| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Would you translate in a field you don't master if you had an expert proofreader? Thread poster: George Trail
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George Trail 
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:36
Member (2009)
French to English
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Supposing that you have proven yourself as a translator and you consider accepting a project in an area that you are not familiar with - say biochemistry - but you have a friend or relative who is an expert in it even though they are no translator themselves. Would you agree to translate this text and have them proofread it? Would that be wise?
[Subject edited by staff or moderator 2010-03-24 02:20 GMT]
| | | | | It depends... | Mar 23, 2010 |
...on how unfamiliar you are with the subject matter.
If you have a chemistry or biology background, why not - stretch yourself a bit.
If you have a general science background, how long is the deadline?
If you normally translate art books, pass on this one
Terry.
| | | | | Would you do this? | Mar 23, 2010 |
George Trail wrote:
Supposing that you have proven yourself as a translator and you consider accepting a project in an area that you are not familiar with - say biochemistry - but you have a friend or relative who is an expert in it even though they are no translator themselves. Would you agree to translate this text and have them proofread it? Would that be wise?
Would you do this?
I would NEVER do that...
a: First of all, it will take me too much time looking for accurate information about an area I do not know at all. And time is money.
b: Maybe my friend will help me to proofred 2 or 3 pages for free, but if you translate a book or a big text the most probably is that your friend wants to cash for his/her time. Your income and yor business benefit will reduce.
c: In high specialised areas like chemistry, medicine or technical engeenerig they are very similar names with a quite different sense.
d: And, in behalf of the point the point before, if you make one of big mistakes, maybe you will have to face a further civil claim of an important amount of dollars and who is the responsible? You...? Your friend...?
[Editado a las 2010-03-23 11:13 GMT]
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If the guy is a good expert in the field, why not.
If a translotar has nothing else to translate, it's wise moneywise, anyway
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Kate Chaffer
Italy
Local time: 13:36
Member (2009)
Italian to English
George Trail wrote:
- but you have a friend or relative who is an expert in it even though they are no translator themselves.
Your friend is an expert in the field but is he/she also an expert in both the source and target language?
| | | | Emma Goldsmith
Spain
Local time: 13:36
Member (2004)
Spanish to English
| your understanding of the source | Mar 23, 2010 |
If you understand the meaning of the source then I think this is fine, because your friend can polish the terms you might not have used correctly in the translation.
If you can't make head or tail of the original because of the jargon then I'd leave it alone!
| | | | | Wouldn't dare touch it. | Mar 23, 2010 |
Even if I have a relative or a friend who is an expert in a certain field, if I'm not acquainted with the field, I wouldn't dare touch it. I have a cousin who is a surgeon (actually practicing plastic surgery), but I don't take jobs in the medical field, since I must be doing all the research and the translation. And it's too troublesome to ask my cousin each time I'm stuck with a term or phrase, and if I get the correct answer, I'm not a specialist in that field, and my guess is that probably I... See more Even if I have a relative or a friend who is an expert in a certain field, if I'm not acquainted with the field, I wouldn't dare touch it. I have a cousin who is a surgeon (actually practicing plastic surgery), but I don't take jobs in the medical field, since I must be doing all the research and the translation. And it's too troublesome to ask my cousin each time I'm stuck with a term or phrase, and if I get the correct answer, I'm not a specialist in that field, and my guess is that probably I wouldn't understand what the heck I'm translating about. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | I would not do it | Mar 23, 2010 |
I think that I would only do it if:
- If the other person per totally bilingual and was used to reading/using texts in the source language.
- I had plenty of time to read through all the text and make a glossary with all the terminology, research it thoroughly and give this list to the expert for confirmation that these are the right terms.
- The other person could reread everything.
Unless these three things exist, I would not do the job.
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Neil Coffey
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:36
French to English
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George Trail wrote:
Supposing that you have proven yourself as a translator and you consider accepting a project in an area that you are not familiar with - say biochemistry - but you have a friend or relative who is an expert in it even though they are no translator themselves. Would you agree to translate this text and have them proofread it? Would that be wise?
It's not so uncommon for a general translator to team up with a non-translator expert in the field to do a translation.
