| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Ethics, Ethics, Ethics (among translators when proofreading) Thread poster: mireille aboumrad
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mireille aboumrad 
United States
Local time: 08:15
French to English
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TOPIC STARTER | Code of Conduct | Feb 24, 2007 |
The issue I am trying to raise is ethics and code of conduct. Every profession has them, there are rules that we live by, it is not so much the corrections in a translation or the difference of opinion, it is how we do business as professional people.
As an educator, I know I have to follow certain guidelines, written or assumed, an trangressions can be very costly.
In this profession however, the rules are a little blurry, or maybe I am mistaken?
M
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 14:15
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
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| Not unethical, just unfortunate | Feb 24, 2007 |
Mireille K wrote:
I showed the translation to a trusted and valued colleague who agreed that it was unethical behavior on the part of the proofreader.
The problem with proofreading is that the proofreader doesn't always know what the client wants. Does the client want someone to just double-check for critical errors, or does the client want someone to smoothen out the text and make it perfect?
Also, some proofreaders are very pedantic (and that is generally a good trait in our industry, right?). So they may regard certain forms of writing to be "bad", depending on what school of thought they belong to.
I have experienced this myself, when I wrote an open letter to a company about the l10n errors in their product. I received comments from their translators which made me realise that although I was right in my opinion that the product was badly translated, my opinions on "critical errors" that "only a drunk translator" would make, weren't all shared by fellow-translators.
The best thing to do in such a case, is to quote references. Remember, the client may already have experienced the type of disagreements language professionals can have over what might appear to the client as minor issues, so be kind to the client and write a cool rebuttal, backed by sufficient (but not overwhelming) evidence.
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 14:15
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
| Again, there are different types | Feb 24, 2007 |
Ivana de Sousa Santos wrote:
And she even makes comments in her proofreading such as "Do you think this is a good Portuguese structure?", "Don't you know this or that???", or she just puts the words I mistranslated (and sometimes not, it's her mistake as well) with ???. Other times she writes "xxx??? You should consult dictionary XXX" and others she corrects me somehting which I saw in the very same dictionary she had recommended before and it's not what she corrected.
For whose benefit is the proofreader's work? Is it to benefit the client, so that the client can see how good or bad the translator is, or is it to benefit the translator, to have a second opinion on various issus?
From what you posted, it appears to me that your proofreader regards you as someone who is "still new in the businss" but also as someone who "should know better" and who "can do better if only the errors are pointed out to them". The fact that your proofreader doesn't always tell you what's wrong (but simply indicate that something is wrong), means that she believes you would know what is wrong, and be thankful for her second opinion to "catch the little mistakes".
I've had such proofreaders. They're not very useful for texts that have I have put a great deal of effort in, but they are certainly useful for rush jobs where I, the translator, may not have been able to produce something squeeky clean because I was pressed for time. Sometimes the proofreader would query something, but I'm under no obligation to respond to it or to give in to the proofreader's opinion.
Still, if a proofreader simply indicates a possible error, but does not correct it, it is best if that is a private arrangement between the translator and the proofreader, and not something that goes via the client's desk.
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 14:15
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
| A short rebuttal may also work | Feb 24, 2007 |
Gillian Scheibelein wrote:
Defend your translation - analyse the corrections and split them up into grammar/orthography/terminology and then subdivide into necessary/unnecessary/equal alternatives.
I agree, but a simple, short reply may also be sufficient. Write a letter in which you say that you disagree with the proofreader, and mention the types of errors (the broad categories of errors) that the proofreader makes. Then follow it up with between 5 or 10 examples with short explanations. Choose examples carefully -- use the ones whose explanations are likely to be understood by someone who doesn't understand the language.
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| What is proofreading? | Mar 3, 2007 |
In response to Samuel's posts, I just wanted to remind us all that proofreading is not editing. Proofreading is simply checking that there are no typos, the grammar rules are being respected and that the text is in good enough shape to be printed. Proofreading doesn't involve checking the terminology, turning sentences so they are elegant and classy, doesn't have anything to do with style, etc.
It is not so much about the proofreader not knowing what the client wants. Sadly, it's ra... See more In response to Samuel's posts, I just wanted to remind us all that proofreading is not editing. Proofreading is simply checking that there are no typos, the grammar rules are being respected and that the text is in good enough shape to be printed. Proofreading doesn't involve checking the terminology, turning sentences so they are elegant and classy, doesn't have anything to do with style, etc.
It is not so much about the proofreader not knowing what the client wants. Sadly, it's rather about the proofreader not knowing what proofreading is. This is downright sad...
I am always bothered when someone proofreads my work and replaces a word by a synonym. Not only is it pointless, but also that proofreader is changing the style of the text. It is not up to the proofreader to work on the style. The style is the translator's and the only other person who has anything to say about it is the editor - and an editor is very far from being a proofreader.
I think it is high time proofreaders and editors agreed that they are not at all doing the same job. It is high time proofreaders stop thinking that as such, they are judging the work of the translator. This is arrogant. A proofreader's job is not to judge someone's work and tell the client whether their translator is good or not - the proofreader's job is to simply make sure the text doesn't contain any esthetic errors. That's all. Leave the translation to the translator, please! ▲ Collapse
| | | | | "proofreading vs. editing" | Mar 3, 2007 |
Viktoria Gimbe wrote:
I think it is high time proofreaders and editors agreed that they are not at all doing the same job. It is high time proofreaders stop thinking that as such, they are judging the work of the translator. This is arrogant. A proofreader's job is not to judge someone's work and tell the client whether their translator is good or not - the proofreader's job is to simply make sure the text doesn't contain any esthetic errors. That's all. Leave the translation to the translator, please!
Hi Viktoria,
In some languages, like in Portuguese, we don't have this difference. We say "revision" and we revise if everything is OK.
However, I think that the person doing so, must be conscious enough not to change words into synonims and not to change the translator's style.
It happened to me to have 4 words changed in a translation with a synonim and the four were mispelled. Fortunately, I had some editing to do afterwards, saw it, changed it and told the client. If I hadn't received the proofread copy to edit some things, the document would have gone to the client like that. That's why I agree that the proofread/edited text should always come back to te translator with track changes so that s/he can accept or refuse what s/he thinks suitable.
| | | | 674278 (X)
Local time: 13:15
Italian to English
| Do Editors / Proofreaders turn into annoying Teachers in the next life??? | Jun 20, 2007 |
Just in response to this thread.
As an In House Professional for over 6 years - I thought I would do some freelance work via the Internet.
What I cannot get over is this:
The amount of people who will let you do a "quick test" a few times (which to me seems like an actual translation your doing "free" anyway!) only to get the test back with some pretty degrading comments on it?
Where is the professionalism in that?
Comments to a N... See more Just in response to this thread.
As an In House Professional for over 6 years - I thought I would do some freelance work via the Internet.
What I cannot get over is this:
The amount of people who will let you do a "quick test" a few times (which to me seems like an actual translation your doing "free" anyway!) only to get the test back with some pretty degrading comments on it?
Where is the professionalism in that?
Comments to a Native speaker like "Very Poor - Obviously doen not know the language well enough" for just 7 technical writing errors in my book do not count as poor...(they were not translating errors and I never professed to be an "Editor")
I am a T.R.A.N.S.L.A.T.O.R not a technical writer / Editor!!!!
Oh, well. Luckily with so many of us in this position, it looks like the editors and proofreaders jobs are safe again!...???? ▲ Collapse
| | | | Fabio Descalzi
Uruguay
Local time: 09:15
Member (2004)
German to Spanish
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| Moving this thread... | Oct 13, 2007 |
... to Proofreading forum.
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