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Four steps to achieving quality in translations and localisation
Liz
Robertson, Chair of the UK Mirror Group for the new
CEN standard, says, "Professional translation providers
need to demonstrate what sets them apart". This new
'best practice' column by Monica Basting of ATC member
Wordbank aims to provide practical advice on how translation
and localization companies can persuade clients that
the value of words is more important than their cost.
This first column explains how a fourstage process
- translating, editing, internal QA and proofreading
- is the best way to ensure quality. Stage One - Translation Source material should always be translated in the
actual country where it will be used. Translators
should provide a freeflowing translation of the source
text that does not sound like a translation through
its contemporary and idiomatic use of their mother
tongue. It should also be stylistically in keeping
with the tone, specifications and target audience
identified in the client's brief. Stage Two - Editing An independent editor should then ensure that the
translation accurately conveys the message of the
source text and meets the client's style requirements.
Editors should check the language without the source
text and read the text as if they are the target audience,
asking questions such as "Does the language sound
clumsy and literally translated?" and "Can you guess
the English text from which it originated?" They should correct mistranslations and check for
technical accuracy and consistent use of terminology,
grammar, spelling and punctuation. The editing stage should result in a polished text
that reads as if originally written in the target
language. Stage Three - Internal QA The third stage should be an in-house QA process
that thoroughly checks the edited document against
the source text, across all languages of the project.
At this stage, in-house linguists should focus on
identifying any critical content errors such as figures,
product names, omissions, misinterpretations and any
inconsistencies with client-approved terminology.
After the internal QA, the localized text should
now be correct in terms of linguistic style, consistency
of terminology and technical accuracy. Stage Four - Proofreading Proofreading after typesetting or putting
the translation online should always be
undertaken by a linguist who has not seen
the text before and who will check the
language file for grammatical, typing and
spelling errors as well as punctuation,
hyphenation and corrupted accented characters.
Online files should also be
checked for basic functionality such as
links, error messages and missing graphics.
This stage is the final opportunity to
ensure suitability of copy in context,
including consistency between headings,
pages and drop-down menu measurements.
This four-stage process is a proven
methodology for achieving natural, accurate
and persuasive communication with
a value that cannot be equated with the
bargain basement pricing approach.
For a more in-depth look at how translation
companies can achieve quality, visit
www.wordbank.com and register for a
management briefing on “Getting the QA
Balance Right.”
This
article was originally published in Communicate
- the Association of Translation Companies' newsletter
- www.atc.org.uk
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