Luận văn The translation of technical texts in shipbuilding

empty verbs, present tenses) and it technical format (technical report). 5.1. Technical style Newmark (1988) suggests “unless its non-technical language is jazzed up and popularized, it is usually free from emotive language, connotations, sound-effects and original metaphor, if it is well-written”. However, not all the technical texts are well – written, thus, it’s the translator’s job to rephrase poorly written language. Regarding to technical style, Parpcke (1975) distinguished four kinds of technical language: scientific, workshop level, every day usage level, and publicity/ sales. Yet, according to Newmark (1988), the division Parpcke is “likely to be valid only for one or two terms in a few fields”. He suggests the following scales: academic, professional and popular. 5.2. Technical terms Newmark (1988) states that “ Technical translation is primarily distinguished from other forms of translation by terminology”. Thus, the core characteristic of a technical text in any field is terms; terms are also the main factor to distinguish a technical text from other kinds of texts. And, the central difficulty in technical translation is usually new terminology. It is due to the fact that some technical terms appear only once in the source language and the context is not clear to the translator. Furthermore, the technical terms are distilled knowledge and written for specialists in that field. It is also because that even standardized terms may have more than one meaning in one specific field, as well as in the other fields. 5.3. Technical terms and descriptive terms One matter in technical translation is to distinguish technical and descriptive terms. According to Newmark (1988), the original SL writer may use a descriptive terms for a technical object for three reasons: The object is new, and has not yet got a name The descriptive term is being used as a familiar alternative, to avoid repetition; The descriptive term is being used to make a contrast with another one. Also, he suggests that technical terms and descriptive terms should be translated by their counterparts, and the translator should resist the temptation of translating a descriptive terms by a technical terms for the purpose of showing off his/ her knowledge. However, he points out that if the SL descriptive term is being used either because of the SL writer’s ignorance, or because the appropriate technical term does not exist in the SL, and if an object strange to the SL but not to the TL culture is being referred to, the translator is justified in translating a descriptive term by a technical term. Further to technical and descriptive terms, Newmark (1988) claims it is a trend that professional translators make “a mystique out of their craft” by denying any descriptive terms where a TL technical term exists. He points out the reason that because technical terms are standardized language and more precise (narrower in semantic range) whereas, descriptive terms are non-standardized language. 5.4. Translation method 5.4.1. Beginning technical translation Idiom says that “practice makes perfect”. Technical translation is similar. The more the translator get practice, the better he/ she translates. However, the challenge or the difficult thing for the technical translator is that the translator is not well – informed about the topic of the technical text, is lack of knowledge about technicality. And as Newmark (1988) advises the translator is “more interested in understanding the description, the function and the effect of a concept such as entropy rather than in learning laws, particularly axioms, theorems, theories, systems in some of which entropy is involved”. Or to put it more clearly, “to translate a text you so not have to be an expert in its technology or its topic; but you have to understand that text and temporarily know the vocabulary it uses”. He suggests as a translator working in technical translation, when translating a text, the translator has to be able to stand back and understand roughly what is happening in the real life or he/ she has to convince himself/ herself that the sentence which has just been translated makes sense. Although many technical terms can be translated “literally”, the translator has to check the present validity with the register and dialect. Thus, in order to begin a technical text, according to him, the translator should, at first, read it to understand what the text is about (underline difficult words) and then assess its nature ( proportion of persuasion to information), its degree of formality, its intention (attitude to topic), the possible cultural and professional differences between the readership and the original one. Next, the translator should give the translation a framework of recognized house-style. The translator has to take into account everything, every word, every figure, letter, every punctuation mark….. 