Translate Commercial Manuals

Manuals are brochures or instruction books that provide us with information, guidelines and recommendations about a product to ensure that we make good use of it. We all know them and know how they are, since most of the times we acquire an object and we do not know how it works, we turn to the manual. However, something that many people are not fully aware of is that behind each manual there is a figure that is not always seen: a translator, since many of the products we use are not from our country of origin and therefore are not written in our language, so there is always a translator that allows people who speak other languages to access the information. 

CONTENTS

• Clarity and Accuracy in Translation

• Use of Specific Terms in Translations

• Consistency of Terminology in Commercial Manuals

• Adaptation to the General Public

• Consistency in Collaborative Translations

• The Reviewer's Role in the Translation of Commercial Manuals

Introduction to the Translation of Commercial Manuals

With regard to the above, it is important to mention that for a product to be marketed it requires the translation of its manual, since these can be acquired by people of different nationalities and language should not be a barrier. Below, we will tell you some aspects about the translation of manuals:

• The translation must be clear, direct and unambiguous, because the aim is to guide the user, not to confuse him, so that he will be able to use the product properly.

• Each area of knowledge uses a terminology that characterizes it, so it is essential to use the terms proper to the field. That is to say, words have different equivalents depending on the context and the area, so you should always look for the term belonging to the field so that there is no confusion.

• In view of the above, it is necessary to mention that once the appropriate equivalent is found, there must be terminological consistency, i.e., the chosen term must always be used because, if different terms are used, even if they refer to the same thing, they may confuse the user.

• It is important to remember that, although the manuals are technical texts, they are aimed at a general public that does not have the same knowledge as an expert in the area, therefore, even though terms are used, it is necessary to look for the most common and most used, since the purpose is that the users can fully understand it.

Finally, when the translation of a manual is done by several translators, it is advisable to create a glossary so that there is consistency in the terms to be used, thus avoiding that each one uses different terms and obtaining a coherent text. In addition, the proofreader must be very careful, since he/she will have the duty to give the final touch of uniformity to the text.

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Glossary

• Clarity: Absence of ambiguities in the translation to guide the user.

• Terminological consistency: Consistent use of terms throughout the translation.

• Contextual Terms: Words whose meaning varies according to the context.

• Collaborative Translation: A process in which several translators contribute to the translation.

• Reviewer: Person in charge of improving the quality and consistency of the translated text.

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