At RELY TRANSLATIONS there's one essential goal for every translation project: The document must read well and convey the same message in both the original and translated versions. That's the true measure of our success and yours. To achieve this, our translators employ a two-stage process before they even begin translating your document.
First is reading the document carefully, to gain a thorough understanding of what it's content is about. This initial reading not only develops familiarity with the subject matter; it also creates a strong feel for who the intended audience is. Understanding the text also takes into consideration readership, cultural influences and jargon. The second step is to analyze the content from a translator's point of view. Analyzing the text refines the translator's observations, helps determine the most suitable translation method and identifies specific and potentially recurrent problems. Only then do we begin translating. Once the document has been translated it moves to our editors.
The editor should first look at the translation to see if it is logical and understandable.
At this stage, the comparison of the translation with the source text is not necessary. It is a monolingual editing. It helps to detect right from the start sentences with the awkward syntax and unclear meaning, which may escape the editor's attention during the next stage.
The editor then proceeds to a comparative reading between the source and target texts. The aim is to introduce changes, if need be, in an unbiased manner.
The subjectivity should be reduced to a minimum.
Specialized literature describes editing parameters to be used in editing of translations. These parameters help editors to be objective. The basic parameters are:
* Accuracy. The meaning of the source text must not be mistranslated. Ambiguities, omissions, additions are unacceptable.
* Grammar, syntax, spelling must be correct.
* Style and register must be maintained.
* Cultural and functional adaptation. Idioms, proverbs and sayings, neologisms, figurative language, metaphors, units of measurement, ways of addressing people, dates, etc. must be adapted to the target audience and culture.
Upon completion of editing, the editor sends the edited text back to the translator who makes the final decision on whether or not to accept the proposed changes. Teamwork of the editor and translator enhances the quality of the final translation.
Why bother to proofread ?
Accuracy is so important. The days of embarrassing mistake-ridden texts must come to an end! I am sure that everyone spots mistakes in newspapers, books (I have even spotted them in books about proofreading), brochures, magazines and so on. These mistakes take my attention away from what is being said to me in the text, and therefore the text is not doing its job properly. Accuracy in any business documentation, in any language, is essential because it reflects that organization's commitment to quality. The world could be in a bit of a mess without proofreaders! A great amount of information is published today, from books, magazines, newspapers, manuals, newsletters, brochures and leaflets to online books, newsletters, e-zines, and of course, websites. The English language is too complicated for your computer chips and your spellchecker is not enough. I read an amusing poem recently which showed this to be very true. The computer has, however, opened up avenues for proofreaders and most businesses print literature in one form or another so a proofreader is a very necessary human being.
In the case of translations, the proofreader is needed to insure that the translations have been done correctly. A proofreader can improve the quality of a translation. The combination of a translator and a proofreader insures that cultural and grammatical skills are always considered. One should have the same experience reading a translated document as reading the original. So, the proofreader reads and compares the original and the translation to verify the translators work, making sure that the target language is accurate grammatically, but also socially and culturally.
Cognitive Debriefing (CD), also known as Pilot Testing, is part of a translation process where people are invited to review a recently translated, validated Quality of Life (QoL) instrument - a questionnaire - that will be used in a clinical trial in their country. They review the questionnaire and are asked specific questions by a Debriefer as to whether the translation is both culturally and linguistically correct. They are specifically asked whether the verbiage in the questionnaire is clear and unambiguous. The review is carried out in a structured interview fashion.
It is well established that these subjects must be based in the country where the trial is taking place; they should represent the trial's characteristics in terms of race, gender and socio-economic backgrounds. A debate continues, however, as to whether these interviewees should also have the disease pathology specified by the trial.We have translators who are experienced in pilot testing.