5.4.2. Translating the title Newmark (1988) classifies title either is descriptive or allusive. According to him, a descriptive title names the subject succinctly while allusive title is suitable for some imaginative literature and popular journalism and may be changed. The title states the subject but it does not always mention the purpose or intention of the process which is described. Besides, Newmark (1988) also states two other points of title. Firstly, the title of the SL text is often two long by English standards. Secondly, the title has a transparent collocation. And according to him, almost errors in technical translation are caused by misleading adjective plus noun collocations for standardized terms. And for non-standardized terms, the errors can be caused by transparent or motivated verb plus object, or subject plus verb collocations. 5.4.3. Going through the text It is suggested by Newmark (1988) that The translator, then, should read the text through to get the gist of the main idea and underline all words and structures that appear to contain problems: new technical terms, special expressions, syntactic ambiguity…. After that, the translator can translate sentence by sentence, making grammatical shifts to for natural language. In technical translation, the translator can be as bold and free in recasting grammar (cutting up sentences, transposing clauses, converting verbs to nouns, etc.) as in any type of informative text, provided the original is defective. Lexically, the main characteristic of technical language is its actual richness and its potential infinity. The translator has to ensure the equivalent level of register to TL (he/ she may separate new terms and compare to the context, sometimes actual practice to deal with the meaning). And last, the translator has to adjust the translated sentence as per the technical style. Chapter 2: An investigation into translation of technical texts in shipbuilding 1. Text characteristic in shipbuilding 1.1. Kinds of texts Texts, as many other fields, are the main way to connect the builder, the engineers and the owner. Through the texts, all the necessary written information is transferred. Thus, they are very important. And in shipbuilding, texts are shown in the followings types: Specification For the vessel, specification is the thing that introduces, describes the main particulars, equipment as well as necessary related matters the vessels must have when going in service. Outline specification of 260 TEU container vessel is an example. General description Type of ship Single crew, slow speed diesel engine driven container vessel with bulbous bow, transom stern and five (5) box-shaped cargo holds for transportation of container in holds with cell guides, and on deck with lashing Type of cargo Containers (TEUs and FEUs) Classification NK or ABS Navigation area Ocean going Flag Singapore Technical manual This kind of document is the one, besides specification, that the supplier, the maker and owner and builder get information about the operation of the equipment in the vessel. Without it, we can not build a ship, we can not install or assemble any equipment. Procedures Another kind of text the translator must deal with is the procedures. In terms of its nature, the procedures are the working sequences when we carry out any testing, installation, assembly onboard, in site, etc… Fly sheet This kind of document is the short, concise text which is used to discuss a problems occurring during any stages in shipbuilding. It can be the working modification in which the reason and measure are pointed out. Let us take an example: VINASHIN NASICO technical information Job No. (Signal) : F56/NT01 Hull No. (Signal) : 5092 Part (Signal) :HULL BM-TKCN-02 No:R032\F56-NT01 Date: 27/4/2009 P/Ps: 1/4 ` Tªn chi tiÕt /h¹ng môc: Block 3Đ31 Sè / Tªn b¶n vÏ / Ngµy vÏ: W1112221C Néi dung th«ng b¸o: C¾t vµ thay b¶n thµnh , b¶n c¸nh t¹i ch©n nÑp L10S , L10P cña s­ên F32 C¾t vµ thay b¶n thµnh , b¶n c¸nh t¹i mÐp ®Êu ®µ cña nÑp L7S,L7P (phÇn ®Êu víi Block T31L.) C¾t vµ thay mét phÇn nÑp ®øng gia c­êng cöa tho¸t hiÓm buång m¸y t¹i s­ên F28. Lý do: Do c¸c nÑp bÞ hôt khi ®Êu ®µ. Sè/ Tªn b¶n vÏ ®i kÌm : 04A0 C¸c kiÕn nghÞ (nÕu cã): Ng­êi th«ng b¸o: Tr­ëng phßng TK-CN Comments from Class, Owner This kind of document is often written by hand and transferred either through email or directly to engineers. These are comments on specific parts during inspection like welding line, shortcomings,… Shipbuilding terms Technical shipbuilding terms are the most typical features in shipbuilding industry. ….The vessel shall be designed and constructed as a single screw, diesel driven bulk carrier with machinery space and all accommodations including navigation bridge located aft. …. The vessel shall have a single continuous freeboard deck with forecastle and five tiers of deck house, and shall form bulbous bow, raked stem and mariner stern with