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Poll: Would you accommodate a client who asks you to insert errors into your work?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 16:33
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Flexibility Dec 5, 2017

Yes, I'll meet most client demands, provided there is a good reason for it. In this case, it's adviseable to mention, somewhere in the text, that the mistakes are intentional.

I thought it was quite curious that some people stated they never had to do that. I mean, I regularly receive requests from my clients saying, for example, "we use rolling crane here, instead of overhead crane". You know the former is a literal and undue translation and the latter is the correct one, but you
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Yes, I'll meet most client demands, provided there is a good reason for it. In this case, it's adviseable to mention, somewhere in the text, that the mistakes are intentional.

I thought it was quite curious that some people stated they never had to do that. I mean, I regularly receive requests from my clients saying, for example, "we use rolling crane here, instead of overhead crane". You know the former is a literal and undue translation and the latter is the correct one, but you have to stick to the client's jargon (right or wrong), because they'll not review the other 100k documents where they have been using the undue term for 10 years. This is so common, I can't see how an experienced translator can possibly say they had never had to do this.

I will NOT, however, accommodate mistakes of revisers I don't agree with. I have reverted reviser changes even three times, as the document went back and forth and the reviser kept changing them back. The final word is always that of the translator, unless the reviser proves they are right and the translator is wrong, which is very, very rare.

[Edited at 2017-12-05 12:08 GMT]
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Helen Hagon
Helen Hagon  Identity Verified
Local time: 19:33
Member (2011)
Russian to English
+ ...
No Dec 5, 2017

I think this problem is particularly prevalent for translators working into English. There are such a lot of non-native speakers of English around the world, and a small number of them claim to know better than native speakers. On many occasions I have been told by a non-native that 'X' is wrong and I should change it to 'Y'. If possible, I politely explain why X is correct and Y is wrong, and perhaps suggest an alternative which might be mutually acceptable. Most customers are happy with this. ... See more
I think this problem is particularly prevalent for translators working into English. There are such a lot of non-native speakers of English around the world, and a small number of them claim to know better than native speakers. On many occasions I have been told by a non-native that 'X' is wrong and I should change it to 'Y'. If possible, I politely explain why X is correct and Y is wrong, and perhaps suggest an alternative which might be mutually acceptable. Most customers are happy with this. The exception, of course, is when there is a deliberate error in the source text to create a particular impression. Then I would attempt to replicate this in the target text.Collapse


 
Mario Chavez (X)
Mario Chavez (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 15:33
English to Spanish
+ ...
Work for hire Dec 5, 2017

Muriel Vasconcellos wrote:

I've done a work for hire. If the client wants to change something, he/she is free to do so, but I can't see any reason why they should expect me to insert an error.


The phrase work for hire is an American colloquialism that, in my opinion, has entered the legal lexicon like many other phrases such as "as-is work." I don't know about other languages, but in Spanish we use very formal legal phrases and terms and circumlocutions.

That is my first cup of coffee talking!

Seriously, the phrase 'work for hire' reminds me of another American stalwart: the hired gun. Would that mean that freelance translators are hired pens?




 
Mario Chavez (X)
Mario Chavez (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 15:33
English to Spanish
+ ...
I know better... Dec 5, 2017

Helen Hagon wrote:

I think this problem is particularly prevalent for translators working into English. There are such a lot of non-native speakers of English around the world, and a small number of them claim to know better than native speakers. On many occasions I have been told by a non-native that 'X' is wrong and I should change it to 'Y'. If possible, I politely explain why X is correct and Y is wrong, and perhaps suggest an alternative which might be mutually acceptable. Most customers are happy with this. The exception, of course, is when there is a deliberate error in the source text to create a particular impression. Then I would attempt to replicate this in the target text.


...than some native English speakers here in America. Many times in my career I've encountered an English text which I thought was written by someone with limited English skills. The truth is that they were written by native English speakers! So, what's the explanation? Simple: lack of writing skills, not that the writer was a non-native English speaker.


 
Antonio Tomás Lessa do Amaral
Antonio Tomás Lessa do Amaral
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Client is king Dec 5, 2017

they pick up the tab

 
Chié_JP
Chié_JP
Japan
Local time: 04:33
Member (2013)
English to Japanese
+ ...
I was forced to by PM, then client wanted it back Dec 5, 2017

The client was from government.

 
Rebecca Garber
Rebecca Garber  Identity Verified
Local time: 15:33
Member (2005)
German to English
+ ...
Odd wording Dec 5, 2017

I answered "no", because the question does not appear to be asking, "would you use incorrect terminology", but instead, would you add factual errors or errors in interpretation to a translation.
If the question was intended to discuss incorrect terminology, then it was worded very poorly.


