Proofreading review qc Thread poster: Kerstin Magnusson
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Kerstin Magnusson 
Sweden
Local time: 21:21
Member (2022)
English to Swedish
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Hi! I have come across the terms editing/ reviewing/ quality check, and proofreading upon conversations with potential jobs. And I am just wondering whether these terms have an official explanation?
| | | | | They mean what the client thinks they mean! | Jan 17, 2022 |
This topic has been discussed many times on this site - and elsewhere. It is also a minefield!
Here is my very brief summary:
In principle, proofreading is checking for typos, missing or superfluous commas and minor errors. It is a fairly objective process, and can be done monolingually.
There might be an ´s´ missing on a verb, if it the text is written in English by a Scandinavian  (e.g. the c... See more This topic has been discussed many times on this site - and elsewhere. It is also a minefield!
Here is my very brief summary:
In principle, proofreading is checking for typos, missing or superfluous commas and minor errors. It is a fairly objective process, and can be done monolingually.
There might be an ´s´ missing on a verb, if it the text is written in English by a Scandinavian (e.g. the client think), or whatever common errors slip through when large amounts of text have to be translated fast. It is much easier to find these errors in someone else´s text than your own! So here a sympathetic colleague can be a real help.
Editing and reviewing include checking terminology, perhaps suggesting more idiomatic phrasing, and ensuring that the style is appropriate.
Checking that the translation actually says the same as the source text, or will be correctly understood by target readers.
Editing is more a case of tidying up and polishing, while reviewing is critical, and may involve rewriting sentences or sections.
QA may just be another expression for any of the other processes. I often find QA means some kind of mechanical checking, probably involving counting up errors and classifying them in a table. IMHO often a waste of time and usually ridiculously badly paid!
I have been asked to ´flag´ errors without correcting them.  Sometimes classifying them and filling in the form takes longer than the actual editing task. In theory, you can then go back to the translator and explain what was wrong, to avoid the same errors in future, but I suspect this rarely happens!
In practice, clients often ask for proofreading, when what they need is thorough editing, or there is so much that needs changing and correcting that you end up editing extensively.
Clients do not always know what is needed. They sometimes believe you can ´just tidy up´, so they ask for proofreading. In fact the text may be difficult to read or even incorrect, if it is too literally translated or whatever.
The only way to be sure is to check with the client what they need - if it is not obvious!
A contract, for instance, has to be ready for signing when it has been ´proofread´ - whether in practice it was nearly perfect and you only caught a double space and a missing comma, or whether it needed careful rephrasing to make sure it was not ambiguous.
You then have to make sure the client allows enough time, and will pay for it. If they are expecting a quick check will be enough, the deadline may be very tight when it turns out that you need to do a thorough review.
Seriously: colleagues have spent a lot of time on this topic...
https://www.proz.com/translation-articles/articles/543/1/The-difference-between-editing-and-proofreading
https://wiki.proz.com/wiki/index.php/Proofreading
Brian Mossop: Revising and Editing for Translators
St. Jerome Publishing
ISBN13: 9781909485013
... and lots of other threads in this forum. ▲ Collapse
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