TECHNICAL AND LITERARY TRANSLATIONS
Basically, the only difference between technical and literary translation is the evaluation process. While in the literary translation, it will take some time for the translator to get feedback from the reader, when it comes to technical translation, this feedback is immediate and promptly delivered by the client.
- Translation assessment is different.
- The evaluation process is carried out in distinct stages.
- They require the same cognitive skills.
As we have seen before, all the tips I have already suggested on how to consider the register/genre perspective of texts should not be forgotten here. Such awareness is the key that is able to lead translation learners to acquire translation literacy and the some of the skills and abilities they need to succeed in this profession.
When it comes to the difference between technical and literary translation, in summary, it is important to remember that different cultures have different ways of dividing up the range of activities that are performed using language. One culture might perceive relatively small differences in purpose to be manifestations of different registers and/or genres, while another culture could perceive the same range of communicative events to all represent a single genre/register (Biber and Conrad, 2011). Further, the same genre/register in two cultures can be characterized by important differences in purpose or other situational characteristic.
Therefore, the first step a translator is supposed to do is IDENTIFY and DESCRIBE is the situational characteristics of the genre/register.
Another huge difference between technical and literary translation lies in the field of glamour and recognition. While in the literary field, the translators are supposed to see their names on the cover of books and find the result of their production easily when they have their name searched in Googled, for the technical translators — glamour — is not really the word it can be used to describe any of the steps of working with a microwave oven manual or the package leaflet and instructions of a medicine bottle that does not even mention it has been translated, as if it had been magically reproduced from one language to another by a magic trick.
Glamour ou dinheiro? Não precisa escolher escolher. Se fizer o que gosta vai dar certo e atrair exatamente o que for importante pra você.
