Translating Science Vocabulary into Minority Languages - A guide for translating What is Climate Change? and What is Sustainability?

Jul 17, 2026

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Guide focused on translating science-related vocabulary for minority language readers, especially for educational use around climate change, ecology, and sustainability. Explains how to build a list of key terms from the source texts, ensure translators understand each concept before translating, and choose approaches based on audience familiarity and cultural context. Presents practical strategies such as using existing local words, adapting meaning with more familiar terms, employing short descriptive phrases, and incorporating borrowed majority-language vocabulary with localized spelling and pronunciation.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages20

Reading Time50 min

Key-term collection and planning

Understanding concepts before translating

Using existing local words

Using short descriptive phrases

Adapting with borrowed majority-language words

Translating Science Vocabulary into Minority Languages A guide for translating What is Climate Change? and What is Sustainability? English Translating Science Vocabulary into Minority Languages A guide for translating What is Climate Change? and What is Sustainability? by Christy Hemphill English You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Many minority language communities are requesting translated reading material about climate change, ecology, and sustainability to use in schools and community development projects. The special vocabulary used to talk about sciencerelated topics can be challenging for translators. This guide presents some strategies for translating the science-related terms in the Bloom books, What is Climate Change? And What is Sustainability?. These strategies can be applied to adapting other science-related reading material for minority language contexts. 1. Start by making a list of the “key terms” in the document you wish to translate . This list should include all of the words that are introduced as new vocabulary words (words with de̊nitions or explanations given in the text), as well as all the words that label concepts that may be unfamiliar to the readers. We have provided a list of key terms from the books What is Climate Change? and What is Sustainability? at the end of this guide. Depending on the cultural context and language of the intended audience, you may need to add to or change the lists provided. Each document you translate will have its own list of key terms used. Over time, you can compile a master list of science-related vocabulary to aid in the translation of science-related materials. 2. Make sure you understand the meaning of the word before you try to translate it . You may need to read some explanations from a science book or website to better understand the concept and how the word is used in science-related materials. 3. Identify the words on the list that have possible translations that use words that are already common in your language. For example, many languages have an existing word or phrase that could be used to translate words like"wild̊re," "drought," "irrigation," or "pollution. " Even if the concept represented by the local vocabulary word is somewhat di̜erent from the concept represented by the science vocabulary word you are translating, it is often best to use a word that people already know. It is often easier to teach people to use a familiar word in a more expanded or technical way than it is to teach them to use a new or unfamiliar word. For example, a word like particle could be translated with a familiar word for “dust” or “sand” or “very small thing,” and people could be taught to use this familiar word in the scienti̊c sense of particle in addition to the ways they normally use the word. Sometimes the concept/word in your language is more speci̊c or more general than the concept/word in the science-related text you are translating. You may need to add an adjective to create a more speci̊c term, or use two words together to create a more general term. For example, you may use two words together, one for“farming” and one for “herding,” to translate the more general idea of "agriculture. " Or you may have a general word for reusing something that could translate "recycle," but you may want to make it more speci̊c with another word that clari̊es that recycling is reusing what would otherwise be thrown away. 4. Identify the words on the list that could be translated using a short descriptive phrase in your language. Keep in mind that translated texts that employ too many descriptive phrases to replace single words in the source text can become very hard to read, especially if the translated descriptive phrases use many words. It is not necessary to put an entire de̊nition into the descriptive phrase you use to translate a term. You are

FAQs

How should translators start preparing to translate science texts?

They should first compile a list of the key terms introduced in the document, including newly defined vocabulary and potentially unfamiliar concept labels.

Why is understanding the meaning before translating important?

Translators may need to read explanations from science books or websites to grasp both the concept and how the word functions in science materials.

What translation strategies does the guide recommend for hard-to-translate science terms?

It recommends using existing common local words, creating labels with short descriptive phrases, and using adopted borrowed words from majority languages while adjusting spelling and pronunciation to local norms.

Jul 17, 2026

Upload by Levi