What technical translation involves.
Technical documents depend on terminology that reads the same on every page and in every product.
- Translation memory and termbases keep each component, setting and warning consistent.
- Units, values, part numbers and references are carried across exactly as in the source.
- Tables, drawings and numbered steps keep their structure, so the translation can be checked side by side.
- For designed materials, our desktop publishing team typesets the translated version.
Technical and engineering materials we translate.
Specifications, manuals, patents and safety-critical documentation, with consistent terminology and units, values and part numbers carried across exactly.
- Technical specifications
- Operating and maintenance manuals
- Patents and patent applications
- Safety-critical instructions and warnings
- Product and installation documentation
- Software and product localisation
Safety-critical warnings and instructions.
Warnings, cautions and operating instructions have to be as clear in the translation as in the source.
- For safety-critical material we recommend the translation plus edit or full proofread tier.
- A second linguist then checks every instruction against the source.
- Software, apps and product interfaces are handled as localisation.
- On-screen text, formats and conventions are adapted to suit the target market.
Our process
How we handle technical files.
- A named project manager and a written quote before work starts.
- Your choice of three quality tiers: translation only, translation plus a second linguist’s edit, or translation plus a full proofread.
- Consistent terminology across a document set, through translation memory and termbases.
- Confidentiality. Documents are handled in line with POPIA and are never put into a public AI engine.
Our standard
Technical terminology and safety warnings.
Technical documentation is used by people operating equipment. A wrong term or a lost warning has consequences beyond the page, so technical work goes to linguists familiar with the subject.
Request a technical translation quote.
Send us the project details and we will match the work to a linguist with the right language pair and subject knowledge.