17. The post-production manager recruits a sound studio (recording) manager.
18. The sound recording manager hires the comedians/actors.
19. The sound recording manager sets up a studio recording schedule.
20. The sound engineer deletes all dialogues, noises, sounds of laughter or sobs, breathing noises, hiccups, dogs barking, etc. from the IV (international version) that includes the music and sound effects.
21. Recording. The comedians/actors record the dialogues. They proceed one loop after the other. Loops are numbered in sequence. On each loop, symbols indicate shot changes, opening and closing of the mouth, laughter, coughs, kisses, whether the character breathes through the mouth or through the nose, etc.
Given that the comedians/actors have not read the script nor viewed the film, the recording manager must provide advice and guidance. Furthermore, the scenes are not recorded in chronological sequence.
The comedians/actors view the original version for a given scene and record the dialogue. If this is satisfactory, they move on to the next scene. If not, the recording manager gives fresh indications and instructions to the comedians/actors (the dialogues may even be modified) and a new recording of the loop is made. Having to make different takes naturally is a time- consuming process.
22. Mixing. The now 'local version' soundtrack is mixed and resynchronised to include 'localised' noises and effects (ringing phone, TV, distant shout, background noises, etc.). The point is to get a perfect sync of images and voices. The dubbed lines are also balanced with the original background.
A new round of quality controls and testing usually takes place here.
23. The local version is transferred onto the international version to create the ultimate local version.
24. The finalised local version is sent to the post-production manager.
25. Layback (video) or mastering. The final audio mix (usually a print master) is transferred back onto the video edit master.
26. A master copy of the film integrating the local soundtrack is created.
27. As the case may be, the dubbing studio applies for any required visas from the relevant authorities.
28. The final copies are created.
Notes: Dubbing is a perfect example of the problems that translators come across for cultural reasons. Thus, for instance, the translator-adapter-localiser must be on the lookout for references the audience in a given country might not understand, pay attention to colloquialisms, beware of jokes (decide whether they can be dropped and, if not, how the sound gap can be filled). Sometimes, too, the translated dialogues must either leave implicit things that are actually said in the original or, on the contrary, make explicit what is implicit in the original. Much of the adapting can also be done through the choice of accents and rhythm of speech or any target language and verbal behaviour peculiarities while matching the body language and expressions in the original. To crown it all, audiences in different countries also have different expectations about the balance of dialogue and sound effects - some will definitely not want any part of the dialogue to be covered by sound effects; others do not care.
In fact, the dubbing process is a very long and complicated process of adapting the localised script to cultural, linguistic, and technical constraints. How this is achieved depends on whether or not the team starts with a translation of the script by one or more translators, then adapts the translation, with the adapter and the translators holding frequent meetings where they go over the translation and adaptation over and over again until the dialogue is 'natural' and matches the action and characters to perfection. The translation and dialogues have to be 'spoken' and repeatedly checked, and amended. Even at the recording stage, amendments and adaptations have to be made to the script. To get an idea of the complexity of the recording (starting with the complexity of building up a workable schedule that is acceptable to all concerned), one just has to imagine the number of different characters and interactions in a movie or video.
The whole point is that the slightest defect in the translation and sound track will immediately have an adverse effect on the audiences. Hence the obsessive attention of the dubbing team (dubbing manager, translators, adapter, sound engineers, actors/comedians, and others) to the slightest cultural, linguistic and technical detail. The exercise is particularly difficult because the translated sequence has to fit both with the duration of the original speech sequence and any visible lip movements (whenever the actor's face can be seen). This can be daunting, especially with certain languages. The technique is also referred to as 'lip synching'. 3-D graphic applications may soon remove part of the difficulty by making it possible to change the original lip movements to fit the dubbed version.
chapter 3
The translation process from A to Z
Introduction
The actual work carried out by the translator and his partners consists of a long and complex sequence of operations that will work out well if two essential conditions are fulfilled:
1. a true partnership exists between the translator and the work provider (the translator's in-house or external client), and,
2. whenever required (i.e. unless the translator is totally self-sufficient), there is true co-operation between the translator and the proof-reader or reviser.
