Aviation and Defence Translation

The second characteristic is sensitivity. Some documents in this field are sensitive from the point of view of export control and confidentiality; the access, storage and confidentiality side of the translation process matters as much as the quality. A supplier is expected to be a dependable link in that chain.

The typical set of documents

Aviation and defence documents fall into three groups: technical, operational and commercial.

We take up the format and confidentiality requirements of these documents in our document guide. In technical publications, having the numbering, the references and the figure citations match the source exactly is as critical as the accuracy of any single sentence; these documents are read within a system of references.

Where does the terminology risk concentrate?

Part of the technical language of aviation has been simplified and standardised in order to reduce ambiguity; short, single-meaning sentences are preferred. The translator must not break that discipline or bring a style of their own to it. The second difficulty is the heavy use of abbreviations: most abbreviations in this field are standard, and spelling them out or altering them leads to error.

The third risk is units of measurement and limit values. Some quantities in aviation are expressed in units peculiar to the field; an error of conversion can make a procedure dangerous. Drawing the right distinction between the wordings that mark warning levels (caution, warning, danger and the like) also calls for care.

Regulatory and confidentiality context

This field is bound both by the rules of the aviation authorities and by export control and confidentiality requirements. The points to keep in view when translating are these:

• In civil aviation, documents may come within the framework of authorities such as the SHGM or EASA; standard terminology and formatting are expected.
• Some defence-related documents are sensitive from the point of view of export control and confidentiality; the conditions of access and storage should be established by contract.
• In technical publications, the structural and numbering rules of the relevant documentation standards must be preserved.
• Warnings and limit statements must be carried across without any simplification whatsoever.

The SHGM and EASA are real bodies; the concrete requirement and the level of confidentiality a given document falls under vary from project to project and should be verified against official sources. Which document falls under which level of confidentiality should likewise be confirmed in writing before work begins.

Volume, revisions and the integrity of references

Aviation technical publications are usually vast document sets under constant update. A maintenance manual can run to thousands of pages, and each revision changes only certain sections. What this field calls for, therefore, is not a one-off translation but an arrangement that follows the revisions and updates only the parts that have changed, consistently.

The second difficulty is the integrity of references. These documents are read within a system of numbering and cross-references; citations to a figure, a section or a part number must not be broken in translation. If the system of citations slips, even a correctly translated sentence can become unusable.

At this scale, consistency can only be secured with a corporate glossary of terms and abbreviations. Throughout the project the same component goes by the same name and the same abbreviation takes the same form; thanks to that shared glossary, the contributions of different translators come together as though in a single voice.

Why specialist translation is needed

Aviation translation calls for a team that knows the standardised technical language, the sets of abbreviations and the rules of form. Someone unfamiliar with the field may expand an abbreviation wrongly or blur a warning level. A team at home with the standard language and with the discipline of confidentiality preserves both the accuracy and the safety. A glossary of terms and abbreviations specific to the project is what secures consistency in large technical publications.

Translation in this field is expected to be traceable: which revision changed what, and which section was updated, is kept on record. The integrity of a document set can only be maintained through that traceability; a manual updated at random soon loses its internal consistency.

Verification is a meticulous step in its own right. Warning levels, limit values and cross-references are separately checked for an exact match with the source; in these documents even a small slip can have operational consequences. A team at home with the standard technical language and the discipline of confidentiality makes these checks part of the process.

How we work

On the aviation and defence side, the relationship begins by settling the conditions of confidentiality and access. Only once the sensitivity of the document, who will have access to it and how it will be stored have been put in writing does the translation begin. When tracking of the document set’s revision history is also set up at the outset, every update falls into place without disturbing the integrity of the set.

For manufacturers and suppliers producing technical documentation continuously, a framework arrangement is the fit: the glossary of terms and abbreviations, the confidentiality protocol and the delivery flow are set up once. A single specification, by contrast, can be run on a project basis. We describe the scope of our services on the translation services page, and for projects that require confidentiality you can get in touch with us.

The information here is general in nature; current requirements should be verified before you apply. For definitive information, go by the current announcement of the institution concerned.