Steps for translation

Document directory

• Step 1: Read through
• Step 2: Translation
• Step 3: proofread
• Step 4: Straighten out
• Step 5: Polish

We hope to improve our efficiency and get twice the result with half the effort. How can we achieve this goal? Based on my experience, it is very effective to constantly reflect on and summarize what I have done. The same is true for translation. The following is a summary of the translation steps for reference.

Step 1: Read through

Reading through is very important, but is ignored by many translators. They often think that they have understood the "meaning" of the original text and can write down the text directly. If they encounter problems, they can simply refer to the recruitment and removal actions, it is a waste of time to read the original text before translation.
However, this does not seem to be the case. What we need to translate is not to "Replace the author to write an article", but to "Explain/convey the author's text ". The text itself has rich connotations. Besides the meaning, there are many aspects such as terms, structures and styles. For example, in terms of words, the original author may often use some deutons and synonyms to express different meanings in different occasions. The translator should try his best to find the corresponding deutons and synonyms, therefore, it is more necessary for the translator to have a general picture and to know the occasions in which the word appears in the original text and what it means, so as to make a trade-off. Then, for example, the structure, the original text may have associated allusions/stories. Sometimes it may even span several chapters. If the original text is not fully read, the logical structure of the original text is easily lost during translation, good translation focuses on fitting the original text. This kind of "Fitting" also includes style fitting. The original text is light and cannot be translated into heavy ones. The original text is serious, it cannot be translated into plain text.
Of course, the general reading only provides the opportunity to observe and identify the areas beyond the meaning, and cannot ensure that the translator can "Accurately grasp" these aspects. But it cannot be read. To improve the reading efficiency, you can refer to "how to read a book" Translated by Mr. Hao Mingyi.

Step 2: Translation

After completing the read-through operation, you can write the layout of the original text. What we often call "translation" refers to this narrow translation.
One of the key points of this step is step by step. The so-called "step-by-step" refers to the preparation of a reasonable plan, which should be promoted in accordance with the rules and regulations. Translation is a very mental activity. long articles and books cannot be completed at a time. If the translation is too hard at one time, it will not only be exhausting and inefficient, but also affect the next translation, leading to fluctuations in the translation level (this can be seen ). On the contrary, if the translation can be maintained in a relatively good state and energetic manner, it will not only ensure the efficiency, but also ensure the uniformity of the translation level.
Another major point of this step is to make a careful move, make a general picture, and make a reasonable choice. Meticulous Introduction refers to the fact that the translation must be "accurate" to the original text, while there is a general picture, that is, it cannot "only see trees, not see forests", patronize the current translation to "correspond" accurately, regardless of the context. For example, the original article repeatedly emphasizes "vision", sometimes refers to "vision", sometimes to "vision", and sometimes from the Bible, it must be translated as "implied"; these situations, we should take this into account during the read-through process, and try our best to keep this relationship during translation to avoid separation.
This step mainly uses various dictionaries. I recommend the English-Chinese dictionary edited by Mr. Lu Gu sun.

Step 3: proofread

I did not put "proofreaders" at the end, but after the narrow sense of "Translation", it is because this stage is very delicate: You have just translated the original text and have a deep impression on the original text, now it is relatively relaxed. You can refer to the translations for quick browsing.
At this time, the proofreader mainly checks whether the translation is wrong or deviated from the original text, because some words and sentences are harmless even if they are wrong, and the translation is wrong. At this stage, many such errors can often be found by checking the original text.

Step 4: Straighten out

Now we can basically get rid of the original text and read the translation separately. At this time, we want to modify a Chinese essay. Is the logic between words, sentences, sentences, segments, and segments smooth, appropriate, and coherent? These are all issues that need to be considered. For example, "despite the code, you still need to take a good look at it." When you look at it separately, "These" can be interpreted as many or less, and all of them can work, however, the translator should clarify whether the original article emphasizes more or less? To clarify this point, we can comb the context.
In addition, because the texts in different languages are different, sometimes we need to separate a paragraph, and sometimes combine a few words. In general, in this step, we should not only straighten out the words, but also straighten out the meanings behind the words. Such a translation is not raw for reading.
Many articles and teaching materials have already discussed the fluency of words and meanings. If you are interested, you can refer to the textbooks "Wen Xin" and "guo Wen Bai Class 8" (Sanlian Bookstore has recently published a complete set of "Middle School Library ).

Step 5: Polish

As we have mentioned earlier, good translations focus on "fitting the original article". If you want to fit the original article, you must "polish" the step.
Specifically, there are three types of "Touch colors". The first is the touch color of words. For example, you can add some prepositions to break through key links and reduce the blunt version of the translation. The second is the touch color of the style, replace the "direct correspondence" translation with words and sentences that are more in the original style. Of course, the premise is to ensure that the meaning is not deviated (rather than "absolutely unchanged "); the other is to improve the meaning of the article and take care of readers, such as j.f. k. translated as "President Kennedy" and translated "ulius Caesar" into "Caesar the Emperor". In addition, some notes need to be added, such as "the area is similar to that of the Nebraska state ", you can add "the state of Nebraska, the area is about the size of Hubei Province", and the data that is commonly used in western countries, such as Fahrenheit temperature and lbs. It is recommended that the translator take another step.
We recommend that you read Mr. Chen Wangdao's "rhetoric Fan" if you want to do a good job of "polishing".

In general, after these five steps, the translation is basically completed. These steps seem complicated and can greatly improve the efficiency, and each stage has the key points of each stage, avoid confusion in the allocation of energy. In some cases, the problem of "getting rid of your head" can be avoided, so as to ensure the overall level of translation.

 

Additional reading:

1. Bop Douban home page: http://book.douban.com/subject/3004255/

2. Internet purchase link: http://www.china-pub.com/38070

3. "Beauty of programming", mandatory for IT job interview "link:
Http://www.google.com.hk/search? Complete = 1 & HL = ZH-CN & newwindow = 1 & Q = beauty of programming +-+ Microsoft technical interview experiences + Yan Xin & meta = & AQ = F & OQ =

4. "proficient regular expression" watercress link: http://book.douban.com/subject/2154713/