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Article published In: Target
Vol. 8:2 (1996) ► pp.275–299

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A Translator's Reference Needs

Dictionaries or Parallel Texts?

 | University of Cantabria (Spain)
Published online: 1 January 1996
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/target.8.2.05wil
Abstract
This paper examines how far consulting dictionaries and references cited in the bibliography can solve the problems raised by standardized and non-standardized terms in the translation of medical research reports from Spanish into English. Analysis of two translations representing different types of report (clinical and experimental) showed that use of three references offered greater certainty than using three specialized dictionaries: 71% and 51 % of items were found by the two methods, respectively. A combined method improved coverage to between 85% and 90%, and could guarantee acceptability for 95% of the items. As instances of parallel texts, references provided more and better information than dictionaries, especially at the higher sentence and text levels, as well as giving insight into stylistic aspects of lexical choice for the genre.
Résumé
L'article compare l'efficacité de dictionnaires et de documents face aux problèmes terminologiques posés par la traduction de l'espagnol en anglais de textes scientifiques médicaux. L'analyse de deux textes traduits appartenant aux types médical et expérimental montre que l'usage de trois des articles de référence cités est plus efficace que la consultation de trois dictionnaires spécialisés: la proportion des équivalents ainsi découverts est de 71% à 51%. Une méthode combinée a permis d'atteindre des résultats supérieurs: entre 85% et 90% de termes équivalents, et jusqu'à 95% de termes acceptables. En tant que textes parallèles, les articles fournissent des informations plus abondantes et de meilleure qualité que les dictionnaires, surtout aux niveaux supérieurs de la phrase et du texte, de même qu'ils rendent mieux compte des aspects stylistiques liés aux choix lexicaux.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Method
    • 2.1.Dictionaries
    • 2.2.References
    • 2.3.Criteria for Classification of Results
  • 3.Results and Discussion
    • 3.1.Misleading
    • 3.2.Not Found
    • 3.3.Creatable
  • 4.Stylistic Questions
  • 5.Conclusions
  • References
References (29)
References
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Loock, Rudy
2016. Références. In La traductologie de corpus, ► pp. 237 ff. DOI logo
Bernardini, Silvia & Adriano Ferraresi
2013. Old Needs, New Solutions: Comparable Corpora for Language Professionals. In Building and Using Comparable Corpora, ► pp. 303 ff. DOI logo
Fusari, Sabrina
2009. “Filantropia” or “Non Profit”? Translating Texts on Nonprofits from English into Italian. Meta 54:1 ► pp. 97 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 5 december 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

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