What to consider when translating & proofreading 💡(especially proofreading of MTPE assignments)

✓ Tone of voice

Is the style and word choices suitable for the intended audience? 

For a stronger impact, it’s important to ensure that the message sounds engaging, relevant and truly resonates with the readers.

✓ Target audience

Are the readers industry experts, in-house employees, the general public, old, young, hospital patients, travel enthusiasts? Knowing your audience is crucial to hit the right note in localization. In-depth knowledge about the target culture is also required here. Applying this knowledge shows respect and dedication towards the reader.

✓ Proper nouns

Geographical names, specific people, concepts and sites – City names, monuments or historical figures could be identical, have different spelling or vary completely between languages. It’s a good rule of thumb to check if these need to be localized.

✓ Syntax

Making sure that the sentence structure is natural and flows well in the target language. It’s an art to stay true to the source text while tailoring it to fit a new unique audience at the same time. Breaking up long sentences, changing passive into active voice for example, can make the target text look more idiomatic, depending on the context and language.

✓ Terminology

Consistency is key. It’s important to translate terminology consistently to keep the message clear and coherent, or you could risk confusing the readers. Having the target audience in mind is also crucial. While complex terminology in sectors like medicine, law and economy works well for experts, there may be more suitable layman’s terms for people without special knowledge in a certain subject.

I hope this was useful. Have a nice week everyone!