Agencies requesting translators to proofread their own work? Thread poster: Mark Sanderson
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Hello experienced and trusted colleagues,
I recently finished some work for an agency who returned the files to me a few days later to “check” and update the Trados files with any necessary changes.
I received a QA report that was generated by a program called X-Bench, as well as Trados files and PDFs that were described as the “final output files” of my translation.
The QA report looks very similar to the results of a Trados QA check (identifying d... See more Hello experienced and trusted colleagues,
I recently finished some work for an agency who returned the files to me a few days later to “check” and update the Trados files with any necessary changes.
I received a QA report that was generated by a program called X-Bench, as well as Trados files and PDFs that were described as the “final output files” of my translation.
The QA report looks very similar to the results of a Trados QA check (identifying double spaces, missing periods etc.) so that is not a big problem.
However, my question is: shouldn’t the agency be engaging another translator to check my work? I understand that the lines between proofreading and checking are becoming very blurred here, however, surely another person is more likely to spot the mistakes in the text as it will be completely “fresh” to them?
The agency in question here is not paying me for my time spent “checking” my own work for a second time (I checked my translation before I submitted it to the agency).
I would just like to find out if such behaviour is standard industry practice (if such things as standard industry practices exist in the translation industry)?
Many thanks for your input and guidance.
Mark Sanderson ▲ Collapse
| | | | Phil Hand 
China
Local time: 03:31
Chinese to English
| Not standard, not terrible? | Jul 16, 2014 |
I've never encountered the particular workflow, you describe, so to the best of my knowledge it's not any kind of "standard."
Are you sure your files weren't proofread? Sometimes no changes are made. Also, some clients like a last check before publication, which might be the case as pdfs were involved. If it takes time, then it's reasonable to ask for an extra payment; if it's quick then I'd let it go as a freebie.
| | | | | Translators proofreading own work? | Jul 16, 2014 |
Great topic. If my translation includes many queries of mine regarding the text, or the author makes minor final revisions, I will usually offer to incorporate the agency's (or client's) answers to my queries into a final copy--unless the translation is so highly technical that every other word changes. Largely, I think your answer depends on the work involved; generally I think that incorporating corrections and answers to queries about a translation into the final version is part of the work--... See more Great topic. If my translation includes many queries of mine regarding the text, or the author makes minor final revisions, I will usually offer to incorporate the agency's (or client's) answers to my queries into a final copy--unless the translation is so highly technical that every other word changes. Largely, I think your answer depends on the work involved; generally I think that incorporating corrections and answers to queries about a translation into the final version is part of the work--unless, of course, we are talking about taste in punctuation and basic proofreading of punctuation on a translation that is already spellchecked. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 20:31
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
| Just an idea | Jul 16, 2014 |
Mark Sanderson wrote:
I received a QA report that was generated by a program called X-Bench, as well as Trados files and PDFs that were described as the “final output files” of my translation.
The QA report looks very similar to the results of a Trados QA check (identifying double spaces, missing periods etc.) so that is not a big problem.
So, you're saying that this information is available to you, the translator, through the QA feature of Trados?
I'm wondering if this isn't a gentle nudge to you, the translator, to do this checking yourself before delivery in future. I don't use Trados and I don't deliver bilingual files (though I do use a CAT tool), so I don't know what clients generally expect. I certainly check the target for things like double spaces and missing full-stops.
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