From Translation to Proofreading: The Path to a High-Quality Text
High-value content is crucial to any company, and producing it requires a complex and rigorous process. Translation does not entail the replacement of a word in a language with a word in a different language, it requires several stages carried out by different specialized professionals.
Reviewers are crucial in the process to obtain a translation that is relevant both to the target audience and to our corporate goals.
What does a review entail and why is it so important?
Focus on Quality
Like international certifications ensure high-quality standards, the experience of the professionals involved and the holistic approach are also key for companies looking for a translation service that includes the review of all materials before publishing.
Reviewing is one of the most important stages in the translation process: it introduces the expert review ‒by a person different from the original translator‒ who compares the source and target texts to detect any errors or inconsistencies that may impair understanding. There are two modalities for a review:
1. Proofreading. This process, that can be customized to the organization’s style guide (if available), focuses on consistency, removing any typos and repeated words, fixing punctuation issues and finding and correcting grammatical and spelling errors, as well as any format (capitalization, italics, quotation marks, bullets and bold) and syntactical issues. Proofreading typically entails review of the target content only.
2. Style Review. It involves a closer review of the text, since it focuses on issues such as improper lexical choices, unnecessary repetition, double negatives, rhymes, cacophony, sentence length and order, among other aspects. The style reviewer ensures that ideas are expressed clearly, reflecting the intent and meaning of the source text.
The review process is a “quality assurance” step that requires the involvement of experts with superior critical reading skills. Like two sides of the same coin, translation and reviewing are both crucial elements of a holistic process; they complement each other and are intimately related.
Currently, Google does not consider grammar or spelling when positioning pages, but being rigorous about the quality of the texts in our web site adds value because it shows potential clients that we are trustworthy and reliable.
Source: HubSpot
The Reviewer: A Crucial Role for Translations
As a general rule, the purpose of reviewers is not to rewrite the translation or insert their personal stylistic preferences, but to smooth out certain details to ensure the highest quality. In fact, they need be familiar with the requirements of the assignment and align their work with the client’s goals, and their task is crucial.
Client relations and communications are also additional and positive aspects that a reviewer brings to the table. Therefore, choosing translation services that involve multidisciplinary teams will determine the success or failure of the content created by the organization —and of the goals that content seeks to achieve.
In addition, a review by a person who has not taken part in the translation process is very useful because the most common errors can be overlooked by those who have read and reread the text many times. A fresh look and a critical reading step are the secret to achieving a high-quality result.
Apart from ensuring correct grammar and syntax, a review provides fluency and ensures the end-readers have relevant reading experiences. A reviewer, working side by side with experienced translators, considers the context, the potential diversity of end-readers and the client’s communication needs and final goal.
A complex and rigorous translation process is not complete without reviewers to give the final touches in the path to impactful and innovative content.