This chapter describes the full translation sequence from A to Z. The sequence is broken down into separate operations, in chronological order, and specifies the respective parts played by the translator, the work provider and the reviser at each stage in the process. In practice, this amounts to a quality assurance protocol model applied to translation. The model has been implemented at Rennes 2 University (France) since 1986, by the Centre de Formation de Traducteurs-localiseurs, terminologues et redacteurs (University Center for the Training of Translators, Ter- minologists and Technical writers) and was used as the basis for the quality assurance model described in the European PERFEQT project (ProcedurEs and Rules For Enhanced Quality in Translation - MLIS 3010 (24928). It is now known as DG94/R2T applicable to translations and available in French atwww.qualitrad.net.
Please note:
'Translator' refers to all those involved in the actual translation process (the translator and anyone working on her/his 'side'). This includes:
- the project manager, responsible for managing the translation on the translator's side of the operation,
- the translation company's marketing service,
- the translation company's accounting or finance department (responsible for invoicing the client),
- the terminologist employed by the translation company or paid by the translator,
- the documentation researcher and manager,
- the proof-reader,
- the reviser, if hired by the translator or by the translation company,
- the data or CAP operator hired by the translator or by the translation company,
- the IT engineer or technician working for the translator,
- any information provider questioned by the translator,
plus anyone else directly involved in the process on the translator's side.
'Work provider' refers to any operator working on behalf of the work provider, including:
- the project manager on the work provider's side,
- the work provider's purchasing department,
- the work provider's accounting or finance department (responsible for payments or invoices),
- the terminologist or pre-translator hired by the work provider,
- the documentation researcher and manager working on behalf of the work provider,
- any proof-reader on the work provider's side,
- any reviser on the work provider's side,
- any data or CAP operator hired by the work provider,
- any IT engineer or technician working on behalf of the work provider,
- any information provider commissioned by the work provider,
plus anyone else directly involved in the process on the work provider's side.
Please note: The work flow sequence described below only includes those operations directly related to the translation process itself: it therefore includes the estimate, but not the financial and accounting operations generated by each job of work.
The work flow sequence describes the entire translation process cycle as it should theoretically take place between the moment the need for translation arises and the moment the translated material is made available to its end-users in the required from and on the appropriate medium. It includes the whole process of translation service provision, i.e. all the operations performed by 'translator' (as defined above), between the moment he sets out to seek a contract or a translation and the moment the finished translation is delivered and no longer requires the translator's attention (bar any follow-up queries). Whenever one of the translator's two partners in the process is in default or missing, the translator is assumed to take over. This is a full expansion of the summary flowchart of Chapter 1.
The different operations are numbered in sequence. All of the operations listed are potentially applicable to every situation of translation but not all will
necessarily apply when one particular translator and one particular reviser do a
particular translation job for one particular client.
1. Finding the job of work
1.1 Before the translation service provision cycle gets underway
1. The (future) work provider produces, or comes into possession of, material which needs to be translated in part or in whole (the material may have been or be produced on the work provider's behalf or received from some other source).
This generates the specific translation requirement.
In theory, any material that has to be translated should have been subjected to rigorous quality control procedures at the time of production. In practice, this is often not the case.
Circumstances allowing, advice on internationalization of the material should be sought from a translator while the product or process or its documentation is being designed.
Simultaneously:
2. The translator or the translation company, and the reviser if the latter is an independent operator, implement all the requirements for quality assurance (i.e. training, self-tuition, collection of re-usable resources, consolidation of raw materials - including terminology and translation memories).
3. If need be, the translator or the reviser or the translation company carries out the necessary steps to be awarded quality assurance certification (ISO 9000+, DIN 2345, EN15038, R2T,...)
4. The translator (or the sales person in the translation company) looks for contracts, makes offers, contacts potential or former clients, answers calls for tenders, advertises, etc. Unless the targets are specifically defined by calls for tenders, prospecting will cover a wide range of potential clients. The general conditions of sale are of paramount importance here since they will be communicated to all prospects.
