Computer terminology Trådens avsändare: Aisha Rishi
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Aisha Rishi
Pakistan
Local time: 03:37
Engelska till Urdu
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I just wanted to ask you, if there are some computer terminologies in a document that we are supposed to translate, do we also translate the terminologies too, like Email, Scrolling, Keyboard, script page etc.
| | | | Bob Kerns (X) 
Tyskland
Local time: 00:37
Tyska till Engelska
| You must translate (almost) everything | Sep 7, 2003 |
If the terms in question are called something else in your target language then of course you must translate them.
The only things which you should not normally translate are company names and product names. Even place names often have different spellings in different languages.
Regards from Germany
| | | | | I think transliteration is better inn such cases. | Sep 8, 2003 |
There is a tandency by some people to manufacture words for every technical terminology and they hardly find any taker. Internet for example is called "Antarjal" in Bengali. But everybody prefers to use the original word. In all such cases one should retain the original or "transliterate".
| | | | Rajan Chopra
Indien
Local time: 04:07
Medlem (2008)
Engelska till Hindi
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| Transliteration holds the key in the instant case! | Sep 8, 2003 |
I personally feel that words relating to computer technology and its everyday use should not be translated, rather these should be transliterated as almost each and every one is quite aware of the same and these are easily understood by all.
In my opinion, translation does not mean replacing a word by another word. The basic idea is to communicate the sense in the other language and if some typical and uncommon words are used, the reader might feel at a loss to understand the text.... See more I personally feel that words relating to computer technology and its everyday use should not be translated, rather these should be transliterated as almost each and every one is quite aware of the same and these are easily understood by all.
In my opinion, translation does not mean replacing a word by another word. The basic idea is to communicate the sense in the other language and if some typical and uncommon words are used, the reader might feel at a loss to understand the text. The words mentioned by you have become a part and parcel of every language and everyone is quite conversant with the same. Hence, you should not hesitate to transliterate these in your target language.
Best wishes
[Edited at 2003-09-08 13:50] ▲ Collapse
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Heinrich Pesch
Finland
Local time: 01:37
Medlem (2003)
Finska till Tyska
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| Finns have their own words for almost all terms technical | Sep 8, 2003 |
Email is sähköposti, domain is verkkotunnus etc. But don't worry, translators know them. Nobody would read a text, where technical terms are in a foreign language. Civilized people avoid slang.
| | | | Rajan Chopra
Indien
Local time: 04:07
Medlem (2008)
Engelska till Hindi
+ ...
| Mr Heinrich, your point is quite understandable, because.............. | Sep 9, 2003 |
Heinrich Pesch wrote:
Email is sähköposti, domain is verkkotunnus etc. But don't worry, translators know them. Nobody would read a text, where technical terms are in a foreign language. Civilized people avoid slang.
your language has got alternatives for this terminology which seem to have become common. But in the case of Urdu and Hindi, the computer terminology does not appear to have been developed so far. On the other hand, English words are generally mixed in the day to day conversation of the people speaking Urdu and Hindi and the above expressions are quite common. I think until and unless, an acceptable and catchy terminology is devised, we should continue to use the same in its transliterated form as this conveys the sense.
Regards
| | | | DGK T-I
Storbritannien
Local time: 23:37
Georgiska till Engelska
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| If terms from another language are widely used | Sep 9, 2003 |
then perhaps they should be regarded as being borrowed into the language, as the adopted word for the concept, or one of them side by side with "home grown" ones. If e-mail (the word I mean:-)) is widely used by speakers of a language, then English 'e-mail' would be being translated - but in suitable cases a translation would be (or be based on)...e-mail.
Of course we should cherish and nurture our languages, but on the other side most languages have a history of borrowing some words for n... See more then perhaps they should be regarded as being borrowed into the language, as the adopted word for the concept, or one of them side by side with "home grown" ones. If e-mail (the word I mean:-)) is widely used by speakers of a language, then English 'e-mail' would be being translated - but in suitable cases a translation would be (or be based on)...e-mail.
