Why can an in-house review be challenging, and how can it be managed effectively?

An in-house review can be a valuable part of the translation process, helping ensure that the final document reflects the client’s approved terminology, organizational language, and stylistic preferences. However, subject-matter expertise alone does not necessarily qualify someone to revise a translation. An effective reviewer must also have strong linguistic skills, understand the purpose and intended audience of the document, and be familiar with the project instructions and translation brief.

A professional and well-managed revision process strengthens the accuracy, clarity, consistency, and overall effectiveness of the translation. Conversely, changes made without appropriate linguistic expertise or project context can introduce errors, alter the intended meaning, create inconsistencies, and ultimately compromise the quality of the final document.

When selecting an in-house reviewer, we recommend choosing someone who:

• Has an advanced command of both the source and target languages

• Possesses relevant subject-matter knowledge

• Understands the document’s purpose, audience, and intended use

• Is familiar with the Translation Brief and the instructions provided to the Project Manager

• Understands the differences between revision, review, and proofreading

• Follows the Revision Parameters outlined below

Revision Parameters

The following revision parameters are adapted from Brian Mossop’s Revising and Editing for Translators (St. Jerome Publishing, Manchester, UK, 2001; ISBN 1-900650-45-2). [Visit Brian Mossop’s website.]

Revision parameters identify the elements a professional reviser should examine and the types of errors that may arise during translation. Although a complete list of everything that could potentially go wrong would be extensive, the following framework provides a practical and systematic approach to evaluating translation quality.

Group A – Meaning Transfer

• Accuracy: Does the translation accurately convey the meaning and message of the source text?
• Completeness: Have all elements of the source message been included?

Group B – Content

• Logic: Does the sequence of ideas make sense? Are there any contradictions, inconsistencies, or passages that lack meaning?
• Facts: Does the translation contain any factual errors?

Group C – Language and Style

• Smoothness: Does the text flow naturally? Are the connections between sentences clear? Are the relationships among the different parts of each sentence easy to understand? Are there any awkward or difficult-to-read passages?
• Tailoring: Is the language appropriate for the intended audience and the way in which the translation will be used?
• Specialized Language: Is the style appropriate for the type of document? Has the correct terminology been used? Does the phrasing reflect that normally used in original target-language documents on the same subject?
• Idiomatic Language: Are the word combinations natural and idiomatic? Does the translation follow the rhetorical and stylistic conventions of the target language?
• Mechanics: Have the rules of grammar, spelling, punctuation, usage, and the applicable organizational style guide been followed?

Group D – Physical Presentation

• Layout: Are there any problems with the way the text is arranged on the page, including spacing, indentation, alignment, or margins?
• Typography: Are the fonts, font sizes, bolding, underlining, and other formatting elements used correctly and consistently?
• Organization: Is the document properly organized? Are page numbers, headings, headers, footnotes, tables of contents, and other document elements accurate and consistent?

Suggested Revision Sequence

1. Read the entire translation to assess logic, smoothness, audience suitability, specialized language, idiomaticity, and any aspects of typography or punctuation that may affect meaning.
2. Compare the translation with the source text to verify accuracy and completeness. If the translation must follow the source document’s layout, review the layout at the same time.
3. Read the revised translation from beginning to end to check grammar, punctuation, usage, layout, consistency, and any language errors that may have been introduced during the revision process.
4. Conduct a separate verification of numbers, dates, measurements, names, and other critical details.
5. Review the document’s overall organization, including headings, page numbering, headers, footnotes, cross-references, and the table of contents.
6. Run a final spell-check after all revisions have been completed to identify any errors introduced during editing.
7. Save the final document and confirm that all revisions have been properly recorded.

Summary of Revision Principles

1. Do not ask whether a sentence can be improved but whether it needs to be improved. Make the fewest possible changes, given the users of the translation and the use they will make of it.
2. Make small changes to a sentence rather than rewriting it.
3. Minimize introduction of error by not making changes if in doubt about whether to do so.
4. If you have to read a sentence twice to understand it, a correction is definitely necessary.
5. If you cannot understand the translation without consulting the source text, a correction is definitely necessary.
6. Minimize revision time through unilingual re-reading unless the longer comparative procedure is dictated by the likelihood of mistranslation or omission (difficult text, untried translator, etc) and by the consequences of such errors.
7. When you make a linguistic correction or stylistic improvement, make sure you have not introduced a mistranslation.
8. When you make a change, check whether this necessitates a change elsewhere in the sentence or a neighbouring sentence.
9. Do not let your attention to micro-level features of the text prevent you from seeing macro-level errors, and vice versa.
10. Do not let your attention to the flow of linguistic forms prevent you from seeing errors in meaning (nonsense, contradiction etc), and vice versa.
11. Check numbers as well as words: they are part of the message.
12. Adopt a procedure which maximizes your opportunity to see the text from the point of view of the first-time reader.
13. Adopt a procedure which allows you to strike a suitable balance between the degree of accuracy of the translation and the degree of readability.
14. In the final analysis, give preference to the reader’s needs over the client’s demands.
15. Avoid creating an immediate bad impression: make sure there are no spelling or typographical errors on the front page of the translation.
16. Do not make changes you cannot justify if revising the work of others.
17. Do not impose your own approach to translating on others.
18. Do not impose your linguistic idiosyncrasies on others.
19. Make sure that the client and reader receive full benefit from revision work: ensure that all handwritten changes are properly input and that all changes are saved before the text is sent to the client.
20. If you have failed to solve a problem, admit it to the client.

