| User | Thread poster: Jeremy Burns-Rupp How to deal with a document that is badly written |
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Jeremy Burns-Rupp
France
Local time: 03:58
French to English
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Hi,
I am currently translating a technical document (a user manual) from English to French. I noticed early on that the document was obviously not written by an anglophone, a fact that the company acknowledge (ironically it was most likely written by a francophone....). For the first part of the translation I have managed to interpret most of what was meant and have asked for just a few clarifications on certain phrases that were too poorly worded to understand. However I have now started a section full of definitions and most of them are difficult to understand. Although I can generally grasp the meaning of the sentences, they leave room for a lot of confusion. It has gotten to the point where I am considering asking the company to have someone who knows the product well review the document and clarify the sections that lead to confusion.
I was just wondering if others have met with the same time of problem and how you have handled it. I have a rapidly approaching deadline (the end of the month), and given that I am dealing with the French side of the company, I am not sure they have anyone who speaks English well enough to deal with the problem rapidly. However, obviously, I have a bit of an issue with delivering a translation when I am not positive my comprehension of the document is exact... Any advice would be appreciated!
Thanks,
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B D Finch 
France
Local time: 03:58
  Member (2006)
French to English
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Is there no way that the company could contact the author of the document?
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Bernard Lieber
France
Local time: 03:58
Member (2009)
English to French
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Seems to be the new trend. Engineers regardless of nationality write user manuals in "English" and companies don't really care about quality.
Welcome to the club!
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Ty Kendall
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:58
Member (2011)
Hebrew to English
| | Not always technical documents either | Jan 6 |
I've seen even the most generic texts badly written. Texts that wouldn't even challenge a decently educated child....it would be shocking if it didn't happen so frequently.
How to deal with it?
Ideally contact the "author". Not always possible though, definitely raise it with your client (usually the agency) as it may impact upon your translation and it's prudent to cover your own back.
...sometimes it's just a case of making the best out of a bad situation.
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Anne and Paolo Boidi
France
Local time: 03:58
Member (2011)
Italian to English
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| | Keep asking questions | Jan 6 |
I've had this happen before, and at a certain point I made a courtesy apology for being time-consuming, but obviously both parties wanted to obtain the best results - they were happy with the end document.
They know they don't have a good English version of the document, so I guess they could have expected this to happen... unless, that is, you're also a freelancing psychic.
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Texte Style
France
Local time: 03:58
French to English
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Hi Jeremy,
As a former PM in an agency that cared about quality, I would say I would rather the translator let me know ahead of time rather than send a heap of twaddle at the last minute.
You might find that the definitions become obvious once you start translating the sections where the defined terms are used (a bit like when the teacher used to tell us to translate the title only at the end). Have you tried searching for a term to see where else it crops up?
If there are just a couple of points, you can pop a translator's note in appropriate places explaining what you have understood and perhaps suggesting an alternative if there's another possible meaning that crosses your mind.
If there are reams of gobbledegook, then I would send a sample page back with all ambiguous sentences highlighted, with notes as to your doubts, explainging that you have similar questions throughout the text.
subsidiary point:
If it was a native French speaker who wrote the thing surely it would practically translate itself?
I once had to translate one text into English then proofread 25 others written by someone from each EU country. The French were the only ones to have theirs translated, everyone else decided to write directly in English, because they *thought* they could.
Bon courage!
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Jean-Pierre Artigau
Canada
Local time: 21:58
English to French
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Hi Jeremy
You should absolutely let your client know about the bad quality of your English text. You may cite a few of the worst sentences and ask for clarifications, so they will understand your point...
As for definitions, you are likely to find other texts dealing with the same subject on the Web, with similar definitions; even if they are just in English, they might shed some light on your text. We can bet definitions of technical concepts are more or less universal. In such a case I use a combination of key words in Google.
Good luck.
Jean-Pierre
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José Henrique Lamensdorf
Brazil
Local time: 22:58
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
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| | A couple of options | Jan 6 |
If the manual was visibly not written by an anglophone, tell them you have several questions, and ask them if it would be better to ask these questions in English or in French. There is always the risk that you'll ask your questions in English and get answers in the same inextricable English they used to write the manual.
Do you have any passive languages? I have three of them, which I speak rather fluently, but that I wouldn't dare to translate from. Maybe they have the same manual already translated into a passive language of yours, which you could use as a reference, at least to get a clue on what they mean.
On the lighter side, I recall one case I spotted in a JVC VHS VCR I had decades ago. The original manual was probably written in JP, then translated into EN, and finally translated into PT, which was the only copy I got. There was a switch labeled with two letters, something like "E.D.", with two positions, ON and OFF. The Brazilian manual explicitly said something to the effect of Try using it in either position, check which one works best (no criterion explained), and keep it always that way thereon. I'm sure that either the JP-EN or the EN-PT translator - no idea which one - failed to understand what it was all about that switch, so they invented this evasive statement.
[Edited at 2012-01-06 19:43 GMT]
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Rolf Kern
Switzerland
Local time: 03:58
Member (2008)
English to German
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... that you are dealing with a direct client, not an agency. This makes the problem much easier. Submit them your poblems, and first ask them, in which language (if necessary).
I lately had again such problems with a French speaking company with an English technical manual written in Japan to be translated into German. I asked 50 questions on the 50 page document and got in fact the right answers in the English language (with French comments).
Good luck
Rolf Kern
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Jeremy Burns-Rupp
France
Local time: 03:58
French to English
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TOPIC STARTER | | Thanks for the advice | Jan 6 |
Thank you very much for all the advice. I have been slowly asking the company questions as they come. When there is a technical term I do not know I can usually manage to find it by doing a bit of research. But when phrases are worded in such a way that you cannot tell what was meant by the sentence, then it gets complicated! Thankfully for the moment the person I have been dealing with has recognized the problem and just sent me some clarifications. So I think things will stay on the right track. But I am happy to know I am not the only person to have this problem (I mean it is something I expect with individuals or small companies, but I did not expect it from a large company...)
I just joined proz.com and it is great to see people write back with advice so quickly! So thanks again.
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