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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION
A. Background
In translation the desired result is a good translation. While the
characteristics of a good translation are accurate, precise and reasonable
translations in the target language. Thus, it can be said that the translation process
is a series of stages of actions that are carried out intentionally to produce
accurate, precise and reasonable translations. To produce such a quality
translation, translation experts have tried to formulate various steps that can be
taken by translators. Translation as a process implies that a series of activities in
translation is carried out through stages. However, the stages in translation are not
always sequential, linear and hierarchical, but can also be circular and integrative
as discussed on the following pages. The stages of the translation process
discussed here are the stages that are generally passed by translators. Translators
are believed to have a dual role, namely not only as readers but also as writers.
Thus, if a reader becomes an experienced translator, and when the material being
read is known both lexically and structurally, then the translation process becomes
automatic and linguistic categorization no longer needs to be considered.
However, when the material is less familiar, the reader inevitably has to go
through the stages of the translation process. Translation as a process that involves
not only linguistic aspects but also non-linguistic aspects makes understanding the
translator's work process not easy. What is discussed above are theoretical models
of stages in the translation process offered by seven classical and contemporary
translation experts who are considered to have had a wide influence in the world
of modern translation studies. By considering the stages of the translation process,
it is hoped that readers, especially translation learners, can take valuable lessons
which will further enrich their 'repertoire' of knowledge of translation theory. In
turn, the most suitable steps found by the reader can be applied in their translation
work.

B. Formulation of Problems
1. What is the definition of Pre-Translation?

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2. What are the processes of Pre-Translation?
3. What are the importance of Pre-Translation?

C. Purposes
1. To know and to comprehend the definition of Pre-Translation.
2. To know and to comprehend the process of Pre-Translation.
3. To know and comprehend the importance of Pre-Translation.

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CHAPTER II
DISCUSSION

A. Definition of Pre-Translation
According to Daniel Gouadec, author of Translation as a Profession, the
translation process is a series of translating activities involving three phases: pre-
translation, translation, and post translation. Daniel suggests that most translation
problems and potential risks could be resolved by getting as much information as
possible prior to a translation project. Therefore, investing more resources in the
pre-translation phase is a more efficient way of managing risk than having to deal
with different pitfalls during or after the whole translation process.
“Pre-translation” is any process that occurs from the beginning until the
moment the translator receives all materials and sources for translation. To
minimize risk in translation projects, translators and their clients should conduct
pre-translation analysis to clearly address terminological issues (e.g., glossary,
previous translations, audience profiles, tone of voice…etc.) and technical issues
(e.g., CAT tools to use, memory of previous translations, contextual
sources...etc.).
Pre-translation is all the preparation that takes place up to the moment the
translator receives all the materials and resources for translation. In the pre-
translation phase, businesses should be thinking about things like how the
technical architecture of their website or app will impact translation, how
translation will influence the specific project at hand, what they can include in
their glossary and translation memory to help translators save time and avoid
mistakes, and plenty more.

B. Processes of Pre-Translation
Generally, the translation process begins with reviewing the entire text
before starting to translate it. After obtaining an idea of the content of the text
message, the translator can break it down into parts of large and small text and the
type of unit will depend on the nature of the text, the length of the pencil, the level
of difficulty, and also depending on the temperament and ability of the translator

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himself. This translation process can be regarded as a model, borrowing a term
commonly used in the reading process, a top-down model, which starts from a
higher level, the whole text, to a smaller element or unit. However, the translation
stage can also be carried out with the opposite process from the top-down model,
namely starting from fragments to the whole, starting from the so-called simple
ones to the more difficult ones. This process can also be a bottom-up model. Apart
from this, there are several things to do before translating (Pre-Translation)
proposed by Ronald H. Bathgate, namely:
1. Tuning
Before a translator starts his activities, the first thing he has to do is conduct
an assessment to know the ins and outs of the text to be translated first as a
general initial basic knowledge. He must know at least who the author of the
source language text is, the type of genre of the source language text to be
translated, where the source language text is published, the year the source
language text was published, to what the problem or main content of the source
language text is. By knowing the ins and outs of the source language text, a
translator already has general information and has the initial mental readiness to
carry out his duties which cannot be considered light. Now, having passed this
stage, he in Bathgate language can feel the text to be translated (getting the feel
of the text to be translated).
For enrichment, addition and broadening of the translator's insight regarding
the content and message of the text he wants to translate, he should also equip
and enrich himself by reading various references on the topic that is the main
content of the source language text he wants to translate. Moreover, if the
translator does not have an educational background that is relevant to the field to
be translated. This situation is a condition that generally occurs in Indonesia,
where professional translators are generally not people who have an educational
background in accordance with the field of text that is being translated. They are
mostly undergraduates or students of applied languages and undergraduates or
students of literature. This may be because experts in the relevant field are too
busy with their main activities, so they do not have time to share with the wider
community in the discipline concerned, especially through translation activities.

