You're translating content for a client. How can you ensure clarity and avoid misunderstandings?

I recommend selecting human language professionals following the industry's best practices (see, e.g. the ISO family of translation standards for translation services, translation project management, evaluation of translation quality, and post-editing of machine translation). I also recommend working with a trusted, experienced translation firm that employs the above-referenced language professionals and follows the industry's best practices.

One thing I always find useful is to read the document in the target language and ensure it conveys the same meaning as the source language. This precludes that enough time has been spent to understand the source document. In case of patent translations, the ambiguity in the source document has to be retained precisely in the target document. I actually trained my team on patent writing in the target language.

If you want to ensure clarity and avoid misunderstanding you should translate clearly and without misunderstandings. This simple recipe always helps.

To do this we must have a clear understanding of the Context, use precise terminology, offer additional context or explanation when necessary, and be culturally sensitive.

A lot of times the clients are not aware of specific issues which are typical to specific languages. For example, Form of Address in gendered languages, like Hebrew. The simplest phrase such as "Click here" can be translated in multiple ways, using various number- gender combinations in the imperative form. The client needs to decide what Form of Address they prefer, and indeed, there might be more than one, depending on the type of content and the audience. So, it is always very helpful to receive a good style guide, a good glossary and a good TM. Since it is almost never the case, receiving timely answers from the client is also very helpful.

I think you should have a deep understanding of the source material/text (context, tone and style) and know your target audience. Proofreading and peer review (e.g. by a second translator or native speaker) are essential. It is also helpful to have a few rounds of feedback with the client and a final review with the client to ensure that all their requirements have been met.

To avoid misunderstandings you have to always choose native speakers of the target language. But they also need to be professional translators, because not every native speaker can translate;) Please make sure your translator or a translation company of your choice don't use machine translation, AI translation and all that crap. Otherwise, please forget about taking care of cultural nuances.

Keep in mind the culture and market segment the client stems from. It is key to consider any cultural nuances in your output. Talk to the client in advance, ask them about terminology equivalences used in-house, what official terms they prefer to use -if not a synonym of choice-, get a read on previous publications; ask for access to their mediatheque or online library -if available- or previous annual reports.

Research is important, but what's more important is to choose a translator who has been working in a specialist field for years. Experience is way more important than research and sorry to tell, but it doesn't cost pennies.

Estoy completamente de acuerdo con esta afirmación. La precisión en el uso del lenguaje no solo evita ambigüedades, sino que también asegura que el mensaje original se mantenga intacto y se transmita de manera efectiva. La precisión lingüística es fundamental para la fidelidad y la efectividad de cualquier traducción.

Exactly. Feedback is extremely important. Agencies often don't let you contact a direct client, and there is no such thing as asking questions during the translation process. Of course, the results are far from satisfactory.

Asking for clarification of unclear phrases and sentences is a must. Otherwise, typos, possible grammatical errors, inconsistent use of terms, etc. could lead to misunderstandings and mistranslations.

Ein Rückfrage bei der Agentur oder beim Kunden ist oftmals unabdingbar, insbesondere wenn der Ausgangstext ambig formuliert oder sogar grammatikalische Fehler oder ähnliches enthält, die ein eindeutiges Verständnis unmöglich machen.

It's very important to have another set of eyes look over your work because sometimes you may proofread your work a thousand times and not notice the same mistake.

Il est impératif de prendre une pause adéquate avant de procéder à la révision du document. Il est recommandé de solliciter l'aide d'un expert ou d'un collègue pour effectuer la révision du document. Toutefois, il est fréquent que les clients aient des contraintes de temps auxquelles il est nécessaire de s'adapter.

Ensuring clarity and avoiding misunderstandings when translating for a client hinges on a meticulous editing and correction process, as well as the strategic use of glossaries. After completing the initial translation, allocate time for thorough editing to catch any inaccuracies or ambiguities. This step is crucial for refining language and ensuring the text conveys the intended message precisely. Additionally, leveraging well-maintained glossaries ensures consistency in terminology, especially for specialized content. Glossaries serve as essential references that align your translation with industry standards and client expectations, ultimately delivering a polished, clear, and accurate final product.

Something I learned relatively late in the game, is that besides a typical proofreading before returning translation to the client , in case of important documents it is very helpful to introduce a separate stage of review, and have a look at a document after the DTP, when the final layout is known. Frequently it is quite obvious at this stage where the room for improvement lies.

If time permits, it is very useful to start editing the text the day after the translation is completed, in order to have a fresh look at it.

Es prudente verificar si el cliente cuenta con un manual o guía de estilo y/o de identidad de marca. De esa forma nos aseguramos de utilizar el tono y registro adecuados y de hablar al público receptor en una forma clara y consistente con las otras formas de comunicación de la organización.

Consistency is important in translation to maintain quality & to provide accurate translations. Creating glossaries of key terms, using translations memories, using tools helps to be consistent. A regular review of the terminology and feedbacks from peers can help to identify any inconsistencies.

Terminologische Konsistenz ist unabdingbar und wird in meinem Falle durch kundenspezifische Terminologiedatenbanken und Memory-Datenbanken sichergestellt (z.B. in Trados-Studio) auf die dann jeweils zurückgegriffen wird.

The number one thing to do is to tailor your services to the client in every sense and build a strong rapport with them from the get-go.

A colleague of ours who is a famous translator has a motto: "To translate is to understand". Adhering to it is a prerequisite for avoiding mistranslations.