Last week, we talked about how to Ensure Accuracy in our translations. The third Best Practice in the Fidelity area of translation quality is to Check Your Logic. We are trying to debunk the myth that even if we can’t clearly convey the idea of the original document in our translation, the readers will be able to figure it out.
The reality is that a translation is only useful if it is clear and easily understandable. Part of our responsibility as translators is to make the readers’ job easier: they shouldn’t have to read a sentence several times to understand it.
Here are four keys to making sure your translation is logical.
- COMPARE your translation to the original document and make sure it matches. Did you find any logic errors in the original document that need to be corrected in the translation?
- READ your translation out loud, paying close attention to be sure you can follow the train of thought, and that there are no leaps in logic. If there is a step-by-step process described, visualize yourself following these steps. Are they in the right order?
- CHECK TERMINOLOGY in your translation. Have you used the most accurate translation for these terms and have you used terminology consistently so the reader is not confused?
- VARIOUS LOGIC ISSUES to check: titles, sources, names, verb tenses, mathematical calculations, dates, metaphors, idioms, etc.
A complete discussion about logic in translations would take more space than we have in this blog, but this gives you a general strategy to follow!
Next week, we will talk about the the important aspect of Readability in translation. Stay tuned!
Have a great day!
Liane 🙂
