The key to technical translation. / Vol.2, Terminology/lexicography

258 Pages·15.709 MB·English

by  Michael Hann

THE KEY TO TECHNICAL TRANSLATION II

THE KEY TO
TECHNICAL TRANSLATION
VOLUME TWO
TERMINOLOGY/LEXICOGRAPHY
by
MICHAEL HANN

JOHN BENJAMINS PUBLISHING COMPANY
AMSTERDAM/PHILADELPHIA
1992
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hann, Michael.
The key to technical translation / by Michael Hann.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
Contents: v. 1. Concept specification -- v. 2. Terminology/lexicography.
1. Technology-Translation into English. 2. Translating and interpreting. I. Title.
T11.5.H36 1992
428'.02'0246--dc20 92-23779
ISBN 1-55619-471-4 (set hb)/l-55619-472-2 (set pb) (US alk. paper) CIP
1-55619-467-6 (hb vol. 1)/1-55619-468-4 (pb vol.1) (US alk. paper)
1-55619-469-2 (hb vol.2)/l-55619-470-6 (pb vol.2) (US) alk. paper)
ISBN 90 272 2122 7 (set hb)/90 272 2123 5 (set pb) (Eur alk. paper)
90 272 2118 9 (hb vol.l)/90 272 2119 7 (pb vol.1) (Eur alk. paper)
90 272 2120 0 (hb vol.2)/90 272 2121 9 (pb vol.2) (Eur alk. paper)
© Copyright 1992 - John Benjamins B.V.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm, or
any other means, without written permission from the publisher.
John Benjamins Publishing Co. · P.O. Box 75577 · 1070 AN Amsterdam · The Netherlands
John Benjamins North America · 821 Bethlehem Pike · Philadelphia, PA 19118 · USA
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My thanks for assistance in the publication of this manuscript are due
above all to my friend and former boss Professor Juan C Sager of the
University of Manchester (UMIST). Grateful thanks are due to the British
Department of Education and Science for a research fellowship in the mid
seventies, which enabled me to acquire the programming and other skills
necessary for this book. Thanks for many helpful comments and improvements
are also due to Dr Paul Foster of the Johannes-Gutenberg Universität (FAS),
to Messrs Richard Schneider and Jürgen Herber for their invaluable help in
producing a camera-ready disk version of the book, and to Frau Ingrid Helbing
of the German Nuclear Research Centre (KfK) for assistance in proof-reading.
Apologies are due to the many ladies reading this book for my insistence
on referring to the translator everywhere as "he" and to anyone with a phobia
about capital letters in English. Engineering fields such as Electronics,
Automobile Ignition or Chemical Engineering are capitalised throughout.
Occasionally this makes the odd English sentence look more like German, but
on the whole it avoids repetition and ambiguity. In the case of technical
acronyms such as fet, mosfet, ac/dc, CAD, RAM, the use or non-use of capitals
depends upon what is more usual in the respective field rather than any
linguistic conventions.
Note: The standard symbols Ω, Å, μ, μF, μΑ, α-/β-/γ-, in the contexts
ohm, angstrom, micron, microfarad, microamp, alpha/beta/gamma radiation,
have been avoided in the manuscript to simplify editing processes.

PREFACE
Volume 1 presents a systematic introduction to the basic concepts
underlying all areas of modern science and technology, with regard to the
problems involved in translating from German into English. English technical
terms originating from general language (e.g. stress, strain, tension) or those
commonly misunderstood by translators (such as Kapazität: capacity,
capacitance, capacitor) are defined clearly, using simple examples without
mathematics. Even those linguists with no experience of technology or
technical translation can acquire an important basic understanding of areas
such as Physics, Chemistry, Semiconductors, Computers, Electronics,
Materials Science, Machine Technology, Automobiles, Electrical Engineering
and Nuclear Technology.
Volume 2 is a practical handbook for translators and consists of several
bilingual glossaries. The book has some particularly interesting lexicograph­
ical features, including: the "Co llocation Dictionary" - a glossary of general
nouns, adjectives and verbs used in different technical contexts, and the
"Polyseme Dictionary" which, among other things, highlights and
distinguishes German polysemes, such as:
Gehäuse: case, casing, housing, boss, chamber
Rolle: roll, reel, castor, pulley
Netz: net, network, mains, gauze
A further feature of the book is the bilingual "Technical Thesaurus"
which supplements the information of Volume 1. The thesaurus entries are
defined in terms of one another using hierarchic/semantic relations.
The book is mainly intended for German/English technical translators
(both directions) - professional, free-lance translators and interpreters,
language students and university teachers. It will also interest the following
groups:
viii The Key to Technical Translation, Vol 2
i) technical translators from other languages into English (Volume 1);
ii) German-speaking technologists and scientists requiring a sound basic
knowledge of technical English;
iii) readers interested in applications of the methods of General Linguistics
(Semantics, etc) to technical language;
iv) computer scientists involved in the design of software for lexicograph­
ical applications.
VORWORT
Band 1 stellt eine systematische Einleitung in die Grundbegriffe aller
Gebiete der modernen Wissenschaft und Technik im Hinblick auf Probleme
der Fachübersetzung aus dem Deutschen ins Englische dar. Englische
Fachtermini, die aus der Gemeinsprache stammen (z.B. stress, strain, tension)
oder solche, die von Übersetzern häufig falsch verstanden werden (z.B.
Kapazität: capacity, capacitance, capacitor), werden durch einfache Beispiele
ohne Mathematik klar definiert. Das Buch vermittelt auch Lesern, die keine
technischen bzw fachsprachlichen Erfahrungen besitzen, wichtige Grund­
kenntnisse aus Fachgebieten wie Physik, Chemie, Halbleiter- bzw Computer­
technik, Elektronik, Werkstoffswissenschaften, Maschinenbau, Automobil-,
Elektro- und Kerntechnik.
Band 2 ist ein Handbuch für die Fachübersetzungspraxis. Er besteht aus
zweisprachigen Fachglossaren. Besonders interessant vom lexikographischen
Gesichtspunkt sind das sogenann te "Collocation Dictionary", d.h. ein Glossar
von gemeinsprachlichen Substantiven, Adjektiven und Verben in verschied­
enen technischen Zusammenhängen, und das "Polyseme Dictionary", das auf
die Mehrdeutigkeit von Wörtern wie
Gehäuse: case, casing, housing, boss, chamber
Rolle: roll, reel, castor, pulley
Netz: net, network, mains, gauze
aufmerksam macht. Der zweisprachige "Technical Thesaurus" ist ein weiteres
Merkmal dieses Buches und ergänzt die Informationen vom Band 1. Die
Einträge im Thesaurus werden durch eine Gegenüberstellung hierarchischer
bzw semantischer Beziehungen definiert.
In erste Linie ist das Buch für Fachübersetzer Deutsch/Englisch (beide
Richtungen) gedacht, sowie für Dolmetscher, Sprachdozenten und Stud­
enten. Es dürfte aber auch folgende Gruppen interessieren:
χ The Key to Technical Translation, Vol. 2
i) Fachübersetzer, die aus anderen Sprachen ins Englische übersetzen;
ii) Ingenieure, Techniker und Naturwissenschaftler, die ihre Kenntnisse
der englischen Grundfachsprache erweitern wollen;
iii) Sprachwissenschaftler, die sich für Anwendungen der Methoden der
allgemeinen Linguistik (insbesondere der Semantik) auf die Fachsprachen
interessieren;
iv) Informatiker, die Software für lexikographische Anwendungen
herstellen.