Poor translation – causes and solutions

 

[squash with many colors*]

Poor translation is both inevitable and avoidable. All professional translators, like every craftsperson, have a dark hidden virtual cabinet with their early translations, never to be opened on pain of unbearable embarrassment. As such, poor translation early in one’s career is not a serious issue. Unfortunately, as I and my wife repeatedly see in editing other people translations, some (not all or most, to be perfectly clear) never really improve and continue to produce unacceptable text. To define the term, poor translation is not a matter of style preference, occasional syntax issues or a minor misunderstanding of a matter. Instead, poor translation involves completely inappropriate style, generally unnatural language and little understanding of the matter in general.  The most important ways to avoid all these errors is developing knowledge awareness, using proper QA tools and insisting on sufficient time.

Discretion is the better part of valor. Simply put, regardless of the temptation, it is far wiser to avoid texts on completely unfamiliar subject matter. Translators are both more efficient and effective working within their comfort zone and far less likely to lose the customer in the long term. Especially in specialized areas such as law and medicine, a globally inaccurate translation is worth nothing to the customer. It is possible to wander into related fields but this expansion should be done carefully. Translators need to have sufficient time and seek appropriate help to ensure a reasonable product. While beginning translators often make this mistake in their search for business and a niche, too many experienced ones continue to produce such texts either due to overconfidence or a lack of direct feedback from buyers. One of the best ways to ensure that the knowledge basis is solid is ongoing education, whether from courses, videos, webinars or lectures. In this matter, you know what you know and also what you don’t know, which is just as important.

As in most matters, the 80/20 rule frequently applies in translation. Specifically, it is often necessary to invest 80% of the effort, if not time, in QA in order to produce a true professional result. Simply put, nobody wants to receive a first draft. QA can be a complicated process even with automated tools. It involves multiple layers that should include at minimum a comparison of source and target texts, a linguistic scan for spelling and grammar errors and general read through to identify literalness and illogical translations. One sign of a poor translation is when the editor asks “did the translator actually read this”. No matter how technically accurate a translation is, if it sounds like garbage and fails to reproduce the message, there is no need to pay a human translator; machine translation probably produces similar or better quality for less money and time. Thus, regardless of experience, every work of art, including translation, requires attention to the details and appropriate QA.

For this editing process to be effective, the translator needs time. Beginning translators often do not correctly assess the time required to produce the translation nor insist on it. Clearly, the actual number of days varies by individual, material, circumstances and offered rate. Yet, hurrying the process creates poor results as the QA process generally suffers. Moreover, complicated or long texts require disproportionally more time. For example, while it is possible to read a translation of a one-page notice in a few minutes and thus several times a day, the same task for a 30-page legal opinion involves multiple breaks to maintain concentration and requires several days to allow for a fresh reading of the text each time. The break time between reading, whether during or between editing sessions, is necessary to ensure proper concentration and a clear head. The customer probably does not understand the process. Therefore, the translator must insist on sufficient time to complete the project.

Therefore, translators can avoid poor translation by studying and focusing on texts in their base knowledge zone. They must understand and conduct proper QA to ensure a professional result. They also must negotiate viable deadlines and avoid overloading. While it is natural for a new translator to produce less than wonderful results, there is no excuse for an experienced one to produce a poor translation, one that is of little value to the customer. Live and learn.

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