General overview of the project, with the following topics:

•   Definition of the network
•   Main requirements of the studies
•   Development of preliminary and Environmental Impact Studies
•   Current status of the Project
•   Writing and Translation of Technical Documentation (description and requirements)

You think you are cool because you are on Twitter and Facebook and your key differentiator is the quality of your translations. Renato will challenge your views on the translation market and help you become a more efficient translator by providing an alternative picture to the world as you know it.

Technical translation has always been very good at building bridges between experts in different language communities and between experts and society in general. Even the most cursory glance through the key scientific and technological advances over the centuries shows us that the sheer diversity of work carried out in different countries would scarcely have been possible without skilled translators capable of dealing with complex technical information. Today, technical translation is perhaps more important than ever before. Yet despite this, there still exist certain divides within the technical translation community which hamper innovation, fragment what is already a misunderstood field of translation and which prevent us from attracting new members to our community. One such divide is the traditional gulf between professional translators and academics. This results in two groups of people who are central to technical translation as a discipline and as a profession inhabiting two separate universes and rarely coming into contact with each other. In this session we will look at some of the challenges facing technical translation and examine how overcoming them can benefit technical translators, researchers and customers alike.

As technical translators our skills can be roughly divided into two basic categories: subject knowledge and language skills. Language skills are often taken to mean our knowledge of the source language and our ability to write clearly in the target language. In most types of translation this is usually sufficient but in technical translation the expectations are somewhat different. Since we are dealing with technical documentation, our translations are subject to the same rules, regulations and expectations as the original documents. This also means that when we translate, we need to use some of the strategies technical writers use when they produce the texts in the first place and this is where information design comes into play. In most cases producing a good translation requires more than simply understanding the source text and writing clearly. Sometimes the way the information is presented in a text poses a barrier to successful translation. In this workshop we will take a brief look at cognitive psychology and information design before examining how we can use this knowledge to improve the usability of translated texts. Using some relatively simple strategies we will also look at ways we can avoid some of the difficulties faced by users of technical translations.

In the 21st century, the paper dictionary is most often used to keep the door from slamming shut when the window is open. People in a hurry often use online "dictionaries" instead of research or going through approved term lists.

To a technical translator, the importance of correct terminology is self-evident; however, conveying this idea across the board is not always easy and the complexities involved are often underestimated.

This session will cover three major issues in terminology management from the point of view of the translator or terminologist:

•   Conveying the general importance of terminology to indirectly concerned parties and
     decision makers;
•   Implementing a solution by determining the scope of terminology management
     and organization required;
•   Working with a living, breathing terminology database.

In conclusion, we will survey a variety of commonly available terminology tools and methods of application.

According to what can be read in various Internet forums and mailing lists, CAT tools are more and more important. However, many of us can use Word and try to use those CATs, which support working in Word. Although working in this environment tends to be problematic and limits available document formats, people are reluctant to switch to other tools because of the tags, with which they would have to deal there. The aim of this presentation is to take the fear against the tags and to show, how to use them without pain. Understanding tags it not witchery and we do not need abilities of a Harry Potter to deal with them.

In this session, we will explain some basic electrical quantities and will compare the English and Portuguese terminologies, which we generally use to talk on connecting (power and energy), electrical installations (conductors and insulations), electrical connections (switchboard and switches), short-circuits (neutral conductor and earth potential), protection (breakers and relays), safety (failures and differential breaker). In a broad sense, we will discuss some critical controversies on translating the electrotechnical vocabulary by international standards, including the access to the Internet.

Steve Dyson, BSc, SFT

The main aims of this workshop are to:
•   discuss some observations concerning technical and corporate journalism and the        resulting challenges for translators
•   raise translator awareness to issues not analysed elsewhere.

This is a workshop. If you have any interesting examples of translation problems involving technical or corporate journalism, please bring them along!

Issues for discussion include:

•   Sparkling and singing journalism (and translation) vs. terminological consistency     ('TermCon' for short).
•   Snappy headings and standfirsts: what does it take in your language?
•   Boxes and short topics: fashionable in corporate mags, but a headache for translators
•   Are you seeing the puns and other devices?
•   What to do with scrambled, sloppy journalism (often due to deadline rushes)?

Mathilde Fontanet

After a brief introduction on the typical main difficulties associated with the translation of technical texts in English, the participants will be invited to examine sample texts representative of these difficulties with a view to translating them into their own mother tongue. The participants will be asked to spot the difficulties, define strategies to solve them, discuss priorities and assess different propositions.