The freelance reviser will also look for work by contacting translators or other work providers who may commission him to revise translations.
5. In some cases, the work provider will anticipate on future translation needs by selecting and vetting potential sub-contractors, or even including the latter in the quality assurance certification process. A professional reviser may be asked to carry out this vetting process on behalf of the work provider.
The prior recruitment of future or potential translators (and of any other operators) is based on the services they can offer, on their strong points, on their professional record, on their references, and more often than not, on the basis of the results of translation tests.
Pre-recruited translators may be 'accredited' for certain types of jobs requiring specific qualifications or qualities, as for instance, if the material is particularly sensitive or confidential.
1.2 Once the translation 'requirement' has been identified
6. The work provider opens a job file and a job account, which will include all the information relating to the job in hand.
Simultaneously,
7. In cases where the reviser is commissioned to work on behalf of the work provider, the former will open the job file and/or account prior to starting work on the job.
8. The work provider specifies the nature of the job in hand, describing the source material (type, subject area, volume, source language, etc.) and the requirements for completion of the translation task. This entails setting a budget and deadlines and defining specific demands and requirements as completely and precisely as possible. In the best case scenario, this may mean writing down fully comprehensive specifications for the job.
When circumstances allow, the work provider sets dates for part deliveries in addition to the final delivery date.
If the work provider has decided to split the job into batches and allot the batches to different operators, a schedule for delivery of the batches has to be set-up. If the requirement for translation is in any way related to any other service provision concerning the material to be translated or any material in the same family, this must be made known to anyone concerned, so that each operator is aware of possible harmonisation and deadline problems (to allow the different batches to be synchronised).
9. Having defined the requirements for the job, the work provider may either:
- delegate the project management to a sub-contractor (possibly including the selection of the operators required for the job),
- recall operators (translators and proof-readers and/or revisers) who have already done work for him,
- call up the operators that he has recruited or selected in advance,
- start looking for the operators required for the job (either to short-list them or to commission them for the job).
10. The translator or the translation company tenders for contracts. In the present case, that would mean that the translator answers a call for tenders detailing the specifications for the job.
Freelance revisers may tender for revision contracts. In most cases however, they will be contacted by translators or by work providers or, in a translation service or company, be chosen by the project manager.
2. Getting the translation
2.1 Finding the operators
11. The work provider forwards the request for translation to potential operators (i.e. translators and revisers), who may have already been identified, contacted, selected or recruited in anticipation of the need for translation. The request includes the following:
- the source material to be translated (if not the definitive version, at least a representative sample of the material for initial assessment),
- the work provider's general purchase conditions - conditions applicable to all purchases of services by the work provider,
- any brief or job specifications (special requirements and conditions) already available at this stage.
12. The translator receives the request for translation with all relevant accompaniments.
If previously contacted, the reviser will also receive the requirements and all the items making up the request for translation + revision.
13. The translator:
- opens or re-opens the client's file, then
- opens a job file and/or job account within the client's file.
If previously contacted, the reviser:
- opens or re-opens the client's file, then
- opens a job file and/or job account within the client's file.
14. A project manager may be assigned to the job on the translator's side. The project manager will be in charge of supervising the whole operation, starting with the estimate for the job (that estimate will be part of the 'business offer').
The project manager on the translator's side will be referred to below as the translator.
15. A manager may be assigned to the job on the work provider's side, as the case may be. He will be responsible for supervising the translation, and will start by negotiating with the translator.
The job manager (or file manager or contract manager) on the work provider's side will be referred to below as the work provider.
16. The translator decides whether the translation is relevant, by confirming that, to the best of his knowledge, the material has not already been partly or totally translated.
17. The translator examines the work provider's request, with a view to providing an accurate (realistic) estimate for the job.
To do this, the translator will request all the explanations, information, and details that the work provider can supply, in order to determine as precisely as possible what the source material consists of, and the full and precise nature of the work required, unless of course, this has already been specified in full. The work provider will, as a rule, provide the translator with one or more representative samples of the material, so the latter can get a fair idea of the task involved and of the time it will take.
