Types of Translation

Due to the continuing evolvement of the translation industry there are
now certain terms used to define specialist translations that do not
fall under a general category. This brief guide offers an explanation of
some of the more common translation terms used.

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Administrative translation
The translation of administrative texts. Although administrative has a very
broad meaning, in terms of translation it refers to common texts used
within businesses and organisations that are used in day to day
management. It can also be stretched to cover texts with similar
functions in government.

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Commercial translation
Commercialtranslation or business translation covers any sort of document used in
the business world such as correspondence, company accounts, tender
documents, reports, etc. Commercial translations require specialiast
translators with knowledge of terminology used in the business world.

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Computer translation
Not to be confused with CAT, computer assisted translations, which refer to
translations carried out by software. Computer translation is the
translation of anything to do with computers such as software, manuals,
help files, etc.

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Economic translation
Similar to commercial or business translation, economic translation is simply a
more specific term used for the translation of documents relating to
the field of economics. Such texts are usually a lot more academic in
nature.

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Financial translation
Financial translation is the translation of texts of a financial nature. Anything
from banking to asset management to stocks and bonds could be covered.

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General translation
A general translation is the simplest of translations. A general text
means that the language used is not high level and to a certain extent
could be in layman's terms. There is no specific or technical
terminology used. Most translations carried out fall under this
category.

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Legal translation
Legal translations are one of the trickiest translations known. At its
simplest level it means the translation of legal documents such as
statutes, contracts and treaties.
A legal translation will always
need specialist attention. This is because law is culture-dependent and
requires a translator with an excellent understanding of both the
source and target cultures.
Most translation agencies would only
ever use professional legal to undertake such work. This is because
there is no real margin for error; the mistranslation of a passage in a
contract could, for example, have disastrous consequences.

When translating a text within the field of law, the translator should keep
the following in mind. The legal system of the source text is structured
in a way that suits that culture and this is reflected in the legal
language; similarly, the target text is to be read by someone who is
familiar with another legal system and its language.

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Literary translation
A literary translation is the translation of literature such as novels, poems, plays and poems.
The translation of literary works is considered by many one of the highest
forms of translation as it involves so much more than simply translating
text. A literary translator must be capable of also translating
feelings, cultural nuances, humour and other subtle elements of a piece
of work.
Some go as far as to say that literary translations are
not really possible. In 1959 the Russian-born linguist Roman Jakobson
went as far as to declare that "poetry by definition [was]
untranslatable". In 1974 the American poet James Merrill wrote a poem,
"Lost in Translation," which in part explores this subject.

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Medical translation
A medical translation will cover anything from the medical field from the
packaging of medicine to manuals for medical equipments to medical
books.
Like legal translation, medical translation is specialisation where a mistranslation can have grave consequences.

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Technical translation
A technical translation has a broad meaning. It usually refers to certain
fields such as IT or manufacturing and deals with texts such as manuals
and instructions. Technical translations are usually more expensive
than general translations as they contain a high amount of terminology
that only a specialist translator could deal with.

TOPIC : Types of Translation  SOURCE : Linguistic Studies ** http://languages.forumactif.org/