| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Have you ever looked for a native speaker to start a proofreading cooperation? Thread poster: Nina_L
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| I said I'd just be suspicious | Oct 22, 2012 |
Sheila Wilson wrote:
I can't say whether a Portuguese expatriate could find his/her language stuck in the past, but English is everywhere you look: television, internet, cinema, radio, newspapers. There's no reason at all why a native English speaker should sound 'dated', regardless of where they live.
My point is that many expats didn't move in here (or anywhere else) as translators. Quite possibly, for years they tried to "blend in", to use their foreign expertise while trying to look and behave like one of the local crowd. Some of them (re)married with locals, had local children, etc.
Each one has a different story. It's also possible that some of them engaged in their translation careers after the company who brought them in shut down or moved elsewhere, or maybe they retired and, for personal reasons, chose to stay.
Their problem - if and when there is any - is that either they've become locally-minded (in spite of the constant input from the media), or they are overskilled to the extent of advocating for radical changes to the actual content of the material to be translated.
So I am a bit more careful upon hiring native speakers living outside the target language "locus". Even if they are not dated, maybe they'll have developed an 'accent' in their writing. I've seen it happen too often.
| | | | | Probably guilty as charged | Oct 22, 2012 |
... although that doesn't stop me from proofreading a lot for agencies anyway!
What I can do is check technical texts for the things that a native doesn't lose, or with a little effort can maintain. I work into English and vist the UK regularly, so I reckn my English is not too bad for someone my age.
But I do have to make a conscious effort to watch the way the language is developing. As I am definitely one of the grandparent generation, I am always conscious that some... See more ... although that doesn't stop me from proofreading a lot for agencies anyway!
What I can do is check technical texts for the things that a native doesn't lose, or with a little effort can maintain. I work into English and vist the UK regularly, so I reckn my English is not too bad for someone my age.
But I do have to make a conscious effort to watch the way the language is developing. As I am definitely one of the grandparent generation, I am always conscious that some target groups are beyond my reach!
On the other hand, I worked happily for a while with a young Danish fashion translator who lived in the UK and worked with the right people. She knew all the cool expressions and technical terms, but still tended to put commas in odd (or Danish) places, and small things like that.
As long as I kept to proofreading and did not edit too much, we got on fine! ▲ Collapse
| | | | | I absolutely agree with Neil. | Oct 22, 2012 |
For a monolingual proofreader to proofread your text properly, it really has to be at a level that monolingual people use, yet their writing may still require proofreading. Almost everything is proofread by publishing houses' editors, or newspapers.
Finding an editor, or a proofreader, has nothing to do with patriots and ex-patriots -- it has more to do with people with college education in that particular language (as their main area of study) and knowledge of various style manual... See more For a monolingual proofreader to proofread your text properly, it really has to be at a level that monolingual people use, yet their writing may still require proofreading. Almost everything is proofread by publishing houses' editors, or newspapers.
Finding an editor, or a proofreader, has nothing to do with patriots and ex-patriots -- it has more to do with people with college education in that particular language (as their main area of study) and knowledge of various style manuals. ▲ Collapse
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