Methods, principles and solutions will be compared, discussed and challenged with an open mind and from a practical perspective.

The discussion will take place in English and will focus on texts written in English, but the perspective will be that of as many target languages as the participants are working with.

Suzanne Goujan, M.A.

My presentation about French-English renewable energies terminology, will not only define, classify, and give relevant translated and detailed examples, but will also give a critical overview of the current situation and trends of the sociologic, economical and technological world situation, trying also to compare the would be differences between both areas : The French and Anglo-saxon spheres in those respects. I will tackle thus the main aspects which might be useful to a future translator specializing in this field, enabling her/him also to give consistent feedback to clients with engineering background.

My presentation will also interest engineers wishing to become technical translators/interpreters or/and strengthen one's foreign language skills or study the sociological and economical background of their specialty.

This terminology and contextual presentation will thus deals with:

1) An introduction to the main form of renewable energies, technical definitions and explanations

2) The situation in France and in the world

3) World trends of economics for Renewable energies

4) Constraints and opportunities

5) Environmental, social and legal issues I will conclude with an outlook of the long term issues such as the future technological perspectives.

Viviane Grisez, M.A.

Scientists and engineers (Ma of Sc. in Eng.) have to transfer the outcomes of their scientific work in English. For many years, English courses have become part of engineering curricula in many countries. At the Faculty of Engineering, Mons, Belgium, the language policy is continuously questioned in programme committee meetings, which regularly result into altered contents of English courses.

Whereas aural and oral skills in business language remain crucial for engineers whose career generally ends up in managerial positions, writing technical articles in good English is becoming increasingly demanding for researchers.

Can we therefore say that the writing skill covers the most advanced level of competence? Studies about second language acquisition put forward several theories around the order of acquisition in terms of aural, oral, speaking and writing skills. All of them will undoubtedly be correlated, but writing belongs to the most constraining skills in language learning.

In this paper, common pitfalls will be examined on the basis of authentic material from several specialized fields of engineering. The Best of Mistakes mostly includes grammar and style errors, poorly structured sentences and wrong vocabulary due to linguistic interference (crossmeaning).

David Hardisty, M.A.

This presentation will start with the reality that technical translation into English is frequently carried out by translators who are not native speakers of English, and aim to provide a forum to discuss issues relating to this.

The speaker will make use of a number of short extracts from technical translations of varying difficulty, based on his teaching of Technical Translation from Portuguese to English at the host institution of the Conference, to consider levels of difficulty in technical translation, and to provide examples to stimulate debate concerning linguistic, economic and pragmatic translation constraints.

The aim of the session is to enable participants from different backgrounds to reflect and share experience related to the topic.

Marcela Jenney, B.A., CT (ATA)

To stay competitive in today's fierce marketplace, professionals, executives and business owners must cultivate their own personal brand. Translators are no exceptions. The translation industry is overcrowded. To succeed today as professional translators we need more than credentials, experience and tools. We need to be in control of our businesses and our careers. We need to sell to the world our unique promise of value. Otherwise, we will compete just on the basis of price.

Unfortunately, translation is perceived in the marketplace as a commodity. So, how can we make translation a non-commodity? For starters, we, as translators, have to see ourselves as a brand - unique, relevant, and compelling - no longer just translators. If we are to survive in this profession and stand out from the crowd, we have to uncover, build and nurture our own personal brand. Personal branding means using who we are to get what we want from life. By developing our own individual winning brand, we can increase our visibility and presence, boost our revenues, increase our confidence, understand ourselves better, and create a clear focus of our business.

In this presentation, Marcela Jenney will share everything you need to know about personal branding to differentiate yourself in the competitive translation marketplace. This includes showing you techniques to devise your own personal branding strategy to expand your success and make you stand out from the crowd in the translation arena.

General overview of the project, with the following topics:

•   Historical Milestones
•   Developed Studies
•   The Project
•   Priority Links
•   Socio-Economic and Environmental Impacts
•   Project Master Plan and the Steps Ahead

Mikhail Novikov, Ph.D.

Modern standards make us review our workflows and perceptions. When QA check should be started: after or before your translation is done? When and why concept-based and project-based strategies should be used for terminology management? We shall look at the ideal case and real-life situations. Why multilanguage terminology management systems are becoming mainstream? What tools are available for automating quality assurance procedures? The importance of formal, linguistic and terminology checks. Will the use of automated QA tools redefine the work of terminologists, translators, proofreaders, and editors? The techniques of refining term check when using MULTIQA online tool.

