What are they used for?
Keeping in perspective the precise and specific purpose of a technical text

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.

Opera translation, just like opera, is mostly about unfaithfulness ….

Opera is mostly about faithfulness, or rather, lack of it: heroines generally inspire eager tenors and bring jealous baritones to despair. Amusingly, opera translation is also mostly about unfaithfulness, as musical demands take their toll on the text. In this article, Lucile Desblache explores this notion, in respect of the two main forms of language transfer used on the lyrical stage, and in relation to her own experience of translating opera.