Do you learn by editing? Thread poster: Heinrich Pesch
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Heinrich Pesch 
Finland
Local time: 23:09
Member (2003)
Finnish to German
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This is difficult for a poll, so I decided to post it here.
Many of you will do both translation and editing. So I would like your opinion, if editing translations done by others profits your translation work. Do you learn to avoid mistakes by spotting them in translations and did you ever got proficient in a new field of experience by editing translations?
When editing bilingual files you could even grow your own TM. How common is the latter?
Regards
Heinr... See more This is difficult for a poll, so I decided to post it here.
Many of you will do both translation and editing. So I would like your opinion, if editing translations done by others profits your translation work. Do you learn to avoid mistakes by spotting them in translations and did you ever got proficient in a new field of experience by editing translations?
When editing bilingual files you could even grow your own TM. How common is the latter?
Regards
Heinrich ▲ Collapse
| | | | | I do learn... | Mar 27, 2010 |
...that I prefer not to do editing. Unfortunately most translations I get for editing from my customers are awful and require hard work documenting all the mistakes. I make far more money translating! I only do editing for my main customers and as part of my service commitment towards them.
| | | | Nicole Schnell
United States
Local time: 13:09
English to German
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In memoriam | Why, certainly. | Mar 27, 2010 |
Heinrich Pesch wrote:
Do you learn to avoid mistakes by spotting them in translations and did you ever got proficient in a new field of experience by editing translations?
We are talking about two different topics here which should never be mixed up:
Firstly, editing is not about hunting for mistakes. It is about making text better.
So, I can testify that I have expanded my vocabulary and my technical expertise tremendously by editing translations written by top-notch translators who are masters in their field. Eventually I took over their accounts, so they could work on new business. The same goes vice-versa: A permanent editor of mine will take over my accounts to free up my capacities for new business.
Secondly - of course you learn from your editor. I had the pleasure to experience the ideal world: I have been teamed up with an editor by one of my largest agency clients. She is brilliant, the chemistry is perfect, we often are switching roles and I am editing her translations as well. It is a pleasure and delivering chiseled and flawless work is some kind of sports to us. We praise each other. We are called "The Dream Team" officially and we are working together a lot beyond all those projects by this particular outsourcer.
When editing bilingual files you could even grow your own TM. How common is the latter?
No, there is hardly any benefit. As long as I don't understand the logic or any technical processes in full, any vocabulary that I have not verified is a waste of time.
| | | | Claire Cox
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:09
French to English
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I agree 100% with Nicole. I often work with an ex-colleague to edit articles she's translated for publication. Her translations are always excellent so it's a pleasure to read them, but there are always tiny stylistic improvements you can make because you're that bit further away from the source text. In this particular case, although she's a native English speaker, she lives abroad so I can sometimes add added value with more contemporary concepts too.
As for my own work, one of m... See more I agree 100% with Nicole. I often work with an ex-colleague to edit articles she's translated for publication. Her translations are always excellent so it's a pleasure to read them, but there are always tiny stylistic improvements you can make because you're that bit further away from the source text. In this particular case, although she's a native English speaker, she lives abroad so I can sometimes add added value with more contemporary concepts too.
As for my own work, one of my favourite agencies returns articles I've translated for approval after editing by their stylistic editor and once I'd got over the implied criticism (aren't we all protective over our work?!), I really appreciate the feedback. And yes, I do believe my work has improved as a result because I've learnt from other people's ways of dealing with certain aspects.
I haven't used editing as a source of TMs, often because these are highly stylistic texts which rarely crop up again. And as Nicole says I'd rather know that what's in my TMs is my work in the first place. ▲ Collapse
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| What should we edit and when? | Mar 27, 2010 |
Tomás Cano wrote:"I only do editing for my main customers and as part of my service commitment towards them. "
To me, this has got at least two major interpretations
- you easily edit texts with which you are acquainted,
- edition appears to be a continuation.
From the points above, is it always easy to edit a document (field of work) you are just discovering? Some will say, language is language, but how do you manage the specificities of the domain you are about... See more Tomás Cano wrote:"I only do editing for my main customers and as part of my service commitment towards them. "
To me, this has got at least two major interpretations
- you easily edit texts with which you are acquainted,
- edition appears to be a continuation.
From the points above, is it always easy to edit a document (field of work) you are just discovering? Some will say, language is language, but how do you manage the specificities of the domain you are about discovering for the first time? I say YES to edition and the didactics it entails, but i also say LEARN BEFORE YOU LEARN FROM EDITION. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | I do agree 100% with Nicole | Mar 27, 2010 |
I often work with a colleague and it is extremely helpful! I do learn a lot and she says the same...
| | | | | Do you learn by editing?" | Mar 27, 2010 |
Heinrich Pesch wrote:
This is difficult for a poll, so I decided to post it here.
Many of you will do both translation and editing. So I would like your opinion, if editing translations done by others profits your translation work. Do you learn to avoid mistakes by spotting them in translations and did you ever got proficient in a new field of experience by editing translations?
When editing bilingual files you could even grow your own TM. How common is the latter?
