New challenges for the writer - how to write for translation

Back

Sarah Forget
Manager, Translations
Infomedia

Professional writers are very likely to be writing not just to their primary readership, but also to a secondary readership who read translations of their work. This introduces new challenges for the writer and raises some weighty questions.

• How can a professional writer know what might be unclear in a translation?
• How to improve the understandability, and therefore usability of our message?

Sarah will explore the field of localisation and demonstrate that understandability and translatability are key points of the writing process. Taking examples from documents, help files and software user interfaces, Sarah will show you what can cause difficulties or ambiguities in translation, not only on the language level, but also in consideration of layout and regional parameters. She will give advice on how to create a content 'fit for translation', illustrating her argument with examples taken from her experience as a technical writer and translator.

About Sarah

Graduated from the University of Rennes (France) as a translator and technical writer, Sarah worked as a translation and localisation specialist in France before coming to Australia four years ago.

Sarah is currently managing translations for Infomedia, a company that produces information solutions and software for the automotive industry. She is also involved in preparing and proofreading the English content that needs to be translated.

Back