The course is the third stage of the English-into-Greek technical and scientific translation cycle and aims to develop students’ specialisation in texts from medicine, biology, pharmacology, biogenetics, chemistry, mechanical engineering, environmental sciences and technology, with an emphasis on scientific publications, research articles and technical manuals. 

Work is carried out in teams, so that students become familiar with real market conditions. Upon successful completion of the course, students are expected to:

• recognise the features and requirements of scientific and technical translation by text type and scientific field;
• conduct systematic terminology research and compile specialised glossaries;
• analyse the etymology of scientific terms and render neologisms in new or untranslated fields;
• critically evaluate translation renderings and formulate substantiated suggestions for improvement or correction;
• apply the theoretical models of specialised translation in practice;
• use computer-assisted translation and artificial intelligence tools, critically evaluating their output;
• collaborate in teams to carry out translation projects, taking on distinct roles and delivering a unified result;
• document and verify scientific terms in reliable sources and terminology databases.

The course is workshop-based and is organised into thirteen weekly units, distributed across four phases. Each unit includes a theoretical introduction, application to authentic texts, use of the relevant technologies and a deliverable, which is formative in nature and feeds into the semester’s exemption assignment. Texts are of increasing difficulty and length and are processed in teams.

PHASE A: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND METHODOLOGY (weeks 1-3)
Week 1: Introduction to scientific and technical translation
Theory: Features of scientific and technical discourse: accuracy, clarity, objectivity. Differences between general and specialised discourse.
Application: Comparative analysis of a general and a scientific text on the same topic.
Technology: Comparative use of machine translation systems and large language models for terminology research.
Deliverable: Comparative table of features by scientific field.

Week 2: Theoretical approaches to specialised translation
Theory: Functionalist approaches: text typology (Reiss), skopos theory (Reiss & Vermeer), the text analysis model (Nord), semantic and communicative translation (Newmark).
Application: Applying the models to authentic texts and drafting a translation brief.
Technology: Digital documentation sources and criteria for assessing their reliability.
Deliverable: Team presentation applying a theoretical model.

Week 3: Workflow, tools and methodology
Theory: Stages of specialised translation, translation memories, machine translation post-editing, quality assurance, the ISO 17100 standard.
Application: Hands-on familiarisation with a translation environment tool and with quality control procedures.
Technology: Computer-assisted translation tools and terminology management systems.
Deliverable: Workflow guide for a specialised translation project.

PHASE B: MEDICAL AND BIOMEDICAL TRANSLATION (weeks 4-6)
Week 4: Basic medical terminology
Theory: Etymology of medical terms (Greek and Latin roots), principles of term formation, neologisms and translation dilemmas, the analogy rule.
Application: Compiling an etymological glossary from an authentic medical text.
Technology: Terminology databases (MeSH, IATE) and automatic extraction of candidate terms, with quality control by the students.
Deliverable: Glossary of medical terminology (50 terms).

Week 5: Clinical protocols and medical device documentation
Theory: Regulatory framework, text typology, readability requirements for patients.
Application: Translation of an excerpt from a clinical protocol and annotation of machine translation errors.
Technology: Post-editing and error typology.
Deliverable: Translation of a clinical protocol with commentary.

Week 6: Pharmacology and biogenetics
Theory: Functional equivalence, genre conventions, structure of regulatory documents.
Application: Summaries of Product Characteristics (SmPCs) and QRD templates.
Technology: MedDRA terminology and chemical substance databases.
Deliverable: Translation of an SmPC with a glossary.

PHASE C: NATURAL SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY (weeks 7-10)
Week 7: Chemistry and chemical engineering
Theory: International standards and harmonisation of terminology, safety and the translator’s legal liability.
Application: Safety data sheets and technical manuals for chemical processes.
Technology: Chemical databases and nomenclature systems.
Deliverable: Translation of a technical manual for a chemical process.

Week 8: Mechanical engineering and technical manuals
Theory: Controlled language, structure of instructions for use, accessibility, ISO standards.
Application: User manuals, technical specifications and installation instructions with diagrams.
Technology: Translation memories and management of repeated segments.
Deliverable: Translation of an illustrated technical manual.

Week 9: Environmental sciences
Theory: Analysis of scientific discourse, popularisation, EU environmental terminology.
Application: Environmental impact assessments, climate reports, environmental legislation.
Technology: EU terminology databases and parallel text corpora.
Deliverable: Translation of an excerpt from an environmental study with a glossary.

Week 10: Artificial intelligence and software technology
Theory: Borrowing and adaptation in technical terminology, internationalisation and localisation, accuracy and accessibility.
Application: Software technical specifications, documentation and user interface elements.
Technology: User interface localisation and string length constraints.
Deliverable: Software technical documentation.

PHASE D: SCIENTIFIC PUBLISHING AND PROFESSIONAL CONTEXT (weeks 11-13)
Week 11: Structure of scientific publications
Theory: IMRaD structure, conventions of scientific discourse, style and objectivity, intertextuality.
Application: Research article and abstract: translation and commentary.
Technology: Bibliographic databases and reference management.
Deliverable: Translation of a research article with full bibliography.