Regards
Heinrich
Yes, I learn from editing. But, I always bear in mind I am a translator, not an editor.
If I need an editor, this is because my job was done in an unprofessional manner. Period.
| | | | Nicole Schnell
United States
Local time: 13:09
English to German
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In memoriam
Pablo Bouvier wrote:
If I need an editor, this is because my job was done in an unprofessional manner. Period.
You never forget a comma?
Or do you simply think that you never forget a comma?
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| Do you learn by editing? | Mar 27, 2010 |
Nicole Schnell wrote: Pablo Bouvier wrote:
If I need an editor, this is because my job was done in an unprofessional manner. Period.
You never forget a comma? Or do you simply think that you never forget a comma?
Of course, I forget sometimes a comma. And I make errors too, Nicole. But, to forget a comma or to make errors is and will stay unprofessional...
[Editado a las 2010-03-27 19:51 GMT]
| | | | Nicole Schnell
United States
Local time: 13:09
English to German
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In memoriam | Why is it always about errors? | Mar 27, 2010 |
Pablo Bouvier wrote: Of course, I forget sometimes a comma. And I make errors too, Nicole. But, to forget a comma or to make errors is and will stay unprofessional...
Mistranslations? Yes, then the translator deserves a kick in the gluteus maximus.
To me, my editor is the first candidate to read and to test my text before it is let loose on the rest of the population.
Why? Rule #1 of communication: There are many slips between the other person's ears and your lips. The message you want to convey may be garbled, distorted, camouflaged or completely lost. This happens because the recipient interprets your message by his or her brain, not by your brain. To avoid this, think about the possible ways in which your message can be misunderstood or distorted by a recipient who is not on the same wave length or of the same orientation that you are.
Only true professionals are aware of that and take this into consideration.
| | | | DZiW (X)
Ukraine
English to Russian
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Especially when reading or editing someone else's work)
Probably it's because of the fact that we are a little biased against other specialists and tend to cavil almost at every word while staying blind to our own mistakes. Yet ocassionaly I do find a better word or wording in a while even in my own works.
There's always next time, don't you know?
[Edited at 2010-03-27 21:03 GMT]
| | | | | Do you learn by editing?" | Mar 27, 2010 |
Nicole Schnell wrote: Pablo Bouvier wrote: Of course, I forget sometimes a comma. And I make errors too, Nicole. But, to forget a comma or to make errors is and will stay unprofessional... Mistranslations? Yes, then the translator deserves a kick in the gluteus maximus. To me, my editor is the first candidate to read and to test my text before it is let loose on the rest of the population. Why? Rule #1 of communication: There are many slips between the other person's ears and your lips. The message you want to convey may be garbled, distorted, camouflaged or completely lost. This happens because the recipient interprets your message by his or her brain, not by your brain. To avoid this, think about the possible ways in which your message can be misunderstood or distorted by a recipient who is not on the same wave length or of the same orientation that you are. Only true professionals are aware of that and take this into consideration.
In behalf of editing, did you thought that editors may also be sometimes another quite distorting element in the communication chain? I am aware of what you say, but I try to solve it in another way. My editor is usually my final client. Why?
a) As technical translator, I usually do not work for translations agencies, but for private clients.
b) My client knows his product better than anyone.
c) My client also knows the translation purpose. I always ask him to know too, as like for all the reference material translated before.
d) My client has always one (and only one) conceptual review contractually guaranteed for free.
Do you think I am wrong about this policy? Then, I agree to the kick...
[Editado a las 2010-03-27 22:05 GMT]
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Katsushi Saito
Japan
Local time: 05:09
Member (2012)
English to Japanese
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| It depends on how an editor is well versed in the field of translation we have done … | Mar 28, 2010 |
For completing a translation work, it requires several processes; (1) translation, (2) reviewing, (3) proofreading including editing, (4) post-proofreading and (5) final check (usually done by translation agency at their sole discretion).
In these processes, an editor, or checker, is involved in the processes (3) and (5), whereas a translator is involved in the processes (1), (2) and (4). Sometimes, their (editors’ or checkers’) results are acceptable, and sometimes not. Because, the... See more For completing a translation work, it requires several processes; (1) translation, (2) reviewing, (3) proofreading including editing, (4) post-proofreading and (5) final check (usually done by translation agency at their sole discretion).
In these processes, an editor, or checker, is involved in the processes (3) and (5), whereas a translator is involved in the processes (1), (2) and (4). Sometimes, their (editors’ or checkers’) results are acceptable, and sometimes not. Because, there is a case where the editor/checker is not expert in the field of document to be translated. Obviously, we can get informative feedback from him/her, if he/she is an expert in the field, following which we can provide a satisfactory work to our clients, and at the same time, that feedback provides us with useful information regarding accuracy or inaccuracy (as well as details) of our output in our translation works. On the other hand, there are other cases where such editor/checker seems to be lack in knowledge about the field, whereupon he/she will end up making the situation even worse. In this instance, the translator is the most reliable source of the translation, partly because of his/her extensive knowledge of the field. That’s why it depends… ▲ Collapse
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