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EU Translation Features Overview

The document discusses EU translation practices and policies. It notes that there are 24 official EU languages requiring 552 language combinations for translation. Over 4,300 translators and 800 interpreters work to translate documents while keeping translation costs under 1% of the annual budget. English has emerged as a common language but translation aims for equal treatment of all languages. Quality assurance focuses on accuracy, compliance with guidelines, and fitness for purpose depending on the document type.

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Alex Tanasa
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82 views6 pages

EU Translation Features Overview

The document discusses EU translation practices and policies. It notes that there are 24 official EU languages requiring 552 language combinations for translation. Over 4,300 translators and 800 interpreters work to translate documents while keeping translation costs under 1% of the annual budget. English has emerged as a common language but translation aims for equal treatment of all languages. Quality assurance focuses on accuracy, compliance with guidelines, and fitness for purpose depending on the document type.

Uploaded by

Alex Tanasa
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

EU Translation: features

Oana Cogeanu-Haraga
Multilingualism
Principle of multilingualism →
Legal effect: parallel texts with equal value →
Practical obligation: equal treatment of all official languages
↓
 24 official languages, 552 language combinations
 4,300 translators and 800 interpreters permanent staff
 estimated cost of language services less than 1% of annual general budget
 Layered concept
Includes:
official languages of the EU
working languages of the EU
Does not include:
regional or minority languages
co-official languages
Plays down:
privileged status of procedural languages and/or pivot languages
Eurolanguage
↑
Reality: English as lingua franca
 main procedural language
 main pivot language for translation
 shift in the ownership of the language
 Eurocentric variety of English

↓
EuroEnglish:
employed by bilingual or trilingual speakers of different origins
formal
institutional setting
oral and written contexts
French-based multilingual speaking environment
Harmonisation and standardisation
strict control of EU texts and EU language
↓
Technological and linguistic resources to support the translation process
terminological resources: IATE, EuroVoc
document databases: EUR-Lex, Curia
styleguides: Interinstitutional Style Guide
CAT tools: SDL Trados Studio
translation memories and TM management system: EURAMIS
machine translation system: MT@EC
workflow and document management tools: Poetry, ManDesk, Tradesk

Management of translation process


 formalised into stages: decoding, transcoding, recoding
 several participants with distinct roles: manager, translator, reviser
Objective: ensuring accuracy and compliance of the translation with the conventions and
instructions for texts in the target language
Focus on quality
Drafting and translation go hand in hand
 common drafting guides and guidelines
 common and specific translation guidelines and documents

Quality assurance:
the textual level
the quality of processes
 staff selection and training
 provision of technical tools
 terminological resources
 documentation support

 Fitness for purpose principle


 Gradability
of quality
 Categories of texts

link quality requirements and control to text clusters and consequent risks
From equivalence to adequacy
Category A Legal documents:
legal effect
legal accuracy, multilingual concordance

Category B Policy and administrative documents:


specialised audience
clarity and consistency

Category C: Information for the public:


large audience
fluency and naturalness

Category D: Input:
internal use
accuracy
[Link]
quality-info_en.pdf

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