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It seems that only recently, experts in disciplines who have good command of
English and Indonesian have also carried out translation activities regarding
texts within their discipline area.
2. Analyzing
After the translator is well acquainted with or familiar with the source
language text that he wants to translate, then he begins to carry out the heavy task
of analyzing the source language text carefully and carefully. Misunderstanding
can lead to erroneous and even misleading translation results which lead to the
justification of the phrase stating that the translator is a traitor, the translator is a
traitor; betrays the intent intended by the author of the original source language
text.
3. Understanding
After chopping off the sentence to be translated into appropriate parts, the
translator then tries to put the parts back together in a form that he or she can
understand or respond to emotionally. Thus, he can understand correctly, both in
terms of content and form of the text. Meanwhile, to what degree he can do this
depends on his basic knowledge of the content or content of the text he is trying to
understand. In order to fully understand the content of the text message, the
translator should read the text two to three times.
4. Terminology
The next step is to pay attention and consider the key words and phrases in
the sentence to ensure that there are no misunderstandings. Key terms, such as
technical terms, contained in the source language text need to be understood
properly. Important terms in the source language should be sought for the most
appropriate equivalent in the target language; standard equivalent. If the target
language does not have the equivalent of the relevant term, the translator can
contact an expert in the field that is in accordance with the field of the text he
wants to translate. It is of interest to ask for an explanation of a conceptual or
technical term that is unique to the discipline. By doing this, translators can avoid
unnecessary mistakes. He can avoid misunderstandings that may arise due to
relying solely on his own understanding. However, if the technical term is still not

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found equivalent in the target language, the translator may create his own term
based on the references issued by the Language Center.
In practice, if the translator can determine key terms, he will be able to
easily transfer the message of the source language text into the target language
text. In certain difficult cases, the transfer to the target language can only be
carried out or completed when the translator has reached the next stage, namely
the stage of reassembly.
5. Restructuring
When all the mature materials that have been obtained from the efforts made
in the previous stages to form the target language text have been collected, the
translator will assemble and install all of these materials into a form that is in line
with the use of good and reasonable language in the target language. It was at this
stage that the initial draft text that he hoped for had materialized.
In this assembly stage, the translator is actually faced with several activities
that must be considered and carried out, before finally producing a draft
translation in the target language. This step is called the translation procedure,
which requires a separate discussion. This procedure is a technique or problem-
solving strategy at the operational technical level of the smallest unit in the text.
6. Checking
At this stage the translator checks to carefully examine minor errors such as
typos, spelling, and other mechanical errors to major errors such as inaccuracies in
providing equivalents, both at the level of words, phrases, clauses, sentences, to
discourse. Translators are certainly very wise if in the stage of checking the entire
translation they involve other people; isn't "four eyes or more" better than just
"two eyes". By doing this, suggestions for improvement to improve the quality of
the translation can be obtained. If necessary, especially if the translator feels
unsure because the translated text is in a field that is not fully understood, he can
ask for help from experts in that field to check or at least read the draft of the
translated text.
7. Discussion
Although the translation process that the translator went through has
produced a translated text in the target language, there is still one more stage that

