| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | first backtranslation Thread poster: Lynn Elise Roger Peiffer (X)
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Lynn Elise Roger Peiffer (X) 
Local time: 20:10
English to German
+ ...
Hello everyone,
Today I've been contracted to do a backtranslation.
Now I feel a bit in a pickle here, because what I have to translate (source text, translated by a fellow translator) doesn't always make sense. It's written in my mother language and I have problems understanding the meaning behind it all! Sentences make no sense, certain words absolutely do not fit in the context, etc.
What to do? Just I just backtranslate the dilemma and let the initial translat... See more Hello everyone,
Today I've been contracted to do a backtranslation.
Now I feel a bit in a pickle here, because what I have to translate (source text, translated by a fellow translator) doesn't always make sense. It's written in my mother language and I have problems understanding the meaning behind it all! Sentences make no sense, certain words absolutely do not fit in the context, etc.
What to do? Just I just backtranslate the dilemma and let the initial translator deal with the agency finding out that he/she didn't do a very good job or am I supposed to do my best and try to figure out the meaning behind certain sentences and "fix" the mistakes? But that would be a wild guess and I do not really want to risk my reputation.
Any advice will be appreciated!
Have a great day and thanks for your help,
Lynn ▲ Collapse
| | | | Natalie
Poland
Local time: 20:10
Member (2002)
English to Russian
+ ...
MODERATOR SITE LOCALIZER
My first question to you is: are you familiar with the field of this translation? In case you do not feel comfortable with the subject, better don't take this BT. Is it a medical text, for example?
In the case you are knowledgeable in the field and understanding the text is still a problem, this suggests that the translation is bad. So (if you have already accepted the BT) just translate everything as you understand, trying to be as close to the text as possible. The BT will be the... See more My first question to you is: are you familiar with the field of this translation? In case you do not feel comfortable with the subject, better don't take this BT. Is it a medical text, for example?
In the case you are knowledgeable in the field and understanding the text is still a problem, this suggests that the translation is bad. So (if you have already accepted the BT) just translate everything as you understand, trying to be as close to the text as possible. The BT will be then compared with the source text, and the "forward translator" together with the editor will check where is the problem, in the BT, or FT. And the FT will be corrected, if necessary.
Good luck,
Natalia
[Edited at 2010-01-27 19:28 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Maria Karra
United States
Local time: 14:10
Member (2000)
Greek to English
+ ...
| no fixing and no guessing | Jan 27, 2010 |
Lynn Elise Roger Peiffer wrote:
What to do? Just I just backtranslate the dilemma and let the initial translator deal with the agency finding out that he/she didn't do a very good job or am I supposed to do my best and try to figure out the meaning behind certain sentences and "fix" the mistakes? But that would be a wild guess and I do not really want to risk my reputation.
Hi, Lynn.
The point of back-translation is precisely to see whether the translation was good or not. You back-translate what you see, not what you think that the original text might have said.
Maria
| | | | Lynn Elise Roger Peiffer (X)
Local time: 20:10
English to German
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | not sure if I'm allowed to do so | Jan 27, 2010 |
Dear Natalia,
thank you very much for replying to my post!
Indeed I am familiar with the field of this translation, all in all it's quite simple, no specific terminology and yet it's still throwing me off.
I would like to change words because I know they make no sense but am I even allowed to do that? I mean, the assignemt says backtranslation, so I am supposed to stick to the source text and translate from that into the target text.
Can I completely replace a word... See more Dear Natalia,
thank you very much for replying to my post!
Indeed I am familiar with the field of this translation, all in all it's quite simple, no specific terminology and yet it's still throwing me off.
I would like to change words because I know they make no sense but am I even allowed to do that? I mean, the assignemt says backtranslation, so I am supposed to stick to the source text and translate from that into the target text.
Can I completely replace a word and not use it in the backtranslation, for example:
source: the collages
target (backtranslation): logos
The text talks about brands, marketing, logos (even mentions the word "logos" in the headline) and I'm having a hard time reading about that and then suddenly reading about "associating brands with collages" (yet it's showing the companies' logos)...it just makes no sense whatsoever. ▲ Collapse
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| Just translate! | Jan 27, 2010 |
Your customer has hired you to make sure that the meaning was not lost in the first translation. So just translate the text to the best of your knowledge, ignoring the original source text of the first translation even if you have it. Just translate what is there, i.e. the result of the first translation.
Good luck!
| | | | aronakos
United States
Local time: 12:10
English to Hungarian
+ ...
| Agree with Tomás | Jan 27, 2010 |
I agree with Tomás. I've just finished a project like this and almost pulled my hair out, but at the end it is not me who have to be frustrated and ashamed. Just go with the text you see there, and do not try to figure out what the original word was.
| | | | Natalie
Poland
Local time: 20:10
Member (2002)
English to Russian
+ ...
MODERATOR SITE LOCALIZER | There is something that I don't understand | Jan 27, 2010 |
Do you have BOTH the source text AND the translation? If this is true then you should better reject this job. Othewise you should hide the source text and stop looking at it! The backtranslation with the source text at hand hardly makes sense.
However, if I have misunderstood you, and you haven't seen the source, then just translate the text as it is and how you understand it. Whichever garbage you will get as a result, it will be the problem with the forward translation.
... See more Do you have BOTH the source text AND the translation? If this is true then you should better reject this job. Othewise you should hide the source text and stop looking at it! The backtranslation with the source text at hand hardly makes sense.
However, if I have misunderstood you, and you haven't seen the source, then just translate the text as it is and how you understand it. Whichever garbage you will get as a result, it will be the problem with the forward translation.
Natalia
[Edited at 2010-01-27 21:01 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | no fixing and no guessing +1 | Jan 27, 2010 |
Perhaps it is an MT translation and they want to check how good it works.