L. V. Fin (Low Viscous resistance Fin) ….. (Specification of hull part – Future 56,200 DWT) ….Type: DIESEL UNITED – WARTSILA 2 stroke, single acting, crosshead type, solid injection, exhaust turbocharged, direct reversible, marine diesel engine 6RT-flex 50 type Number of cylinders 6 Cylinder bore: 500 mm Piston stroke 2,050 mm Rated output 8,890 kW Revolution at rated output 116 min-1 Service output (80% of MCR) 7,110 kW Revolution at service output 107.7 min-1 B.M.E.P at rated output 1.90 Mpa Mean piston speed at rated output 7.93 m/s Total length of engine 7,712 mm Breadth of bedplate 3,150 mm Height from foundation 8,840 mm to top of exhaust valve ….. (Specification of machinery part – Future 56,200 DWT) … Remove the skirt, heating to eliminate stress of welding line and fair the deformation (Side ramp procedure) 1.3. Language in use Language used in shipbuilding is technical language, thus: - It is usually free from emotive language, connotations, … - It uses mostly present tenses, passives, nominalizations, third person, empty subject, and noun phrases, imperative ….. For example: Accommodation ladder is a portable set of steps on a ship’s side for people boarding from small boats or from a pier (Rec. 82 – IACS, p4) …Turn over floor plate to weld the back side Weld the back side of seam lines: similar to the welding of front side Heating to eliminate welding line stress and fair the deformation (Side ramp procedure, p.9) …. Thoroughly cleaning will be made and the dirt remaining on the crane will be swept in the area of testing. A plate with conspicuous color will be fitted to prevent no-relative people or other cars from entering this place (Appendix CQ1225 floating dock crane outline test – running YMC 2006) Some aspects in translating a text in shipbuilding Translation is a very complicated process, it is complicated because it involves many aspects that need to be solved and decided by the translator during the translating process. The translator will have to create in the target language the equivalent context. Concerning to translation of technical text, in general, and technical text in shipbuilding, in specific, what seems to be one of the most difficult problems for the translator is the technical document is written for the expert(the engineer and the ones take part in building a ship) not for the lay people. That causes so many problems for the translator. Let us consider the following extract from D411101000-R1- Main engine specification: 4. Accessories 4.1. Engine supply 1. Exhaust turbocharger 1 set of IHI-ABB turbocharger, TPL 77-B11 type. The bearing are plane bearing type and the lubricating system of a forced lubrication type by engine system oil The insulation is fitted in the casing of the air outlet 2. Auxiliary blower 2 sets of auxiliary blowers complete with electric motor (30 kW) The specification of the electric three-phase motor is continuous rating, 3600 min-1, AC 60 Hz, 449V x 2P, totally enclosed fan cooled type, with class F insulation. The starter of the automatic start/ stop is of a drip proof, walled hanging type, with a line start system, a thermal overload relay and ammeters. 3. Air cooler 1 set of air cooler, with pipes. Air cooler tube is round tube The water cover is made of cast iron 4. 1 set of exhaust gas manifold with insulated lagging between the cylinder and turbocharger 5. 1 set of protecting grid before turbocharger 6. 1 flywheel with a barring rim, without a flywheel cover (fly wheel cover is supplied by shipyard) 7. Turning gear, built on the engine 1 cyclo- reducer type turning gear with electric motor (1. kW), built on the engine. The specification of the electric three-phase motor is; totally enclosed type, 1 hour rating, 1,800min-1, AC 60 Hz, 440V x 4P, class F insulation, one speed, direct reversible and with electromagnetic brake. The starter is of a drip-proof, wall hanging type, with a line start, thermal overload relay and an ammeter. The portable switch box is fitted with cabtyre cable (20m) and with an emergency stop button. 8. 1 set of cylinder lubricators and driving by electric motor Japanese make, sealed and self – feeding type The lubricators are fitted with flow indicator 9. 1 set of common rail system controlled electrically fuel injection parameter. …………… (Specification Machinery part) The translation: 4. PHỤ TÙNG 4.1. Cung cấp động cơ 1. Tua bin tăng áp khí xả 1 bộ tuabin tăng áp IHI-ABB, loại TPL 77-B11. Các ổ đỡ là lọai ổ đỡ bằng và hệ thống bôi trơn là loại bôi trơn cưỡng bức bởi dầu hệ thống. Cách nhiệt được lắp(boc) trên hộp của cửa xả khí. 2. Quạt thông gió (làm mát máy chính) 2 bộ quạt thông gió được lai bởi 1động cơ điện (30kW) Thuyết minh kỹ thuật của mô tơ điện 3 pha: dòng điện 3 pha vòng quay liên tục 3600 vòng/phút, dòng điện xoay chiều tần số 60Hz, điện áp 440V x 2P, kiểu quạt làm mát kín hoàn toàn có bọc cách nhiệt cấp F Bộ khởi động của khởi động/dừng tự động là loại chống nhỏ giọt, treo tường, có hệ thống khởi động dòng, rơ le nhiệt bảo vệ quá tải và ampe kế. 3. Bầu sinh hàn khí 1 bộ sinh hàn khí kiểu ống. Ống sinh hàn khí là loại ống tròn. Phần chứa nước (water cover) được làm từ thép đúc. 4. 