What is the proofreader role in translation?
Wondering about the proofreader’s role in translation? When a job is being edited, proofreading is the last thing that is normally done. The job of the proofreader is to check through the document and find out if there are any errors with mark-up or queries concerning accuracy, style, punctuation, spelling, and grammar. It is possible to proofread blindly or check with the original document while proofreading.
The proofreader role in translation
Normally, proofreading should be done after all the content has been revised. The copywriter is responsible for ensuring that the document content and structure have been properly done. There are however instances where up to the last minute, editorial adjustments are been made and there is no time for proofreading before printing.
There is a significant relationship between copy editing and proofreading, even though they both have separate responsibilities and roles. It is important to be aware of the exact job being done then if it is copy editing or proofreading. It is vital to know that you cannot copy edit and proofread simultaneously.
Proofreader skills and abilities
The following are some major techniques and skills that are required by proofreaders when they are proofreading.
- Check for errors by scrutinizing even the smallest detail in a document.
- Look for popular errors that editors and writers normally miss.
- Apply a structured process for proofreading to make sure the document is free of error.
- Show the corrections made while proofreading with the aid of correction marks.
- Not losing concentration and patiently proofreading long documents.
- Identify and correct punctuation and grammar errors.
- Identify and correct hyphenation and capitalization errors.
- Know about a wide word range and know when they are wrongly spelled or used.
- Ensure consistency by using style rules as agreed upon.
- Be aware of when there is the need to make adjustments or not.
- Effectively and decisively query where there is text ambiguity.
What is included in the proofreader role
Proofreaders should know the difference between they’re, their, and there. If you are great with spelling and can easily recognize the little differences between similar words, then you will make a great proofreader.
Proofreaders go through transcripts and copy to ensure typographical, grammatical, or spelling errors are absent. They work in several places including for newspapers and publishers that need to ensure grammatically perfect printing documents. Normally, they will be given a copy where they are to identify adjustments to be made by editors, typists, or writers. Proofreaders could also check to ensure that pages are correctly spaced and that there is no text outside the printing margin.
Proofreaders should be aware of various grammar styles, based on the work type, including AP Stylebook, Elements of Style, or Chicago Manual of Style.
Educational qualification for proofreaders
Proofreaders should have a bachelor’s degree in fields related to journalism or English as well as a good knowledge of style, grammar, and spelling.
Job Requirements and Skills
- Grammar/Spelling: Proofreaders should be perfect with a reading of documents. They must know how a sentence should be spoken and how a sentence should be read. They must be proficient with writing style and language.
- Detailed: Proofreaders need to make sure there are no wrongly spelled words or wrongly-placed commas.
- Work with a team: Proofreaders usually need to work with other proofreaders, typists, authors, and editors. They need to be able to work with a team.
What to expect in the future in line with proofreading
With different electronic software for checking grammar and spellcheck, the requirement for proofreaders will increase at a slow rate from 2010 to 2020, as stated by Labor Statistics Bureau.
If you need professional proofreading services get in touch with us, we can do any language, any document in any field.
Reread Your Work:
Every time you finished an exam, your teacher asked you to reread it. This practice helped you make sure you didn’t skip any questions or make any errors. A lot of students did not reread their papers and ended up losing marks because of it. Rereading something does not mean you are not capable of finishing it perfectly the first time. But even if you make mistakes, there is nothing wrong with that. Every person makes mistakes, but it is the ones who rectify them that succeed in life. When you enter professional life, you will realize how valuable rereading can be.
Rereading exam papers helped you avoid any marks deduction, but in professional life, it saves you from making errors in documents that can hurt your company. In financial documents, a misplaced comma can lead to big problems. In the healthcare industry, an error in reports can lead to an incorrect diagnosis. A mistake in a legal document can make you lose a case. In short, regardless of the field, you work in, a simple mistake in a document can create a big mess. And getting out of such problems is not that easy.
What is Proofreading?
Editing an article or book is a lengthy process. During the editing of a magazine, an expert gathers pieces of work, including writing and photography, and then prepares them for work. Editing is important in every field that deals with informational and entertaining content. Whether it is the editing of a film or a newspaper, it is equally important. There are many steps to this process, but the final one is often proofreading when it comes to the written form of information. During this step, an expert proofreader studies the final draft of a book or newspaper to point out mistakes.
