Importance of Proofreading for High Quality Translation

Errors in translations may not even be noticeable by a client. The Arabic language is so full of complexities that it’s hard to convey the original meaning in each instance. A professional translator who has Arabic as their native language will typically know enough about the intricacies of the grammar and other nuances of Arabic. This may be especially true if they are a university graduate. Even so, there is no guarantee that a university degree is enough to ensure that output is accurate.

Standardization that details best practices for this industry might be called for or even overdue. Some translation companies or individuals may even use software to do the translation, or may fail to do quality control after finishing the project. This is where one standard could come into play – namely a requirement that translators use a highly skilled proofreader to check their work. 

Standard protocols can only help the profession. This can reduce the frequency and type of errors that crop up all too often. University graduates who are native speakers may still have some problems with English because of its differences. Proofreaders, if used by these educated translators, can catch errors and increase the quality of the output. Less experienced translators will need proofreaders even more so than others who have been working in the field for a while.

Standards related to recruiting protocol would also help. A professional translator who translates for supplemental income should have passed a timed translation test in the office of the company considering them for hire. In addition, they should have references from clients for whom they’ve translated full-time, hold a translation certificate, have a degree from an accredited university and have verifiable work experience of at least three years.