Translating Technical Instructions: A Comparison Between English and Italian

1. 20. Translatingtechnicalinstructions Taylor partiallydisagrees with the generalisationthat an Italian target text isalwayslongerthan an English source text.: “Veryoften in thiskind of translationItalian can be more succinct and to the point, rejecting the more chatty, and therefore more lengthy, approachadopted by increasingly more consumer-friendlyinstructionwriters in English.” p. 245 “The translator must have an understanding of the expectations of the consumers, and thisevenrefers to syntacticquestionsrelated to theme/rhemedevelopment and information focus.” Ibid. “The translatorintoItalian must evoke the Italiancontext of situation and consider the interpersonalparametersgenerallyassociated with that situation, i.e. howformal or informal the registershould be.” Ibid. And do yourememberwhatHalliday’sContext of Situationis?

2. Context of Situation FIELD The subjectmatter and the nature of the activity: whatis happening, when, where, why etc. TENOR The participants, theirroles and the relationshipsbetweenthem. MODE How the languageisused. Taylor maintainsthat the English source text on page 245 isrelativelyinformaland “friendly” while the Italian target text on page 249 hassignificantdifferences in MODE as a consequence of the target readers’ expectationsconcerninggenre and register (TENOR). Let’sseeifweagree with him.

3. FALSE FRIENDS 20 What do yourememberabouteducated, effective, emotion and emotive? Engineer: meansingegnerebut can alsorefer to peoplewho do nothave a degree in engineering and would be calledtecnici in Italian. Engineerisnot an academictitle: L’ingegner BianchiisplainMr White in English. Entitle: meansintitolarebutalsodare diritto a. This voucher entitlesyou to a 15% discount on yournextpurchase. Entity: cosa che sussiste come unità indipendente. The introduction to his book was so long and detailedthatithadeffectivelybecome a separate entity. Entità: extent, seriousness. We do notyetknow the extent of the educationscutsplanned in the next budget. Etiquette: etichetta, protocollo Professional etiquette: segreto professionale Etichetta: label (su valige, schedari ecc.)

4. THE DIARY OF A BRAVE TRANSLATOR VERILY IN LEG – PART 20 I saw a television transmission earlier this evening about a team of researchers who have come up with some really genial ideas to help people who are recovered in hospital to take an active role in recouping their health. It was so interesting that I want to see it again, so I’ll watch the replica tomorrow morning.

5. I saw a television 1. transmission earlier this evening about a team of researchers who have come up with some really 2. genial ideas to help people who are 3. recoveredin hospital to take an active role in 4. recouping their health. It was so interesting that I want to see it again, so I’ll watch the 5. replica tomorrow morning. 1. programme 2. genial: (per descrivereuna persona) giovale, socievole geniality: socievolezza, cordialità, affabilità geniale: inventive, original, brilliant, ingenious (ingegnoso) genialità: brilliance, originality, ingeniousness ingenuo: naïve, ingenuous 3. recover: (i) riprendersi(ii) riacquistare, ricuperare ricoverare: hospitalize (USA), admit/take (someone) to hospital (GB) 4. recoup (get back, recover): recuperare recuperate: rimettersi in salute 5. replica: copiaesatta, e.g. replicas of antique furniture or artworks. replica: (i) repeat (TV programme), repetition (ii) reply