Impeccability of the Source Text in Translations E-Book

Luis R. Cerna

• Herausgeber: BoD - Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 67

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

Most scholars concentrate on translation quality assessment in the target language. The quality of source texts in the translation process is only exceptionally considered. This publication explains some emerging problems linguistic experts are facing when source texts are deficient, analysing the impeccability of the source text in translations by adopting a critical perspective on the impeccability of such texts and shows how difficult it sometimes is to drain a useful source text as a safe basis for high quality technical translations.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

1. Antecedents

1.1 Some Terms

1.2 Some Wordings

1.3 Background of the Translator

1.3.1 University Background

1.3.2 Other Backgrounds

1.3.3 Self-taught Background

1.3.4 Proofreading and Tools

2. The Situation

2.1 Services Free of Charge

2.2 Examples for Bad Instructions

3. Some Norms

3.1 IEC/IEEE 82079-1:2019 Preparation of Information for Use of Products

3.2 Hazardous Substances Ordinance

3.3 The European New Product Liability Directive replacing the previous Product Liability Directive 85/374/EEC from 1985

4. Weighting

5. AI

5.1 Writing a Text

5.2 Translating a Text

5.3 Interpreting a Speech

5.4 Concordances to AI

5.5 Documentation of the Time Factor

1. Antecedents

Years ago, during the training as student at the Dolmetscher Institut der Universität Heidelberg we used to deal with almost correct texts in all combinations of our 3 languages.

With respect to this quality assessments (i.e. almost correct source texts), our teachers frequently used texts from the press, which they revised to the best of their knowledge and purpose. Teachers were preferentially looking for the output, we, on the other hand, were first looking for the quality of the texts to be translated. It was out of the question that we took for granted the quality of the source text.

The nature of such texts was informative and always referred to the technical field of our education (i.e. economics, jurisprudence, engineering, etc.). Literary texts were not the main goal of our education.

We believed that source text defects would impair good translations. That’s why we took care to analyse the source text in the pre-translation phase. This was no common state-of-the-art in the linguistic field at that time. Doing this, we made the source text ready for better translation because we prevented errors before they arose. This translatability assessment was our quality control to guarantee that the source text was up to standards and didn’t contain any errors in language related mistakes or alternative facts. At that point, after revision, the source text was in fact translatable.

1

Definition: Translatability Assessment

The evaluation of the extent to which a measure [source text] can be meaningfully translated into another language. Meaningful translation means that the translated text is conceptually equivalent to the source text.

Source: Conway, K and Patrick, D. Translatability Assessment, in: C. Acquadro, K. Conway, C. Giroudet and I. Mear (Eds.), Linguistic validation manual for health outcome assessments, 2012, 127-132.

A tried and tested method to optimize the master version of your assessment or survey questionnaire [source text] before the actual translation and adaption process begins.

Source: Steve Dept, Mrielle Lerner, On Demand Webinar, Translatability Assessment, in: Survey translation and localisation, Test translation and localisation.

Nobody told us that. The intuitive understanding of both lexical and sentential relationships was in this actionable feedback context our modus operandi.

1

Definition: Translation Assessment

Is a structured process that allows you to verify the quality of a translation. In many respects, translation assessment aligns with quality assurance.

Source: Web, OneSky, Translation Assessment: How to review Foreign-Language Content.

We usually found the mistakes and weak points in the texts and, day after day, we had fierce discussions with the teachers. Our translatability assessments could comprehend the faculty to identify errors in grammar, punctuation, logic, etc. The faculty to clear obscurities in words and wordings. The faculty to avoid interferences in the meaning of a whole sentence. The faculty to solve possible errors in the metalanguage level of the message.

As a result, our translations were sometimes better than the first originals (the first original became more translatable in its revised version), even though our teachers cursed us during such classes.

Years later, during my excursions to the Dolmetscher Institut as a teacher, I always presented texts from real life to my students. That meant, source texts were unwashed, so they could learn how to deal in real life with real texts. They also had to develop a sense of evaluation. That meant, to evaluate how probable was that their supposition was correct? It also meant to find the author of the source text and how to address him with a concise question to get a satisfying answer.

Why a satisfying answer? Because the translator tries to identify errors, obscurities, interferences and more in the source text and needs the help of the responsible author/writer.

Fact is, on the other hand, that many source texts are written by writers with no education in professional writing for different countries. Frequently, company employees in a certain department are assigned (qualifications are not demanded) such tasks, just like that. That means, they are not technical writers and the source text English may already be a translation from a different language or this source text English is created by a non-native speaker with a deficient proficiency in English. As the saying goes: A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.

In other words, the author/writer not necessarily knows the standards or norms to be observed in the technical documentation for country A or B or C. Nor does he know that the directive for the US-market is different from the directive for the European market. Therefore, adaptions from the relay language (mostly English, international as lingua franca) to the specific target country (USA, England, Ireland, Australia, etc.) must be done. The same procedure is to be observed by the other languages/countries. JP-, US- and EU-standards are not necessarily equivalent. The information or instruction may be correct, but the layout and wording standard can be false.

Depending on the author’s/writer’s mentality, the translator proceeds (should proceed) in different ways. If the author/writer has an Asian mentality the European translator has to compose his question in a different way as if he is addressing a Western author/writer. Consults via translation initiators or others in between can lead to the well-known Chinese whispers effect.

In this context, I can testify that real life texts are rarely impeccable, sometimes of poor quality and that the authors/writers selected not always appreciate linguistic corrections, objections and/or complaints (the template can be reduced to something like “everyone knows what is meant, so there is no necessity to correct my wording” meaning “stop annoying me!”).

The aim of my classes was to state the source text quality defects in it and explain the potential strategies graduates may adopt when facing such texts. They had to identify any not fully understood term, and any term requiring further explanation, and any ambiguity with its options.

Finally, they listed without extra invitation all terminology and phraseology they considered important, including the research of equivalents. This terminology had, of course, to be validated in file and checked in consistency. This step was taken in team work.

1.1 Some Terms

Back to my students, in legal texts frequently appear terms that have to be explained and understood before translating. Fundamental terms like <Apostille>, <hipoteca>, <VAT Registration Number> or the equivalents or not-equivalents in the other languages.

Concerning the well-known <Apostille (Convention de La Haye du 5 octobre 1961)>, my predecessor in office, a lawyer, was not able to explain to my students during a whole semester what it is, how many points it includes or how it looks like.

1.

Elements of the Apostille

Apostille

(Convention de La Haye du 5 octobre 1961)

1. Country: [county of issue]

This public document

2. has been signed by [who has signed the document]

3. acting in the capacity of [the capacity in which the person signed the document]

4. bears the seal/stamp of [details of any seal on the document]

Certified

5. at [place of issue]

6. the [date of issue]

7. by [issuing authority]

8. No. [Apostille Certificate number]

9. Seal/Stamp [seal of issuing authority]

10. Signature [signature of representative of issuing authority]

Layout can vary and be issued in one or more languages Own source