| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Proofreading a translation and replacing a term in the original with one that is incorrect! Thread poster: liz askew
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| Proofreading | Mar 19, 2008 |
I would like to weigh in on this discussion with a view point from the proofreading side.
One factor that needs to be considered is that of the company-specific vocabulary and preferences. This was mentioned briefly above, but serves pointing out again. If you are truly trying to provide a client (end consumer in this case, not the agency) with the type of text they are looking for with exactly the right vocabulary, sometimes it doesn't matter that the translator's terminology was c... See more I would like to weigh in on this discussion with a view point from the proofreading side.
One factor that needs to be considered is that of the company-specific vocabulary and preferences. This was mentioned briefly above, but serves pointing out again. If you are truly trying to provide a client (end consumer in this case, not the agency) with the type of text they are looking for with exactly the right vocabulary, sometimes it doesn't matter that the translator's terminology was correct. It is simply a matter of what the customer wants.
The other factor is of course that of taste. In most cases, the proofreader also has a certain "polishing" function that is slightly more than merely correcting typos and customer vocab preferences. Even the best translators can sometimes be "too close" to the text. That is just the nature of the task and a second set of eyes can at times improve on the readibility and naturalness of a translation. And yes, many of these decisions are questions of taste.
If it is simply a matter of slight rephrasing that is clearly a question of taste, I would not take it personally. At least in my case, it is never meant to be comment on the quality of the translation. For comparison it is sometimes interesting to look at what the end customers change themselves. The published version often also has "superfluous" taste changes in it, even on top of the proofread translation. In the end, the goal is to produce the best possible text so taking more than one person's opinion into account is not necessarily meant as correction but rather as improvement. And I don't think anyone, including the proofreader, can claim that no improvement is possible on their work. ▲ Collapse
| | | | liz askew 
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:16
Member (2007)
French to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | In reply to Heather | Mar 19, 2008 |
I take in all your points, but my initial question was about "correct" terminology.
The particular translation in question is a pharmaceutical one, so I would say that 99% of the time the term is either correct or it isn't.
Example:
When talking about a drug "nucleo" = core, and not nucleus.
I did not give the particular example about which I was complaining, but certainly there were corrections in my original translation that were wrong! based... See more I take in all your points, but my initial question was about "correct" terminology.
The particular translation in question is a pharmaceutical one, so I would say that 99% of the time the term is either correct or it isn't.
Example:
When talking about a drug "nucleo" = core, and not nucleus.
I did not give the particular example about which I was complaining, but certainly there were corrections in my original translation that were wrong! based on my above example.
Fortunately I am able to liaise directly with the agency to list my comments to the proofreader's corrections, so I will have my say.
As you say, the overall aim must be to improve, but all sides in the debate/discussion must be listened to, if this is what we are aiming to achieve. I would question whether we are all aiming for top quality in any case; money has a lot to do with it. There is a whole new debate........
Bye
Liz Askew ▲ Collapse
| | | | | in response to Liz | Mar 20, 2008 |
Liz, my goal was simply to point out some of the factors involved.
Since as you say, you didn't give any specific details on the corrections, I certainly didn't want to claim to know all of the details for your particular case and would certainly leave any final decision on the matter up to you.
I am also certainly not an expert on pharmaceutical terminology, so again, I wouldn't presume to give you advice there. I did not in any way want to imply that you were not in... See more Liz, my goal was simply to point out some of the factors involved.
Since as you say, you didn't give any specific details on the corrections, I certainly didn't want to claim to know all of the details for your particular case and would certainly leave any final decision on the matter up to you.
I am also certainly not an expert on pharmaceutical terminology, so again, I wouldn't presume to give you advice there. I did not in any way want to imply that you were not in fact right about the terminology in question. I was merely trying to contribute to the wider discussion of the factors to consider when working together with a proofreader.
A specific terminology question aside, I simply know from experience working with other proofreaders as well, even when we give our own texts to each other, the other person will always make changes. In many cases to things that weren't actually "wrong" and it is not out of desire to correct something, but from the fact that a different set of eyes sees things differently. Obviously this doesn't necessarily apply to terminology question. If I were the proofreader involved I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on the specific terminolgy. As I said before, proofreaders can improve to. ▲ Collapse
| | | | liz askew
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:16
Member (2007)
French to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Thank you Heather! | Mar 20, 2008 |
Thanks for your reply again, Heather!
Yes, I shall be giving my comments to the proofreader's comments, via the agency in question. I can say though that I have gained something from her comments, so I hope she gains something from mine )
I probably did not make my point clear enough from the beginning. In medicine or pharmacology/pharmaceuticals, it is becoming clearer by the minute [to me] that there a... See more Thanks for your reply again, Heather!
Yes, I shall be giving my comments to the proofreader's comments, via the agency in question. I can say though that I have gained something from her comments, so I hope she gains something from mine)
I probably did not make my point clear enough from the beginning. In medicine or pharmacology/pharmaceuticals, it is becoming clearer by the minute [to me] that there are certain terms that are sacrosanct, dare I say it, whether we like it or not. In actual fact, this is very important, as in such a field as medicine, everybody needs to be singing from the same hymn sheet, otherwise how could doctors and all the health professionals do their jobs properly if they weren't all speaking the same language? So both the translator and the proofreader need to respect this when doing their job. I do appreciate that many translators are also proofreaders, having done proofreading myself! We never stop learning in this job...and we will never stop making mistakes either, but keeping them to the minimum is vital. I will be the first to own up to not knowing.
Best wishes to you for the Easter period
Liz Askew ▲ Collapse
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