Why is it difficult to handle an in-house review and how can it be done effectively? Internal reviews are often performed by clients as an additional step to verify that the target document is consistent with their terminology and stylistic preferences. In-house reviewers, although experts in their field, may not have the linguistic skills required or have adequate knowledge about the project to perform a professional review. When a review is poorly done, it can compromise the quality of the translation. When selecting reviewers, we suggest our clients to look for individuals with the following skills:

• High level of understanding of source and target languages
• Familiar with the Translation Brief (instructions submitted to the Project Manager)
• Thorough understanding of the differences between the processes of revision, review and proofreading
• Follow the Revision Parameters posted below

Additional resource: European Commission Directorate-General for Translation – Revision Manual Revision Parameters The following revision parameters are from: Brian Mossop, Revising and Editing for Translators, St. Jerome Publishing, Manchester UK, 2001. ISBN: 1-900650-45-2 (pbk). Brian Mossop’s website The revision parameters are the things a reviser checks for, the types of error. An exhaustive listing of things that can go wrong when translating would be very long indeed, however in order to think about and discuss revision, it is convenient to have a reasonably short list of error types. Here they are, expressed as questions about the translation, followed by a single capitalized word for convenience of reference. Group A – Problems of meaning transfer (Transfer)

1. Does the translation reflect the message of the source text? (Accuracy) 2. Have any elements of the message been left out? (Completeness)

Group B – Problems of content (Content)

3. Does the sequence of ideas make sense: Is there any nonsense or contradiction? (Logic) 4. Are there any factual errors? (Facts)

Group C – Problems of language and style (Language)

5. Does the text flow: Are the connections between sentences clear? Are the relationships among the parts of each sentence clear? Are there any awkward, hard-to-read sentences? (Smoothness) 6. Is the language adapted to the users of the translation and the use they will make of it? (Tailoring) 7. Is the style suited to the genre, has correct terminology been used, and does the phraseology match that used in original TL texts on the same subject? (Sub-language) 8. Are all the word combinations idiomatic? Does the translation observe the rhetorical preferences of the target language? (Idiom) 9. Have the rules of grammar, spelling, punctuation, house style and correct usage been observed? (Mechanics)

Group D – Problems of physical presentation (Presentation) 10. Are there any problems in the way the text is arranged on the page: spacing, indentation, margins, etc? (Layout) 11. Are there any problems of text formatting: bolding, underlining, font type, font size, etc? (Typography) 12. Are there any problems in the way the document as a whole is organized: page numbering, headers, footnotes, table of contents, etc? (Organization) Sample Orders of Operations

1. Read the entire translation for Logic, Smoothness, Tailoring, Sub-language and Idiomaticity, as well as those aspects of typography and punctuation which are important for meaning.
2. Do a comparative check for Accuracy and Completeness. If the client wants the translation to follow the Layout of the source text, check this at the same time.
3. Read the entire translation from start to finish for Mechanics (other than spelling), Layout, consistency, and any Language errors introduced during steps 1 and 2.
4. Do a separate check for numbers if they are important to the message.
5. Check the document’s Organization.
6. Run Spell check after all changes have been made in case you have introduced any errors.
7. Press Control-S to make sure you have saved all your changes.

Summary of Revision Principles

1. Do not ask whether a sentence can be improved but whether it needs to be improved. Make the fewest possible changes, given the users of the translation and the use they will make of it.
2. Make small changes to a sentence rather than rewriting it.
3. Minimize introduction of error by not making changes if in doubt about whether to do so.
4. If you have to read a sentence twice to understand it, a correction is definitely necessary.
5. If you cannot understand the translation without consulting the source text, a correction is definitely necessary.
6. Minimize revision time through unilingual re-reading unless the longer comparative procedure is dictated by the likelihood of mistranslation or omission (difficult text, untried translator, etc) and by the consequences of such errors.
7. When you make a linguistic correction or stylistic improvement, make sure you have not introduced a mistranslation.
8. When you make a change, check whether this necessitates a change elsewhere in the sentence or a neighbouring sentence.
9. Do not let your attention to micro-level features of the text prevent you from seeing macro-level errors, and vice versa.
10. Do not let your attention to the flow of linguistic forms prevent you from seeing errors in meaning (nonsense, contradiction etc), and vice versa.
11. Check numbers as well as words: they are part of the message.
12. Adopt a procedure which maximizes your opportunity to see the text from the point of view of the first-time reader.
13. Adopt a procedure which allows you to strike a suitable balance between the degree of accuracy of the translation and the degree of readability.
14. In the final analysis, give preference to the reader’s needs over the client’s demands.
15. Avoid creating an immediate bad impression: make sure there are no spelling or typographical errors on the front page of the translation.
16. Do not make changes you cannot justify if revising the work of others.
17. Do not impose your own approach to translating on others.
18. Do not impose your linguistic idiosyncrasies on others.
19. Make sure that the client and reader receive full benefit from revision work: ensure that all handwritten changes are properly input and that all changes are saved before the text is sent to the client.
20. If you have failed to solve a problem, admit it to the client.