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Meta Is English translation of technical terms on-topic?

I think we should definitely allow technical terms translations, because it's really difficult to find reliable sources online. And the translation process can be tricky, since the translated term ...

posted 1y ago by Lorenzo Donati‭  ·  edited 1y ago by Lorenzo Donati‭

Answer
#2: Post edited by user avatar Lorenzo Donati‭ · 2023-07-26T08:21:13Z (over 1 year ago)
  • I think we should definitely allow technical terms translations, because it's really difficult to find reliable sources online. And the translation process can be tricky, since the translated term can be context sensitive. Some examples in Italian:
  • ***array antennas*** --> ***antenne a schiera*** ("schiera" here translates "array") and is a well-established term in telecom engineering (there is no alternative "antenne ad array" terminology).
  • but
  • ***array variable*** --> ***variabile di tipo array*** or simply ***array*** (no sane Italian programmer would call them "variabili a schiera").
  • But there are also problems with false friends and (almost) homophones/homographs. As an example:
  • ***silicon*** --> ***silicio***
  • ***silicone*** --> ***silicone***
  • You can't imagine how many American TV shows were dubbed in Italian with those two terms swapped. In particular I always laugh my pants off when I hear someone talking about "chip di silicone" ("silicon**e** chips"). Strangely enough, I never heard someone making the opposite mistake and talking about some model having *silicon* breast implants. :-)
  • I think the first time I heard this was in a Star Trek episode where Mr.Spock talked about some "silicon-eating rock-burrowing creatures" and that was translated as "silicone-eating" in the dubbing.
  • Sometimes this happens even in more "serious" programs, like news reports, when not done by journalists with some scientific background. I vaguely remember some journalist talking not long ago about the need to asses the presence of useful minerals like *silicone* in mars rocks for future colonies to be able to build infrastructures with local materials.
  • I think we should definitely allow technical terms translations, because it's really difficult to find reliable sources online. And the translation process can be tricky, since the translated term can be context sensitive. Some examples in Italian:
  • ***array antennas*** --> ***antenne a schiera*** ("schiera" here translates "array") and is a well-established term in telecom engineering (there is no alternative "antenne ad array" terminology).
  • but
  • ***array variable*** --> ***variabile di tipo array*** or simply ***array*** (no sane Italian programmer would call them "variabili a schiera").
  • But there are also problems with false friends and (almost) homophones/homographs. As an example:
  • ***silicon*** --> ***silicio***
  • ***silicone*** --> ***silicone***
  • You can't imagine how many American TV shows were dubbed in Italian with those two terms swapped. In particular I always laugh my pants off when I hear someone talking about "chip di silicone" ("silicon**e** chips"). Strangely enough, I never heard someone making the opposite mistake and talking about some model having *silicon* breast implants. :-)
  • I think the first time I heard this was in a Star Trek episode where Mr.Spock talked about some "silicon-eating rock-burrowing creatures" and that was translated as "silicone-eating" in the dubbing.
  • Sometimes this happens even in more "serious" programs, like news reports, when not done by journalists with some scientific background. I vaguely remember some journalist talking not long ago about the need to asses the presence of useful minerals like *silicone* in mars rocks for future colonies to be able to build infrastructures with local materials.
#1: Initial revision by user avatar Lorenzo Donati‭ · 2023-07-25T10:28:54Z (over 1 year ago)
I think we should definitely allow technical terms translations, because it's really difficult to find reliable sources online. And the translation process can be tricky, since the translated term can be context sensitive. Some examples in Italian:

***array antennas*** --> ***antenne a schiera*** ("schiera" here translates "array") and is a well-established term in telecom engineering (there is no alternative "antenne ad array" terminology).

but 

***array variable*** --> ***variabile di tipo array*** or simply ***array*** (no sane Italian programmer would call them "variabili a schiera").

But there are also problems with false friends and (almost) homophones/homographs. As an example:

***silicon*** --> ***silicio***
***silicone*** --> ***silicone***

You can't imagine how many American TV shows were dubbed in Italian with those two terms swapped. In particular I always laugh my pants off when I hear someone talking about "chip di silicone" ("silicon**e** chips"). Strangely enough, I never heard someone making the opposite mistake and talking about some model having *silicon* breast implants. :-)

I think the first time I heard this was in a Star Trek episode where Mr.Spock talked about some "silicon-eating rock-burrowing creatures" and that was translated as "silicone-eating" in the dubbing.

Sometimes this happens even in more "serious" programs, like news reports, when not done by journalists with some scientific background. I vaguely remember some journalist talking not long ago about the need to asses the presence of useful minerals like *silicone* in mars rocks for future colonies to be able to build infrastructures with local materials.