Investigating the techniques Used in Translating Business Documents in National Companies Case Study: SONATRACH

Abstract

dissertation studies translation procedures of business documents in the national companies, taking SONATRACH Algeria's foremost oil and gas company as a case study. It looks at the theoretical foundation of translation which involves key concepts such as general and technical translation, terminology, classification of documents, and standards of quality. The dissertation also treats translation in relation to clarity, compliance, and communication in the corporate establishment. The practical part of this work tries to analyze basics of three official SONATRACH documents written originally in French, then translated into English and Arabic. These documents included press releases and an executive message, which were analyzed in the light of seven translation procedures proposed by Vinay and Darbelnet (1958), to identify applied strategies and examine the variation of these strategies among language pairs and types of documents. Further, by connecting theory and practice, this analysis indicates the very intricacy and significance of the professional translation in national institutions and proposes ways to improve quality and standardization. It highlights the need for training of translators, and utilization of technology with care.

Ce mémoire étudie les procédures de traduction des documents administratifs dans les entreprises nationales, en prenant comme étude de cas SONATRACH, la principale entreprise pétrolière et gazière en Algérie. Il examine les bases théoriques de la traduction, en abordant des notions clés telles que la traduction générale et technique, la terminologie, la classification des documents et les normes de qualité. Le mémoire traite également de la traduction en lien avec la clarté, la conformité et la communication au sein de l’institution. La partie pratique de ce travail tente d’analyser trois documents officiels de SONATRACH, rédigés à l’origine en français, puis traduits en anglais et en arabe. Ces documents communiqués de presse et message exécutif ont été analysés à la lumière des sept procédures de traduction proposées par Vinay et Darbelnet (1958), afin d’identifier les stratégies appliquées et d’examiner leur variation selon les paires de langues et les types de textes. En reliant la théorie à la pratique, cette étude met en évidence la complexité et l’importance de la traduction professionnelle dans les institutions nationales, et propose des pistes pour améliorer la qualité et l’uniformisation des traductions. Elle souligne le besoin de formation des traducteurs, et d’un usage réfléchi de la technologie.

This dissertation studies translation procedures of business documents in the national companies, taking SONATRACH Algeria's foremost oil and gas company as a case study. It looks at the theoretical foundation of translation which involves key concepts such as general and technical translation, terminology, classification of documents, and standards of quality. The dissertation also treats translation in relation to clarity, compliance, and communication in the corporate establishment. The practical part of this work tries to analyze basics of three official SONATRACH documents written originally in French, then translated into English and Arabic. These documents included press releases and an executive message, which were analyzed in the light of seven translation procedures proposed by Vinay and Darbelnet (1958), to identify applied strategies and examine the variation of these strategies among language pairs and types of documents. Further, by connecting theory and practice, this analysis indicates the very intricacy and significance of the professional translation in national institutions and proposes ways to improve quality and standardization. It highlights the need for training of translators, and utilization of technology with care.