Starting out in the translation industry can be an intimidating experience. “Where do I start?”, “Who can I turn to for help?”, “Are there courses I can take?”, “How do I tell if something is a good translation and how do I polish my skills?” These questions and more were on my mind as I started out on my journey to become a translator.

I was eager to start my translation career, however, it wasn’t long before I hit several daunting walls, one of which was literal translation. I turned to an experienced translator for help and my mentor offered the same critique of my work – my texts didn’t sound natural, I was sticking too close to the source and producing a text that was written in English words, but would never be understood by a native English reader. What next?

The translation process

Different types, sizes and shapes of translations require a different approach. Through the years spent polishing my own and others’ translations, I’ve improved a translation process that works well every time. Follow this simple three-step strategy to make sure your next translation is written naturally, with the target audience in mind.

1. Initial translation

This is where the meaning of the original text is accurately translated into the target language. This is the time to research all unknown terminology and follow the glossary correctly. The final result is a translation that is accurate, but one that is not yet ready for the reader. It is a sheep in wolf’s clothing – the idea of the original, expressed in the target language with the sentence structure of the original. In certain cases, this sounds like MT.

2. Initial proofreading

The translator should look at the two texts side-by-side and proofread the translation. All spelling, meaning and grammatical errors should be corrected, with a final check to ensure the source meaning and nuance is well preserved in the target.

3. Rest then proofread again

Simply walk away. Go get a glass of water, go to the restroom or find the cat. Your eyes are so adjusted to the text, you will skim over anything that sounds odd and may miss obvious errors. Take your eyes away from the computer, even if just to look out the window for a few minutes. When you’re back for your second and final proofreading – this is crucial – read only the target text. The source meaning is already all there, so you don’t need it. Reading just the target text allows you to place yourself in your reader’s shoes and make the text more natural in the target language.

This last step is crucial in avoiding literal translation and making sure your text sounds natural in your target language. If you’ve ever heard someone say “it sounds ok, but it sounds like a translation…”, this last step was likely overlooked during the translation process.

After spending years improving my process and advancing my knowledge, I finally became a certified translator with the Canadian national professional translator association, CTTIC. It was also during this time that I became Gengo’s Head of Quality, managing our translator testing, reviewing, scoring and the entire ST team. Gengo’s quality system is designed to help new translators improve through feedback and reviews. By following this process and improving through the feedback in your reviews, you’ll be on your way towards knocking your next translation out of the park.

Have any questions about how to improve the quality of your translations? Leave your comment and I’d be happy to share my experience with more articles!