' in the beginning of the sentence, the reader has in mind some kind of mathematical relation. The word 'função' imbues this idea and it seems that this is not the idea that is expressed in the ST. Consequently, it takes a long time for the reader of the TT to process cognitively the real semantic meaning of this expression.
Additions, omissions and misunderstandings in the translation
With regard to the translation of the word accounting^ and its cog- nates, the TT seems to be even more confusing. During the course of the chapter, accounting^ and its cognates are not only translated as words of different meanings but there are also some omissions
The translation of technical-scientific texts... (^) 439
or some additions throughout the TT. For instance, the first time the word accounting appears, (sentence 1 below), it is translated as registros'; the second time it appears, though, the translator choosesregistro contábil' (2); the third time, within the syntagma cost accounting system, it is translated as 'acumulação' (3). And in the next time, this word is amazingly translated as 'ciclo de vida' (4).
1.ST: Accounting emphasis should be expanded to include not only the production phase... (p.139) TT: A ênfase no registro deve ser expandida para incluir não apenas a fase de produção... (p.151)
2.ST: ... traditional accounting is focused on this stage. (p.139) TT: ... o registro contábil tradicional concentra-se neste estágio. (p.151)
3.ST: Simply changing the (^) cost accounting system, how- ever, is not enough. (P.139) TT: Entretanto, simplesmente mudar o sistema de acumu- lação de custos não é suficiente. (p.151)
4.ST: At present, rewards are given for good performance in (^) single accounting periods in organisational units.(p. 139) TT: Os profissionais devem ser compensados pelas práti- cas que minimizem os custos do ciclo de vida... (p.151)
Sentences 3 and 4 may seem strange for the reader, when com- paring both texts, even when reading only the translated text. The translator' s additions do not seem to make sense where the expres- sions 'acumulação' and 'ciclo de vida' are inserted. The choice for the expression 'ciclo de vida' at this point of the TT, was consid- ered "nonsensical" by the specialists consulted. The specialists claimed that it would have been better if the translator had been consistent in choosing only one word when translating the expression, thereby facilitating the accuracy and
The translation of technical-scientific texts... (^) 441
depois da proposta de investimento, o (^) gerente do projeto deve considerar se continua ou abandona o projeto de inves- timento. (P.167)
This misunderstanding could have terrible consequences for the reader of the TT. Besides thinking that the decision must be taken by the design manager specifically, the reader may infer through the TT that this decision has to be taken individually, not at a gen- eral management levei, as it seems to be the main message of the wole book (ST). Moreover, the idea of management in modern firms is transmitted as being performed as a whole, not as the res- ponsibility of only one individual, according to the specialists con- sulted. However, the translator does not seem to care about the importance of this idea to the reader of the TT, or maybe the translator lacks this kind of knowledge or awareness. By the same token, the expression management accountant or only accountant, that is, the professional who is responsible for the accounting of a firm, which appears so many times in the ST, is translated as many different words. These words are more likely to the result of confusions on behalf of the translator than text inprovement or gain for the context. For instance, translating the expression management accountant's role, (^) contrary to the example previously cited, he translates this expression as atribuições do gerente-responsável. (^) The generalization of the accountant's pro- fessional role (according to the accountant consulted), does not fit the purpose of specifying the attributions of the accountant within the environment of a firm. For the other two specialists, this specification of the role of the accountant runs counter to the idea of modern firms management, previously discussed. According to them, management in modern firms is performed by a whole group, not only one individual, even if this individual is a professional accountant. As a result, the translation of this book, at least in relation to this specific chapter, does not seem very reliable. The role of the translator is not to perform a literal translation, but to choose the
442 Renata Jorge Vieira
most adequate words from the ST to the TT and to be consistent with these choices. S/he has to be aware of how much the choice of those words will influence the reader's inference process. Conse- quently,, the general comprehension and application of a technical- scientific text may be positively or negatively affected.
Final remarks
Camargo (1995) claims that what characterizes a literal translation is the frequency in the correlation of the lexical units. Concerning technical-scientific literature, it seems that what is demanded is not a literal translation but an accurate translation, in order to avoid what (Azenha Jr. , 1994) calls "disasters":
Em se tratando de traduções técnicas, não é pequeno o anedotário sobre os "desastres" provocados por erros: os casos relatados vão desde acontecimentos mais corriqueiros como eletrodomésticos queimados e motores fundidos, pas- sam por acidentes de maiores proporções como pontes que não se sustentam e chegam a óbitos decorrentes da ingestão
em dosagem indevida de medicamentos e até a catástrofes
ecológicas [italics added] provocadas pelo uso incorreto
de agrotóxicos... Azenha Jr.(1994), p. (1)
From this point of view, it is important to consider technical- scientific translation as being of great difference from poetic litera-
ture. As Azenha Jr. (1994) points out, "...é condição si ne qua non
o abandono da noção pré-concebida, amplamente difundida e, na maioria das vezes, equivocada, de que os textos técnicos são qua- litativamente 'inferiores' aos textos de base cultural mais evidente, o que justificaria sua existência à margem de tais discussões (...) No domínio concreto do uso, porém, se é verdade que [um] manual dificilmente seria o livro de cabeceira de alguém, é também verdade que [um] poema de nada serviria ao operário que irá trabalhar com [uma] máquina... " (p.2). Garcia, (1992), in turn, claims that "A
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love your own language. Then roam the world, make friends, see life. Go back to education, but to take a technical or commercial degree, not a language degree. Spend the rest of your twenties and your early thirties in the countries whose languages you speak, working in industry or commerce but not directly in languages. Never marry into your own na- tionality. Have your children. Then back to a postgraduate translation course. A staff job as a translator, and then go freelance. By which time you are forty and ready to begin." (Lanna Castellano, 1988:133, cited in Baker, 1992:3).
— o —
The translation of technical-scientific texts... (^) 445
References
AZENHA JR., J. (^) Aspectos culturais na produção e na tradução de textos técnicos de instrução alemão-português: teoria e prática. Tese de Doutoramento. São Paulo, USP/FFLCH/DLM, 1994.
BAKER, M. In Other Words — A coursebook on translation. (^) Routledge. Lon- don, 1992.
BERLINER,C. and BRIMSON, J.A. Cost management for today 's advanced manufacturing. The CAM-I conceptual design. Harvard Business School Press. Boston Massachussetts, 1988. (Translated by José Luiz Basseto ; Edited by T.A. Queiroz. São Paulo, 1992.)
CAMARGO, D. C. "Os textos jurídico e técnico (tecnológico) e as modalidades tradutórias". In (^) Anais do IV Congresso Brasileiro de Linguística Aplicada. Unicamp-IEL. São Paulo, 1995, pp. 620 a 624.
GARCIA, I.W. "A tradução do texto técnico-científico". In Ilha do Desterro, N°.28, 1992, pp. 75-85.
Longman English Dictionary for Portuguese Speakers. Rosa W. Konder, edi- tor. Ao livro técnico S/A indústria e comércio. São Paulo, 1989.
SELESKOVITCH, D. "Interpretation, a psychological approach to translat- ing". In (^) Translation — applications and research. Edited by Richard W. Brislin.Gardner Press, inc.,1976. pp. 92-116.
The Exitus Dictionary of the English and Portuguese Languages. (^) Antônio Houaiss and Catherine B. Avery, Editors. Prentice-Hall, Inc. New Jersey, 1979.
