Marc Brunet Mar 19, 2016:

"contribute" takes (2/2) Now, the Siemens documentation you quote is an interesting case in that it uses Type b while aiming to educate a broad range of readers including the not so science trained who are familiar with Type a but not Type b. The hiatus is not serious here, as i) the subjects of "contribute" are inanimate, ii) the context is abundantly clear on what the purpose of the analysis is all about, which helps the general reader to learn a new take of "contribute", as Type b.

So what was the reason of my earlier misgiving in the thread on this item?
Simply this:
- our job certainly is to translate accurately and use the register that is consistent and current with the written source being processed;
- but equally important still, at a higher and functional level, our job is to ensure a ready and problem-free communication from writer to readers.
Thus the importance of finding out what the target readership is, and, if necessary, tailor the translation wording accordingly.

That is my view. Can you see the point of it? :-)

Marc Brunet Mar 19, 2016:

"contribute" takes (1/2) Apologies for this late follow-up reply. Sure, Lekhika, scientific materials do use "contribute" free from the value-loaded connotations we are so used to associate in every day life with pro-active community participation (let's call the latter Type a.) The contexts in which we find the type you refer to deals simply with the identification and relative measurement of input sources regardless of what they generate, add or how they affect the receiving medium for better or worse (Type b.)

I have no stats on the frequency of each, but guessing what their distribution is in terms of what group of people is likely to use and understand each, off hand, we can assume that the general population's first expectation will be to make sense of it as Type a, and be confused if the context clashes with that interpretation.
The science trained population, on the other hand, will not have that problem and readily take in "contribute" as Type b.

Lekhika (asker) Mar 17, 2016:

I am sorry I forgot to add the link in my earlier post.
http://www.plm.automation.siemens.com/en_us/Images/What_is_t...

Lekhika (asker) Mar 17, 2016:

I have seen "contribute" being used in this context, such as in the following link shared by cinefil. So it may not be out of place to use it here.
Thank you for your suggested translation.

Marc Brunet Mar 15, 2016:

In this TPA context, would be inclined to treat 経路 as a physical phenomenon rather than a figurative reference synonymous with approach or method. If so, would the following be acceptable?
"the path(s) that contribute(s) a strong [frequency] response, and, as such, should be tackled with [suitable] measures...."
The itch with "contribute" is that this verb usually appears in contexts that imply beneficial rather than adverse effects like unwanted noise, but it is true that this is only a trend not an absolute distinction. However, for that reason, "that are a source of" might be preferred instead. What do you think? :-)