In such a case, if you fix the text they will get the wrong impression - that the MT program is perfect. Just an idea
Dimitra
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Katarina Delic
Local time: 20:10
Member (2008)
English to Serbian
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| I also think it's ridiculous to have the source text | Jan 27, 2010 |
Sometimes I even receive files with three columns (source, target and the empty backtranslation column). I don't know why this is so. What I do is copy the target and backtranslation columns to another file and copy them back when I'm done. I try not to look at the source text at all because it makes no sense.
Anyway, just translate what you see, no corrections.
| | | | Sumit Sarkar
India
Local time: 23:40
Member
English to Bengali
+ ...
| Attach your comment with the BT text | Jan 27, 2010 |
Hi Lynn,
I also do agree that u need not guess or correct the mistakes done by FT translator. Because, in that case, actual objective of the job u are assigned to do will not be served. But truly indeed it is a mental irritation when u find that u are writing wrong, that too consciously. Now, to get rid of that irritation, write an appropriate comments explaining all the meaninglessness. It will helpful for your client.
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 20:10
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
| The problem with back-translation | Jan 27, 2010 |
Lynn Elise Roger Peiffer wrote:
Now I feel a bit in a pickle here, because what I have to translate (source text, translated by a fellow translator) doesn't always make sense.
The problem with back-translation is that it can make a very direct forward-translation appear like a very good translation. When doing a back-translation, therefore, and you see things that may cause the back-translation to appear better than it should be, I believe you should tell the client about it.
Since the back-translation is going to be read by the client and not his target audience, I think it is reasonable to write comments directly in the text (in square brackets, perhaps, or highlighted). So if you get to a sentence that doesn't make any sense, and you feel that you should point this out, do so in a comment directly.
In my opinion, the back-translation should be done *after* the translation has had its first review. The purpose of a back-translation is not to discover that a translation is terrible, but to catch and correct specific *words* (or sometimes phrases) that can be changed without having to redo the entire translation.
What to do? Just I just backtranslate the dilemma and let the initial translator deal with the agency finding out that he/she didn't do a very good job or am I supposed to do my best and try to figure out the meaning behind certain sentences and "fix" the mistakes?
You should not fix anything. Your back-translation is a tool for the client to find out if the translator and reviewer had misinterpreted anything or had chosen a word whose meaning is too far away from the meaning that the client had in mind.
| | | | Diarmuid Kennan
Ireland
Local time: 19:10
Member (2006)
Danish to English
+ ...
| Contact your client | Jan 27, 2010 |
If you are in doubt, you should contact your client and tell them about your concerns.
They should give you more detailed instructions.
I was in a similar position once and told the client that the translation was extremely bad. They sent it straight back to the translator and told him/her to have another go.
I received the translation back a day or two later and the standard was much better.
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Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 20:10
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
| Source seen back-translation | Jan 27, 2010 |
Katarina Delic wrote:
Sometimes I even receive files with three columns (source, target and the empty backtranslation column). I don't know why this is so.
I must say that I see nothing wrong with having access to the original source text when doing a back-translation. It all boils down to two different (but both potentially valid) approaches to back-translation. Being able to consult the original won't make your back-translation any less reliable. The back-translator's job isn't to "see if he can guess what the original said". The back-translator's job is to show the client what the forward-translation says, so that he can compare it with the original. I've had clients who even ask me (the back-translator) to use my back-translation to determine whether there are problems in the forward-translation. All of these are perfectly valid approaches to back-translation, each with pros and cons.
| | | | keshab
Local time: 23:40
Member (2006)
English to Bengali
+ ...
SITE LOCALIZER | BT's duty is to backtranslate, nothing else | Jan 28, 2010 |
Samuel Murray wrote:
I must say that I see nothing wrong with having access to the original source text when doing a back-translation. It all boils down to two different (but both potentially valid) approaches to back-translation. Being able to consult the original won't make your back-translation any less reliable. The back-translator's job isn't to "see if he can guess what the original said". The back-translator's job is to show the client what the forward-translation says, so that he can compare it with the original.
Dear Samuel, omission of source text in BT works for a mental reason. If a back translator see the source text along with translation, he tends to rectify the error made in translation and back translation becomes an obedient follower of the source text. All things can be happened unconsciously and so the Back translator should delete the source text when it available with the translation.
Further, back translator's job is just to translate the text in hand. He is not assumed to detect or repair the fault in forward translation because these jobs are assigned to the forward translator and the reviewer. It is the duty of the forward translator(or reviewer, if assigned) to compare, accept or reject the back translation with proper reason. So BT's duty just translate 'Crow' if there is 'crow' in translation. No matter to bother whether there is a 'Lion' in the source text.
| | | | | THe Back Translation is a double check | Jan 28, 2010 |
The BT is a double check on the part of the customer.
It is often done for medical topics and serves to check that the translation was done correctly in the first place. Translate exactly from the text you have received to work on. If things were translated wrong by the translator you should render them as such in the BT.
As far as it is done with the BTs I do: after the BT is completed, it is sent back to the original translator for correction. Then it is returned b... See more The BT is a double check on the part of the customer.
It is often done for medical topics and serves to check that the translation was done correctly in the first place. Translate exactly from the text you have received to work on. If things were translated wrong by the translator you should render them as such in the BT.
As far as it is done with the BTs I do: after the BT is completed, it is sent back to the original translator for correction. Then it is returned back to me for validation. When I do the validation, I receive the original text.
I am supposed to contact the client if the translation is particularly bad and not start with the BT. I have never had to do this. They are excellent. It is just another set of eyes looking at it.
I am also not sure why you have the original text when you do the BT. Don't look at it; you may be tempted to then work from that and this defies the purpose of your BT. ▲ Collapse
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