Overcoming the complexities of translating travel texts: Opportunities and challenges The case of Amadeus pricing and ticketing system’s manual

3. Requirements of technical translators?
Along the reproduction road, translators of travel texts are often required to overcome some distinct problems of ambiguity, insufficient knowledge of technical terms and poor grammatical structures. Understanding a range of technical terms and jargon developed from vocabulary richness, professional expertise or relevant technical knowledge along with linguistic and cultural mastery (both in the SL and the TL) and ability to use different stylistic features as relevant to the TL, are pre requisite competencies for translators approaching this technical field. Likewise, with view to the objectives of the materials to be translated i.e., achieving precise equivalence to the source text as far as the informational- directive functions are concerned to the limit of the TL’s lexical and functional features, a strategy prioritizing comprehensibility and transfer of informative content needs to be put in place. Some available means for testing and evaluating successful rendition could be back translation, qualitative or quantitative tools including questionnaires, peer reviewing, consultation, etc. Introduction of equivalent codes and terms- via careful lexical choices of keywords and parallel dynamic and cultural references - will give technical distinction and flavor to the TL text and, hence, contribute to the formation of equivalent technical codes.


4. Insights, analysis of the manual's translation:
Salih Bin Kaddah- translator of the IATA manual- followed a carefully- interpretative method in translating the content. He has extensively utilized his knowledge and experience in the field to render the manual in the most acceptable and appealing style. The following part exhibits the overall strategies adopted by the translator in tackling the rendition of the various aspects of the technical contents in the travel manual:

1. 
   Handling compound nouns: The translator proposed minimal equally- nominal reproductions , benefitting from his comfortable understanding of the field as evident in the examples below:
   

Best Buy Pricing شراء أفضل تسعير, transitional stored ticket مخزن اسعار التذاكر,
Flight coupon status حالات كوبون الرحلة, Query Report Display, عرض التقرير الاستفساري,
Display the Item Sales Period Report عرض تقرير فترة مبيعات التذاكر,
Advanced passenger information معلومات المسافرين المسبقة
In the latter example, the translator’s adeptness is shown in his skillful avoidance of a longer non- technical rendition المعلومات المسبقة عن المسافرين .

2. 
   Retaining codes which form part of the operation system FQD (Fare Quote Display) for the vital purpose of :
   

1. 
   Allowing processing and operation of the system according to the language designed for its program, and
   
2. 
   sake brevity especially in case of illustrations, tables, schedules, .e.g.,
   

(NUC ' fare price in neutral currency', TPM 'distance covered in miles between cities),