Editing stupor...

[alexpgp]

Even under the best of circumstances, it's hard to maintain an "editing speed" of 1000 target words per hour over any length of time. And unlike translation, which can receive a computer assist from time to time via translation memory, editing remains an eternal, straightforward slog.

Even if the translation is good, it still takes time to (a) read the original, (b) grok it, (c) translate it, in one's mind, and (d) compare the translation in your mind with the one on the page, decide what - if anything - needs changing, and change it.

I got kind of a late start today, and have edited about 8,000 target words over the past 8 hours. I'm leaving about 1500 words for tomorrow, after which I will go into major despeckling mode.

Indeed, what despeckling I can accomplish tomorrow will not include an edit in the classical sense (the document is weighing in at about 50,000 words) but more of an effort to tighten things up, make sure terms are translated consistently, that grammar has a fighting chance of carrying the day, and anything else I can accomplish in the time I have.

Still, I'm feeling better now than I did this morning, and I'm sure I'll be floating on air at this time tomorrow.

Cheers...

Comments

[furzicle.livejournal.com]

Are you translating from Russian to English, or English to Russian, or Chinese to French, or....? And which of these is the easier????

[alexpgp.livejournal.com]

I work from Russian to English and French to English. This I do to put bread on the table.

I dabble in several other languages for fun, wanting to improve my Spanish (because it's commonly spoken in our hemisphere), my German (because my stepdad said I'd never be any good at it), my Italian (because I love the way it sounds), and my almost nonexistent Chinese (so I can wrap my mind around how it differs from Western languages, and also because I think it will be a significant language of the future).

Which is easier? I don't know. Personally, I find Chinese to be quite hard, but a billion or so children appear to have had no trouble learning it. :^)

Cheers...

[furzicle.livejournal.com]

That always IS impressive, that the children speak it so well (!)

I can imagine translating from something into English. The other way round sounds much harder.

I feel kind of embarrassed that I know so little Spanish, considering how pervasive it is here. I think I basically went on strike against it when it was shoved down our throats when I was in elementary school. I think even then I realised that the teachers had perfectly hideous accents.

Subsequently I studied French, then German, then Norwegian. It is Norwegian that I speak and understand the best. It is odd how your mind wants to use whatever most recently learned language is in your mind. I think you had a recent post something along those lines. Perhaps I am remembering the person whose comment was that they remembered best the lines of a poem that they liked the best.

I get a kick out of comparing languages. I can understand a fair amount of Dutch because it seems to be the half breed cousin of a mating of the three parents: German, Norwegian/Swedish, and English.

Alas, I wish I were truly good at these languages, yet I am not. I must take up the habit of listening online. I really feel that is the secret.