However, I think the thing you need to be careful of is the two-stage process you envisage. Just because your friend is proofreading the text doesn't necessarily mean you can bypass the usual research processes. You should envisage the process more as follows:
- you have an initial meeting where with the text in front of you, your friend gives you a brief overview of the basic concepts/themes that they see being involved in the text (obviously if they don't speak the language at all and it's not clear from diagrams, graphs etc, then you may have to do a bit of "interpreting" to tell them what it seems to be about and them clarifying this)
- you obtain whatever materials you need on those themes (go to university library, get articles from Wikipedia/Internet etc)
- as you're reading that material and doing the translation, you have your friend on tap to ask for clarification of things you don't understand
- finally, they read through your translation
The process can definitely be successful. Obviously with this level of involvement, your friend may wish for remuneration or at least a good pizza and bottle of wine, and it's probably only worth the effort for a decent-sized project.
| | | | Medic-Translat
North Macedonia
Local time: 13:36
English to Albanian
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| If you are not familiar with the field is better not to accept it | Mar 23, 2010 |
If you are not familiar with the field is better not to accept it, because you will fail. In the company where I worked we were altogether about 500 interpreters, but when the translation had to deal with medical field, they couldn't do it. One mistake in medicine can have many consequences which can reflect in whole health care process, including patients, doctors, violation of law, insurance companies etc. Something that you don't know is better not to accept it rather that to reflect negative... See more If you are not familiar with the field is better not to accept it, because you will fail. In the company where I worked we were altogether about 500 interpreters, but when the translation had to deal with medical field, they couldn't do it. One mistake in medicine can have many consequences which can reflect in whole health care process, including patients, doctors, violation of law, insurance companies etc. Something that you don't know is better not to accept it rather that to reflect negatively on yourself and others.
I have translated many medical documents including from biochemistry field, and is not hard to do that, having in consideration my medical background. And of course I can give to biochemist to proofread it; two minds are always more than one, but they have to be in line with each other.
Best Regards
Urim Tefiki
[Edited at 2010-03-23 10:03 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Igor Popov
Russian Federation
Local time: 14:36
English to Russian
+ ...
| Absolutely not if | Mar 23, 2010 |
Would you do this?
With respect to all other opinions
Absolutely not if I’m not familiar with the project area and if I have certain principles.
Firstly, I believe that a proven translator cannot be a Jack for all trades.
Secondly, it may take much more time to do the job. (Is it worth spending time?)
Finally, you will never be 100% sure about the quality of your translation.
But anyway it’s up to you to decide.
Igor
| | | | | Resurrection of a dead body | Mar 23, 2010 |
Take care of that scenario: delivery a dead body to doctor for resurrection.
I do not recommend that.
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| No, I would not do it. | Mar 23, 2010 |
I agree with most of what Pablo has written; basically: Too time consuming, if I can dedicate myself to other more profitable jobs. And too risky; it would be very easy to make a mistake, and whoever helped me with the translation cannot be blamed for that.
I am from Mexico, and I work in the health, environment and social sciences fields. My husband is from Puerto Rico, with a PhD in chemistry. I already have a hard time when I sometimes ask him about the use of certain terms in P... See more I agree with most of what Pablo has written; basically: Too time consuming, if I can dedicate myself to other more profitable jobs. And too risky; it would be very easy to make a mistake, and whoever helped me with the translation cannot be blamed for that.
I am from Mexico, and I work in the health, environment and social sciences fields. My husband is from Puerto Rico, with a PhD in chemistry. I already have a hard time when I sometimes ask him about the use of certain terms in Puerto Rican Spanish; it seems to me it would not be healthy (professionally or for the relationship) to push these sporadic consultations any further.
I would never dream of translating a manual for a plastics machine, for example; but I would be confident enough to take a project on the spread of a new disease, for instance, as even though it is a new subject, it would be much more related to one of my specialization fields.
[Edited at 2010-03-23 16:28 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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For example: my wife is a sommeliere. She also speaks German and English, but is not a translator. I know a bit about wine, but not enough to specialize. Would I team up with her to work on a complicated technical wine project? Absolutely. And we'd do a fine job.
| | | | | Never, it's extremely unprofessional | Mar 23, 2010 |
The difference between us and and non-professional translators is the quality we offer. How could I guarantee the quality if I don't know enough of the subject matter? I'm not risking my reputation for something that it's not even worth my normal rate (see Pablo's post). Also, as an occasional outsourcer, I'd make sure I'm hiring an expert.
Pablo Bouvier wrote:
Would you do this?
I would NEVER do that...
a: First of all, it will take me too much time looking for accurate information about an area I do not know at all. And time is money.
b: Maybe my friend will help me to proofred 2 or 3 pages for free, but if you translate a book or a big text the most probably is that your friend wants to cash for his/her time. Your income and yor business benefit will reduce.
c: In high specialised areas like chemistry, medicine or technical engeenerig they are very similar names with a quite different sense.
d: And, in behalf of the point the point before, if you make one of big mistakes, maybe you will have to face a further civil claim of an important amount of dollars and who is the responsible? You...? Your friend...?
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