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Poll: How do you mark tough terms/phrases you will solve at a later stage?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
Simon Bruni
Simon Bruni  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 05:38
Member (2009)
Spanish to English
Traffic light system Oct 5, 2011

Red for something left in the source language, yellow for something that definitely needs amending and green for something that might be improved on.

 
Travis Watters
Travis Watters  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Member (2009)
French to English
+ ...
Highlight Oct 5, 2011

I prefer not to leave a term until later, but if I need to, I highlight it. As others have mentioned, ideas can spring to mind when you least expect it.

 
Heinrich Pesch
Heinrich Pesch  Identity Verified
Finland
Local time: 07:38
Member (2003)
Finnish to German
+ ...
Note on paper Oct 5, 2011

Every time I cannot solve something I note it down on paper. But usually I use the term that comes up after an initial search. When I later notice I can do better I replace the terms. This concerns not only unknown terminology but all terminology. Finally come the corrections from my proofreader, which must also be integrated. So no use to mark anything in the translation, all is subject to change until I send it off and forget all about it.

 
Angus Stewart
Angus Stewart  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 05:38
Member (2011)
French to English
+ ...
Other Oct 5, 2011

Veronica Lupascu wrote:

I usually translate with Studio and I don't close/confirm the segment.


That is one of the great benefits of translating using Studio, since it enables me to translate in a non-linear fashion and deal with the tough terms at a later stage, without having to make any conscious effort to mark them or otherwise interrupt my flow. I find that this is beneficial, particularly with larger projects, since I can mentally note the difficult terms and then deal with them in the morning when I am at my freshest and most alert.

I also agree with Neilmac's comment, as I often find myself subconsciously trying to puzzle out some of the terms in the intervening period.


 
Cristina Heraud-van Tol
Cristina Heraud-van Tol  Identity Verified
Peru
Local time: 00:38
Member (2005)
English to Spanish
+ ...
I had a double answer this time Oct 5, 2011

- I don't mark them,
- I don't leave them for later.

I solve them right away.


 
Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 06:38
Member (2003)
Danish to English
+ ...
Other Oct 5, 2011

I sort terminology out before beginning to translate if possible. I like to have it found and noted, and then simply type the translation without a lot of interruptions.

I contact the client at once if it is the sort of thing they know - this can save hours of trawling round the Net and guessing. Rates and deadlines for small jobs don't allow for wasting a lot of time... and if the question is sensibly phrased, contact with the client is a chance for a little marketing!

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I sort terminology out before beginning to translate if possible. I like to have it found and noted, and then simply type the translation without a lot of interruptions.

I contact the client at once if it is the sort of thing they know - this can save hours of trawling round the Net and guessing. Rates and deadlines for small jobs don't allow for wasting a lot of time... and if the question is sensibly phrased, contact with the client is a chance for a little marketing!

Otherwise I start checking dictionaries and googling, or mail a colleague, post a KudoZ question, or whatever it takes!

If I am surprised in the middle of a translation, I prefer to stop and solve the problem immediately. Reading once again to the end of the text is a good start!





[Edited at 2011-10-05 19:59 GMT]
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Lori Cirefice
Lori Cirefice  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 06:38
French to English
I don't leave them for later Oct 5, 2011

I used to use "provisional segments" in Wordfast, but changed my process a while back, mainly because those provisional segements are not stored in the TM, so if your document/computer crashes, you could lose the entire segment (some of which might be ok, missing just a small part for example).

Now I try to resolve issues before moving on, often I will come up with a partial solution, or something that sounds really bad but is a good start, or I just insert a placeholder "literal"
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I used to use "provisional segments" in Wordfast, but changed my process a while back, mainly because those provisional segements are not stored in the TM, so if your document/computer crashes, you could lose the entire segment (some of which might be ok, missing just a small part for example).

Now I try to resolve issues before moving on, often I will come up with a partial solution, or something that sounds really bad but is a good start, or I just insert a placeholder "literal" translation. Once I have finished my first draft, I go though the entire document again and my attention is immediately drawn to those awful parts, I don't need to highlight them.
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Jenn Mercer
Jenn Mercer  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 01:38
Member (2009)
French to English
Exactly Oct 5, 2011

Paul Malone wrote:

I use the CAT tool to add a comment, so that when I come to revise the segment I know what my query was. This automatically highlights the segment for me in the CAT tool and also lets me display all the segments to which I've added comments in the form of a list.


