RIVISTA INTERNAZIONALE DI TECNICA DELLA TRADUZIONE
Abstract
After a brief introduction on the importance of pragmatics in the translation of scientific and technical (sci-tech) texts, which are service texts that are written in a language for special purposes (LSP) in the context of scientific and technological disciplines and are directed to a more or less restricted target discursive community having very specific practical needs and expectations, the concept of ‘pragmatic equivalence’ will be introduced with specific reference to sci-tech translation. Having in mind translation as a professional service activity, the article will deal with the main pragmatic factors exerting a determining influence at the textual and terminological levels of sci-tech texts, which should also inform translation decisions in order to achieve pragmatic equivalence at these levels. These pragmatic factors are ‘situationality’ (i.e. external situational and cultural factors), on the one hand, and ‘intentionality’ of the ST author and ‘acceptability’ of the TT by its final readers (i.e. internal cognitive factors), on the other. The last part of the article contains some examples of pragmatic choices made by sci-tech translators illustrating instances of the translation strategies that have been adopted to achieve pragmatic equivalence at the different textual levels.
