The objective of the paper is a comparative analysis of the title of the technical standard ISO 1219 and its three national equivalents: Polish, British and Australian. The analysis has revealed unwarranted modifications in the title, both in its Polish translation and in national issues in the English language. The modifications concerned exchanging up-to-date expressions in the international standard for more traditional and less accurate words “hydraulic” and “pneumatic”. The fact that the modification was introduced even in English-speaking countries suggests that it is not related to translation but to a more general phenomenon of adaptation to a national tradition and practice. The paper also investigates the possible reasons of opting for less accurate and more traditional terminology in national issues. Finally, a short discussion of specific needs of technical translations closes this article.
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