A reviewer has stated that my translation is incorrect
Thread poster: Maija Cirule
Maija Cirule
Maija Cirule  Identity Verified
Latvia
Local time: 20:41
German to English
+ ...
Sep 19, 2016

but actually he/she has mistranslated the allegedly incorrect term. As the agency in question does not show translators the texts after editing (this case was an exception), I wonder what "corrections" this wannabe editor can make without any control. Dear colleagues, I want to hear your opinion about my future actions. I have sent to PM my explanations but don't think she is going to pay a close attention to my explanations as she doesn't know Latvian. The agency has rather low rates but excell... See more
but actually he/she has mistranslated the allegedly incorrect term. As the agency in question does not show translators the texts after editing (this case was an exception), I wonder what "corrections" this wannabe editor can make without any control. Dear colleagues, I want to hear your opinion about my future actions. I have sent to PM my explanations but don't think she is going to pay a close attention to my explanations as she doesn't know Latvian. The agency has rather low rates but excellent payment practices and I do not want to interrupt our collaboration. Maybe I should contact the person who is in charge for quality assurance? Or simply forget about the incident?Collapse


 
Lingua 5B
Lingua 5B  Identity Verified
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 19:41
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
Some points. Sep 19, 2016

First off, even if we don't know Latvian, you can still illustrate the problem to us (and to your client) providing analogue examples in English. Can you do that?

Secondly, I know that agency with low rates are always bad in at least 2 or 3 other aspects (it may be that they use unchecked wannabe reviewers, for instance), which is why I stay away from them. You say they have good payment practices? Fair enough, but then you end up in situations like this one.


 
Maija Cirule
Maija Cirule  Identity Verified
Latvia
Local time: 20:41
German to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
I had provided Sep 19, 2016

Lingua 5B wrote:

First off, even if we don't know Latvian, you can still illustrate the problem to us (and to your client) providing analogue examples in English. Can you do that?

Secondly, I know that agency with low rates are always bad in at least 2 or 3 other aspects (it may be that they use unchecked wannabe reviewers, for instance), which is why I stay away from them. You say they have good payment practices? Fair enough, but then you end up in situations like this one.



explanations to my client and do not think that I must provide them here. I do not ask for your solution of the "correct - incorrect" problem but would like to hear your thoughts about the situation in general.
The agency's rates are not extremely low - 0.07 to 0.08 EUR per source word and not all their reviewers are wannabe ones.


 
Lingua 5B
Lingua 5B  Identity Verified
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 19:41
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
OK... Sep 19, 2016

Maija Cirule wrote:

Lingua 5B wrote:

First off, even if we don't know Latvian, you can still illustrate the problem to us (and to your client) providing analogue examples in English. Can you do that?

Secondly, I know that agency with low rates are always bad in at least 2 or 3 other aspects (it may be that they use unchecked wannabe reviewers, for instance), which is why I stay away from them. You say they have good payment practices? Fair enough, but then you end up in situations like this one.



explanations to my client and do not think that I must provide them here. I do not ask for your solution of the "correct - incorrect" problem but would like to hear your thoughts about the situation in general.
The agency's rates are not extremely low - 0.07 to 0.08 EUR per source word and not all their reviewers are wannabe ones.


maybe those rates are not THAT low, wasn't sure what you mean.

This situation is not "general", the degree of mis-revision can vary from term to term and from error to error. So, I have no idea how to answer your question, sorry.


 
Maija Cirule
Maija Cirule  Identity Verified
Latvia
Local time: 20:41
German to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
If you are not able Sep 19, 2016

Lingua 5B wrote:

Maija Cirule wrote:

Lingua 5B wrote:

First off, even if we don't know Latvian, you can still illustrate the problem to us (and to your client) providing analogue examples in English. Can you do that?

Secondly, I know that agency with low rates are always bad in at least 2 or 3 other aspects (it may be that they use unchecked wannabe reviewers, for instance), which is why I stay away from them. You say they have good payment practices? Fair enough, but then you end up in situations like this one.



explanations to my client and do not think that I must provide them here. I do not ask for your solution of the "correct - incorrect" problem but would like to hear your thoughts about the situation in general.
The agency's rates are not extremely low - 0.07 to 0.08 EUR per source word and not all their reviewers are wannabe ones.


maybe those rates are not THAT low, wasn't sure what you mean.

This situation is not "general", the degree of mis-revision can vary from term to term and from error to error. So, I have no idea how to answer your question, sorry.


to answer, maybe you should not waste your time typing? No offense meant simply I would like to hear from somebody who has some ideas.
My problem is: should I escalate the issue or leave "as is"

[Edited at 2016-09-19 13:03 GMT]

[Edited at 2016-09-19 13:23 GMT]


 
Lingua 5B
Lingua 5B  Identity Verified
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 19:41
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
I provided an idea. Sep 19, 2016

Just see above, but then you dropped it.

Here is what I did in one such case:

Context: technical manual (requiring an expert to manage and operate the machine)
English term: operator
My translation: operator
Reviewer's correction: user

I explained to the client that an operator is a technically trained person while the user is not necessarily. They were happy with my illustration, although they can't speak Croatian. I also provided origina
... See more
Just see above, but then you dropped it.

