2. Text segmentation.

As a written translation serves as a basis for all kinds of translation, we are going to consider one of the most important techniques of this activity: it is the text segmentation. This method may be illustrated by the following succession:

1. It is necessary to separate a certain fragment of the target text (by the method of skimming reading). Such a fragment should not be too large in order not to forget the target information. As the results of experiments demonstrate, the unfixed information is quickly recollected after reception of the first 5-6 sentences. In the English scientific-technical text the average sentence length makes up about 120-160 symbols. So, for working with written translation the optimal approach is indention (i.e. separation) of the text fragments containing as much as 600-800 symbols.

2. After choosing a certain fragment a translator performs the segmentation itself. It is necessary to group (aggregate) the information contained in the text. The segmentation allows to determine in every fragment the key information which will later become an accenting point in the process of translation. The text segments separation is based on the principle of speech chain continuity, while the directed lexical items are preceded by the directing (guiding) ones.

3. After the text segmentation one should mark the most appropriate information in every speech segment. We note that the segments are of different semantic value. Some of them contain only one information piece (e.g. segments additionally, although, thus). In other segments one can separate two or three pieces of information which, however, can be successfully reduced to one. For example, the phrase will continue to be strong can be reduced to will be strong. The translator should bear in mind: even if one segment includes several pieces of information, he (she) has to single out the thing which is important and compensates all the irrelevant. Besides, one should evaluate every word weight in the certain segment. One can evaluate lexical items based on their semantic meaning as well as possibility to render other words’ content by one word in the certain segment (for example, in the segment international economic growth the word growth overlaps the information value of other two words which contain the specifying information).

In case the key information is contained not in one but in several words one should use the transformation method. That is, the main information is marked by one word. For example, in the segment results in gains in US agricultural sector the information can be expressed by the word combination agricultural gains.

4. After the stage of separating out the main information in each segment it should be noted (fixed in a computer memory). Otherwise there is a risk to forget everything necessary for the further translation. A lot of translators make use of conditional marks. That is, a translator should develop a certain system of symbols – short markings.

It is possible to single out the main information from the text making use of key words and phrases (markers):

Economic growth increases population demand in agricultural sector. Favorable influences of Energy Policy Act of 2005. The US competitive position in global agricultural markers. Net farm income keeping relative stable.

5. Then the translator passes from symbols over to the extended text. Doing that he (she) should not use the original text as he has to reproduce the text anew based on the information hidden in the symbolic marks. In this way one avoids literal translation characterized by clumsy style.

6. After the project text is ready one can pass to the concluding stage, i. e. creating the finished text. For this sake the draft should be compared with the original. Then the text should be supplemental with the information which still was not reflected in it.

The segmentation method is rather convenient, still it has some drawbacks – first of all it requires considerable time commitment. One should use this method if faced with the demand of high quality and precision of the translation – not a simple content rendering.