1 bộ gom khí xả có bọc cách nhiệt nối từ xy lanh ra tua bin khí xả 5. 1 bộ lưới bảo vệ trước tua bin tăng áp 6. 1 bánh đà có bánh răng, không có nắp che bánh đó (nắp bánh đà được cung cấp bởi nhà máy) 7. Cơ cấu đảo chiều 1 cơ cấu xoay loại cyclo reducer có mô tơ điện (1.5kW) lắp trên máy. Thông số kỹ thuật của mô tơ điện 3 pha như sau: loại liền khối, công suất 1 giờ, 1,800min-1, AC 60 Hz, 440V x 4P, cách nhiệt cấp F, 1 tốc độ, đảo chiều trực tiếp và có phanh điện từ. Bộ khởi động là loại treo tường, chồng nhỏ giọt, khởi động dòng, rơ le nhiệt bảo vệ quá tải và 1 am pe kế Hộp công tắc cầm tay được lắp với cáp cabtyre (20m) và với phím dừng sự cố. 8. 1 bộ vịt dầu xy lanh và dẫn động bằng mô tơ điện, do Nhật chế tạo, loại tự cấp và kín. Vịt dầu được lắp với bộ chỉ báo dòng chảy. 9. 1 bộ hệ thống ray chung controlled electrically fuel injection parameter …………….. The first thing comes to our mind is that it is not easy to read. It is full of new terms which are cluttered into a phrase. It is difficult to translate because it is coated with technical terms – machinery terms, special expression, and structural ambiguity. Technical terms As suggested by Newmark (1988), the central difficulty in shipbuilding text translation is the new and difficult terminology. As in the extract above, almost terms appear only once in the sentence and the context is not clear. Besides, it is also very difficult to translate because the machinery document above is written for the machine engineer whereas not all the translators have knowledge in that field. The translator can have an idea about the name of turbocharger, blower, air cooler in Vietnamese but we do not know the relationship between them, the way they operate, they combine together… meanwhile, to translate accurately, the translator must at least have in their minds the way they operate together, their functions so that the translated version is easy to understand. The document is the guidance to fabricate, assemble each member of a vessel, therefore, it must be at least understandable and accurate. For example: The example above is extracted from 56200 MTDW bulk carrier Nasico Hull. No NT01/02/02/04 Shafting jack up method. The extract can be translated as follows: 4. Yếu tố hiệu chỉnh 1) Định nghĩa Bởi điểm kích không được đặt tại tâm ổ đỡ, tải ổ đỡ thực tế được tính toán từ tải kích được nhân với hệ số điều chỉnh C, chẳng hạn: Rb = C.Rj Trong đó C được đưa ra bơi công thức: Số ảnh hưởng được xác định theo sự thay đổi tải ổ đỡ khi 1 ổ đỡ được di chuyển theo phương thẳng đứng 1 mm In this example, if “vertically” is translated “theo chiều cao”, it is completely wrong in the basic operation of shaft. It must be either “theo chiều dọc” or “theo phương thẳng đứng”. 2.2. Special expressions One feature in shipbuilding technical text is that some special expressions are used. Let us look at some examples: …. The bearing are plane bearing type and the lubricating system of a forced lubrication type by engine system oil… (Các ổ đỡ là lọai ổ đỡ bằng và hệ thống bôi trơn là loại bôi trơn bắt buộc( cưỡng bức ) bởi dầu hệ thống) Or translator can meet: …..Bearing load of all main engine bearings and propeller line in service condition to be within specified limits means not to be overloaded or underloaded… (Tải ổ đỡ của tất cả các ổ đỡ máy chính và chân vịt trong điều kiện vận hành phải nằm trong giới hạn cho phép được ghi rõ, điều đó có nghĩa là không được quá tải hoặc thiếu tải) 2.3. Syntactic ambiguity Let us consider the following examples: Type of ship Single crew, slow speed diesel engine driven container vessel with bulbous bow, transom stern and five (5) box-shaped cargo holds for transportation of containers in holds with cell guides, and on deck with lashing And: …The vessel shall have a single continuous freeboard deck with forecastle and five tiers of deck house, and shall form bulbous bow, raked stem and mariner stern with L. V.Fin (Low Viscous resistance Fin) The first example, the sentence is shortened to a noun phrase. Let us pay attention to “low speed diesel engine driven container vessel with bulbous bow …. with cell guides, and on deck with lashing”. The structure of the phrase is not clear with no comma, no stop. Let us look at example 2: The structure is quite simple: a nominal group functioning as Subject, followed by a verbal group, followed by another nominal group. If we read through and pay attention to the verbal expression: shall form, we can find that it is ambiguous in that the vessel has continuous freeboard deck, forecastle and 5 tier and bulbous bow, raked stem … but the vessel can not form bulbous bow, raked stem… If we translate it into Vietnamese like: Tàu có một boong mạn khô liên tiếp, boong thượng tầng mũi và khu vực ở 5 tầng, tạo nên mũi quả lê, sống mũi nghiêng (raked stem) và sống đuôi kiểu hàng hải (mariner stern) có bộ giữ thăng bằng L.V (Low viscous resistance fin), it sounds unlogical with “tạo nên”. 