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I think you all are forgetting the maxim so often repeated in your msgs.
"Know thy audience".
As a translator, I see myself as merely a middle-man. I certainly am not
your audience. If Phillips is a good enough description for a screwdriver in
your country for your audience, then Phillips it is.
If I have any problems with the term, I have access to:
- terminology databases all over the place;
- printed dictionaries on various specific subjects
- catalogs et al to search for names when they are not found elsewhere
- the experience of fellow translators throughout the world.
If that does not succeed, I can always go back to the source (you) and inquire.
So don't, for the same of us poor translators, make your text any different
from what it would otherwise have been. A text that flows well translates
better than the text that tries to be overspecific (condescending???).
Soapbox mode off.
[]
Newton D. Vasconcellos
mendv -at- ax -dot- apc -dot- org
Rio de Janeiro
--------------------------
> Brian wrote:
> I suppose we could solve this most easily by using icons that
> depict the screw head for each occurrence, but I'd really like to know the
> best terms to use. I don't even know of a good source for this terminology,
> except a tool catalog, and that doesn't necessarily reflect "standard"
> terminology, except in the country of origin of the catalog.
To which you replied:
The box of screwdrivers I bought last week describes the two
>types as "slotted" and "Phillips head." However, in your
>international scenario, every country *could* have its own terms
>for these two types. In that case, universally understood terms
>might not exist.
>Perhaps you could include one graphic of each type, state which
>is slotted and which is Phillips head, and then use the terms
>throughout your document. You could then avoid using icons with
>each occurrence.
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