Here’s What You Need for Successful Technical Translation

What’s technical translation?

Technical translation refers to the translation of technical texts like user manuals and software strings. Technical translations require translators to be at least comfortable with technical topics and complex concepts.

Specialized translators have deep scientific and technical knowledge. They also understand the legal and practical requirements of technical translation. Understanding these requirements is paramount to ensure accuracy.

For instance, think of patent translation, which is all about the accurate translation of complex information and specialized terms.

The importance of translatability in technical content

Translatability refers to content that has “qualities that make translation efficient and thus keep costs low, while maintaining high content quality.” This definition indicates that it’s absolutely worth investing in great source texts to scale them with every translation. By doing so, you ensure the scalability of technical documentation across global markets.

Common challenges of technical translation

Some challenges are present in every kind of translation process, while others are related specifically to technical documents.

Language-specific nuances

Like every other kind of translation, technical translation requires the translator to consider and localize language-related and cultural specifics that are unique to a target market.

Localization is more than translation: “Translation bridges the language barrier, but localization adapts content to make it more meaningful and relevant to a foreign market.”

For technical translation, localization includes non-technical language-specific nuances of the target language. 

Also, technical translators need to know and consider language-specific ways to write about tech, up to and including different measuring units.

Terminological consistency

Consistent terminology is a success factor for all translation, but the more technical the content, the more crucial it is to use the correct terminology in a consistent way. 

Technical writing usually comes with technical jargon and product terminology. Consistency is your number one desirable characteristic of clear and comprehensive technical documentation.

And the same is true when translating technical documents. An experienced technical translator not only knows how to localize technical terminology, but also understands the importance of using it consistently.

Subject matter experts knowledge

When translating scientific or technical knowledge, technical translators need a certain extent of technical expertise in the topic or field that the content covers. Subject-matter experts who write technical content aren’t always trained technical writers, but have a background in subjects like engineering or software development.

A technical translator isn’t usually a subject-matter expert, but an expert for technical translation. Also, they should consider working together with technical writers, subject-matter experts or ideally both to create a correct, accurate technical translation.

Translation as part of your content supply chain

What’s a content supply chain?

A content supply chain is the entirety of your content production process across human, technological, and automated processes. A strong content supply chain strategy covers each area of the entire content lifecycle, which includes, in a monolingual (one language) view:

1. Content planning
2. Writing content assets
3. Editorial review and quality control
4. Content approval
5. Delivering content
6. Performance review
7. Content management and maintenance 

The translation process is part of an additional layer, which we call the “multilingual layer.” This layer has several interferences with the monolingual content supply chain. Together, both layers built the multilingual content supply chain.

Let’s explore the multilingual content supply chain in the context of technical translation.

What’s a multilingual content supply chain for technical content

When a global organization produces technical content, it often caters to multiple target audiences who speak multiple languages. This makes the overall content supply chain more complex compared to a monolingual one. Supporting multilingualism is a must for enterprises!

These are some of the stages of a typical multilingual content supply chain and how they connect with the stages outlined below:

• Decision to translate a technical document
  • Ideally: During the content planning stage
  • In reality: Mostly during source content writing or review
• Optimization of technical content for the following translation
  • Ideally: During source text writing
  • In reality: Often, source texts aren’t optimized
• Translation
• Translation review
• Translation approval
• Translation delivery

Of course, quality and performance reporting — as well as content management — are part of a multilingual content supply chain.

As we’ve learned about where to integrate translation into your content supply chain. Now, let’s explore how to boost your global content supply chain.

How to set your multilingual content supply chain up for success

By integrating translation into the content production process from the start, optimizing source texts, and taking advantage of technology like AI, you can ensure quality, consistency, and speed. Here’s how:

Make translation decisions part of your content planning

Considering how to translate your content early in the planning process means less effort later on. It also makes sure teams write technical texts with translation and multilingual audiences in mind. This involves:

• Identifying target markets early: Understand the languages and regions your technical documentation is targeted at. This way, you’re prepared to consider the correct technical terms, idiomatic expressions or cultural nuances of your target audience during content creation.
• Collaborating across teams: Make sure your content planning team works closely with translators or localization experts to anticipate challenges and streamline workflows. This way, your technical content writers will be best prepared to optimize technical content for translation.
• Optimizing resources: Avoid last-minute translation requests by aligning translation timelines with content production schedules.

Consider translatability during technical content writing

Well-written, clear source content makes translation faster and more accurate. Translatability involves crafting content that can be easily and effectively translated. 

Here are two example characteristics of well written technical content that’s optimized for translation:

• Simple sentence structures: Use plain language and avoid complex phrasing to make content more adaptable for translation.
• Terminological consistency: Make sure every technical writer and technical translator uses your specialized terminology consistently. Use software like Acrolinx to provide terminology guidance directly during technical writing.

Acrolinx checks technical communication content for clarity, consistency, and terminology adherence. It makes sure source texts are ready for translation, cutting down the number of review cycles and shortening the time-to-publication​​.

Shorten translation review cycles with better source texts

Translation review can become a bottleneck in the multilingual content supply chain if source texts are unclear or inconsistent. Reducing review time requires:

• Improved writing standards: Use Acrolinx to make sure source content meets clear quality benchmarks before it’s sent to translation.
• AI-powered quality checks: Automate the review of source and translated content for alignment with your brand’s writing standards.

Acrolinx reduces review times significantly, allowing teams to meet tight deadlines while maintaining content quality​​.

Use AI and automation to streamline and boost your processes

Augment your content supply chain with AI to prepare it for global success. You need process-related tools, like version control tools. And you need automated, centralized content governance to make sure your source content is translatable and of high-quality. This is where Acrolinx comes in.

AI-powered tools like Acrolinx transform how content is created, translated, and managed:

• Automated content quality assurance: Review 100% of your content for compliance with enterprise standards, identifying issues in minutes across large repositories​​.
• Generative AI support: Generate multilingual content faster while achieving consistency with your corporate terminology and your style guide.
• Content governance: Automate governance to make sure that both original and translated content align with organizational standards and avoid publishing errors​​.

Generative AI and automation also enable scaling content production without increasing resources, offering a competitive edge in global markets​​.

Future-proof your technical content with Acrolinx

Combining AI with a strong content supply chain ensures translatability and scalability by streamlining processes and maintaining quality.

Being AI-powered content governance software, Acrolinx improves the clarity and consistency of source content, making it easier to translate while automating quality checks to scale across languages efficiently. This integration reduces manual effort, cuts costs, and speeds up global content delivery, making sure that your messaging resonates across diverse markets.

Curious to explore the importance of high-quality source content for successful translation? Read our guide to learn more.