TRANSLATION METHODS
Of course, translation memory programs do not substitute for the patient and concentrated effort of the expert translator, they are merely an aid to the process of transforming the source language text into the target language.
The translator will first start out by skimming over the text as a whole, getting the gist of the subject matter and noting down what glossaries, dictionaries or online terminological resources he will need, calculating how much time he will require to finish the project, and beginning a supplementary glossary, if necessary.
Then, reading through the document more slowly and carefully, the translator will identify terms that need clarification or simply, a basic definition.
For instance, searching for the French word rapport would yield several different definitions:
Rapport avec quelqu'un,être mis en-to be put in touch with someone
Rapport de contrôle-audit report
Rapport de suivi-report monitoring follow-up
Rapport de travail-employment relationship
Rapport périodique-periodic report
Rapporter à la durée-adjusted according to the length of the deposit
Rapport-return, yield, link, connection
Rapports spéciaux des commissaires aux comptes(cf commissaires aux comptes, rapports spéciaux des ~)-special reports of the statutory auditors(see auditors, special reports of the statutory ~)
He will also begin to understand the subject matter, the interdependence of its paragraphs, the meaning the writer of the source text intended, and the overall structure of the composition. From understanding this overall framework and intent of the text, he can more quickly assimilate and interpret the meaning of it as he progresses, and work more steadily through the entire project.
Some translators will perhaps do a find-and-replace through a shorter document, replacing terms with their equivalents, derived from a glossary they had prepared. For longer texts, the translator will make sure that the equivalent has direct contextual relevance before adding the term, as he progresses.
After translating the entire text, the translator will read over it to ascertain that its meaning is clear, that it makes sense, noting the interrelation between sections or paragraphs. At some point, he may need to revise the structure of a sentence or find a more precise translation of a word within it.
After this check and revision of the text as a whole, he will do an automatic spell check/grammar check- but these are often not foolproof. The spellings/grammar changes suggested by the automatic program are often irrelevant or simply wrong. In such case, he will ignore these.
Following the automatic(as we said, often manual) check of spelling and grammar, the translator will read through the document again, checking for missed spelling errors, punctuation, meaning, spacing, accuracy of numbers and dates, inclusion of all elements of the source text, etc.
Pat Landon is a freelance French and Spanish translator with 8 years of experience and owner of All-Texts Los Angeles and London Global Translation Service All-Texts |
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