| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | How can you proofread your own work to avoid mistakes? Thread poster: Rosemary Harvey (X)
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Ian Lumpitt-Hawes wrote:
Maybe we should proofread for each other!
Hi Ian (and all the others),
do you know this yahoo-group: http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/proofreadinghelp/ ? You can get help there from fellow-translators and offer to help others.
Charlotte
[Edited at 2005-12-08 11:09]
| | | | | Final spell-check | Dec 8, 2005 |
Here's one more tip: don't neglect to do one last spell-check just before finalizing the document, to check for typographical errors that might have been inadvertently introduced during previous proofreading steps.
| | | | Rosemary Harvey (X)
Local time: 13:34
French to English
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you to everyone for your comments and help. I have started to try out your tips and am finding them very useful. Hopefully my work will improve.
| | | | DCypher (X) 
Local time: 14:34
Italian to English
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For anything more than a short letter or document (a couple of pages), I believe it is almost impossible to catch your own mistakes. You really need a second pair of eyes.
How many times have you re-read an email you have sent (for example), only to find stupid little errors that at the time you did not see. Time is against you as a translator and this effects your error rate. Even top magazines and newspapers (eg. FT, Economist, etc.) make these typographical errors (not to menti... See more For anything more than a short letter or document (a couple of pages), I believe it is almost impossible to catch your own mistakes. You really need a second pair of eyes.
How many times have you re-read an email you have sent (for example), only to find stupid little errors that at the time you did not see. Time is against you as a translator and this effects your error rate. Even top magazines and newspapers (eg. FT, Economist, etc.) make these typographical errors (not to mention factual)on a daily basis.
I have toyed with the idea of establishing a small network of translators (say 3-5)who work in my language pair(s). If you work regularly with these people, you can establish a system of netting. That is, I proof 10 pages for you and therefore you owe me the same service in the same quantity in return. This way, no awkward exchange of $$ is required. Additionally, if you work regularly with the same people, you can develop a mutual trust and they get to know your work (and usual mistakes). I think 3-5 is about the right number to ensure someone is always available, but, at the same time, to ensure the "accounting" does not get too complicated.
PJ ▲ Collapse
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| Time factor? | Dec 14, 2005 |
Richard Payne wrote:
________________________________________________________________
QUALITY CONTROL PROCEDURE
RICHARD PAYNE MCIL DIPTRANS MITI
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Wow. This is excellent advice, but I'd be really interested to know what your deadlines are like and what types of texts you translate. There is no way I have the time to do all of these steps on every job!
| | | | | Playing the role of the end consumer of the document | Dec 16, 2005 |
I know this sounds like common-sense, but I have found that reading the document as if I was the end consumer of the document is an extremely effective way of catching errors.
Putting oneself in the shoes of the end-user and conceptualizing oneself as the expert in the subject matter, if only hypothetically, causes the brain cells to start questioning every sentence of the document. The semantics of the document assume enormous significance. This kind of proof-reading for semanti... See more I know this sounds like common-sense, but I have found that reading the document as if I was the end consumer of the document is an extremely effective way of catching errors.
Putting oneself in the shoes of the end-user and conceptualizing oneself as the expert in the subject matter, if only hypothetically, causes the brain cells to start questioning every sentence of the document. The semantics of the document assume enormous significance. This kind of proof-reading for semantic errors is perhaps even more significant than proof-reading for lexical errors.
Best of all, the approach helps to catch errors even when you do not have the luxury of letting the text lie for a few hours before looking at it with a fresh eye. You are no longer reading the very words YOU have written and are so familiar with by this point, but examining the semantics of the sentences you have strung together, and checking to see if the semantics you have come up with correspond to the real world.
Another added advantage is that you truly start to learn more of the domain, even if you are already well acquainted with the subject matter. I find this continual learning process to be one of the best aspects of this profession. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Erzsébet Czopyk
Hungary
Local time: 14:34
Member (2006)
Russian to Hungarian
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SITE LOCALIZER | the importancy of other colleagues in the office | Dec 21, 2005 |
Larissa Dinsley wrote: I always ask my husband or my son to look through my translaitons - when and if I can (and, of course, when and if they are available  ). They are great at pointing out silly mistakes or passages that just "do not read right" which you may not notice because you have read them so many times they now seem perfectly OK to you!
Usually we change the final versions in the office, if there are available translators with same language pair. My son also often helps me, he can find all my mistypes/mistakes (as he told, he is the employee of the company with lowest salary
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