In the course of this exchange, the translator may also ask the work provider to check that the material can be exported/imported into the target cultural, political, cultural environment (the context in which the translation will be received and put to use). This may in particular involve asking whether anything that is likely to be affected by various national laws and regulations has been considered and the appropriate authorisations have been applied for. The work provider should also be asked to take account of all the mandatory warnings and disclaimers which will apply in the given national context. At this juncture, the translator should also, if relevant, make the work provider aware of possible misunderstandings that might arise in the target culture.
18. The translator studies the request and analyzes the work provider's needs and requirements. This may involve:
- asking for additional information;
- checking that the material has not already been translated, in part or in whole;
- looking up related material (documents in the same family, previous translations, etc.)
- deciding, with the work provider, what type of translation is best suited to the particular needs and situation and how best to carry out the job;
- sizing the material to precisely determine the volume of the translation, being careful to inform the work provider of the method and tool used.
19. The translator then makes a rough estimate of how long the job will take by:
- estimating the workload;
- choosing the appropriate tools for the job;
- working out how many operators will be needed;
- estimating the time needed to complete the job to the standard required;
- determining the most cost-effective way of carrying out the job in terms of tools, operators, productivity, quality, etc.
If already contacted, the reviser carries out the same calculations and assessment in order to draw up the estimate for the revision part - all the more easily as his services are more limited than those of the translator but with the constraint that there is no way he can, at that point, estimate the 'level' and, therefore, quantity of revision that will actually be required.
20. The work provider answers any extra queries by the translator and reviser. This part of the process requires a spirit of open dialogue and negotiation, as the translator may for instance at this stage require an extension of the time limit for the job or ask the work provider to supply specific equipment or software or other resources.
21. The translator draws up the business offer and estimate for the job. The offer specifies how the translator intends to carry out the work in hand, while the estimate states how much the service will be charged. The translator's business offer will be accompanied as a matter of routine by a document stating the translator's general conditions of service provision.
22. If previously contacted, the reviser sends his own offer and estimate to the work provider. The translator's business offer will be accompanied as a matter of routine by a document stating the reviser's general conditions of service provision.
23. The work provider receives the business offers and can then, alternatively:
- select the operator, if there are several competing offers, or
- accept the offer submitted by the previously selected translator or reviser, or
- request a trial (test) translation/revision.
If the work provider decides on the latter:
24. The work provider (or the reviser acting on behalf of the work provider) designs and organizes the test or trial.
25. The translator (or the reviser acting on behalf of the translator) carries out the test.
26. The work provider (or his appointed reviser):
- assesses the results of the test;
- selects the operator(s) on the basis of the test results;
- certifies the operator(s) if certification is required.
2.2 Once the operator or operators have been confirmed
27. If need be, the selected operator or operators put some additional questions to the work provider and/or reviser to make sure all applicable conditions and constraints have been set out (to fine tune the agreement).
28. On the basis of the answers received, the translator may submit a final offer to the work provider, along with the final estimate.
In the best case scenario, this offer will be accepted as the basis for contractual agreement. It will stand as a first-level job specification which then may be added to after further analysis of the job in hand.
The reviser may draw up his own offer and estimate, as the case may be.
29. The work provider accepts the translator's or translation company's offer.
The contract between the translator and the work provider is formed the moment the work provider has formally accepted the translator's offer either by simply signing the estimate or by issuing an order form (below).
The work provider also accepts the reviser's offer, as the case may be.
30. The work provider issues one or several order forms or documents with the same legal effect.
31. The translator receives the order form and accepts the work provider's order.
Once the translator has formally accepted the order, there exists a binding business relationship between the work provider and the translator.
If applicable, the reviser receives a separate purchase order form and accepts the work provider's order.
32. The work provider and the translator on the one hand, and the work provider and the reviser on the other hand, as the case may be, agree on the terms of the contract. It used to be the rule that contracts remained implicit but it is becoming more and more obvious that the conditions, form and medium of the contract must be formally agreed by all parties to it.
