In this issue, Monica Machado, English to Portuguese Translator, is interviewed about terminology resources (cont.)

In this issue, a mining consultant continues interviewing Monica Machado with some questions on databases and dictionaries.

Mining Consultant – Still on terminology resources, an issue discussed in the previous newsletter, now that the Internet is so important and dominates the research methods for almost anything, do you still use databases and dictionaries?

MM – Certainly. The Internet is a fantastic resource for new terms. However, I continue to use the old-fashioned dictionaries for well-established areas of knowledge. The about  dictionaries have the advantage of always being there when needed while the Internet resources can move from one site to the other, get updated or removed.

Mining Consultant – What sort of dictionaries do you consult?

MM – I consult not only technical dictionaries, but also language and synonym dictionaries and speller books. It is quite impressive how many times we need to consult a good dictionary, glossary or other language resources. For example, when translating a text we don’t want to repeat the same word too many times, so we may need a synonym dictionary to find other synonyms. Obviously, we will have synonyms on our minds, but there are always other possibilities we may not recall instantly.

Mining Consultant – In terms of technical dictionaries, on which ones do you absolutely rely in your areas of work?

MM – On my desk there are 5 important dictionaries I use most often: the unilingual Portuguese Dictionary by the Lisbon Academy of Sciences, the unilingual Concise Oxford Dictionary, the Fishing Gear Glossary by the Commission of the European Communities, the English-Portuguese Sedimentology Dictionary by the Portuguese Institute of Geology and Mining and the Portuguese Book on Unit International System by Guilherme de Almeida.

Mining Consultant – You mentioned a glossary. What are the pre-requisites for a good glossary?

MM – To be trustworthy, a glossary needs to be issued by a reliable institution, like the EU, the IMF, or a national expert institution. 

Interview published in Issue 6 of the Company’s Newsletter.

Monica Machado is an English to Portuguese translator specialising in technical and legal areas for the mining sector