Thursday, July 18, 2013

Formatting of the original + translation or JUST translation - what is your responsibility as a translator?

Do you have to provide both or just the translation? I always try to be clear about it in the very beginning with my clients and ask straightforwardly - will there be any special formatting requirements, because if there are any, then I`ll have to charge extra. Somehow, a lot of clients think that if they hire a translator, they automatically hire an editor and proofreader. It is not so and who knows this better than us, translators? All the major translation companies have both but small size businesses are trying to economize on editing expenses. Therefore, I always state in my response, that I provide basic formatting, nothing else. Also, occasionally I run into a bit of misunderstanding, because the original`s layout is far from perfect and I keep it as it is in my translation but the client then asks me: why are there all these various indentations throughout the text, why the script and size are different? My answer is I worked directly into the original. All the complaints to the author of the source text, not to me.

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