Download - Techniques for translation
TECHNIQUES FOR TRANSLATION
PREPARED BY TAMMY MORALES
BEFORE TRASLATING A DOCUMENT, ASK YOURSELF THE PRELIMINARY QUESTIONS:
1-IS THE TEXT LEGIBLE?2-AM I FAMILIAR WITH THE SUBJECT MATTER?3-DO I HAVE THE LINGUISTIC RESOURCES TO DEFINE UNFAMILIAR WORDS? (DICTIONARIES, PEOPLE) 4-IS THE TEXT COMPLETE?5-CAN I DO IT WITHIN THE TIMEFRAME?6-DO I HAVE A GOOD REASON FOR DOING IT?
EFFECTIVE APPOACHES
THE FIRST MATTER A TRANSLATOR MUST DEAL WITH IS THE EQUIPMENT.
A-WORD PROCESSING ALLOWS A GREAT FLEXIBILITY IN PRODUCING A TEXT
B-COMPUTERS ALLOW THE TEXT TO BE STORED ON A DISK AND MODIFIED LATER ON.
C-CLIENTS ARE GETTING USED TO ASK FOR TRANSLATION ON A DISK FOR THEM TO EDIT IT.
D-IF THERE ARE TWO TRANSLATORS INVOLVED IN A PROJECT, THEIR TEXTS CAN BE ENTERED BY AN EDITOR TO BE EQUILIZED.
ANOTHER APPROACH IS:
AM I QUALIFIED TO DO A PARTICULAR TRANSLATION?
FEEL CONFIDENT ABOUT A PARTICULAR ASSIGNMENT IF THE RESULTS ARE TO BE SATISFACTORY.
DO AN ASSESSMENT OF THE FOLLOWING POINTS:
-TIME AVAILABILITY -REFERENCE TOOLS (BOOKS, DICTIONARIES)-PRELIMINARY STEPS NEEDED PRIOR THE TRANSLATION-PROBLEMS RELATED TO THE DOCUMENT: DIFFICULT HANDWRITING-DIFFERENT LANGUAGE INCLUDED IN THE TEXT
PRELIMINARY STEPS
-CONSULTATION WITH AN EXPERT IN A SPECIALIZED TECHNICAL FIELD REGARDING A DIFFICULT TERM, WHICH IS UNFAMILIAR TO THE TRANSLATOR.
-A TRIP TO A LIBRARY TO DO A RESEARCH ON THE SUBJECT.
TEXT WRITTEN IN A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE
THERE MAY BE PARTS OF THE TEXT WRITTEN IN A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE.
THIS CAN OCCUR IN COMMERCIAL, SCIENTIFIC AND SCHOLARLY DOCUMENTS.
BEFORE STARTING THE TRANSLATION ASK YOURSELF:-DOES THE TEXT NEED TO BE TRANSLATED?-CAN THE TRANSLATOR HANDLE IT?-IS IT NECESSARY TO ASSIGN IT TO ANOTHER TRANSLATOR?
SPECIALIZED TERMINOLOGY IN A TEXT
ONE SHOULD FIRST:
-GO THROUGH THE DOCUMENT -LIST THE UNKNOWN TERMS -LOOK THEM UP- MAKE A WORD LIST
FIRST BY MASTERING THE DIFFICULT TERMINOLOGY, ONE GAINS A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE SUBJECT.
GET USED TO MAKE A LIST OF TERMINOLOGIES AND KEEP THEM IN A COMPUTER DATABASE.
GOOD WORK HABITS:
-DO NOT TRANSLATE MORE THAN EIGHT HOURS PER DAY.
-TAKE A FEW SHORT TEN TO FIFTEEN MINUTES BREAKS.
BEFORE SUBMITTING YOUR TRANSLATION YOU SHOULD GO OVER IT AGAIN, USING THE FOLLOWING CHECKLIST:
-OMISSIONS (WORD, PHRASE OF PARAGRAPH) -FORMAT (FOLLOW THE ORIGINAL ONE)-MISTRANSLATION (WORD) -UNKNOWN WORDS-MEANING (FIND OUT IF YOU MISSED THE MEANING OF A SENTENCE.-SPELLING -GRAMMAR-PUNCTUATION -CLARITY
YOUR COMPUTER IS YOUR BEST FRIEND WHEN IT COMES TO TRANSLATING, EDITING, AND PRODUCING A FINAL COPY.
LEARN HOW TO DO COLUMNS AND TABLES
USE THE SPELLING CHECKER
SPEED AND LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY ARE THE MOST IMORTANT ASPECTS IN TRANSLATION.
THANK YOU