The agreement or contract should include, among other things, the general specifications (those that apply for any job), and, whenever possible, the particular specifications (those that apply specifically for the job in hand). The time limits and schedules and the financial conditions must be stated most unambiguously.
33. As the case may be:
- the work provider appoints a job manager and, if the agreement says he has to take care of the revision, hires one or several revisers.
The job manager becomes the exclusive contact person for the translator or translation company for any matter relating to the job in hand.
The translator should always be given the name of the contact person (on the work provider's side) for the job in hand.
- the translation company appoints a project manager and, if the agreement says the company has to take care of the revision, hires or appoints one or several revisers.
The project manager becomes the exclusive contact person for the work provider for any matter relating to the job in hand. The work provider should always be given the name of the contact person (on the translator's side) for the job in hand.
34. If the reviser is selected at this juncture, he opens a job file and/or job account
for the job in hand.
3. Preparing, planning and organizing the job
3.1 Preparing the translation (localisation, subtitling, etc.) kit
35. The work provider assembles the various elements that make up the translation kit, namely, at least:
- the source material (in its original form, or in a 'for translation' or 'support' version),
- any product to which the source material refers,
- any material related to the source material (previous version, document relating to the same subject, etc.),
- any relevant applicable translation memory or memories, and any document relating to the same subject with its translation, which can possibly be fed into a translation memory,
- any material which has to be integrated into the translation (in cases where a prior version is being partly re-edited or when homogeneity with a prior version is required, or when the translation must include 'mandatory' notices such as a notice of conformity with specific safety regulations, etc.),
- ancillary resources designed to help the translator, including all useful documents (or at least an indication of where they can be found: URL, physical location, names of persons to contact, etc.), the relevant software and any document having relevance to the lifecycle of the product or processes referred to in the material to be translated,
- any available directions or specifications (including, for instance, the reference of the material that will serve as the benchmark for homogeneity) and, whenever possible, the full specifications for the translation,
- a delivery schedule planning (a) deliveries of the source material from the work provider to the translator, and (b) deliveries of the translated material from the translator to the work provider,
- a list of related jobs (jobs depending on the job in hand) as for instance, parallel batch translations,
- any style specifications (style guide) and relevant formatting instructions,
- as the case may be, the indication of whatever document or material is to serve as the reference for homogenisation of the translation as when it is stipulated, for instance, that the text of the slides in the presentation must take absolute precedence over any other options,
- in the case of a localization or subtitling kit: the scripts and all the relevant programs, files, menus, messages, codes, etc.
36. The work provider assembles any additional resources likely to be of use to the translator, or the reviser, as the case maybe.
37. If need be, the work provider makes sure that backup and safety copies of the source material are made (photocopies, file back-ups, records of documents) and that all safety operations - anti-virus checks, extraction of non-text items, page number checks, tag locking, etc. are carried out.
38. In theory, the work provider should check the quality of the source material and ensure that all necessary corrections are made. Source material should always be quality assured.
39. If need be, the work provider produces a specific version for translation.
A specific version for translation may consist of a printed version of the file, the script of the video or game, a digital version of the text, a version from which all non-text items have been removed, a version including spaces for future illustrations, or where all the marker tags have been locked to avoid deletion during translation or a version from which any identification of the company requesting the translation has been deleted. In most cases the operator in charge of preparing the version for translation will identify and process any previously translated sections or create a specific file containing only the parts to be translated, etc. To be more precise, the result is a version for translation or retranslation - since some of the existing material that is being reused may have to be upgraded, as when part of the translation memory is just not adequate.
40. The work provider may also produce a support version.
The support version is one in which the work provider embeds various markers indicating how to deal with such specific items as menu options, proper names, book or document titles, business names, brands and trademarks, units and figures, dates, legends, etc. It also generally includes the terminology (or part of it) and, in some cases, the phraseological templates or matrices. The subtitler's support version, for instance, includes the script and a time-coded version of the video.
A support version is particularly useful when the translator uses a dictating machine or voice recognition software. In this particular case, a pre-processed support version will include the necessary terminology and phraseology to ensure that the translation is homogeneous and that the translator can keep up a certain speed.
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