Who is responsible for the final product - the translator or the proofreader?
Thread poster: Alex Kerby
Alex Kerby
Alex Kerby
United States
Oct 8, 2018

Hi,

I have become a bit confused about what is expected of translators vs proofreaders and who should be responsible for the final product. It would be great if you guys could please give an opinion about this!

Here are 2 examples I wanted to share:

1) I normally translate medical texts but I am not a specialist in medical patents. An agency contacted me and asked if I could translate a medical patent document. I explained that I felt confident with the med
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Hi,

I have become a bit confused about what is expected of translators vs proofreaders and who should be responsible for the final product. It would be great if you guys could please give an opinion about this!

Here are 2 examples I wanted to share:

1) I normally translate medical texts but I am not a specialist in medical patents. An agency contacted me and asked if I could translate a medical patent document. I explained that I felt confident with the medical part but not so much patent terminology. The agency said not to worry, they would get a proofreader that is specialized in patent terminology.

So I translated the text, then got to approve the proofreader's corrections (accepted all). A few weeks later the agency got back to me saying that their end client didn't think some of the patent terminology was right. I ended up calling the patent office and asking for clarifications, but really, was it for me to do? I felt that I had made it clear to the agency that patent terminology is my limitation and they implied they would have it sorted in the proofreading round. So why didn't they turn to the proofreader (who was supposed to be the patent specialist) for clarification?

2) This time I translated the text, it got proofread, I approved the proofreader's work. A few weeks later the agency got back to me saying that they themselves checked the work and there were some inconsistencies. The agency doesn't speak the language I translate into and the inconsistencies they had flagged and asked me to explain were just normal grammar. There wasn't any fault with the translation, which is why the proofreader made no changes, I assume. However, in this case should they have come to me or to the proofreader?

Cases like these are becoming annoying because they take up my time and the agencies expect me to do the corrections/explanations for free. Occasionally I've asked them to pay or sometimes refused to do the additional work but it is stressful to do that and I am unsure whether it's me that's unfair or are they trying to take advantage of me.

I would really appreciate if you could please share your opinion about this and how you deal with it, thanks!
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pascie
 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 00:02
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
This is how I see it... Oct 8, 2018

If the agency asks me, the translator, to approve the final version after being edited, I will be the person responsible for the final version, but most of the agencies I work with don’t act like this and I don’t know if my work is edited or not…

John Fossey
 
Merab Dekano
Merab Dekano  Identity Verified
Spain
Member (2014)
English to Spanish
+ ...
My opinion Oct 8, 2018

Case number 1: I think it was a mistake, really. No matter how badly the agency insisted, you should have declined the translation. It is like saying: I am not confident about performing this open heart surgery, but if you insist… and then the patient is supervised by a cardiologist… it might work that way…

Case number 2: If the proofread file is returned to you and you approve the changes (or absence thereof), you, as a translator, are responsible for the work (in any case,
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Case number 1: I think it was a mistake, really. No matter how badly the agency insisted, you should have declined the translation. It is like saying: I am not confident about performing this open heart surgery, but if you insist… and then the patient is supervised by a cardiologist… it might work that way…

Case number 2: If the proofread file is returned to you and you approve the changes (or absence thereof), you, as a translator, are responsible for the work (in any case, legally speaking, the agency is).
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jyuan_us
jyuan_us  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 20:02
Member (2005)
English to Chinese
+ ...
What if... Oct 8, 2018

Teresa Borges wrote:

If the agency asks me, the translator, to approve the final version after being edited, I will be the person responsible for the final version, but most of the agencies I work with don’t act like this and I don’t know if my work is edited or not…


I guess you will only be requested to approve what the editor has changed. What if the editor has failed to catch some errors on your translation? I suppose you won't read your own translation again word by word after someone has edited it.


 
Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 01:02
Member (2003)
Danish to English
+ ...
It depends... Oct 8, 2018

It depends on a lot of things, and especially what has been agreed on with the customer.

I learnt a lot as a rookie proofreader by reading translations done by non-natives who were subject specialists and trained translators. Here I was the second pair of eyes and the English native. Basically, the expert translators were responsible for the terminology and the final results, and I had to talk them through any changes I wanted to make on the phone.

Later, I was the mor
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It depends on a lot of things, and especially what has been agreed on with the customer.

I learnt a lot as a rookie proofreader by reading translations done by non-natives who were subject specialists and trained translators. Here I was the second pair of eyes and the English native. Basically, the expert translators were responsible for the terminology and the final results, and I had to talk them through any changes I wanted to make on the phone.

Later, I was the more experienced translator, and was proofreading work by well-trained beginners. They still had to approve the changes, but usually I as the proofreader would be expected to take the responsibility.

I don't proofread so much these days, but if the translator or author of the text is not a native speaker of English, then I am probably responsible for the final result.

