Back-translation follies...

Sometimes, an end client will request that documents of theirs that have already been translated into some other language be sent out to be translated back into the document's original language. The idea here is for the "back-translation" to act as a sort of quality check of the first translation.

There are limits to what a translator can do in this regard, because of various factors. The first has to do with there being so many ways to say the same thing, and while occasionally, a back-translated sentence will be identical to the original sentence, it is more the rule that there will be a difference.

Assuming, of course, that the translation is accurate to begin with, and there's the rub!

I found out rather painfully over the past couple of days, when I found myself doing what amounted to (but was not specifically assigned as) a back-translation of some meeting minutes. My productivity took a nose-dive because I spent so much time wondering "What could possibly have been meant here?" A literal translation was simply not possible, because my talent for reproducing frequent grammatical, terminological, and usage errors is not one of my strong suits, nor would it have been advisable, because folks generally assume that source text—even if it is a translation from some other language—has been competently written.

I won't go into the details of various discussions with my client and how the problem was ultimately solved, but in the end, it was. And the document is sent. And even though it isn't yet noon, and there is still unfinished work on the plate, I feel I've earned this day's bread in full.

It's a good feeling.

Cheers...