Someone with no experience in editing and proofreading can easily overlook mistakes in a document even if they are a qualified linguist. To become good at this job, people must have the right qualification. They must also have plenty of experience with editing. Once someone becomes an editor, they will become better at seeing mistakes and errors in documents. They might even start seeing punctuation errors in different languages if they are bilingual.
Why Is Proofreading Important?
The errors in documents can cause problems for businesses, but even in books, proofreading is highly important. A book full of errors does not leave a good impression on the reader. It shows the publishers in a negative light. Sometimes, it can also take away from the meaning of the book and convey the wrong message to the audience. If someone is trying to study foreign languages through books, it can affect their learning process.
Importance of Accurate Translation:
The language industry has been helping countless people every day for years. It brings together nations and helps businesses partner up with each other. But language services are of no use if they convey incorrect data to the readers. If a company doesn’t get accurate translation when it is going to reach out to its target audience, it can affect the whole process and lead to the failure of a huge scale.
The translation is used by every industry, which is why a mistake in it can hurt anyone. Sometimes, people get in touch with translation companies to help with their medical reports. Legal translations are also pretty common. An error in any documents issued by a professional translation services provider can end up affecting the client pretty badly.
How Does Proofreading help?
Although many independent translators reread their work themselves before sending them to the clients, agencies hire special experts for proofreading. Language services are quite complex and it is not easy to translate a document, which is why a translator should not be burdened with the task of proofreading. If the time is running out, they might end up missing any mistakes during proofreading. But if there are experts for the job who only handle documents after a translator is done with them, the chances of a mistake going unnoticed will decrease. By doing their job, these experts will ensure that there is no missing punctuation mark and no spelling errors in a document.
It isn’t the job of a proofreader to ensure the accuracy of a translation. But sometimes, the problem with accuracy is the spelling errors a translator may have made. With the help of an editor, the document can be made more accurate by eliminating all errors in it. Proofreaders can also compare the original document with the translation to make sure there are no missing commas from figures. Some companies do not hire experts for this job, thinking their project managers can handle the task. But unless someone is a qualified editor, they will not be able to do a good job of checking documents for errors of all kinds.
Whenever you need a translation service, make sure you are choosing the right agency. If they have proofreaders on their team who check each document before handing it over to the client, you can be certain that they will provide you with quality work. By hiring experts, they have proven that they care for not only the accuracy of the translations but also the document itself. When you find a company that has good reviews and offers affordable rates, make sure they have dedicated proofreaders before handing over a task to them. This way, you will be able to get an accurate translation free of errors.
Most proofreaders hold a degree in journalism and English. But this doesn’t mean that people who have degrees in other disciplines can’t be proofreaders. The first and foremost prerequisite for becoming a proofreader is your ability to be proficient in the English language or any language for that matter.
You can expect to give a proofreading test before the employer hires you. Most companies insist on testing proofreading skills via proofreading text.
You can work as a freelance proofreader and work with a per-document model. For example, they can charge $10-$15 for a 200-word document containing simple text. The price can vary depending on the type of text and the complexity of the subject matter. Proofreading is also a good job for someone looking for a work-from-home job. On average, proofreaders in the US make around $12 to $24 per hour. However, working as a remote proofreader sometimes means working with tight deadlines, so if you think you can pull that off, then it’s a great job.
In the words of a dictionary, Proofreading is reading and correcting a written or printed piece of text. And to your surprise, that’s only what proofreading is. Checking a text for possible grammatical, punctuation, and spelling mistakes.
Working on improving the style and sentence structure is something that an editor does, not the proofreader. However, in most publishing companies, proofreaders and editors work together.
If you are thinking about becoming a proofreader, you must possess the following skills:
- Comprehensive knowledge of grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
- An eye for details and the ability to focus for a longer period of time
- Excellent time management skills to meet the proofreading deadlines in time.
- Be consistent in your work.
Freelance proofreaders charge differently. Most of them make profiles and packages for clients to choose from, ranging from $5 for a 200-word document to $15 for the same. Whereas proofreaders who work with companies make $12 to $24 per hour.
It’s better if you have relevant experience, to begin with, however, if that’s not the case, you must possess exceptional linguistic skills. A keen eye for grammar, spelling, punctuation, and so on. Moreover, you must have some kind of passion, a deep-rooted interest in languages, so that it doesn’t get boring or monotonous for you.
Appropriate linguistic knowledge
Understand the rules of grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Spelling is also important because, for the same things, the British and American spellings are different.