I either add a comment or leave the segment blank depending on whether I have no clue or am undecided about the best option. I also will jot overall questions in my translation notebook.


 
Philippe Etienne
Philippe Etienne  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 06:38
Member
English to French
Three slashes Oct 5, 2011

It used to be an instruction from a now defunct customer of mine for unanswered queries, reborn under another name a few years later with a long slate of unpaid invoices from its pre-mortem activities.
Even with current features that would allow me to mark something for later with more elegance and panache (comments, unconfirmed segments and the like), /// has become a die-hard habit that will likely follow me to the grave.
The bad side of it is that it's not so easy to say it in Dra
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It used to be an instruction from a now defunct customer of mine for unanswered queries, reborn under another name a few years later with a long slate of unpaid invoices from its pre-mortem activities.
Even with current features that would allow me to mark something for later with more elegance and panache (comments, unconfirmed segments and the like), /// has become a die-hard habit that will likely follow me to the grave.
The bad side of it is that it's not so easy to say it in Dragon without sounding like a helicopter damp-starting.

Philippe
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Noni Gilbert Riley
Noni Gilbert Riley
Spain
Local time: 06:38
Spanish to English
+ ...
Not to be recommended... Oct 5, 2011

....is my tendency to write BLEAH when I am not happy with how a sentence is turning out.

On one occasion, I somehow managed to send the penultimate version instead of the final one to a direct client. Fortunately he read the text before using it, enquired as to the meaning of this word, and has been teasing me ever since.


 
Stanislav Repin
Stanislav Repin  Identity Verified
Russian Federation
Local time: 08:38
English to Russian
+ ...
Do not confirm the segment Oct 5, 2011

I work mostly in SDLX so if I encounter a troublesome term or an entire sentence seems unclear, I just skip the segment by not confirming it.

 
Mihail Mateev
Mihail Mateev
Bulgaria
Local time: 07:38
Member
English to Bulgarian
+ ...
Provisional segment Oct 5, 2011

I generally mark a sentence as provisional in Wordfast, too.

 
Mihail Mateev
Mihail Mateev
Bulgaria
Local time: 07:38
Member
English to Bulgarian
+ ...
Precious time Oct 5, 2011

Cristina Heraud-van Tol wrote:

- I don't mark them,
- I don't leave them for later.

I solve them right away.


This is the best solution, but sometimes (i.e. usually) time is precious and it is better to go ahead with the rest of the translation and when you have translated everything else to come back to this phrase to find a translation.


 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 22:38
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Highlight plus comment feature Oct 6, 2011

I use gray to highlight doubts, and I may add a comment in a balloon on the side.

In the last two years I've started highlighting everything that's definite in green (as in 'GO'). The embedded parts that are not highlighted might use some improvement, but they don't require research. Marking the definitive passages gives me a feeling of accomplishment.

As for handling everything on the spot, I have found that often the meaning of a troubling passage becomes clear as I
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I use gray to highlight doubts, and I may add a comment in a balloon on the side.

In the last two years I've started highlighting everything that's definite in green (as in 'GO'). The embedded parts that are not highlighted might use some improvement, but they don't require research. Marking the definitive passages gives me a feeling of accomplishment.

As for handling everything on the spot, I have found that often the meaning of a troubling passage becomes clear as I move along in the text. If I try to solve it on first occurrence, I could waste time, and my interpretation could also be wrong.

With the goal in mind of delivering clean copy, I want to be sure that my marking system really pops out and hits the eye, and also that it's easy to delete with just a couple of keystrokes.
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Umang Dholabhai
Umang Dholabhai  Identity Verified
India
Local time: 11:08
English to Gujarati
+ ...
Comment in CAT Oct 6, 2011

Paul Malone wrote:

I use the CAT tool to add a comment, so that when I come to revise the segment I know what my query was. This automatically highlights the segment for me in the CAT tool and also lets me display all the segments to which I've added comments in the form of a list.


Ditto as Paul.


 
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Poll: How do you mark tough terms/phrases you will solve at a later stage?






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