Comments on Is English translation of technical terms on-topic?
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Is English translation of technical terms on-topic?
Quite often, I find myself knowing the technical term of an electronic component in my native language, but not the proper English term. For example when translating a manual or other technical documentation to English, since these terms are far too technical to find in a dictionary.
In such situations I tend to do a literal translation, which can end up very strange and often comical "Engrish". (RL anecdote: all capacitors in our inventory system once ended up translated to "condensators", which would be a direct translation from Swedish "kondensator".)
Googling the translation can be hard and sometimes you end up with a "good enough" translation that can be understood in English, even though it isn't the correct term.
It would therefore be helpful to ask a native English EE what the correct English term is, so that I end up using the correct term.
Example question, this came up today:
What are these called in English?
(From https://sc04.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1pLUPguOSBuNjy0Fdq6zDnVXa9.jpg)
The translation I came up with is "cable canal" or alternatively "cable duct". No idea what is most correct.
Are these kind of questions on-topic? Or might people find them annoying since they are too simplistic?
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I think such questions are OK as long as they are EE-specific. General purpose dictionaries often do a poor job with specialized technical terms, especially when they are the same or similar as regular words in either language. There can also be nuances how EE-specific terms are used in different circumstances and contexts.
As long as the translation benefits from EE knowledge or experience, I'd welcome such questions.
The parent company of the local US company I work for is Swedish, so I've had to read my share of Swinglish descriptions. While still way better than most Chinglish, I'd be happy to help avoid such things.
By the way, I'd call the thing in your picture a cable tray.
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