Of course we should cherish and nurture our languages, but on the other side most languages have a history of borrowing some words for new concepts from other languages (and a great deal of English is borrowed from other languages.....), and sometimes this can be creative not always destructive - the speakers of the language must judge.
I guess the two important things are what the target audience needs, and (subject to that) whether the result is ugly or comfortable.
It doesn't sound as if it would be right to say that the translator would be "using slang", based on what we've heard.
[Edited at 2003-09-09 14:32] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | need to consider your target readers | Sep 10, 2003 |
I'm currently with an IT company. I think translating or not depends on your target readers - are they professional engineers, potential buyers or customers that don't know much about the technologies? I once directly translated the terminologies like "out-of-band" into Chinese, but our technicians said there's no word accurate enough to replace the original meaning. "Scrolling" has good counterpart in Chinese, as well as "Email", but the later is just well-known by people so it's not really nec... See more I'm currently with an IT company. I think translating or not depends on your target readers - are they professional engineers, potential buyers or customers that don't know much about the technologies? I once directly translated the terminologies like "out-of-band" into Chinese, but our technicians said there's no word accurate enough to replace the original meaning. "Scrolling" has good counterpart in Chinese, as well as "Email", but the later is just well-known by people so it's not really necessary to convert. ▲ Collapse
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Heinrich Pesch
Finland
Local time: 01:37
Medlem (2003)
Finska till Tyska
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| A chance for translators | Sep 11, 2003 |
When it comes to newly coined words for new inventions the translator has a very good chance to influence a bit of history for the target language. First of all the translator must understand, what it's all about, than he must decide, if the source word (mostly English, but not everything is invented in USA) is appropiate, and only than can he/she decide, if the foreign term is worth to introduce into the target language or if it is better to rethink the matter and come up with a streight transl... See more When it comes to newly coined words for new inventions the translator has a very good chance to influence a bit of history for the target language. First of all the translator must understand, what it's all about, than he must decide, if the source word (mostly English, but not everything is invented in USA) is appropiate, and only than can he/she decide, if the foreign term is worth to introduce into the target language or if it is better to rethink the matter and come up with a streight translation or better coin a new term.
Very often the Englsh term does not describe the matter very well, and it is easy to come up with something better. If the matter is really new, the audience will accept the term coined by the translator.
I despise very much the German way of accepting everything that looks English. When the mobile phones were still a luxury in most countries, Finns had already come up with a word for it: kännykkä = small hand. Instead of doing the same in German, there they invented Handy, which is pronounced English, but grammatically it declines in the form of Handys, not Handies. there would have been lots of alternatives in German for "small hand", but it had to look English!
Does anybody think, that "cell phone" or "mobile phone" are very elegant?
[Edited at 2003-09-11 06:30] ▲ Collapse
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Well, I think anything is more elegant than 'kännykkä' - and I'm a native speaker of Finnish...
Personally, I would prefer Finnish preserving some such terminology, in words coming from English (mostly), instead of having to invent a 'native' term for everything...
| | | | Valters Feists
Lettland
Local time: 01:37
Engelska till Lettiska
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| 1. Look for terminology 2. Maintain consistency between software and its manuals | Oct 15, 2003 |
If you want to near your language's extinction then do not translate, leave them all in English.
I agree with what Heinrich said, "very often the English term does not describe the matter very well". This is one more reason to think for yourself and maybe even create a better term.
Also, in your country you must have a terminology organisation and specialised dictionaries -- these are valuable sources for you.![]() ... See more If you want to near your language's extinction then do not translate, leave them all in English.
I agree with what Heinrich said, "very often the English term does not describe the matter very well". This is one more reason to think for yourself and maybe even create a better term.
Also, in your country you must have a terminology organisation and specialised dictionaries -- these are valuable sources for you.
One more thing, if you are translating a text about a specific software product you ought to ask the customer whether, e.g., software menus and buttons have already been translated, or are planned to -- in the near future. If they're not (e.g., there is a menu item "File" -- in English, and not in Urdu), one would normally keep this word in English in the manual's text until the software itself is translated -- otherwise the reader/user would need to match you translation with untranslated software.
Best of luck,
Valters Feists
Latvian translator /
IT, computer, telecommunications terminologist
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