Sentence by Sentence from the Beginning: Translators' Views of Revision as Part of Their Work
Haustola, Milla (2023)
2023
Monikielisen viestinnän ja käännöstieteen maisteriohjelma - Master's Programme in Multilingual Communication and Translation Studies
Informaatioteknologian ja viestinnän tiedekunta - Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2023-10-16
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202309228384
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202309228384
Tiivistelmä
Revision refers to the process of examining a translated text and making or recommending any necessary improvements. It is considered an important step in the translation workflow and an area of growing research interest in Translation Studies. The present study investigates revision performed by professional translators as part of their work, with revision understood as the examination of a translation produced by somebody other than the reviser. The aim of the study is to shed light on the aspects typically involved in revision tasks and the skills considered necessary in revision, the main research questions being the following: 1) How do translators perceive their tasks as revisers? 2) How do translators perceive the skills needed in revision? The theoretical framework of the study builds on central concepts used in revision research, including definitions of revision and discussion of aspects such as revision types, procedures and parameters.
The data of this study consists of eight semi-structured interviews with professional translators whose work includes revising translations produced by others. In addition to open-ended questions based on the theoretical framework, the revision parameter list used by Annamari Korhonen in her questionnaire survey in 2021 is utilised. The data obtained from the interviews is analysed using qualitative content analysis.
According to the main results, revision is a regular task for translators even though the amounts described vary significantly. In some cases, revision may constitute more than half of the translators’ total work amount. Comparative revision, in which a comparative reading of the source and target texts in performed, is reportedly the most common revision procedure, whereas unilingual revision appears to be rare. Regarding the different aspects or error categories that the translators pay attention to when revising, issues related to language, such as those concerning grammar and punctuation, are checked by virtually all translators. Problems related to content and transfer are also considered by nearly all of the participants. The rest of the aspects, in turn, receive considerably less attention. The reported order of importance of the different aspects reflects the above-mentioned results, revealing that the translators tend to prioritise language-related issues over the others.
Furthermore, based on the results, a number of skills ranging from language skills to the ability to notice details, are considered necessary in revision. The participants’ views on whether these skills differ from those needed in translation also vary greatly. Concerning the acquisition of revision skills, the majority of the participants report having learned them through both work and studies, yet some attribute their skills solely to one of them. The findings obtained in this study offer insight into the revision behaviours of professional translators and can be utilised, for example, in the planning of further education and training for translators.
The data of this study consists of eight semi-structured interviews with professional translators whose work includes revising translations produced by others. In addition to open-ended questions based on the theoretical framework, the revision parameter list used by Annamari Korhonen in her questionnaire survey in 2021 is utilised. The data obtained from the interviews is analysed using qualitative content analysis.
According to the main results, revision is a regular task for translators even though the amounts described vary significantly. In some cases, revision may constitute more than half of the translators’ total work amount. Comparative revision, in which a comparative reading of the source and target texts in performed, is reportedly the most common revision procedure, whereas unilingual revision appears to be rare. Regarding the different aspects or error categories that the translators pay attention to when revising, issues related to language, such as those concerning grammar and punctuation, are checked by virtually all translators. Problems related to content and transfer are also considered by nearly all of the participants. The rest of the aspects, in turn, receive considerably less attention. The reported order of importance of the different aspects reflects the above-mentioned results, revealing that the translators tend to prioritise language-related issues over the others.
Furthermore, based on the results, a number of skills ranging from language skills to the ability to notice details, are considered necessary in revision. The participants’ views on whether these skills differ from those needed in translation also vary greatly. Concerning the acquisition of revision skills, the majority of the participants report having learned them through both work and studies, yet some attribute their skills solely to one of them. The findings obtained in this study offer insight into the revision behaviours of professional translators and can be utilised, for example, in the planning of further education and training for translators.