| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] | The fear of rereading a translation after you've sent it Thread poster: Tom in London
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| Not exactly fear... | May 22, 2015 |
I have been translating for over 30 years and yet, when I deliver a text, I always feel not exactly fear, but a slight apprehension: Have I done it right? Could I have done it better? I see this as good thing as it keeps me on my toes.
I translate regularly for a monthly magazine (Courrier Internacional) and these are probably the only translations I reread just to be sure that everything was correctly published.
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 03:56
Member (2008)
Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER
Teresa Borges wrote:
I have been translating for over 30 years and yet, when I deliver a text, I always feel not exactly fear, but a slight apprehension: Have I done it right? Could I have done it better? I see this as good thing as it keeps me on my toes.
I translate regularly for a monthly magazine (Courrier Internacional) and these are probably the only translations I reread just to be sure that everything was correctly published.
Yes, I too translate regularly for a monthly Italian interiors magazine (an intelligent, interesting one) and I print and retouch every single article, sometimes changing the font and colour to refresh my eyes, at least 3-4 times until I can't find the slightest thing wrong. Only then do I send it, because at the other end I have some hawk-eyed PMs in Milan who will spot anything that isn't right!
Then when the magazine comes out I check it again, on the page. It's always a fearful moment.
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jlrsnyder wrote:
After one job is done, it's on to the next. The deadlines loom. No time to ruminate on the past.
| | | | | Not exactly after sent... | May 22, 2015 |
...usually I'm too tired for that
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jlrsnyder wrote:
After one job is done, it's on to the next. The deadlines loom. No time to ruminate on the past.
Each job is already completed to the best of my ability and I only work in the field I trained in before translation (law/finance). I know what's at stake and work accordingly. Suppose it might be different if I worked on more creative texts, but I'd just be losing money if I started conducting post mortems.
[Edited at 2015-05-22 18:34 GMT]
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Fiona Peterson wrote: jlrsnyder wrote:
After one job is done, it's on to the next. The deadlines loom. No time to ruminate on the past.
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 03:56
Member (2008)
Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER | I don't believe it | May 22, 2015 |
Angie Garbarino wrote: Fiona Peterson wrote: jlrsnyder wrote:
After one job is done, it's on to the next. The deadlines loom. No time to ruminate on the past.
I don't believe you don't read your translations of articles and books, when they are finally published in print or on the Web. Or maybe you don't translate material of that kind.
| | | | Jan Truper 
Germany
Local time: 04:56
Member (2016)
English to German
| moments of horror | May 23, 2015 |
After delivery, I never reread my translations on purpose -- in accordance with "only control what you can control", the mantra of the great western philosopher Andre Agassi ;P -- but I occasionally suffer moments of horror when I spot a previously made mistake in a TM match of a job I'm currently working on.
In these cases, after the ouch-factor subsides, I'm never sure whether I should hope that the proofreader caught the mistake (in which case he/she might have slammed my work in one of... See more After delivery, I never reread my translations on purpose -- in accordance with "only control what you can control", the mantra of the great western philosopher Andre Agassi ;P -- but I occasionally suffer moments of horror when I spot a previously made mistake in a TM match of a job I'm currently working on.
In these cases, after the ouch-factor subsides, I'm never sure whether I should hope that the proofreader caught the mistake (in which case he/she might have slammed my work in one of those kafkaesque review reports that we translators hardly ever get to read ... but at least the final text would be alright) or that it slipped past the proofreader (in which case I wouldn't end up homeless due to a possible career-ending review report ... but the final text would be flawed). ▲ Collapse
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Balasubramaniam L.
India
Local time: 08:26
Member (2006)
English to Hindi
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SITE LOCALIZER | I find immense pleasure in it, in fact I gloat over it! | May 25, 2015 |
I used to translate for a news agency run by the organisation where I was working, which then would send out the translated news stories to hundreds of Hindi newspapers around the country. Many of the stories would get picked up and the newspapers would then send us a clipping of the published stuff.
I always would make it a point to read my translated stuff as it appears in print, often over and over, and literally gloat over it. I would compare the original translation with the pr... See more I used to translate for a news agency run by the organisation where I was working, which then would send out the translated news stories to hundreds of Hindi newspapers around the country. Many of the stories would get picked up and the newspapers would then send us a clipping of the published stuff.
I always would make it a point to read my translated stuff as it appears in print, often over and over, and literally gloat over it. I would compare the original translation with the printed one and try to see where changes have been made, if any.
I still have many of those clippings and when I find time, which now is usually never, I still like to read them.
On another level, don't we all encounter our translations over and over again in our TMs? ▲ Collapse
| | | | | I can relate to that | May 25, 2015 |
Oh yes, it happens to me all the time, specially when my translations come back as published books –I always have that apprehension of opening the book and finding something that could slightly be better.
Glad to hear I'm not the only one, though!
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 04:56
Spanish to English
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Ty Kendall wrote:
If you're like me and there's always another word you can tweak or a sentence you can rejig (for the 100th time - making absolutely no discernible difference).
I agree, but the killer is when you find something that really would have been better... so the best policy for me is out of sight, out of mind...
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 04:56
Spanish to English
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| What, me worry? | May 28, 2015 |
Yesterday while translating a press release for a client, at one point I needed a synonym of "boss" and pencilled in "head honcho" in my first draft , meaning to change it to something more formal later. However, I had an unexpected issue with macros and Dragon and got sidetracked for a bit. When I eventually got back to work again, I forgot about the term and just ran a spellcheck then sent it off with the honcho still intact... As it happens, it actually works quite well and doesn't look too o... See more Yesterday while translating a press release for a client, at one point I needed a synonym of "boss" and pencilled in "head honcho" in my first draft , meaning to change it to something more formal later. However, I had an unexpected issue with macros and Dragon and got sidetracked for a bit. When I eventually got back to work again, I forgot about the term and just ran a spellcheck then sent it off with the honcho still intact... As it happens, it actually works quite well and doesn't look too out of place, but it brought home the importance of proofing your drafts before delivery... ▲ Collapse
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