Why technical translation is different
Technical content tests translation in a way that general content does not. The vocabulary is dense, precise, and unforgiving. A variation in how a tolerance specification is described can affect a manufacturing process. An ambiguous term in a patent claim can undermine patent scope. A mistranslated dosage instruction has obvious and serious consequences.
Our technical translators are not generalists who have done technical projects. They are engineers, scientists, patent agents, pharmacists, and clinical researchers who translate as their professional practice. They have the background to recognize when source text is technically imprecise and raise a query before producing an inaccurate translation of an inaccurate source.
Technical areas we cover
Our technical specialists cover a wide range of engineering and science disciplines:
- Engineering: mechanical, electrical, civil, chemical, aerospace, industrial, and automotive
- Manufacturing: production processes, quality specifications, ISO documentation, SOPs
- Patent applications and IP filings: USPTO, EPO, and PCT applications
- Environmental: environmental impact assessments, regulatory submissions, sustainability reports
- Energy: oil and gas, renewables, power generation, energy storage documentation
- Materials science: polymers, composites, metallurgy, coatings specifications
- IT and software: system architecture, API documentation, technical specifications
- Research publications: journal articles, conference papers, technical theses
CAT tools and terminology management
We use industry-standard CAT (Computer-Assisted Translation) tools to maintain terminological consistency across all documents in a project. For clients with ongoing technical translation needs, we build and maintain a project-specific glossary and translation memory. This ensures that every document in a series uses the same terminology and reduces cost on repeated content across a project.