Following is an explanation I prepared of the above Flash presentation,
before I learned the programming language myself.
Explanation of the Translation Process for the Flash Presentation
One of the aspect of my website which I would like to develop is to explain to customers how the
translation process works.
Essentially, there is a translator, sometimes followed by a proofreader, and then a vettor (the person who checks the translation against the original to make sure that nothing is missing and that the formatting is correct). After that there can be a final check by the project manager before the translation is sent to the customer.
But with large translation projects, this system becomes more complicated, and I think it would be interesting to explain this using some Flash presentation.
Let’s say 200 pages need to be translated within two weeks. Perhaps we would use 15 translators. One lead translator would be used, who would be in charge of choosing translation terminology, and who might spot check the translations by the other translators to make sure terminology and style are generally followed. The lead translator would create a dictionary of translated terminology, which the other translators would follow. When confronted with new terminology which is not in the dictionary, the other translators might ask the lead translator what terminology should be used. The dictionary would be constantly updated and sent to the translators as support/reference material.
The aim of this would be to maintain translation consistency and cohesion of terminology, so that the entire document would be uniform.
In some cases, the lead translator might want to consult with a terminology specialist (who we can provide for him/her). A person who works and is an expert in that particular field but who is not necessarily a good or professional translator.
As soon as one translator would translate a day’s worth of translation, perhaps 10 pages (let us refer to that as a “package”), that section would then be forwarded to the next stage, which would be the proofreading stage. Usually we would try to use a single proofreader, to strive for consistent style. The proofreader can also make sure that the translators have adhered to the translation terminology in the dictionary prepared by lead translator, sending the relevant translators particular instructions if they are not following the instructions properly.
Alternatively, the work performed by the proofreader can be sent back to the translator, where the Revisions tool in Word can be used to show the translator exactly what changes were made by the proofreader. The translator could then study the changes and learn from them, to improve their work, improving overall translation quality and saving the proofreader work with upcoming packages produced by that translator.
After the proofreading stage, the individual packages would then be forwarded to the vettors, who would make sure that the formatting is consistent according to the original. If something is found missing, it is sent back to the translator for finalisation. Once a package is finalised, or all the packages have been finalised, they are compiled together into a single document and the overall formatting unified. For this purpose, a template can be created at the beginning of the project into which the translators translate, to help with overall unification of formatting.
So I thought this could all be visually explained in some Flash presentation.
If possible, I would like to set it up so that the Flash presentation could not be downloaded and used by another translation agency.
I first imagined using squares or rectangles to represent each translator, with some flow chart or smaller squares or triangles representing each package (day’s worth of translation) produced by each translator, where the squares are lined up horizontally next to one another, representing each stage of the overall
translation process. If more than one proofreader is used, which may be necessary with larger projects which must be completed within a tight deadline, there could be several squares for the proofreading stage as well. Same with the vetting stage.
The terminology specialist could be a separate square to the right of the translation phase. A lead proofreader could be used as well, who would spot check the work of the other proofreaders.
So I think it would be nice to explain all this visually somehow, to impress onto a customer our ability to handle such large translation projects within a short period of time, something we have accomplished many times in the past.
French to English Translations Translator
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