Translation is a large topic, and Chomsky's observation that there is no reason to suppose that it is possible in general needs to be kept in mind. Technical translation is usually possible because nuances, systematic ambiguity, and layers of meaning are not really appropriate to technical exposition.
One of my oldest friends, now largely retired, is perfectly bilingual in English and Spanish. He was Adlai Stevenson's favorite simultaneous translator into or from Spanish because he can, on the fly and in apparently effortless fashion, replace a Shakespeare reference with an apposite one from Caldéron or vice versa; but skills of this kind are are too rare to make into requirements. . We must expect occasional gaffes. In Italian again, there is indeed a maxim: Traduttore, traditore, (Translator, Traitor). We can take steps to ensure that these gaffes are infrequent. I of course agree that subject-matter competence needs to be brought to bear on any technical translation, but this is a fairly easy requirement to meet: it can usually be monoglot, need ordinarily address only the target, translated document. John Gilmore, Ashland, MA 01721 - USA
