Last week, we talked about the second step in moving from being bilingual to being able to do written translation: learning to avoid language interference and to arrange words naturally in the other language.
The third step relates to the third most important aspect of translation quality, Conformity. A translation must conform to standard writing practices by having proper spelling, grammar and punctuation.
Step #3 in becoming a translator is to become conscientious about language details. During this process, you realize that spelling, grammar and punctuation errors are annoying to readers and can even confuse them. So you make a point of checking all the little details to get them right.
Here are two examples of how punctuation differs between languages:
- In Spanish, a question mark or exclamation mark needs a matching mark earlier in the sentence. For example, emphasizing a thank you would be: ¡Gracias!
- In French, chevrons « » are used instead of English quotation marks “”.
A bilingual person who becomes a good translator learns to carefully check spelling, grammar and punctuation. Incorrect spelling can cause confusion, since there are so many homophones in certain languages (words pronounced the same with different spellings and meanings). Grammar is also crucial, as wrong verb conjugation or prepositions can really interfere with the reading experience.
Basically, Step #3 for a bilingual to become a translator involves a two-pronged approach: using a spelling and grammar corrector and doing careful proofreading. Microsoft Word has a built-in corrector for many languages, but translators can benefit from more powerful tools such as Antidote in French or My Stilus in Spanish. This results in a translation that has Conformity!
As a recap, the three steps in the process from being bilingual to being a written translator are:
- Learn to make detailed connections between the two languages… to achieve translation Fidelity.
- Avoid language interference and arrange words naturally in the other language… for the sake of translation Readability.
- Become conscientious about spelling, grammar and punctuation… to ensure translation Conformity.
Have a great day!
Liane 🙂
www.LearnTranslation.com
www.NonprofitTranslation.org
