Science and Technology

All presentations are in English unless otherwise noted.

[CANCELED] ST-1 (F, 1:45pm-2:30pm) - All Levels
Math, Statistics, and Similar Birds for Translators and Interpreters Who Hate Them
Paulo Roberto Lopes (Ribeirao Preto, Brazil), certified translator and conference interpreter

How many times have we struggled with "mean," "median," "average," "standard deviation," "rates," "ratios," and many other obnoxious entities without necessarily understanding the differences between them, if any? This may be an opportunity to demystify (or keep hating) them and to also get acquainted with some subtler ones, like "analog" and "digital," "sensitivity," "specificity," "precision," and "accuracy," among many others. We will also broach the subject of (international) units of measurement, what they mean, and how to typographically handle them.

ST-2 (F, 2:30pm-3:15pm) - Intermediate
Translating Technical Manuals - Part II
João Roque Dias (Lisbon, Portugal), freelance technical translator

This is the second part of the presentation that was given last year in Los Angeles ("Translating Technical Manuals: What Are They? What Are They Used For?"). In this sequel, we will go deeper into the skills and resources needed to translate technical manuals. Topics to be discussed include: safety words and messages, pictures captions, table headings, and units of weight and measurement. A brief presentation of the EU's Directives will also be presented (namely, the Machinery Directive) in order to help the translator produce a better final job. Those planning to attend this session are kindly invited to download the slides and handout from the Los Angeles presentation at the Downloads page of the speaker's website (www.jrdias.com).

ST-3 (S, 8:30am-10:00am) - All Levels
Patents in the Early 21st Century
Jan McLin Clayberg (Arlington, Virginia)

Patents continue to be a fertile field for translators. Foreign patent applications to be filed in the U.S. require translation into English, either before filing or soon thereafter. International (PCT) applications now greatly outnumber applications originally filed in only a single country. Despite changes in the deadlines and formats involved, the language of patent prosecution itself remains archaic, but it is clearly a jargon that is useful for translators to learn. This session focuses on translation from German and French into English, but addresses concepts that apply to patents in any language.

ST-4 (S, 10:15am-11:45am) - All Levels
Organic Chemical Nomenclature: A Workshop
Edmund S. Berger (Tonawanda, New York), independent translator

This presentation will deal with selected aspects of organic chemical nomenclature. The purpose is to point out potential areas of difficulty to translators of chemical texts. The U.S. Chemical Abstracts system will be compared to the international IUPAC system of naming organic chemicals. The nomenclature of organic compounds used as pesticides, pharmaceuticals, etc., will be discussed briefly. This should be of interest to those who occasionally or regularly undertake chemical and related translations, as well as to those who have had no formal education in chemistry. Those who work in the patent field should be particularly interested.

ST-5 (S, 1:45pm-2:30pm) - Beginner/Intermediate
Translating Historical Technology
Patricia Bobeck (Austin, Texas), ATA-accredited (French®English) translator and hydrogeologist

Henry Darcy wrote Les Fontaines publiques de la ville de Dijon in 1855 to describe how he had built an aqueduct to bring water to Dijon and a water distribution system to supply street fountains. In an appendix Darcy established an empirical formula to describe water movement through sand. This law is used today in petroleum engineering to get fluid (oil) out of rock. Darcy's law is also the basis of the science of hydrogeology. This presentation will focus on the challenges inherent in a large (650-page) translation project involving 170-year-old technology and three source languages: French, Old French, and Latin.

ST-6 (S, 2:30pm-3:15pm) - All Levels
Yes, Virginia, There is a Readable Software Manual
Kevin Ward (Pasadena, Maryland), freelance translator and interpreter

At some time in his or her professional life, even the most artistically inclined translator will probably be asked to process computer-related material. This vast area of technical activity suffers from a reputation for being dull, repetitive, and opaque. This presentation will show the opportunities for good expression, continuous work, and the challenges that such translation offers, discussing clarity, consistency, and nuance, starting from the point where translation software finishes.

[CANCELED] ST-7 (S, 3:30pm-4:15pm) - Intermediate/Advanced
XML Translation: How to Deal With the New Documentation Technology
Masaki Itagaki (Englewood, Colorado), linguistic engineer, J.D. Edwards

While more businesses focus on knowledge/contents management as well as B2B technologies, they are also trying to manage business documentation dynamically with XML (eXtensible Markup Language). XML is a data-oriented information-formatting tool that can efficiently define contents and elements. As businesses look more toward the XML solutions, business and technical translators will have more opportunities to face the XML translation. This presentation covers XML/XSLT translations, from basics to practical case studies. The speaker will also demonstrate XML solutions for software localization with an example of J.D. Edwards Content Manager.

ST-8 (S, 4:15pm-5:00pm) - All Levels
Computer Science for Internauts: How E-mail and Other Internet Services Actually Work
Naomi James Sutcliffe de Moraes (South Weymouth, Massachusetts), Just Right Communications

Technical translators need to understand the concepts they are translating, but how many of us really have time to read a book about TCP/IP protocols? The speaker will discuss e-mail and web server protocols, the TCP and IP protocols they rest upon, how websites can be automated (html, cgi, php, perl), how e-mail is routed from the sender to the recipient (and why it can take three months), and other software aspects. An explanation of the hardware and network structure, including hubs, routers, and remote access servers, will follow. Addressing (DNS, IP, and MAC) will also be explained.

New ST-9 (S, 1:45pm-2:30pm) - All Levels
A Translator's Computer Tool Box for the 21st Century
Jost Zetzsche (Winchester Bay, Oregon), ATA-accredited (EnglishÕGerman) translator and localization consultant, and co-founder, International Writers’ Group

As recently as 1999, a presentation entitled "Tools & Technology: Friend or Foe" appeared at the ATA. Today, hardly any translator would disagree that the greatest of all technical translation tools, the computer, is essential to our translation work; however, many translators still only use a fraction of the power that the computer offers. This session will give an overview of very basic techniques, such as employing Windows more effectively, and more complex issues, such as working with powerful DTP and CAT applications and many helpful computer utilities. The session will be based on the presenter's upcoming publication on the same topic.

(Related Sessions: Preconference Seminars (Seminar D), La evolución del lenguaje químico: del carbono a los dinosaurios; Preconference Seminars (Seminar K), Practicum in German Patent Translation; Japanese (J-3), Understanding the Semiconductor Industry and Technical Terminology in English and Japanese - Part III; and Spanish (S-10), Traducción al español en telecomunicaciones)