TRANSLATION I

A GENERAL INTRODUCTION

DEPARTAMENT DE LITERATURA I LLENGÜES MODERNES

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• Scope out the ST: Read it and understand it.

• Initial translation (including research).
• Review the accuracy of the translation, eliminating
grammatical errors and making stylistic changes.
• Take a break.
• Refine translation wording, i.e., evaluate the
quality of translation.
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• Scope out the ST: the subject matter and content,

how long it is, the writing style, if it’s technical, the
various sections, etc.
• Read or skim read parts of the text to get an overview of the
content.
• Note key concepts or terminology you’ll need to research.
• Decide if any preliminary background reading is needed.
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• Initial translation:
• Translate the document, typically in chunks of 5 – 10 words
at a time. Ideally, each chunk will be a discrete and
complete unit of meaning.
• Working with chunks that are too short or not discrete
meaning units tends to produce an unnatural and potentially
unclear translation. On the other hand, working with chunks
that are too long to easily remember runs the risk of some
meaning being missed in the translation.
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• Review the accuracy of the TT:

• After the first draft is completed, work through the translation
comparing each chunk of text with the original (source) text.
• The primary goal here is to avoid that any content or meaning
is missed or misinterpreted.
• Identify and improve any slightly unnatural wording in this
step.
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• Take a break.

• Put the translation aside for a few hours or overnight.

• The idea is purely to clear the mind to ensure a more

effective fifth and final step.
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• Refine translation wording:

• Re-read the translation, this time without reference to the
source document, looking solely at quality of expression.

• Make final edits to further refine and “polish” the

translated text.