Ken Subedi February 6, 2020

QA Habits Every Translator Should Adopt

Quality Assurance (QA) is vital for translators, as the quality is how one differentiates and stands out from such a competitive industry. Not only does Quality Assurance allow you to stand out from the crowd, but it is also what makes a translated work impeccable. It is not an easy task to do, as Quality Assurance has to be implemented at every step of your work process in order to produce a translated piece at its optimum quality. To find out how to improve your work and what QA habits every translator should adopt, then keep on reading. 

Before getting started on what habits you should implement in your translating process for Quality Assurance let’s differentiate between Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC). These two terms are widely interchanged, although they don’t necessarily mean the same. Quality Assurance focuses on ensuring that the standards of the work are met during the process; which includes preparation, the actual process, and the editing. Whilst, Quality Control deals with quality following the process and is usually after the review process. This article will strictly focus on Quality Assurance, and what all translators should implement in their translating routines.

Preparation:

Ensure To Follow The Instructions Properly

This might sound rudimentary, but such simple actions are often the ones that are overlooked. Assuring that you, as the translator, understand the instructions given by the client is indispensable. The client might want only a specific part of the text translated or want certain parts of the work to be translated as focal points of the copy. Finding out what exactly the client wants will be half of the work done already; this will inevitably minimize the review and the editing process of your routine.

Understanding Who The Audience Is

It might be often disregarded but it is definitely something a good translator takes into account when conducting their job. After you understand the instructions given by the client, one needs to understand who the piece of translated work is aimed at. Different social and age groups use different linguistic terms; hence a good translator understands the type of audience the translated piece will be for and uses the complementary language to best accommodate both the client and the reader.

Translation:

Implementing CAT Tools:

This is where the magic begins! A great translator trusts their abilities but uses various tools to warrant excellent translated copy. The best way to guarantee top-quality translated work is by implementing one of today’s top technologies—Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT). Currently, there are numerous CAT software programs that are highly-advanced, which catch the slightest mistakes whilst assisting you with the translation. To name a few popular ones; SDL Studio Trados, MemoQ, Verifika, and Xbench. These software programs will allow you to work more efficiently and minimize any manual errors.

Editing:

Editing The Format

Once the work has been translated, it might seem as if the work is done but another important habit to enforce in your work process is the editing of the style and format of your piece. This is the section where you would make sure that the terminology is in-line with the audience style, check for any room for misinterpretations, eliminate vocabulary inconsistencies and correct any false words or sentence meanings. Such tasks might be tedious, but it is such habits that elevate a normal translated copy to a quality piece of work.

Proofreading The Translation

Throughout the editing process, it is inevitable to re-read your work constantly but one thing to always make a habit of is to consciously proofread the work. This is when you read the work to its minute details and edit any misspelled words or errors in your writing. An excellent translator always double and even triple checks their own work for any miniscule details to produce the absolute end-product.

Review:

Discussing With The Client

Once the work is finalized, one great habit for ensuring excellent QA is to discuss and understand what the client has approved or disapproved of. This helps improve or re-edit your piece to ensure maximum satisfaction for both, you and the client.

As seen, Quality Assurance is the key to creating an excellent piece of translated work and it all comes down to the miniscule details. Implementing all of these habits might be difficult at first but having this at the back of your mind whilst translating a piece will slowly but surely improve your work immensely.