Poll: I do my term research...
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Jul 10, 2017

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "I do my term research...".

View the poll results »



 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 19:21
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Other Jul 10, 2017

My working method varies a lot, depending on the deadline, volume and … my mood! Most of the times, if it is a subject I'm familiar with I’ll research the terminology as I go along, term by term… But at times if I’m not familiar with the subject or if it looks rather complex I’ll start by reading the whole text, marking the unknown words with a color marker just to have an idea of what to expect, then I research the terminology and began translating.

 
Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 20:21
Member (2003)
Danish to English
+ ...
Other Jul 10, 2017

Often at the beginning! It varies - with texts for clients I know well, I often plunge in and research any terminology I need to as I go along. There s not much new, and I find a lot in the concordance in my CAT.

I usually work with fairly short texts, but I almost always cast an eye over them, or check a section at a time, for terminology I am unsure about before I begin translating. Then I can ask the client in good time if there is anything they can help with, i.e. client-specifi
... See more
Often at the beginning! It varies - with texts for clients I know well, I often plunge in and research any terminology I need to as I go along. There s not much new, and I find a lot in the concordance in my CAT.

I usually work with fairly short texts, but I almost always cast an eye over them, or check a section at a time, for terminology I am unsure about before I begin translating. Then I can ask the client in good time if there is anything they can help with, i.e. client-specific terms that they know, but which may be hard to find anywhere else.

I check the ordinary terms too, so I can ask colleagues or post KudoZ questions if I have to... and note precisely how I will translate consistently, distinguishing different concepts correctly.

By this stage the translation has almost done itself in my mind, so it flows when I start typing. I find it is the fastest way to get everything right first time, and saves time on checking and proofreading...
Collapse


 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 20:21
Spanish to English
+ ...
Sigh of relief Jul 10, 2017

I'm so glad the majority so far do it like me, one thing at a time as they crop up.

 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 12:21
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
As they come up Jul 10, 2017

Most of my work long texts. I've found that it's not worth my time to read them ahead of time. I'm usually familiar with most of the terminology. I spend a lot more time researching the particular use of a familiar word, in the context, than researching terms I'm not familiar with.

 
Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
+ ...
In the middle Jul 10, 2017

Sentence-by-sentence/segment-by-segment translation doesn't work for me.

I've always bashed out a rough translation of the whole text first to get a feel for it before doing any research or finalising anything.

1) Dictate start to finish
2) Work through text checking terms as I go
3) Print and check

But then I also don't do texts in unfamiliar areas where I would need to do any serious amount of research.

Muriel Vasconcellos wrote:
I spend a lot more time researching the particular use of a familiar word, in the context, than researching terms I'm not familiar with.


Me too.

[Edited at 2017-07-10 09:34 GMT]


 
B D Finch
B D Finch  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 20:21
French to English
+ ...
It depends on the text Jul 10, 2017

With technical documents, I generally don't read through a before translating, I skim them before agreeing to accept the job and that's enough to enable me to translate looking up/researching as I go along. However, with literary, art or philosophical documents, unless they appear to be very straightforward, I do read through them before starting to translate and often do some research before starting to translate.

 
Gianluca Marras
Gianluca Marras  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 20:21
English to Italian
term by term Jul 10, 2017

Term by term, and I add it to my glossary so the next time it occurs it come highlighted in my CAT tool

 
Noni Gilbert Riley
Noni Gilbert Riley
Spain
Local time: 20:21
Spanish to English
+ ...
Roughest of drafts Jul 10, 2017

Chris S wrote:
I've always bashed out a rough translation of the whole text first to get a feel for it before doing any research or finalising anything.


This goes for me too, it's a kind of first read-through. Don't let anyone look over your shoulder though - my kids were horrified once at what they saw, as was a university colleague.


 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 16:21
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Term by Term Jul 10, 2017

I usually close each segment and keep on going until I reach 100%. Then I go back and revise the entire translation from the beginning. In this second stage, I reorder things, take care of euphony, etc. In this phase, I do not want to stop and search for terms. This phase requires concentration in the context, best without any interruptions.

 
Mike Wilkinson
Mike Wilkinson  Identity Verified
Local time: 20:21
Dutch to English
+ ...
Quite often sort out some of the key ones before I start Jul 23, 2017

It varies from one job to another... but in particular for the bigger jobs, I find that doing a "term extract" and chasing up some of the key terms before you start is useful. Often indirectly, in that it gives you a couple of useful sites for terminology, even if it doesn't solve the issue you were chasing up.

 


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:

Moderator(s) of this forum
Jared Tabor[Call to this topic]

You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

Poll: I do my term research...






TM-Town
Manage your TMs and Terms ... and boost your translation business

Are you ready for something fresh in the industry? TM-Town is a unique new site for you -- the freelance translator -- to store, manage and share translation memories (TMs) and glossaries...and potentially meet new clients on the basis of your prior work.

More info »
CafeTran Espresso
You've never met a CAT tool this clever!

Translate faster & easier, using a sophisticated CAT tool built by a translator / developer. Accept jobs from clients who use Trados, MemoQ, Wordfast & major CAT tools. Download and start using CafeTran Espresso -- for free

Buy now! »