Off topic: Please find a native English speaker to proofread translation into English Thread poster: Yuemin Chen
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Yuemin Chen
China
Local time: 20:58
Member (2013)
Chinese to English
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I have been receiving requests from Proz for me to proofread translation from Chinese to English, while there is no request for me to review translation into Chinese. Here is a general wondering: Why can you not find a native English speaker to proofread translation into English, when there are so many of them on Proz? I have to say that I am up for the religion that native English speakers are often better than non-English native speakers. Please do not send such requests to me again. Also, if ... See more I have been receiving requests from Proz for me to proofread translation from Chinese to English, while there is no request for me to review translation into Chinese. Here is a general wondering: Why can you not find a native English speaker to proofread translation into English, when there are so many of them on Proz? I have to say that I am up for the religion that native English speakers are often better than non-English native speakers. Please do not send such requests to me again. Also, if you want me to proofread translation into Chinese, you are more than welcome to do so. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Heinrich Pesch 
Finland
Local time: 15:58
Member (2003)
Finnish to German
+ ...
| Hope the persons in question read your posting | Feb 26, 2018 |
I think there are many reasons why an outsourcer could ask a non-native to proofread a text. Perhaps they know the person already and like to deal with him/her. Or they rather correspond in their own language and afraid they might make mistakes when writing in English. Or they only think of price, not of quality. Or they have translated the text themselves and don't want to be ridiculed by a native speaker.
I don't say any of the above reasons is adequate. Sure one should contact natives f... See more I think there are many reasons why an outsourcer could ask a non-native to proofread a text. Perhaps they know the person already and like to deal with him/her. Or they rather correspond in their own language and afraid they might make mistakes when writing in English. Or they only think of price, not of quality. Or they have translated the text themselves and don't want to be ridiculed by a native speaker.
I don't say any of the above reasons is adequate. Sure one should contact natives for the final edition. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | mass e-mails? | Feb 26, 2018 |
Your profile states that you work from Chinese into English and that you do Editing/proofreading
People do a CH>EN - Edit search in the Directory, you come up in the results, so they contact you.
Philippe
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 14:58
French to English
| you state CH-EN! | Feb 26, 2018 |
Since you translate into English, clients assume that is your native language. Maybe you need to specify that you don't proofread in English.
I have never been asked to proofread a French file.
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| Depends what you are checking for... | Feb 26, 2018 |
I am just checking a legal text I have translated before sending it to a colleague, a native speaker of the source language, for proofreading. He will not change my English, but he is more of a legal expert than I am, and will check that the very heavy legalese is correctly translated and that my version means precisely the same as the source.
He has proofread my work before, and we have had some healthy discussions about English commas and legal terminology. With demanding texts li... See more I am just checking a legal text I have translated before sending it to a colleague, a native speaker of the source language, for proofreading. He will not change my English, but he is more of a legal expert than I am, and will check that the very heavy legalese is correctly translated and that my version means precisely the same as the source.
He has proofread my work before, and we have had some healthy discussions about English commas and legal terminology. With demanding texts like this one, two heads and two pairs of eyes are definitely an advantage. The finished result is better than either of us could produce alone.
That said, if you ask a source language native to proofread or edit a translation, it must be someone who is very familiar with both languages, and who knows when to correct typos and the like, and when to trust the native speaker...
Like my colleague, the source language native should catch any inaccuracies in the meaning of the translation. For a working text, that is more important than making it sound elegant.
If you are not happy with proofreading jobs and do not feel sufficiently qualified, however, you are perfectly entitled to turn them down. As a professional translator, you know your own limitations, and a good client will understand when you say no. ▲ Collapse
| | | | finnword1
United States
Local time: 08:58
English to Finnish
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| I completely agree with Christine | Feb 26, 2018 |
Sometimes a source text can be so convoluted, bureaucratic, highly technical, or poorly written, grammatically or otherwise, that it makes sense to have a native proofreader of the source language to do the job.
| | | | Yuemin Chen
China
Local time: 20:58
Member (2013)
Chinese to English
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TOPIC STARTER | Such requests come from the website | Feb 27, 2018 |
I still believe that a native English speaker is in a better position to proofread translation into English. In my case, it is the website Proz.com itself that keeps sending requests for me to proofread translation into English.
| | | | Heinrich Pesch
Finland
Local time: 15:58
Member (2003)
Finnish to German
+ ...
| Change your settings then | Feb 27, 2018 |
Your settings are now for both directions. You should remove the Chinese-English-pair from your profile.
By the way I have only German as target language, but still most of my jobs are from German into Finnish.
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Yuemin Chen
China
Local time: 20:58
Member (2013)
Chinese to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Proz should encourage the practice to ask native speakers to review translation into native language | Feb 27, 2018 |
@Heinrich Pesch
No, I do not need to change my settings. I can translate into English. I just do not proofread translation into English. The website does not provide an option where I can state my reason for refusing to proofread the translation.
Thanks for your advice.
| | | | | Proz.com itself does not send work | Feb 27, 2018 |
chym77 wrote:
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In my case, it is the website Proz.com itself that keeps sending requests for me to proofread translation into English.
Proz.com itself does not send assignments. When an outsourcer contacts you for the first time, your mail address is hidden to protect your privacy, so you receive a mail ´via Proz.com´.
When you open the mail, you will see a link to the author´s profile page, and you can see who it is.
The person who sends the mail cannot see your mail address until you answer, so if you ignore the mail, they still have to go through your profile to send you mails.
Another thing: You cannot simply press ´Answer´ at the top of the mail to answer it.
If the outsourcer wants you to answer, they have to write an address in the mail itself, and tell you where to send your answer.
You can see whether all the mails come from the same outsourcer, or different people. From the link to their profile you can check who the outsourcer is, and find another link to the Blue Board, if there are any entries where you can see how others have rated them. You can also see their website if they have one, and check on other sites to find out more about who is sending the mail.
Then it is up to you how you answer them, of course, or whether you simply ignore them.
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