Technical Translation : A Case Study of the Automotive Industry

概要

論文の詳細を見る
As major producers and exporters of automobiles, electrical and electronic goods and other consumer durables, Japanese companies have need to translate technical manuals into a large number of languages for use by consumers and repair technicians. This is not a trivial task, particularly when a corporation is manufacturing large numbers of products or many models of the same basic product. Many Japanese corporations have met the need satisfactorily and even elegantly, with well-produced (simple and clear) technical manuals. Others, which might be considered as leaders in their field have not done so well. Any current user of computer software will be aware of the deplorable state of documentation in technical and user manuals, these indeed being written in the native language of the products' writers. It may not be surprising then to find that technical translation is fraught with problems when writers in their own language cannot convey their instructions adequately. In this paper I will report on technical manuals translated out of Japanese, in the automotive industry, focusing on work in a particular company to indicate the difficulties involved in technical translation and the lack of clear protocols for the task.