Examining a text attentively to identify and correct misspellings, grammar mistakes or any other style or typographical errors would be a good start to define proofreading. Indeed, a simple spelling mistake or a misplaced or forgotten comma can greatly alter the meaning of a sentence.
- “Let’s eat, Grandma!”
- “Let’s eat Grandma!”
Within those two sentences, you can see that grandma’s fate rest on a simple comma.
So, what’s proofreading?
The purpose of proofreading, one of the last steps during the translation process, is to provide an additional guarantee that the translation of the source text is accurate, and by extension that translators have been doing a good job in the eyes of their employers. Today, one can even be asked to proofread a translation done by a machine translation.
Wait! NO! That’s called post-editing!
Indeed, post-editing aims at correcting the result and ensuring the quality of a machine translation. It is worth noting that, with the recent progress in this field, post-editing has become a viable alternative to manual translation and that almost all computer-assisted translation (CAT) tools now support post-editing of machine translation.
Who carries out the proofreading?
Ideally, another translator since another pair of eyes can spot errors that the original translator of the text did not notice. This is a difficult job as a proofreader must refrain from making unnecessary changes that are only the result of personal preferences.
Proofreaders often have a master’s degree or equivalent in their native language, in fields such as translation or journalism. However, graduates from other disciplines can also succeed as proofreaders if they demonstrate excellent written language comprehension skills. In any case, employers often ask candidates to take a proofreading test. Also, as with a translator, other skills may be necessary. A background in law, for example, is useful for legal proofreading.
On the post-editing side, it’s interesting to note that with the spectacular rise of neural machine translation in recent years, it is not surprising to see a growing number of job ads flourishing on the market for this activity.
OK I’m ready to work as a proofreader … do you have any tips?
- Reading aloud would be a good start. This simple habit can often reveal that something’s wrong with a sentence, and it’s been considered an effective proofreading method for a long time.
- Check the facts! Always double-check facts, figures and calculations, dates, and names of people and places. The spelling of a country’s name may differ if the text was written by or for an institution such as the UN, for example.
- Check grammar, spelling and punctuation. Although this step may seem unnecessary to some people, but hey … nobody’s perfect as they say. So, don’t hesitate to use spell checkers and other kinds of software such as Antidote or Xbench to correct easily avoidable mistakes. Oh, and never turn in a text you’ve worked on without using it!
- Take a break and … do it again! Just as you were probably advised to let some time go by before checking your translation, feel free to do the same here.
In fact, proofreading and post-editing belong to what’s called the Quality Assurance (QA) process. It’s an essential feature of any project that aims to deliver flawless translations. Today, most CAT tools like SDL Trados Studio and MemoQ provide a number of components to ensure quality assurance.
Speaking of software and quality assurance, let’s take a deeper look into it
What’s Antidote? Antidote is one of the latest and best software designed specifically to help students and professionals with their writing. It includes a complete grammar and spell checker, a built-in dictionary, a sophisticated thesaurus, and grammar and syntax tips. A comprehensive and highly effective module for the French language can also be purchased as an add-on.
Preys pray when the bird of prey is near.
Just as homonyms like prey and pray have the same pronunciation and radically different meanings, some words such as tension can have different significations and possible translations depending on the field of expertise.
There should be no doubt when it comes to terminology. No need to worry, translators and proofreaders have access to comprehensive online terminology databases. Soon you’ll be familiar with names like Termium and IATE and so on! The term tension has no fewer than 21 different records on Termium, for example.
“It’s not an S […],” Superman said
Some clients will provide you with a glossary: a list of terms (often in Excel spreadsheet format) for which the desired translation has already been provided. Proofreaders must therefore pay particular attention that its use is respected in the text. This is a very demanding task as a translated sentence can be simultaneously correct when read, but inaccurate since the translator has used a synonym for the term the client wants.
In conclusion, proofreading a translation is a key step that should not be disregarded and must be done with the utmost rigor, as it represents a true commitment to Quality Assurance. And regarding post-editing, we can expect a growing demand in the job market in the future due to the continuous progress of neural machine translation.
Sébastien Palmieri
M1 TSM 2021–2022
La Traduction de A à Z 