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Stages of Translation
Though many translators claim they can do the job properly, only a few of them have the capabilities and potential to offer professional work. Translation is not an easy career graduates choose to practice immediately after leaving college; the profession of translation is improved through accumulative knowledge and experience through several years of learning and hard work. If you love it and you have the potential, you can acquire knowledge and experience by patience and willpower. In this article, I am sharing my translation experience after 7 years of work with my colleagues in order to share experience, learn from one another, and contribute to the field. After spending 3 years in the translation sector, I discovered a helpful process which can be divided into 7 stages to go through while translating, provided that clients give me enough time to do so.
First: Warm-up
Before I start translating a specific project, I skim the project in the source language in order to get an idea about the subject and create the topic map in mind. This depends on the length of the project. If the project is long, such as a book or a research paper, I go quickly through the book chapters to give me an idea about the type of language needed (scientific, general, education, religious, ..etc.).
Second: Exploration
After I familiarize myself with the type of the source language, I make use of the internet to get related terms, glossaries, and dictionaries that serve the topic. This takes some time, but it saves me time later. Sometimes, my clients attach terms and abbreviations used in the source language with their projects to make sure the abbreviations are used correctly. I keep these glossaries and references near to me to use while starting translating the project.
Third: Translation Stage
After preparing myself for translation, I start the work from the beginning of the project. It is easier for me to read the whole paragraph first before translating it into the target language. This helps me understand the meaning and the idea of the paragraph and helps me choose the appropriate connectors to translate the message of the source language into the target language.
Fourth: Evaluation & Feedback
After I complete translating each paragraph, I re-read the paragraph in the source language again and compare it to the paragraph I have produced in the target language to make sure that there is internal cohesion in meaning and in language. In addition, I revise my work of the whole chapter before I go to the following chapter. I repeat the same process until I complete the whole translation.
Fifth: Stage of Final Revision
This stage is important in order to make sure that the terms, concepts, and abbreviations are used constantly throughout the whole project.
Sixth: Stage of Proofreading
I proofread the produced translation to check spelling, correct grammar, and fix punctuation.
Seventh: Design & Submission
In this stage, I give some attention to take care of the design (fonts, size, heading, …etc.), and finally I submit the work.
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