The Challenges of Editing Translations Beyond Just Language
Let’s think for a moment: if all translation was simply about taking one word and replacing it with another, would there really be a need for translators (at all)? To put it mildly (in that case), no. Google Translate, or for that matter any automatic translation tools, would suffice and do the job just fine.
However. There’s a lot more to translating than meets the eye. Translating has so many intricacies that it goes beyond just words. Sometimes the perfect translation just isn’t possible. And without some changes and alterations/tweaks, those same (direct) translations wouldn’t make any sense. This is why translators are important.
Language Is Just the Beginning
If you want the text to be translated well, then you’ll need someone that understands the cultural context around the language and ChatGPT can’t do that for you. Language is colourful, with its cultural norms, idioms, sayings, and societal values.
All of these are important in how a message is perceived. Without considering these factors, your message ends up confusing people, offending them, or people just misinterpret it completely. For example, Pepsi had a slogan that said “Come alive with the Pepsi generation.” That was translated literally in China and it ended up meaning “Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the dead.” To be fair, that’s hilarious, but not to the people working for Pepsi.
Then you have Coca-Cola (and no, we won’t get into the conspiracy that Pepsi and Coca-Cola is the same company – that’s for another article), who will forever be remembered for the blunders they made when they entered Eastern markets.
One of such scenarios was when The Coca-Cola Company wanted to enter the Chinese market and adapt their brand name into the language. They decided on the name “Ke-Kou-Ke-La” which was not a wise choice as that translates to “bite the wax tadpole” as well as “a woman horse that has been filled with wax”.
Naturally, they realised the mistake and corrected it; however ‘the wax tad pole’ incident remains in the memories of many because it is just too amusing.
But then again, as hilarious as all this is, you don’t want it happening to you, hence the reason one should employ manuscript editing services. Unless a ridiculous slogan is part of your marketing strategy, you’ll (likely) come off as unprofessional to your customers.
Improving the Quality of Translations: 4 Key Aspects
In the case of an edited document that’s been translated, it’s important to ensure the text flows well (it’s easy to read), without it losing the essence of the message contained within.
This goes way beyond just grammar and vocabulary because professional editors have to focus on things like consistency, tone, idiomatic accuracy, and the structure of the sentences.
1. Consistency
This means that you have to stay consistent in terminology, tone, and style. This isn’t that big of an issue in small projects, but in big ones, where you have more translators working, it can be tricky. However, inconsistent terminology and tones that are all over the place will make the document awkward and confusing.
The role of editors is to make sure all translators use the same set of terms, phrases, and stylistic figures (and ensuring factuality, of course; but this article covers a different aspect of editing).
2. Tone and Register Adaptation
The tone of the document (formal, casual, technical) has to work with its intended audience. This means that a marketing piece shouldn’t sound like a legal document, and vice versa. An editor will adjust the tone of the text so that it has the right level of formality, or informality.
You’ll definitely want a formal tone for legal documents, but for a marketing campaign? Hardly; you’ll want something casual and engaging.
3. Idiomatic Expressions and Phrasing
Idioms and cultural phrases are especially tricky to translate because they rarely (if ever) have direct equivalents in other languages. If you translate an idiom literally, then you get what Pepsi did in China.
Here’s where editors step in to find alternatives that are culturally relevant and mean the same thing.
4. Adjustments in Structure for Fluidity
Sentence structures are different across different languages, and if the translation is literal, the text usually becomes awkward and hard to read.
An editor will know how to restructure a sentence so that it reads smoothly and naturally.
Conclusion
If we were to shorten this article to just one sentence, it would be: Don’t skimp on an editor. Unless you don’t care how your text, slogan, document, or something else sounds, then you can.
But chances are, you want to be professional, and you can’t do it if your text sounds wonky. So, if you need to pinch a few pennies, find something other than an editor to save money on, or you’ll be remembered for an incident like the wax tadpole.
Possibly even worse.