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seems to be still needed, namely discussion or discussion. Discussion is necessary
for at least two reasons. The first is, as Peter Newmark put it, that translation is
never complete and never perfect. Alan Duff shares the same opinion that
translation is never final. The second is, as Mona Baker said, that every translation
has its strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, the results of a draft translation still
need to be discussed in order to strengthen the strengths and cover the
weaknesses. Isn't it, as Baker believes, that every translation is open to
improvement. This is where discussion is important in the translation stage.
However, Nida and Taber suggested that the discussion should not involve too
many people, the reason being that they feared "too many cooks spoil the broth."
8. Proofreading of the Translation
Going over the whole text again improves the style. Make sure that the
sentence structures are as clear and direct as possible (since, sometimes, there are
too complex sentences that can be rewritten in a more natural style) and richer
creative solutions or alternatives can emerge that better suit the context. The goal
is that the text reads as if it was directly written in Spanish, with the Spanish
audience in mind. Furthermore, when the confidentiality agreements allow it, we
perform this step between two persons, applying the so-called “four eyes”
principle. We discuss each change, avoiding the introduction of errors during the
proofreading step. This is an unusual added value in the industry because both
steps are typically done separately. However, it’s difficult to detect the errors
when rereading own texts, and many times errors are overlooked since one can
even read what was intended to write instead of what’s actually written.
9. Spell Check
Although it mostly just consists of adding words to the software dictionary
and ignoring words that don’t have to be translated (like proper nouns, company
names, or brands), this is a necessary step in the process of translation for
ensuring that the text is free of typos.
10. Desktop Publishing of the Document
Once the text is extracted in its final format, I adapt the layout of the
document to ensure that it’s similar to the original and even fix the errors that
sometimes contains the source (e.g., non-uniform text alignments, the wrong

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numbering of the sections, headings of the same hierarchy level with different
formatting, etc.). In this step, I also check the punctuation, line breaks, graphs, etc.
11. Refine Translation Wording
In the final step the translator re-reads the translation, this time without
reference to the source document, looking solely at quality of expression. They’ll
make final edits to further refine and “polish” the translated text.

C. The Importance of Pre-Translation


1. Minimize Mistakes
When you’re competing on a global stage, your ability to deliver on
consumer expectations is key. And what is it that consumers expect? Well, for
starters, they expect content to be in their native tongue! With a well-executed
pre-translation process that takes localization (which is the process of adapting
your content for a specific locale) into account from the very beginning, you’ll be
prepared to create translations that speak to consumers on a personal level and put
your brand well ahead of the competition.
2. Make the Translation Process Faster
In the translation field, many professionals charge by the word. If you want
to make their workflow faster — which in turn makes it more affordable for you
— you must conduct a thorough pre-translation process that works out the kinks
in both your linguistics and your technology so their job simply flies by.
3. Increase Automation Across the Translation Process
As we’ll discuss more later, there are plenty of pre-translation process steps
that can be aided by modern automation. However, since automation depends on
smart machines that rely on patterns and rules, it only works in well-organized
systems where assets are labeled and searchable. This means a pre-translation
process that focuses on developing a clear and straightforward path to translation
is the only thing that makes it possible to take advantage of automation
throughout the translation process.

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CHAPTER III
CLOSING

A. Conclusion
Translation as a process that involves not only linguistic aspects but also
non-linguistic aspects makes understanding the translator's work process not easy.
What is discussed above are theoretical models of stages in the translation process
offered by seven classical and contemporary translation experts who are
considered to have had a wide influence in the world of modern translation
studies. By considering the stages of the translation process, it is hoped that
readers, especially translation learners, can take valuable lessons which will
further enrich their 'repertoire' of knowledge of translation theory. In turn, the
most suitable steps found by the reader can be applied in their translation work.
This learning must be followed by direct involvement in the real world of
translation so that translators gain adequate experience in the world of translation.
This experience continues to be strengthened through his intense and continuous
involvement in translation work so that the pattern of his activities forms a habit.

B. Suggestion
This paper that we have compiled is still far from perfect. For this reason,
we really need suggestions and criticisms for the sake of making the paper perfect
in the future. And in the end, we hope that the paper that we have compiled can
add to our knowledge and insight, especially in Pre-Translation.

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REFERENCES

Ayupova, Roza. 2014. Pretranslation Text Analysis as a Part of Translation


Process. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, vol. 136, pp. 213-216.
Ma’amur, Ilzamudin. 2007. Proses Penerjemahan: Deskripsi Teoretik. Journal of
AlQalam, vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 421-437.
Safari, Saeid. 2015. Pre-Translation: A Step By Step Guide. Online. Available at
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/pre-translation-step-guide-saeed-safari
Wong, Jac. 2013. A Step By Step Guide to Pre-Translation. Online. Available at
https://www.oneskyapp.com/blog/a-step-by-step-guide-to-pre-translation/

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