To make it easier for you while editing and to ensure good ratings, we gathered these very useful steps and tips. Have a look at the recommended series of steps to take when post-editing:
1. Read the original text first (also called ‘source text’) and then the translation (also called the ‘target text’).
This is crucial as, in some cases, the translation may read well but the meaning will be different from the original text.
2. See which parts of the MT text you can keep the way they are and which should be changed.
You do not want to make unnecessary changes that do not improve the quality of the text (like replacing “for instance” for “for example”).
3. Apply the necessary changes to the target text so that it:
a) has the same meaning as the original text
b) does not contain grammar, spelling or punctuation mistakes
c) uses the appropriate style and terminology
4. Read the target text one final time and compare it to the source text before submitting it to make sure there are no problems with it.
Based on the annotation analysis of Tickets batches for EN_NL, these were the top 10 issues that subtracted most from MQM, by order of importance.
1. Lexical_Selection
2. Word_Order
3. Addition
4. Agreement
5. Grammatical_Register
6. Overly_Literal
7. Whitespace
8. Wrong_Preposition
9. Untranslated
10. Other_POS_Omitted
EXAMPLES
- Lexical_Selection issues (highlighted in bold)
- Word_Order issues (highlighted in bold)
- Addition issues (highlighted in bold)
- Agreement issues (highlighted in bold)
- Grammatical Register issues (highlighted in bold)
Please make sure you see whether the required register for the job you’re working on is Formal or Informal (top right of the screen) and follow the Register recommendations in our Dutch Language Guidelines accordingly.
- Overly literal (issues highlighted in bold)
- Whitespace (issues highlighted in bold)
- Wrong preposition (issues highlighted in bold)
- Untranslated (issues highlighted in bold)
Important: Sometimes clients don’t want to translate certain product names. If you see a term in English in the Dutch text, and it’s a glossary entry, don’t translate it.
- Other POS omitted (issues highlighted in bold)