Proofreading of translations and foreign language proofreading

 

This page answers the following questions about foreign language proofreading:

What is foreign language proofreading?

Foreign language proofreading refers to the proofreading of texts in a foreign language or the proofreading of translations from foreign languages. The focus here is on the “target language” – in other words, the language into which the translation is made.

Translators: Clients in this case are, for example, translators who would like to have their translations into the target language checked once again. These could be German native speakers who translate from another language into the target language of German, but who are not a hundred percent sure of their spelling, grammar, style, use of idioms and so on.

Companies: Firms that want to offer information in another target language, for example, in order to attract fresh customers or open up new markets, might also make use of a foreign language proofreading service.

Do I need a foreign language proofreading service?

As a rule, yes. Our German proofreading service has already shown that translators who translate from another language into German may not always be completely sure of their German spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc. They also often have questions about the content of their translations.

We see the same occurring in English language translations. Our clients often face the issue either of having us translate into English or of having their own translations into English proofread by us once again. At the latest when the translation is proofread, it becomes clear that a translation done by us would often have been the better choice – or at least that our foreign language proofreading was necessary.

And especially when longer texts are translated and compiled by several people in a team, foreign language proofreading is essential to ensure consistency of spellings and translations – for example, one person may be using “in-house” or “realize” while their colleague is writing “inhouse” and “realise”.

The problem with translation software is that, though the algorithms (especially in English) are improving, they’re far from error-free. As soon as a word has several meanings in the source language or in the target language, there’s no longer any guarantee that a text will truly reflect the intentions of its writer. With our foreign language proofreading service, we remove these stumbling blocks.

In terms of orthography, for example, most artificial translators don’t use the ‘m’ dash (‘–’) common to English but rather the ‘n’ dash (‘-’) which is used in German. They also use straight rather than curved quote marks – " instead of “ and ” – so this can lead to inconsistencies in a translated text.

In terms of style, you may be looking to present your product in a more informal way, but machine translations will generally go for ‘do not’ or ‘is not’ rather than ‘don’t’ and ‘isn’t’.

Machines are also relatively poor at choosing synonyms – they may use the word ‘company’ all the time, which can make your translation flat and repetitive. Instead, our native translators can choose ‘firm’, ‘business’, ‘corporation’ or ‘enterprise’ (which all have subtle differences between them that an algorithm often doesn’t pick up on).      

Which languages are corrected in our foreign language proofreading service?

We currently offer the following languages in our foreign language proofreading service:

• German
• English
• French
• Italian
• Japanese

We’re always working on expanding our foreign language proofreading service, so please don’t hesitate to ask for other languages.

What does a foreign language proofreading cost?

We offer 3 packages for our foreign language proofreading, which differ slightly in price, with our most comprehensive package comprising the most services. Our price table gives you an overview of our services.

To give you some leeway, our prices differ depending on the services. For example, the service package ‘Foreign language proofreading “light”’ is cheaper than the service package ‘Foreign language proofreading “BASIC”’, which in turn is cheaper than our service package ‘Foreign language proofreading COMPLETE”’.

Our prices in foreign language proofreading:

* 1 standard page = 1,600 characters

Is foreign language proofreading worthwhile?

Yes, because...

For translators

In our experience, it often happens that translators are not 100% sure of how to express themselves in the target language; this can even affect German translators. Not only may a translation be unclear in terms of content, there might also be deficiencies in spelling, grammar and punctuation, for example. Sometimes there are questions about the content that need to be discussed with the translator – for example, about technical or historically appropriate terminology.

For freelance translators in particular, poor translations can threaten their livelihoods. Freelance translators who offer their clients a translation (and our foreign language proofreading service) as a package can protect their business, maintain their good reputation and benefit from further lucrative commissions.

For companies

In our experience, texts are often translated in-house, for example to save money or time in an ongoing project. We’d strongly advise you not to take this path, because these translations are often quite error-prone – and the translator may well be unfamiliar with typical idioms or usage of words and phrases.

Companies are often faced with the decision to have texts translated – or at least to have their own translations proofread. At the latest during proofreading, it often becomes clear that a translation done by us from scratch would have been the better choice – however, it is always advisable to have at least one foreign language proofreading carried out in order to ensure that the final result reads as smoothly and clearly as you wish.

Gain new customers and develop your market profile

Communication is essential, especially in a foreign language that is commonly used in the market you want to expand into. Therefore, texts to be communicated should be flawless in the respective target language right from the start: to provide customers and market players with the best possible impression.

However, texts that have been translated and produced by several people can come across as clumsy and inconsistent – leaving your potential customers with an unconvincing impression of your services or products. Reliable texts, on the other hand, are convincing right from the start – and build the basis for a relationship of mutual trust and cooperation.

Use translation software – and then trust people

Translation software is getting better and better – that much is clear – and it now makes the work of translators much easier. But would you also rely exclusively on software to open up new markets?

A word that has several meanings in the source language or in the target language can drive software into a corner – a real person can advise you on this to ensure that, in your corporate messaging, you’re communicating what you want to communicate. In foreign language proofreading, we don’t just simply correct your text, but also ask the right questions.

How would I pay for the foreign language editing service?

To settle the invoice for our foreign language editing service, you’ll always receive an invoice from us with VAT shown, the service provided by us (in this case, the foreign language editing service), the fully itemised invoice amount and the bank details. You can pay by bank transfer. We also offer payment via PayPal.

What do the corrections look like after foreign language proofreading?

In Word files

If you send us Word files for foreign language proofreading, you’ll always receive 2 versions back.

In version 1, you can see which changes we have made thanks to the tracking mode in Word. This version is for your information only.

In version 2, our corrections have already been incorporated into the document. You can then continue working with version 2, save time and effort and concentrate on the essentials. If you choose the “COMPLETE” foreign language proofreading service package, only our marginal comments will be visible in version 2. You should check these again. You can simply remove the margin comments afterwards.

In pdf files

You’ll probably not be sending us pdf files for our proofreading of a foreign language service. However, if you prefer this method, (that is, using pdf files), our changes will not appear as they would in Word format, meaning we don’t interfere with the text by making direct changes.

In pdf files, we only use the yellow “speech bubbles” (otherwise known as sticky notes or post-it notes) and point out necessary changes – that is, we’ll briefly explain where something needs to be deleted or replaced – or we can also include notes on your text in a separate document.

How you can order our foreign language proofreading service

You can contact us at any time – by telephone or in writing.

Telephone: +49 (30) 755 41 38 - 9

E-mail: info@hauptstadtstudio-freier-lektoren.de

Just describe your request in more detail and ask for a quote for a foreign language proofreading service.

Important: To enable us to make you an offer, please indicate which service package you have chosen: the ‘Foreign language proofreading “light’, the ‘Foreign language proofreading BASIC’ or the ‘Foreign language proofreading COMPLETE’ service package.

Please send us all the texts you’d like us to correct so that we can prepare a quote for you.