Quality check for my own translation?
Thread poster: Stephanie Ellenburg
Stephanie Ellenburg
Stephanie Ellenburg
United States
Local time: 14:46
Member (2021)
English to German
Jan 7, 2021

Hi everyone,

I would like to hear your opinion about this. I was asked to translate a text for a survey. After submitting the translation the agency would then transfer my text into their questionnaire and then I'm supposed to check if everything gets displayed correctly.

First of all, I was asked for a discount when it comes to repetitions, but I wouldn't work with a CAT tool, so I don't know how I'd be able to tell how many words there are considering it's a pretty b
... See more
Hi everyone,

I would like to hear your opinion about this. I was asked to translate a text for a survey. After submitting the translation the agency would then transfer my text into their questionnaire and then I'm supposed to check if everything gets displayed correctly.

First of all, I was asked for a discount when it comes to repetitions, but I wouldn't work with a CAT tool, so I don't know how I'd be able to tell how many words there are considering it's a pretty big translation project. Would you object?

My second question is, do I charge for the translation only or also for the quality check? It seems strange that I'm asked to do both. Don't agencies usually hire two people for that?

Thank you very much,
Stephanie
Collapse


 
Tina Vonhof (X)
Tina Vonhof (X)
Canada
Local time: 14:46
Dutch to English
+ ...
A possible solution? Jan 7, 2021

Hi Stephanie,

If you would like to keep working for this client, maybe you could try to negotiate. Explain that you have no way to check for repetitions and cannot offer a discount for that but you will not charge for the quality check. If you have already proofread your translation, the quality check should not take very long, unless they do a poor job of transferring it to the questionnaire.


[Edited at 2021-01-07 20:17 GMT]


MollyRose
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Sarah Maidstone
 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 21:46
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
@Stephanie Jan 7, 2021

Stephanie Ellenburg wrote:
My second question is, do I charge for the translation only or also for the quality check? It seems strange that I'm asked to do both. Don't agencies usually hire two people for that?


If the final file is in the same format as the original file, then it may even be the translator's own duty to check the final file. (-: But in this case, the final version is not in the same format as the original, so essentially the client is asking you to perform something akin to a DTP check.

This is a separate task, and you should quote for it separately (or: your price should be higher). It may be that the client already has an estimate of how many minutes or hours it normally takes to read through the entire survey.

You're not checking the language quality of the translation, but rather the formatting of the translation. Now, it's true that this sort of checking can be done by another person, but it makes sense to let the original translator check it, because since the translator is already familiar with the text, it would be easier for him to check the formatting.

I was asked to translate a text for a survey. After submitting the translation the agency would then transfer my text into their questionnaire and then I'm supposed to check if everything gets displayed correctly.


Yes, I often get such a request if I've been involved in the translation of the survey. Often, the client supplies a file that contains one or more "routes" that I should take through the survey to check that everything is fine. Often, the corrections need to be done in an Excel file, but I also need to take screenshots (and number them) and sometimes I also edit the screenshots in e.g. MS Paint to add a big arrow or circle where the error occurs. Sometimes, the client supplies the bilingual file so that I can make corrections in it, but sometimes the client just wants the error report, and they get one of their engineers to correct the error. Often, after they've fixed the reported errors, they ask me to go through the survey YET AGAIN (since, often, you can't jump to a specific page).

First of all, I was asked for a discount when it comes to repetitions, but I wouldn't work with a CAT tool, so I don't know how I'd be able to tell how many words there are considering it's a pretty big translation project. Would you object?


Well, you have to charge for the words that you type. So if you don't use a CAT tool, it means that you're going to have to type the repetitions manually, so yes: you'd have to charge for it.

On the other hand, the types of repetitions in a survey may include lots of scales that simply repeat, e.g. "None of the time, some of the time, most of the time, all of the time", over and over and over, so it may be that some of these repetitions could be easy to copy/paste. That said, I would not bank on it. Rather play it safe. Ask if the client can send you the files in a format that either identifies the repetitions (so that you can simply leave them out) or that have the repetitions removed (so that you don't see them, and thus don't translate it).

Are you willing to use a CAT tool? For example, OmegaT is free, and fairly simple to use and learn, and perhaps the client's file format can be handled in OmegaT.

Tina Vonhof wrote:
If you have already proofread your translation, the quality check should not take very long...


I assumed that the question relates to an online survey, i.e. one that requires one to choose options from lists and then click the Next button again and again. Checking such a survey can take time (2-3 times as long as it usually takes a member of the public to fill in the survey), unless you don't actually read the text but only check for formatting issues.

[Edited at 2021-01-07 20:21 GMT]


MollyRose
 
Stephanie Ellenburg
Stephanie Ellenburg
United States
Local time: 14:46
Member (2021)
English to German
TOPIC STARTER
@Tina and @Samuel Jan 7, 2021

Hello Tina and Samuel,

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer me. I've got to say I also thought of Tina's solution which could be a compromise, but Samuel has a point. It might not sound like much, but it could actually take a while to click through the entire questionnaire in the end. I will try to find out how elaborate the formatting check would be.

About the repetitions, I will explain the situation to the client and see what he responds. Thanks for showi
... See more
Hello Tina and Samuel,

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer me. I've got to say I also thought of Tina's solution which could be a compromise, but Samuel has a point. It might not sound like much, but it could actually take a while to click through the entire questionnaire in the end. I will try to find out how elaborate the formatting check would be.

About the repetitions, I will explain the situation to the client and see what he responds. Thanks for showing me some options there, Samuel.

Take care,
Stephanie
Collapse


 


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:


You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

Quality check for my own translation?







Trados Business Manager Lite
Create customer quotes and invoices from within Trados Studio

Trados Business Manager Lite helps to simplify and speed up some of the daily tasks, such as invoicing and reporting, associated with running your freelance translation business.

More info »
Wordfast Pro
Translation Memory Software for Any Platform

Exclusive discount for ProZ.com users! Save over 13% when purchasing Wordfast Pro through ProZ.com. Wordfast is the world's #1 provider of platform-independent Translation Memory software. Consistently ranked the most user-friendly and highest value

Buy now! »