High Tech, Poor Writing
Recently, I was offered a big translation job. When I first accepted the job, I was pleased to have an opportunity to work on manuals about dental implants, one of my absolute favorite topics. I looked forward to the several tens of thousands of words to translate from English into German, promising an interesting job and good earnings.
Soon, I came to regret my decision. The manufacturer was a company based in a so-called emerging economy. The only facts we've been learning here in Germany about this country were related to old-fashioned industries. I had images of dark nights in towns without electric power. Yet simultaneously, some high tech companies in the country were trying to find a niche in the global market.
My implant manufacturer belonged to those trying to find such a niche. I received some e-versions of high-glossy brochures, such brochures claiming to offer the most sophisticated dental implants in the world. At second glance, I found all possible problems a translator could face, and I decided to use this dental implant translation job in writing this piece as an example of translation issues. It is a negative to have such a poorly written technical manual to translate, and it is complete chaos if you are confronted with so many source document problems at the same time.
As an aside, I do not want to blame this company. Nor do I want to give details about it because I do not want to unnecessarily harm or expose the company or the country. Unfortunately, all problems that could arise during a translation job did arise in this technical project.
Technical Basics
Dental implants are high tech products with many special features, components, and functions. Basic requirements for user manuals include technical understanding, correct terminology, and writing skills. Such writing skills are mandatory when describing certain procedures. Dental implantology consists of general dentistry, e.g., for diagnosis and treatment planning, oral surgery for implant placement into the jawbone, and prosthetic dentistry for replacement of lost teeth by more or less complex restorations.
The first problem I faced in this translation job was that the technical aspects of implants and implant placement were not appropriately described in the original manufacturer manual. Not all dentists or specialists who are perfectly educated for their jobs have the writing skills required for describing and explaining all the practical job procedures in writing with the appropriate terminology.
The second problem I faced in this job was that the accompanying explanatory text was definitely incorrect. Such a technical manual always has many figures. This particular job had many; some were good and some not. Some figures clearly showed important details and steps, some not. Regardless of the quality of such figures, someone who writes the accompanying explanatory texts needs to use appropriate terminology. Doing so is crucial for surgical procedures on human patients. If, for example, you use a manual for a mobile phone or a hair dryer, the worst possible scenario that could happen is that you are not able to make a call or you have to dry your hair with a towel. If you do not understand an implant manual - no matter whether in the original or in the translated version - such lack of understanding may cause significant problems for other human beings.
Translation - Once and Twice
I can only suspect that the writer of the original manual did not have the necessary writing skills and the lack of skills explained the poor style I found in my English source material. This was the material that I had to translate from and this material was in translation, too - from the native language in the manufacturer's country into English. It seemed that the original text had been translated or transferred into English by a person who was neither aware of implantology nor capable of writing fluent, correct English. I had to create a German version from single pieces of English text as if I were working with a jigsaw puzzle. Here I found pieces of terminology, and there I found hints in a diagram. The work was tedious. At some points, I had to ignore the English source. I used my dental knowledge and my personal, practical experience with implants, and I tried to write instructions, instead of translating nonsense. I believe I submitted a clear, precise manual, but I shudder to think about what kind of manual would have been produced had the company not found an expert in the field of implantology.
Copywriting or Translating?
Every so often in translation copywriting skills and understanding are more important than perfect knowledge of the source language. This is true for technical documents as well as for marketing texts. Expertise in a speciality is more helpful than large dictionaries - as long as the author of the source text is an expert or at least familiar with the topic. If not, imprecise, incorrect translations may be the result.
Sometimes I feel it is quite shameful that companies make tremendous investments in their research and development departments. Yet, at the same time, they do not consider that no new product will win market shares in the long term if the product cannot be appropriately used. Without clearly written instructions, no product may be used correctly. Such an understanding of manual requirements is often nonexistent even in the product’s home country. The more technology is part of any product, the better the user manual has to be. When launching such products in international markets, clear, precise documentation is the basis for a good translated version.
In summary, I would urge a better understanding for people in positions of authority. Such individuals need to know that their success with new products depends on clear, precise user manuals and documentation. If the translated versions of such user manuals are released in foreign countries, the translators responsible for these versions should have had a real opportunity to provide, clear, precise, accurate user manuals.
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