The Technical Language Translator - It all Comes Back to Translating

What makes it interesting and
challenging for the technical language translator?
Put simply, it is the translator's job to – at least – understand the source text, right? To convey the information it intends to communicate in a complete, accurate and appropriate way in the target language, while keeping in mind the function of the text and the audience.
Translators must convey the
information as if it was written in the target language
Translators have
to reproduce the messages and intentions of the original. Translations made for publication should be
read as if they were written in the target language and even documents intended
for less public uses should be convincing and legible. This requires a unique set of skills and
aptitudes, and the complexity of the task is often underestimated.
Inexperienced translators, and
even subject-area experts, tend to produce literal or word-for-word
translations that follow patterns of the source language rather than finding a
more natural form of expression in the target language.
Technical Language Translators Must Be Curious
As a basic requirement, technical translators, for one, need to have an in-depth knowledge of the source language (including notion of their specific rhetorical patterns and speech structures). They must have native or near-target fluency, a vocation to write, and highly developed information compilation skills.

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