The general and the individual in the translation of technical texts: Selected results of a research project

Abstract

As technology and civilisation progress, the communication of technical data is gradually shifting away from the domain of specialists in the field. Automotive technology, the subject of the research project described below, can be seen as an example of this. Motor vehicles, regardless of their power sources, are consolidating its position as the second most expensive type of consumer goods after real estate. It is just one of the reasons for its importance. Vehicles with one, two or more engines have always had to be as efficient as possible. This also applies to the communication processes involved. This state of affairs entails the avoidance of redundant messages and the use of technical terms that lead to all participants in the communication process wanting to call the same thing by a given technical word. What this means is the existence of a vocabulary that is as uniform as possible, lemmatised in technical dictionaries and accepted by specialists in the field. The following article refers to a study in which an attempt was made to check how the target situation outlined above compares with the actual situation, i.e. the current state of affairs. In the context of the translation process, an analysis was made not only of the translations, but also of the process that led to their production. This gave the translator a central position.