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Translating deltas...
Apr. 12th, 2014 06:16 pmOne of the more challenging types of translations to do are those in which one party to a pending contract suggests changes to the wording of the document.
The reason for this has to do with the obvious fact (to folk familiar with languages, at least) that different languages have different sentence structures, so that a suggestion of the form
First off, to pull off this translation successfully, you actually need to have the different language versions of the document available. You'd think this is a no-brainer, but it's far from always the case.
As the translator, you must ask for the documents referenced in the document you're working on. Three outcomes spring easily to mind: you'll either get the documents, the client will say, "Just do the best you can," or the job will be cancelled or put on hold.
A client who saddles a translator with such a job on a "Just do the best you can" basis actually makes the translator's life a bit easier by turning the job into an "ordinary" translation, and provided the translation is competent, the client cannot complain about the result. The catch here is that whoever has to actually deal with reconciling said result with the referenced documents may find the going difficult and difficulties oftimes result in scapegoats. And who better than the translator?
With the referenced documents at hand, the job offers its own challenges. The most compelling is figuring out how to massage the text to accommodate additions and deletions. It's something of an improvisation, requiring the translator to make judgment calls (a quality falling into increasing disrepute in this bureaucratic world)
Break's over. Back to work!.
The reason for this has to do with the obvious fact (to folk familiar with languages, at least) that different languages have different sentence structures, so that a suggestion of the form
in item C of Article III, after the words "...<blah, blah, blah>," insert the clause <snafu, sapfu, and fubar>";may cause the translator a few problems.
First off, to pull off this translation successfully, you actually need to have the different language versions of the document available. You'd think this is a no-brainer, but it's far from always the case.
As the translator, you must ask for the documents referenced in the document you're working on. Three outcomes spring easily to mind: you'll either get the documents, the client will say, "Just do the best you can," or the job will be cancelled or put on hold.
A client who saddles a translator with such a job on a "Just do the best you can" basis actually makes the translator's life a bit easier by turning the job into an "ordinary" translation, and provided the translation is competent, the client cannot complain about the result. The catch here is that whoever has to actually deal with reconciling said result with the referenced documents may find the going difficult and difficulties oftimes result in scapegoats. And who better than the translator?
With the referenced documents at hand, the job offers its own challenges. The most compelling is figuring out how to massage the text to accommodate additions and deletions. It's something of an improvisation, requiring the translator to make judgment calls (a quality falling into increasing disrepute in this bureaucratic world)
Break's over. Back to work!.