Week 12: Statistics and research methodology
Theory: Scientific accuracy and accessibility in rendering statistical terms, numerical data and units.
Application: Statistical reports, research protocols, opinion polls.
Technology: Numerical data checks and quality assurance tools.
Deliverable: Translation of a statistical study.

Week 13: Ethics, intellectual property and professional context
Theory: Professional standards, confidentiality and data protection, the translator’s liability, copyright and terms of use of AI tools.
Application: Non-disclosure agreements, codes of conduct, intellectual property texts.
Technology: AI tool usage policies and handling of confidential data.
Deliverable: Assignment of the text and instructions for the exemption assignment.

Foreign-language bibliography

Byrne, J. (2006). Technical Translation: Usability Strategies for Translating Technical Documentation. Dordrecht: Springer.
Byrne, J. (2012). Scientific and Technical Translation Explained: A Nuts and Bolts Guide for Beginners. London / New York: Routledge.
Gotti, M., & Šarčević, S. (eds.) (2006). Insights into Specialized Translation. Bern: Peter Lang.
ISO 17100:2015. Translation Services: Requirements for Translation Services. Geneva: ISO.
Montalt, V., & González-Davies, M. (2007). Medical Translation Step by Step: Learning by Drafting. London / New York: Routledge.
Montalt, V., Zethsen, K. K., & Karwacka, W. (2018). «Medical translation in the 21st century: challenges and trends». MonTI, 10, 27-42.
Newmark, P. (1988). A Textbook of Translation. New York: Prentice Hall.
Nord, C. (1997/2018). Translating as a Purposeful Activity: Functionalist Approaches Explained (2nd ed.). London / New York: Routledge.
Olohan, M. (2016). Scientific and Technical Translation. London / New York: Routledge.
Olohan, M. (2020). «Technology, translation». In M. Baker & G. Saldanha (eds.), Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies (3rd ed., pp. 574-579). London / New York: Routledge.
Reiss, K., & Vermeer, H. J. (2013). Towards a General Theory of Translational Action: Skopos Theory Explained (trans. C. Nord). London / New York: Routledge.
Sager, J. C. (1990). A Practical Course in Terminology Processing. Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
Temmerman, R. (2000). Towards New Ways of Terminology Description: The Sociocognitive Approach. Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
Wright, S. E., & Wright, L. D. (eds.) (1993). Scientific and Technical Translation. Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins.

Greek-language bibliography

Βαλεοντής, Κ. Ε., & Κριμπάς, Π. Γ. (2014). Νομική γλώσσα, νομική ορολογία: θεωρία και πράξη. Αθήνα: Νομική Βιβλιοθήκη / ΕΛΕΤΟ.
Βηδενμάιερ, Α. (2009). «Ερευνητική ικανότητα: το μεγάλο μυστικό των μεταφραστών». Πρακτικά 2ης Συνάντησης Ελληνόφωνων Μεταφρασεολόγων, Θεσσαλονίκη.
Κελάνδριας, Π. Ι. (2016). Λειτουργική Διδακτική της Μετάφρασης. Αθήνα: Δίαυλος.
Παριανού, Α. (2007). «Η ανάγκη της λειτουργικής προσέγγισης στη μετάφραση ειδικών κειμένων». Ελληνική Γλώσσα και Ορολογία, Ανακοινώσεις 6ου Συνεδρίου ΕΛΕΤΟ, Αθήνα.
Παριανού, Α., & Κελάνδριας, Π. Ι. (1999). «Τεχνικές και διδακτική της μετάφρασης ειδικών κειμένων». Ελληνική Γλώσσα και Ορολογία, Ανακοινώσεις 2ου Συνεδρίου ΕΛΕΤΟ, Αθήνα.
Τσίγκου, Μ. (2011). Γλωσσολογία και Μετάφραση: προσεγγίζοντας τη μεταφραστική μονάδα. Αθήνα: Δίαυλος.

Electronic terminology sources and databases

IATE (EU terminology database), MeSH (medical terminology), TERMIUM Plus (Canadian terminology database), ChemSpider (chemical database), IEEE Xplore (technology and engineering articles).

Scientific journals

Meta: Journal des traducteurs, JoSTrans: The Journal of Specialised Translation, The Translator, Translation Studies.

Face to face. The course consists of two-hour sessions and is workshop-based: translation is carried out under guidance in class, in teams, on scientific and technical texts of increasing difficulty and length, preceded by preparation at home. Study material and course announcements are provided through the Open eClass platform.

Computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools and translation memories.
Terminology management systems and terminology databases (IATE, MeSH, TERMIUM Plus).
Machine translation systems and large language models, with critical evaluation of their output and post-editing.
Quality assurance tools and terminological consistency checks.
Posting of material, submission of assignments, team collaboration and feedback via the Open eClass platform.

Language of assessment: Greek / English.
The course is assessed by a written examination, which comprises:
– Translation of a specialised text from English into Greek.
– A glossary of the terms in the text with documented sources.
– A short commentary on the translation choices.
Assessment criteria: accuracy of the translation and correctness of the scientific concepts, consistency and documentation of terminology, quality and clarity of expression in the target language, reliability of sources, justification of choices.
The deliverables of the weekly units are formative in nature; they are discussed in class and are not graded separately.