Challenges of Translation: Improving Proofreading Skills for Accurate Details

 

As written previously, professionals skilled in languages and the certified translation of documents in Singapore must also concern themselves with other skills to be successful at their work, in particular the skill of proofreading. A translator may do it for their own work or someone else could be assigned to check the quality of a freelancer’s conversion of a document’s language, but whatever the reason, a thorough proofreading is an essential step in the translation process. Hence, it is necessary for any who wish to enter the translation industry to also know how to proofread and how to improve their ability to proofread.

Arranging for document translation services via a professional translator or a certified translation company in Singapore already means that the document is important enough to spend significant money on it, especially if it is a notarized translation that requires the services and certifications of a notary public. Following that logic, the person(s) the document is from will then expect the final product to be as accurate as possible and as flawless as possible. For the former, this usually means that in addition to providing the usual translation services, one should also be ensuring that the personal details in the document are correct, and that specific terms are used in the correct context.

Regarding how one can ensure the accuracy of a document’s contents, that requires attention to detail, a quality that can be earned with time and experience. However, one can also learn certain tricks or techniques to speed up the process. For instance, suppose that in the process of a PR application translation, a translator must work with a birth certificate, translating the text of the document while ensuring that names, dates, and places are accurately transferred. Instead of going back and forth from one full-screen document to another, one can have windows for both documents open simultaneously with each filling half a screen. Thus, the translator (or someone else who is proofreading) can make easier comparisons and more easily produce a document that is completely accurate in its details.

The above example also demonstrates the necessity that a certified translation professional in Singapore have some awareness of how various programs like Microsoft Word work, as well as what functions they are capable of. The “Arrange All” option in the View menu of Microsoft Word can be selected to show all open Microsoft Word documents at once. Imagine a different circumstance where a translator is providing a legal translation service and must then translate a multi-page document with several instances of the name “Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff”. It would be quite difficult to remember such a long and complicated name, as well as ensuring that it is correct every time it appears. However, by using Word’s “Find” function, one can simply search for a small part of the name that they are sure is correct for everywhere in the document (such as “Wolf”) and then be provided with an organized list of all its instances where it is easier to compare them against each other.

Currently, there is no quick, easy, and inexpensive way to fully review a document for fully correct details. Automated processes may still overlook key items and human error is always a possibility. In the end, translators (or the proofreaders who work with them) must rely on care and experience to ensure a document’s contents are completely accurate.

What Translators Need: Proofreading

 

Clients typically expect output that is as close to perfection as possible, and a certified translation company in Singapore will often (if not always) ask the same from those they hire as well. If a person wishes to utilize their language skills and find work and/or employment in the translation industry, then they must be prepared to face a high bar of expectations, both in how accurately they translate the source material and how well they write out the document in the requested language. Regarding the latter, there is one crucial skill involved that does not directly involve translation: proofreading.

Proofreading as defined by Merriam-Webster is to read and mark corrections in things. In the case of translations, particularly notarized translations or PR application translations, proofreading here means to diligently and meticulously scan the documents that translators produce.This is done not only to ensure that the document’s language has been converted correctly and that all the key details are correct, but also to confirm that the final product is legible to a fluent speaker of the requested language and recognisable as having sufficient grammatical quality that one would assume it was produced by someone who was also fluent in the requested language.

As mentioned earlier, both clients and translation companies expect translators’ output to be of a high quality (if not the highest). As such, a provider of certified document translation services in Singapore is reasonably expected to proofread their own work before they submit it. However, in translation companies, another step (and person) is added to the process, someone whose role in this case is fully and solely to proofread. They may have been explicitly hired for such a purpose, or they may be an employee who fulfils other tasks alongside proofreading, whichever is the case, they are primarily here to read through the translated document in its requested language and to verify if it is free of errors and of sufficient quality. They do not need to be translators themselves, and only need to be fluent in the requested language. In certain situations, they may also look out for key phrases to ensure that they have been included in the document. For example, when working with a legal translation, one who is proofreading should also be making sure that the translator has used the correct terms and phrases for a legal setting, otherwise the document will not be usable for its intended purpose.

Converting one language to another is a mandatory skill for translators, but others are needed as well, including the proofreading that has been described earlier. If one wishes to work in the certified translation industry of Singapore, then one must also develop one’s skill with proofreading.

Challenges of Translation: The Needs of The Client

When providing certified document translation services in Singapore, one may tend to focus on the act of translation itself, looking directly to the text and translating it to the requested language. This may sound fine on its own but doing so neglects the fact that language is fluid; a word can have multiple meanings depending on the context, and a sentence can imply dramatically different things depending on where in a paragraph it is used. More importantly, a translator focusing entirely on the act of translation is overlooking a crucial factor: the intent of the client.

Whether they be a single person or an organization, clients rarely request for a document to be translated solely to be read by the clients themselves. Frequently, there is a purpose behind that request and a recipient other than the client. If a PR application translation was requested, then the translated documents are meant to be read by government officials for the purpose of gaining Permanent Residency in a country. If legal translation services are requested, then the translator or translation company in question are expected to be familiar with legal terminology in both languages associated with the language.

Even if the text to be translated is not meant for purposes associated with important institutions, one must still consider its target audience, especially if it is meant to be reproduced in large quantities. Is it a book meant largely for classrooms? Then the language used should be formal but not too complicated for the students. Does the text include direct quotations from various peoples for the purpose of promoting travel to a particular country? Then in the process of providing a translation service for this document, one must also attempt to match the tone of each quote’s speaker. While texts like these may not be as crucial as those submitted to governing authorities, the sheer volume of copies that will be distributed to numerous readers allows a paid job to also function as subtle advertising for the quality of one’s translation services, an opportune moment of dual-purpose that a certified translation company in Singapore would gladly seize.

Ultimately, whether a text is to go through a notarized translation and become an official submitted-to-government document or is simply to be a product for a more commercial enterprise, understanding the client’s preferences and requirements are crucial for the translation of a document to be a success. Back-and-forth communication is mandatory to accurately provide what a client wants, but of course being able to understand earlier what they want and provide it to them more quickly is also an essential skill. If one wishes to be known as a dependable provider of certified translation services in Singapore, then it is key for them to understand and address the needs of the client.