 
Bruno Veilleux
Bruno Veilleux  Identity Verified
Canada
Local time: 15:33
English to French
I loathe it Dec 5, 2017

I "had to" a few times, as I had accepted work and only after I had delivered or had worked through a certain portion of the document did I get told that the glossary/TM had to be adhered to completely regardless of how little sense it made, for consistency. And the kicker: the TM was already inconsistent with itself in many instances so I had to pick which error to reproduce and stick to it, which felt like some kind of terrible backwards reconditioning of my brain.

I don't like to
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I "had to" a few times, as I had accepted work and only after I had delivered or had worked through a certain portion of the document did I get told that the glossary/TM had to be adhered to completely regardless of how little sense it made, for consistency. And the kicker: the TM was already inconsistent with itself in many instances so I had to pick which error to reproduce and stick to it, which felt like some kind of terrible backwards reconditioning of my brain.

I don't like to give up on a project I've already started, so the first time it happened I gritted my teeth and saw it to completion (it just had to be over 60,000 words, of course). The other two times, which were this year, the projects were broken into smaller batches and as soon as the situation became apparent I told my clients to seek other translators for the remainder. I absolutely cannot stand being wrong on purpose. The brain learns through repetition, and I never want mediocrity to become the norm in mine.
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Giuseppina Gatta, MA (Hons)
Giuseppina Gatta, MA (Hons)
English to Italian
+ ...
No terminology Dec 5, 2017

Rebecca Garber wrote:

I answered "no", because the question does not appear to be asking, "would you use incorrect terminology", but instead, would you add factual errors or errors in interpretation to a translation.
If the question was intended to discuss incorrect terminology, then it was worded very poorly.


No, it was not intended to discuss incorrect terminology. I am talking about real errors (grammar errors, or spelling errors). Some colleagues talked about terminology, but that was not what I intended.


 
Elizabeth Tamblin
Elizabeth Tamblin  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:33
French to English
What I would do Dec 5, 2017

I would not agree to deliberately misspell* words or use incorrect grammar, unless it was some kind of nonsense poem. However, clients are free to change things as much as they like once it is out of my hands.

*Split infinitive, I know!


 
Luca Tutino
Luca Tutino  Identity Verified
Italy
Member (2002)
English to Italian
+ ...
I might deliver both right and wrong translations, clearly marked as such Dec 6, 2017

I received similar requests in the past (some clients are convinced they know Italian better than Italians), but it never happened to me that I could not change their minds by quoting authoritative sources.

In the specific case mentioned by Giuseppina, should I not manage to convince the client that what he is asking is an error, I think I would deliver my correct translation together with a second file named "xxxxxx_incl erring amend(s) as requested by the client.xxx".


 
Maxi Schwarz
Maxi Schwarz  Identity Verified
Local time: 14:33
German to English
+ ...
no Dec 6, 2017

There are professional ethics, especially if you regularly certify the correctness and accuracy of your work, and there is also your reputation. Some of the things mentioned might not be actual true errors.

 
Seula Yun
Seula Yun  Identity Verified
South Korea
Local time: 04:33
Member (2017)
English to Korean
+ ...
I would do the same Dec 6, 2017

I would do the same.. I am trying not to bother PMs as much as possible
Luca Tutino wrote:

I received similar requests in the past (some clients are convinced they know Italian better than Italians), but it never happened to me that I could not change their minds by quoting authoritative sources.

In the specific case mentioned by Giuseppina, should I not manage to convince the client that what he is asking is an error, I think I would deliver my correct translation together with a second file named "xxxxxx_incl erring amend(s) as requested by the client.xxx".



 
Diana Obermeyer
Diana Obermeyer  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:33
Member (2013)
German to English
+ ...
Actual errors - no Jan 18, 2018

I'm happy to apply whatever glossary or style guide or preferences the client might specify.
I'm happy to localise or leave out entire sections.
I'm happy to go along with reasonable paraphrasing.
But when it comes to actual errors, I will explain why the suggestion is erroneous, what effect it has on the meaning, and that I cannot put my name to such error (gradually progressing through those steps).
If the client desperately wants to have that error in his document, he
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I'm happy to apply whatever glossary or style guide or preferences the client might specify.
I'm happy to localise or leave out entire sections.
I'm happy to go along with reasonable paraphrasing.
But when it comes to actual errors, I will explain why the suggestion is erroneous, what effect it has on the meaning, and that I cannot put my name to such error (gradually progressing through those steps).
If the client desperately wants to have that error in his document, he can insert it himself.

Every German thinks that their English is perfect. Many are keen to prove that by germanising English texts. Most are happy to accept explanations.
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Poll: Would you accommodate a client who asks you to insert errors into your work?






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