Here is what I did in one such case:

Context: technical manual (requiring an expert to manage and operate the machine)
English term: operator
My translation: operator
Reviewer's correction: user

I explained to the client that an operator is a technically trained person while the user is not necessarily. They were happy with my illustration, although they can't speak Croatian. I also provided original Croatian references where "operator" is used in the exactly same context.

Hope you will get some new and better ideas than mine, I would like to hear them as well.

[Edited at 2016-09-19 13:13 GMT]
Collapse


 
Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 18:41
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
Your options Sep 19, 2016

Maija Cirule wrote:
Maybe I should contact the person who is in charge for quality assurance? Or simply forget about the incident?

As I see it, you have a few options:
1) Insist on at least getting an answer from the PM in writing to the effect that he or she acknowledges that an error has been made, and notified by you.
2) Contact any and every person in the company that you think might have input. Maybe the owner, or a director? Or, as you say, the person responsible for quality.
3) Let it pass - you did your bit.
4) Drop the agency.

Personally, and based only on what has been said here i.e not the full picture, I'd probably do N°1. If that proved impossible, or if it happened again, I'd follow that with N°4. I don't think you'll get any more work from them if you go with the second option; you'll be classed as a troublemaker. Maybe you could live with repeatedly going the N°3 route? I couldn't.


 
John Fossey
John Fossey  Identity Verified
Canada
Local time: 14:41
Member (2008)
French to English
+ ...
To pay or not to pay Sep 19, 2016

Maija Cirule wrote:

but actually he/she has mistranslated the allegedly incorrect term. As the agency in question does not show translators the texts after editing (this case was an exception), I wonder what "corrections" this wannabe editor can make without any control. Dear colleagues, I want to hear your opinion about my future actions. I have sent to PM my explanations but don't think she is going to pay a close attention to my explanations as she doesn't know Latvian. The agency has rather low rates but excellent payment practices and I do not want to interrupt our collaboration. Maybe I should contact the person who is in charge for quality assurance? Or simply forget about the incident?


Is the agency going to pay you despite the change? If so, I would state your opinion clearly, simply to protect yourself, and then leave it at that.

If the agency is threatening not to pay you due to the alleged "correction", you might have to be more insistent that the reviewer is wrong.


 
Maija Cirule
Maija Cirule  Identity Verified
Latvia
Local time: 20:41
German to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
This is not about payment or non-payment, Sep 19, 2016

John Fossey wrote:

Maija Cirule wrote:

but actually he/she has mistranslated the allegedly incorrect term. As the agency in question does not show translators the texts after editing (this case was an exception), I wonder what "corrections" this wannabe editor can make without any control. Dear colleagues, I want to hear your opinion about my future actions. I have sent to PM my explanations but don't think she is going to pay a close attention to my explanations as she doesn't know Latvian. The agency has rather low rates but excellent payment practices and I do not want to interrupt our collaboration. Maybe I should contact the person who is in charge for quality assurance? Or simply forget about the incident?


Is the agency going to pay you despite the change? If so, I would state your opinion clearly, simply to protect yourself, and then leave it at that.

If the agency is threatening not to pay you due to the alleged "correction", you might have to be more insistent that the reviewer is wrong.


actually they have already paid for this. The PM simply draw my attention to an allegedly mistranslated sentence, but the "correction" was so ridiculos that I " hit the roof".
Thanks for your opinion, I should calm down.


 
Maija Cirule
Maija Cirule  Identity Verified
Latvia
Local time: 20:41
German to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks Sheila Sep 19, 2016

Sheila Wilson wrote:

Maija Cirule wrote:
Maybe I should contact the person who is in charge for quality assurance? Or simply forget about the incident?

As I see it, you have a few options:
1) Insist on at least getting an answer from the PM in writing to the effect that he or she acknowledges that an error has been made, and notified by you.
2) Contact any and every person in the company that you think might have input. Maybe the owner, or a director? Or, as you say, the person responsible for quality.
3) Let it pass - you did your bit.
4) Drop the agency.

Personally, and based only on what has been said here i.e not the full picture, I'd probably do N°1. If that proved impossible, or if it happened again, I'd follow that with N°4. I don't think you'll get any more work from them if you go with the second option; you'll be classed as a troublemaker. Maybe you could live with repeatedly going the N°3 route? I couldn't.


The version No. 3 is not my option. I sent to PM a backtranslation of the whole paragraph made by an independent translator as well as my explanations why the translation proposed by the reviewer is incorrect. I do not blame the PM, it's the reviewer, who obviously did not expect that the PM will inform me:)


 
Álvaro Espantaleón Moreno
Álvaro Espantaleón Moreno  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 19:41
Member (2015)
English to Spanish
Pride issue maybe Sep 19, 2016

The reviewer gets paid to do a job. You get paid to do a different job. State what you can agree with and why and what you can't agree with. If you have the time, provide links to authoritative sources that prove that you are right. Get paid. That's it.

 


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A reviewer has stated that my translation is incorrect







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