| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] | Would you work for an agency that does not have your work proofread? Thread poster: LucyPatterso (X)
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| I do the job to the best of my abilities | Apr 7, 2012 |
I'm sent a project, I translate it to the best of my abilities - the more time I have, the better the result - and I send it back. I've absolutely no idea if anyone proofreads my work.
Furthermore, I know if I asked the agency, I wouldn't be given a convincing answer. Whenever I ask a simple question, it's either ignored or I'm given a answer that doesn't answer my question.
Meanwhile, I just get on with the job in hand.
| | | | | Pros and cons of using an agency - Types of proofreading | Apr 7, 2012 |
kchansen wrote:
What use the agency then?
If an agency doesn't have another qualified person check the work of the translator, then what use is the agency? The only thing they do then is to push files back and forth and invoice the end client. The end client might as well have gone directly to the freelancer and skipped the agency.
If I were an end client, I would pick an agency over an independent translator for the extra quality assurance, not for charging me twice what they pay the translator without adding any value to the process.
I tried to put together the reasons for both options in my article Should you hire a Freelance Translator or a Translation Agency?.
However I think there are different types of agencies (or even direct clients) regarding the proofreading level, some of them being listed below. Please note that the letters used here are mere lablel, they don't mean a scale, a continuum, nothing.
Type A - They hire me to do translation plus something else, e.g. DTP, video subtitling, and my work will be final. If any flaws in translation are found afterwards, I'll might face considerable post-translation rework at my expense.
Type B - They'll pair me up with a proofreader about as skilled as me as a translator, and we'll work together to deliver the best translation we can, as a team, because top quality is an absolute must.
Type C - They'll give my work to some unknown proofreader, possibly to find flaws that justify paying me less than agreed. I was lucky, so far only got praise from them, when I actually had any feedback.
Type D - They say on their web site that my (viz. the translator's) work will be thoroughly proofread by highly skilled professionals, yet I get feedback that the end-client accepted my work so fast, that I'm sure that nobody even checked if I had translated all the pages.
Type E - They'll have my translation butchered by some fledgling amateur who is struggling to show his/her "worth" - by changing everything possible - in order to grab the next translation gig they have. If they have the chutzpah to show me what became of it, they might get a suggestion to revert it to what it was before delivery.
Type F - They get my work thoroughly inspected by a PM who doesn't know squat about the target language, yet who needs to justify the hours spent in doing it by asking me a host of silly questions, often based on what a nondescript spelling and grammar checker highlighted for them.
Type G - They negotiate a lower rate, however they tell me, Just translate it, and don't go beyond the spell checker; a bunch of target-language marketing / engineering / other specialized gurus will go over it with a fine-tooth comb, and will use it just to build their own final text.
The list could be endless. I see no reason not to work for any of them. The only danger in some cases is if they are lying about what type they actually fit in.
| | | | Henry Hinds 
United States
Local time: 15:12
English to Spanish
+ ...
In memoriam
If I translated it, then I have proofread it and it is a top quality finished product that may be relied upon.
| | | | Paul Adie (X)
Germany
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Yes, and I do. | Apr 9, 2012 |
A translation agency I work for has an evaluation system for translators: 'Premium' translators (whose work has been thoroughly checked when they first start to work, then after that a couple of times per year) do not have their work checked. Usually, only the 'good' translators get the work. Of course, sometimes mistakes do happen, but they try to mitigate the risk as much as is possible to provide a quality product and at the same time to be financially viable.
The golden system o... See more A translation agency I work for has an evaluation system for translators: 'Premium' translators (whose work has been thoroughly checked when they first start to work, then after that a couple of times per year) do not have their work checked. Usually, only the 'good' translators get the work. Of course, sometimes mistakes do happen, but they try to mitigate the risk as much as is possible to provide a quality product and at the same time to be financially viable.
The golden system of translation then revision, then having a final proofreading is very nice, isn't it? But it usually isn't practical.
I've been training a student on a work placement recently, and her translation skills are excellent, as are her language abilities in Spanish and Catalan. However, she has a very fresh, and perfect view of what the translation process should be, and trying to tell her that sometimes we have to do things differently and be more flexible is... well, dissapointing I suppose.
Indeed, I tend to translate thinking that there will be no proofreader, and that I'll have to sort out any issues. Being fully aware that you're responsible for the final product really does push you to provide the best translation you possibly can. And thinking that 'oh well, they'll get it proofed later' makes me rather lazy.
I'm blethering, I hope I haven't rambled on too much.
Happy translating/revising/proofreading to you all,
Paul. ▲ Collapse
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Kay Denney
France
Local time: 23:12
French to English
| From the agency's point of view | Apr 9, 2012 |
I used to work as PM in an agency marketed as providing top quality, and one of the ways to achieve that quality was by dutifully proofreading all translations prior to delivery, on the "second pair of eyes" principle.
However, there were a few translators who, knowing that I would proofread them, would deliver files littered with alternatives and even bits that they simply highlighted with a translator's note to the effect that they couldn't fathom that term out.
Thes... See more I used to work as PM in an agency marketed as providing top quality, and one of the ways to achieve that quality was by dutifully proofreading all translations prior to delivery, on the "second pair of eyes" principle.
However, there were a few translators who, knowing that I would proofread them, would deliver files littered with alternatives and even bits that they simply highlighted with a translator's note to the effect that they couldn't fathom that term out.
These translators were in fact simply sending in a draft, not a finished translation. They should have ironed out the issues in the translation prior to delivery, asking me for help or to pass on questions to the client if all other solutions failed.
I dropped most of them, only keeping one or two who lived across the Atlantic and could therefore be forgiven since I had gone home by the time they were ready to ask questions, and would be sound asleep when I took delivery of their translation the next morning. They were basically my "last resort" translators when the day had slipped right past without my managing to place a job, and I had to remember to allot more time to proofreading their stuff. The exchange rate at the time was such that their rate worked out cheaper than that of translators in Europe so spending more time on proofreading didn't compromise profitability. ▲ Collapse
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