Manuel de Oliveira Barata, L.L.M.

Dolores Raventós de Castro, M.Sc., CLT

The purpose of this presentation is to put forward an overview of situations confronted when making technical translations. What are the skills and tools needed by a translator when performing his/her occupation, as well as some differences in the approaches when working individually or as part of an organization; the importance of standards and terminologies and their influence on the end results; specialization and broad spectrum based on an ample knowledge base resulting from acquired experience; the need to have a close rapport with the professionals or organizations pertaining to the content of the work; the disposition to adapt to new contents and fields.

João Roque Dias, Mech. Eng., CT (ATA)

A technical text is not a literary text sprinkled with hard to understand, complicated, puzzling words (the so called technical terms) and funny sentences. Far from it! A technical text, or the manuals that form its natural habitat, is written for a very precise and specific purpose: to convey information to those who need it to perform their work, keep their jobs, or, simply, to enhance their lives. With these simple facts in mind, we will look at a manual's anatomy, dissect it part by part (from the translator's point of view), and study some examples of what to do (and not to do…). Not convinced? Look at the spines (yes, just the spines…) of the books lying on your shelves and try to spot the differences.

In technical and less technical texts, whether critical in engineering terms or less so, translators working from English into other languages frequently misuse the word 'bearing' as a fast equivalent for 'anti-friction bearing'. And, so, most invarably, bearing is simply rendered as rolamento (pt), roulement (fr), rolamiento (es), cuscinetto (it) or Wälzlager (de). This is typically both grossly incorrect and a complete betrayal of the original. To translate, say, "main bearing", referring to an internal combustion engine, as "main rolling bearing" instead of its right counterpart in the target language ("apoio da cambota", in Portuguese), is nothing less than a ‘clanger’ and a clear pointer to the translator’s ignorance of the subject matter that he or she claims to master. In this presentation, I will try to clarify the concepts and terminologies associated to this simple term. After all, bridges, sailors, and mechanics all use bearings, and it's up to us, the translators, to tell them apart and to come up with the right translation. Without, of course, loosing our bearings...

André Sá Machado, MLE

This presentation will be divided into three parts:

The first part will cover some basic information on the typical phases of an Exploration & Production Project.

The second part will address the main upstream oil and gas contracts around the world, namely:

(i) the Concession,
(ii) the Production Sharing Agreement,
(iii) the Services Contract and the
(iv) Buy-Back Agreement. The Joint Operating Agreement and the accounting procedure will also be discussed.

Finally, the third and last part will focus on the LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) chain.

Steven Sachs, CT (ATA)

ATA has a large translator certification program. Roughly 500 candidates take the exam each year. ATA is the only professional organization in the United States that offers certification for translators. The U.S. federal government does not certify translators. Currently, testing is available in 23 language pairs. The pass/fail rate is below 20 percent. This paper will be geared toward an introduction for candidates (any ATA member who has met the eligibility requirements is permitted to take the exam, including members who do not reside in the U.S.). Candidates must pay a fee to take the exam. A few statistics will be presented as well, and the usefulness of certification for translators in today's language market will be discussed.

Karen McMillan Tkaczyk, Ph.D.

All technical translators know how helpful it is to see objects, methods, and structures in practice, and how much we learn from hands-on experience. The speaker will strive to pass on her industrial experience vicariously during this session, to give in-depth information on subjects that translators should be familiar with if they plan to translate technical material for the pharmaceutical and broader chemical industry. Topics will include laboratory- and manufacturing-related concepts, from MSDS, common analytical chemistry techniques, equipment, and methods, to scale-up, industrial processes, and finished product release.

Documentation commonly translated will be discussed in depth, with tips and resources to help solve translation problems. An understanding of the regulatory framework for the industry and scientific general knowledge will be assumed.

Francisco Miguel Valada, MA

This presentation will focus on a main topic: the work of an interpreter in international technical meetings. I will explain the steps an interpreter has to take in order to do his job properly, before and during a meeting. It goes without saying the importance attached to every piece of information provided to the interpreters' team by the speakers and the PCOs (Professional Conference Organizers), like documents, speeches, and reference materials.

I will also feed a debate, in order to exchange views about mutual concerns, in terms of terminology used and communication strategies employed. It is also important to raise awareness about the fact that well prepared and adequately trained human beings do this work, since many people attending international meetings still believe that this work is done by some kind of technical system able to decipher sound waves and capable of translating them into language.

The main goal, however, is to explain what interpreting is actually about and to listen to what our target group (people who attend international meetings) has to say about this issue.