The Role of Translators and Proofreaders in the Translation Project
Content translation at this present age has allowed business ventures and individuals to cross boundaries and markets that weren’t imaginable some time ago. With the aid of translators and proofreaders, businesses can reach to wider and varied markets through localized appeal which reinforces and strengthens current market share.
What translators and proofreaders do?
Trends, especially in internet sales, have soared rapidly with the help of document translation that allows small-scale businesses and conglomerates to extend their reach and operations outside of their comfortable spots.
The act of translating
The act of translating a wide array of contents for various reasons and medium has spawned an industry that highlights human skills and abilities. When most digital work require machines and other automated equipment to replace humans for assistance and intervention, the business of language translation has continuously managed to support human translators and proofreaders.
There are some translation software programs that seek to disengage human translators in the process. It is on a positive note when we mention that making use of these machines and programs may result to minimal turn-around time. The concern, however, is identifying contextual errors that are often negated by these tools.
Machines cannot replace humans in terms of providing the appeal, focus and cultural sensitivity for each translation project. It is crucial that within the process of language translation, human linguists can provide the essential components that substantiate quality translation work.
Translators and proofreaders are expected to give the structure and form of a document or material. Once the project is received, linguists are tasked with transmitting the content into a useful and marketable text that takes the same contextual meaning from the original material. Translators carry on with the responsibility of making the translated result as closer to the original content as possible, with nary a slight deviation in context and meaning.
The essence of the job
In essence, translators and proofreaders are the builders of connection that keeps the audience and the business in one solid frame. Through content translation, human linguists build invisible chains that connect the client to a target market through local focus and appeal, and of course, with consistent sensitivity for cultural differences.
Markets vary per location, per language. Hitting through this goldmines require that translated contents are able to attract its target market through engaging and accurate translation. The role of translators and proofreaders is very important in a translation project and that it validates business expectations by means of quality content work.
Once these materials are translated, they go to the proofreading phase. One particular aspect of translation that is impossible for automated translation to penetrate and conquer is that of proofreading. Proofreading is that process where grammar, spelling, structure, punctuation, context, format, visual and language consistency is checked. The role of the proofreader is to ensure that the translated content is free from errors which may otherwise have an effect on the total translation project. A single sentence that is unchecked for meaning and context may connote a different or contrasting message. This is critical especially for new businesses which may only be venturing in a new market, testing the water for a new product.
The significant task of proofreaders is crucial in the whole translation process in terms of matching the translated content from the source material. As this is usually the last stage in the process, proofreading is often the phase where much emphasis is put into.
Not just translators
It is commonly believed that the translation services are only provided by translators alone. But, in reality, this is not the case. A translated document is completed after joint efforts of both the translators and proofreaders. No translated document is just the outcome of the effort of a translator, but the proofreader plays an important role in the process.
You must be thinking why there is a need of a proofreader when the document is just being translated. But, it is important that you understand the roles of both the translators and proofreaders. A translator makes mistakes, and it is not very rare. A translator might not find the mistake and might miss it out, but proofreader finds the mistakes missed out by the translator, as it is difficult to find out mistakes from a document prepared by your own-self. Only a reader can find out mistakes which the writer fails to see. This is why translators and proofreaders both play a crucial role in the process of translation.
The business of language translation is expected to remain a steadfast industry at this time where marketing and business perspective changes footing, and where strategies variably change alongside the market. Translators and proofreaders are expected to contribute positively in this change, allowing businesses to maximize opportunities and coverage with translation projects as conduits to these optimal goals.