However, all else being equal, I would assume that the translator should always aim to deliver a translation that can be used as it is. If there are questions, then the translator is responsible.
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pascie
pascie  Identity Verified
Local time: 20:02
English to French
+ ...
Beware of free consulting work Oct 9, 2018

Here is why.
Well versed in the art translators are often used as consultants, especially by some agencies. Meaning the translator with his/her knowledge, experience, terminology can be asked to answer some questions by an in-house editor who has little or no clue of the target language, including but not limited to punctuation rules. This is designed to better screening cheaper newbies on the market and draft their own writing rules requirements. In these instances, if said translator ref
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Here is why.
Well versed in the art translators are often used as consultants, especially by some agencies. Meaning the translator with his/her knowledge, experience, terminology can be asked to answer some questions by an in-house editor who has little or no clue of the target language, including but not limited to punctuation rules. This is designed to better screening cheaper newbies on the market and draft their own writing rules requirements. In these instances, if said translator refuses to act as a pro bono language or linguistic consultant, then liability is on the editor.
On the other hand, if said professional translator accepts to further answer, he thus has to be compensated on an hourly basis, on top of original translation fee, and yes he/she will be liable.
Editors shall not be confused with proofreaders.
I agree said veteran translators works can be delivered as is.
I disagree with following statement: "If there are questions, then the translator is responsible".
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Josephine Cassar
 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 00:02
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
You suppose wrongly... Oct 9, 2018

jyuan_us wrote:

Teresa Borges wrote:

If the agency asks me, the translator, to approve the final version after being edited, I will be the person responsible for the final version, but most of the agencies I work with don’t act like this and I don’t know if my work is edited or not…


I guess you will only be requested to approve what the editor has changed. What if the editor has failed to catch some errors on your translation? I suppose you won't read your own translation again word by word after someone has edited it.


... because I do read everything again!


 
Giovanni Guarnieri MITI, MIL
Giovanni Guarnieri MITI, MIL  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 00:02
Member (2004)
English to Italian
me too... Oct 9, 2018

Teresa Borges wrote:

... because I do read everything again!


The OP hasn't got many options, here... personally, if this kept happening, I would drop them...


 
jyuan_us
jyuan_us  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 20:02
Member (2005)
English to Chinese
+ ...
I'll not assume or suppose anything but, Oct 9, 2018

Teresa Borges wrote:

jyuan_us wrote:

Teresa Borges wrote:

If the agency asks me, the translator, to approve the final version after being edited, I will be the person responsible for the final version, but most of the agencies I work with don’t act like this and I don’t know if my work is edited or not…


I guess you will only be requested to approve what the editor has changed. What if the editor has failed to catch some errors on your translation? I suppose you won't read your own translation again word by word after someone has edited it.


... because I do read everything again!


The editor's role is to correct errors on your translation copy and polish it so that the text flows better. When the agency gets back to you with the copy with track changes, it expects you to review the editor's changes to approve, reject, or modify them. In fact, a lot of agencies put it clearly that you should not do anything except reviewing the editor's changes, unless you find a serious error by chance.

It just doesn't follow the logic for you to edit your entire translation copy sentence by sentence after the editor has worked on it.


 
jyuan_us
jyuan_us  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 20:02
Member (2005)
English to Chinese
+ ...
This might not be that relevant to you question, but Oct 9, 2018

Alex Kerby wrote:

1) I normally translate medical texts but I am not a specialist in medical patents. An agency contacted me and asked if I could translate a medical patent document. I explained that I felt confident with the medical part but not so much patent terminology. The agency said not to worry, they would get a proofreader that is specialized in patent terminology.



Is "patent" a specialization per se? I think any experienced linguist can tackle the patent terms with google search, even if it is his or her first time to translate a patent document. The patent terms are not like those of the rocket science anyway.


 
Min Kyu Kim
Min Kyu Kim
United States
Local time: 20:02
Translation Vs Proofreading Oct 24, 2018

The first step in the production process is the creation of a source-to-target language translation appropriate for the intended audience. Far from literal translation, our professional linguists adapt the source language, so that original nuances and tone remain intact in the localized version and the original message is conveyed in an equivalent and culturally sensitive manner.

Proofreading

A consistent, high level of quality is maintained by thoroughly proofreading t
... See more
The first step in the production process is the creation of a source-to-target language translation appropriate for the intended audience. Far from literal translation, our professional linguists adapt the source language, so that original nuances and tone remain intact in the localized version and the original message is conveyed in an equivalent and culturally sensitive manner.

Proofreading

A consistent, high level of quality is maintained by thoroughly proofreading the translated text. This function is performed by a third native speaker of the target language, also familiar with the Glossary, Style Guide and Brand Guide which have now established the client's brand voice in the target language.
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Who is responsible for the final product - the translator or the proofreader?







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