3. Problems related to translation of a technical text in shipbuilding 3.1. Problems related to translation of technical terms One of the most difficult problems which must be mentioned with the translator when translating a shipbuilding technical text from one language to another is the technical characteristic of the document, that is to say, the system of technical terms, especially new terms. SL and TL shipbuilding terms are equivalence in terms of connotative register. That is the language-term in use which is considered to be suitable in a specific situation. And that these terms are translated literally. Thus, the problem related to translation of technical shipbuilding terms is to find the TL register equivalence. And if these terms are not translated accurately, the interpretation is misunderstood and consequently, the production stage, recommendation in production may be carried out wrongly. Let us consider the following examples: Accommodation ladder is a portable set of steps on a ship’s side for people boarding from small boats or from a pier Aft peak bulkhead is a term applied to the first main transverse watertight bulkhead forward of the stern. The aft peak tank is the compartment in the narrow part of the stern aft of this last watertight bulkhead. Bay is the area between adjacent transverse frames or transverse bulkheads. Bilge keel is a piece of plate set perpendicular to a ship’s shell along her bilges for about one third her length to reduce rolling. …… These are the very simple examples, they are only the interpretation of technical terms which were written by a recognized Classification Society to guide the surveyor to understand correctly terms to be used in hull structure. For any translator, the first step is always to read the text to get the gist, the intention, the formality, the readership… by general reading. And close reading comes after to underline new and difficult words. This text is well-written one. For the words, the translator can look them up the dictionary and this is quite easy. However, the definitions are interpreted by the words which are used in shipbuilding: main transverse watertight bulkhead, stern aft, adjacent transverse frame, bilge, rolling …. That may bring difficulty to the translator when they are not experts in this field. These terms are the translated as the followings: (Accomodation Ladder (Cầu thang mạn): kết cấu cầu thang có thể di chuyển được ở mạn thuyền dùng làm lối đi lên cho thuỷ thủ, hành khách. Aft peak bulkhead (Vách sau lái): thuật ngữ áp dụng cho vách ngang kín nước chính đầu tiên phía trước đuôi tàu. Két lái là khoang nằm trong phần hẹp của đuôi tàu phía sau vách kín nước sau cùng. Bay (nhịp dầm): khu vực giữa sườn ngang liền kề hoặc vách ngang. Bilge Keel (vây giảm lắc): tấm tôn hàn vuông góc với tôn vỏ dọc theo hông tàu,có chiều dài chiếm khoảng 1/3 chiều dài tàu, làm nhiệm vụ giảm lắc.) And what about this? The gearbox is aligned and fully installed on its foundation. The contact faces of the top plates in the area of the elastic elements are clean, free of scale, but not machined. The conical mounts (pos. 1) are supplied complete assembled. Pre-align the engine with the engine jacking crews (pos. 2) as follows: Axial: Alignment control dimension of the coupling ± 0.8 / 1.2 mm Radial: ca.2.0 mm under gearbox input shaft These are some of the steps for mounting and alignment instruction propeller drive. For this kind of text, technical terms is translated partly basing on the dictionary, partly basing on the context, and partly basing on the field of the text-technical characteristic (machinery part). The translator can not translate “conical mount”, “engine jacking crews”, “axial”, “radial” exactly if he/ she does not know about the components of propeller drive. This does not mean that the translator must be an expert in machinery, so the best way to translate exactly is to ask the engineer to explain the principle, the composition of the propeller drive. Hộp số được căn chỉnh và lắp đặt hoàn thiện trên bệ. Bề mặt tiếp xúc của tấm mặt trong phạm vi các chi tiết đàn hồi phải được vệ sinh sạch sẽ, không có cặn gỉ, nhưng không được gia công. Khung hình côn (chi tiết 1) được cung cấp lắp đặt hoàn thiện. Căc chỉnh sơ bộ máy chính bằng vít căng chỉnh động cơ (chi tiết 2) như sau: Dọc trục: Điều chỉnh căn chỉnh kích thước của khớp nối ± 0,8 / 1,2 mm Xuyên tâm: khoảng 2,0 mm dưới trục đầu vào hộp số. Similar problem happens to : engine deflection and crankshaft deflection. With the same “deflection” but in combination with “engine” and “crankshaft”, it has different meaning: biến dạng máy và độ co bóp trục khuỷu. Therefore, in each kind of context the term is translated respectively.