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Improving self-proofreading
Thread poster: Daniel Frisano
Daniel Frisano
Daniel Frisano  Identity Verified
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Apr 8, 2021

I'd like to know if someone uses some specific method for proofreading their own translations.

I have the translation read aloud via text-to-speech while I read the original, which gives satisfactory results at least in terms of completeness and correctness (while fluency and style are taken care of in the 2nd proofreading run), but sometimes it's useful to try something new to get out of the rut.

Any ideas?


Emanuele Vacca
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Tom in London
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Font Apr 8, 2021

Daniel Frisano wrote:

I'd like to know if someone uses some specific method for proofreading their own translations.

I have the translation read aloud via text-to-speech while I read the original, which gives satisfactory results at least in terms of completeness and correctness (while fluency and style are taken care of in the 2nd proofreading run), but sometimes it's useful to try something new to get out of the rut.

Any ideas?


Change the font, print, leave it overnight, and read the next day.


Veronica Montserrat
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Christopher Schröder
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NEVER ask questions on ProZ Apr 8, 2021

So, Daniel, after second-guessing your client’s intentions and fudging anything that is unclear, you then fail to proofread your translations properly?!

Just kidding. Can’t beat two printouts and a ruler in my book.

And I agree with Tom on doing it the next day. Or ideally the next week.


expressisverbis
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Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
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Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
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My method Apr 8, 2021

I always proofread on paper both my work and other people’s work. As far as I’m concerned it’s a far better job than on screen. It amazes me how a finished translation printed on paper can reveal a lot of things that I couldn’t picked up on screen. My very last step during the proofreading stage is to read the whole text aloud: it improves the chances of noticing errors, especially missing or repeated words.

Kevin Fulton
Matthias Brombach
Tom in London
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Sabrina Bruna
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Proofreading twice Apr 8, 2021

I go through my translations once just after finishing, then a second time a few hours later or possibly one day later, as after a short or longer break I am able to detect even the slightest errors more easily.

Christel Zipfel
Tom in London
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Josephine Cassar
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More suggestions Apr 8, 2021

Read the text aloud or read backwards, you'll be surprised what a difference these make, so simple yet so effective

neilmac
 
Christopher Schröder
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Backwards? Apr 8, 2021

Josephine Cassar wrote:
Read the text aloud or read backwards, you'll be surprised what a difference these make, so simple yet so effective

When you say read backwards, do you mean literally backwards? Page by page, paragraph by paragraph, sentence by sentence, drow yb drow?!

Or do you mean compare the source against the target, rather than vice versa?


Beatriz Ramírez de Haro
 
Josephine Cassar
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Well, it depends Apr 9, 2021

Chris S wrote:

Josephine Cassar wrote:
Read the text aloud or read backwards, you'll be surprised what a difference these make, so simple yet so effective

When you say read backwards, do you mean literally backwards? Page by page, paragraph by paragraph, sentence by sentence, drow yb drow?!

Or do you mean compare the source against the target, rather than vice versa?

Well, I should have explained further. If your text is only a couple of pages, you can read backwards one paragraph after another or even one sentence after another ( I prefer one paragraph for the flow)but if your text is several pages long, clearly, you can't do that. I then suggest only reading backwards those paragraphs/sentences which do not sound quite right. It might seem strange at first but it works. For longish texts, I prefer reading out loud though, or reading backwards only parts where I have doubts.


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Emanuele Vacca
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Glad that I'm not the only one Apr 9, 2021

Daniel Frisano wrote:
I have the translation read aloud via text-to-speech while I read the original


I just wanted to say that I'm glad that I'm not the only one doing this! And I agree that it helps to ensure completeness and correctness, while I personally deal with syntax, fluency, and style with a target-text-only proofreading run.


 
Mario Cerutti
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What file formats? Apr 9, 2021

Emanuele Vacca wrote:
I just wanted to say that I'm glad that I'm not the only one doing this!

I've been doing text-to-speech checks for many years too, but so far I've found an effective solution for Word files only.

But, what about other file formats, in particular those you cannot export yourself from CAT tools? As a workaround, I'm used to export to a Word or an RTF bilingual file, but it's not ideal because the text doesn't flow the same as when exported to the original format.


 
Matthias Brombach
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Agreed, but not completely: Apr 9, 2021

Teresa Borges wrote:
to read the whole text aloud: it improves the chances of noticing errors, especially missing or repeated words.


I (do not always) read the text aloud, but to speed it, mainly only the articles, verbs and pronouns (and sometimes the whole sentence, but rather rarely). The effect is the same as Teresa mentioned. I guess, that to speak (partially) what you read activates other parts of your brain and makes it more alert during these steps.


Christopher Schröder
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expressisverbis
 
Daniel Frisano
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TOPIC STARTER
  Apr 9, 2021

Good stuff. I remember using a variant of Josephine's backward reading technique in the days when spellcheckers weren't easily available, or at all.

In college, that's how we proofread our dissertations for typos, except that we did it word by word (I swear). We took one paragraph at a time and read it backwards:

... backwards ... it ... read ... and ... time ... a ... at ... paragraph ... one ... took ... we

And it did work.

I'll try
... See more
Good stuff. I remember using a variant of Josephine's backward reading technique in the days when spellcheckers weren't easily available, or at all.

In college, that's how we proofread our dissertations for typos, except that we did it word by word (I swear). We took one paragraph at a time and read it backwards:

... backwards ... it ... read ... and ... time ... a ... at ... paragraph ... one ... took ... we

And it did work.

I'll try a couple of suggestions, starting with the printouts. I guess the Amazon rainforest can withstand an extra dent or two...
Collapse


 
Adieu
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What tool? Apr 9, 2021

Mario Cerutti wrote:

Emanuele Vacca wrote:
I just wanted to say that I'm glad that I'm not the only one doing this!

I've been doing text-to-speech checks for many years too, but so far I've found an effective solution for Word files only.

But, what about other file formats, in particular those you cannot export yourself from CAT tools? As a workaround, I'm used to export to a Word or an RTF bilingual file, but it's not ideal because the text doesn't flow the same as when exported to the original format.


IDK about others, but with memoQ, for example, you can select and CTRL-C CTRL-V the entirety of the "preview" window into Word.


 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
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Amazon rainforest... Apr 9, 2021

Daniel Frisano wrote:
I'll try a couple of suggestions, starting with the printouts. I guess the Amazon rainforest can withstand an extra dent or two...


I only buy paper from national companies which production comes from their own forests and I use two kinds of paper: a good quality paper for certified translations and a recycled paper for everything else. I also use duplex printing as much as possible.


Tina Vonhof (X)
 
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