To sic or not to sic? Thread poster: Erik Freitag
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Erik Freitag 
Germany
Local time: 10:55
Member (2006)
Dutch to German
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Dear colleagues,
I'm facing quite a dilemma:
I'm translating a text in which correspondence in my target language is quoted. These passages contain errors (misspellings etc.). As I have no access to the original documents, I have no means of telling whether the errors were present there or whether they have been introduced by the person composing my source text. As this is a legal document, I think I'm not in a position to alter the quotations. If I add a "sic" (as I wo... See more Dear colleagues,
I'm facing quite a dilemma:
I'm translating a text in which correspondence in my target language is quoted. These passages contain errors (misspellings etc.). As I have no access to the original documents, I have no means of telling whether the errors were present there or whether they have been introduced by the person composing my source text. As this is a legal document, I think I'm not in a position to alter the quotations. If I add a "sic" (as I would usually do), wouldn't I imply that the errors were already present in the quoted correspondence?
How would you proceed in such a case?
Many thanks in advance! ▲ Collapse
| | | | | I think you should tell the client that the document does not make sense and is full of errors. | Jun 12, 2013 |
In the long run you are just doing them a favor -- saving them from law suits (if this is a legal matter), and saving the world from senseless writing. These days many original texts don't really mean anything, or are full of errors (not just typos, punctuation, or random mistakes) so how are you supposed to translate them? It is a total waste of everybody's time and resources to translate such texts.
| | | | | agree with Lilian | Jun 12, 2013 |
Consult client. I often find mistakes in originals and I always report them and, where necessary, ask advice. Just yesterday I was translating an original report (the original alone having authentic status), and came across a blatant contradiction. There was also a sub-title followed by a sentence on a totally different subject.
By means of a couple of phone calls, we decided on how to handle the situation and their bacon was saved in the process.
Wise words from Lilian
| | | | Erik Freitag
Germany
Local time: 10:55
Member (2006)
Dutch to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Clarification | Jun 12, 2013 |
Thanks for your contributions!
I think I may not have made my point clear enough: The source text is of excellent quality. Only in the passages that quote target language correspondence (which for the author of the source text is a foreign language) there are some errors (by no means "full of errors" or "doesn't make any sense"). For obvious reasons, I can't change those quotations. I can't add [sic] either, as the reader will have no way of knowing whether the errors were already p... See more Thanks for your contributions!
I think I may not have made my point clear enough: The source text is of excellent quality. Only in the passages that quote target language correspondence (which for the author of the source text is a foreign language) there are some errors (by no means "full of errors" or "doesn't make any sense"). For obvious reasons, I can't change those quotations. I can't add [sic] either, as the reader will have no way of knowing whether the errors were already present in the quoted documents or only in my source document.
Of course I already have discussed this with my client, but surely there must be some kind of standard way to handle this?
[Bearbeitet am 2013-06-12 11:22 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Steffen Walter
Germany
Local time: 10:55
Member (2002)
English to German
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| Translator's notes | Jun 12, 2013 |
I'd recommend to add separate translator's notes (either as footnotes or in brackets) to highlight the errors and to openly state what your situation is (saying that, at the time of translation, it was/is unclear whether the errors were already present in the quoted documents or just in the source document submitted to you for translation).
My 2 cents,
Steffen
| | | | | Ask the customer | Jun 12, 2013 |
I agree with Lilian and Polyglot. If at all possible, consult your client. They may well be unaware of these errors and, depending on the nature of the document, they may want to correct them. They might be very grateful to you for pointing this out. They may also have a preference about how you translate these errors, and whether you include translator's notes, 'sics' or simply correct them.
| | | | Erik Freitag
Germany
Local time: 10:55
Member (2006)
Dutch to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Another clarification | Jun 12, 2013 |
Helen Hagon wrote:
I agree with Lilian and Polyglot. If at all possible, consult your client. They may well be unaware of these errors and, depending on the nature of the document, they may want to correct them. They might be very grateful to you for pointing this out. They may also have a preference about how you translate these errors, and whether you include translator's notes, 'sics' or simply correct them.
Again: There's nothing to translate here! The errors are in passages THAT ALREADY ARE IN THE TARGET LANGUAGE - I'm not touching them.
I have of course already discussed this with my client - just wanted to know of any standard practices for labelling these errors.
Steffen: Thanks, this sounds like a viable solution.
| | | | | with Steffen | Jun 12, 2013 |
That's what I usually do (even with a simple "sic" in those notes).
Steffen Walter wrote:
I'd recommend to add separate translator's notes
Steffen
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Gül Kaya
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:55
Turkish to English
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efreitag wrote:
Again: There's nothing to translate here! The errors are in passages THAT ALREADY ARE IN THE TARGET LANGUAGE - I'm not touching them.
I have of course already discussed this with my client - just wanted to know of any standard practices for labelling these errors.
Steffen: Thanks, this sounds like a viable solution.
I don't know if there is a particular standard practice, but I would have thought the easiest and best way would be to deal with it through Translator's Notes, as others have suggested. I've done this in the past. Mostly in cases where the language used is not the native language of the writer, but it is your target language, as you say.
| | | | | Why are the mistakes there? | Jun 12, 2013 |
A legal document, such as a contract, with any type of mistakes is of little value, no matter who is responsible for them. What kind of quotations are they? Is it something originally written in the target language, or translated by someone else. I think you should talk to the client about it again.
You would have to state in the note that the translations are incorrectly translated by someone else, but this might really not be acceptable in any legal context.
<... See more A legal document, such as a contract, with any type of mistakes is of little value, no matter who is responsible for them. What kind of quotations are they? Is it something originally written in the target language, or translated by someone else. I think you should talk to the client about it again.
You would have to state in the note that the translations are incorrectly translated by someone else, but this might really not be acceptable in any legal context.
[Edited at 2013-06-12 16:44 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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