Quality Control and Review Practices
An a check for your project translations.
Technical Communicators on Track, p. 158
Transcript
Why (theoretically) are loan words challenging in intercultural communication?
Encoders and decoders have different culture, knowledge, and production influencesSigns are arbitrary as they depend on the context and changeRelevance adjusts based on context and processing effort
Theory for Quality
The theory of analysis moved from the transfer of the... what across our ages of translation? Do you remember the three big focal points?
to pragmatics (intention, text function, speech acts).
language structure (lexical units, sentences, paragraphs),
form and style (genre, literal virtuosity, register)
Meaning in texts is determined by the content as a subject of debate such as information, reference, and technicality, and by the ideological setting, for example, political positioning, discourses, values, and cultural norms.
[Anne Lange. The Routledge Handbook of the History of Translation Studies]
Remember?
EQUIVALENCE
- Functional equivalence
- Matching the overall purpose
- Referential equivalence
- Formal equivalence
- Pragmatic equivalence
Relevance Theory
Focuses on the sender-to-receiver dynamic to describe how well the “two texts share purpose and understanding.”
- Work is based on researched assumptions (audience comprehension without explanation)
- Quality derived from the relevance of assumptions
Explicitation: Some statements must be expanded in the target text so the new audience understands
Please refer to the FAQs on our site for more.
You can find more details in the Frequently Asked Questions section on our website.
Implicitation: Some statements can be deleted or shortened without a loss of meaning.
We have compiled a list of answers to common questions on our website. Please visit the website frequently asked questions to find the information you need.
For more information, visit our website.
Defines communication as that which fulfills the needs of encoders and decoders.
Translational Action Theory
- This is the core principle. It means understanding the purpose of the translation. Why is this being translated? What is it supposed to achieve for the target audience?
The Skopos Rule
- The translation must make sense to the target audience. It needs to be coherent and understandable within their cultural context.
The Coherence Rule
- There should be a relationship between the source text and the target text, but this is not always about strict literal translation. It's about maintaining the intended meaning and effect.
The Fidelity Rule
Hear from interpreters doing this work!
NLPs still need quality review checks.
Practical Implications of Quality
Editing and Review Focus
- ISO 17100:2015 provides requirements for the core processes, resources, and other aspects necessary for the delivery of a quality translation service that meets applicable specifications.
- Application of ISO 17100:2015 also provides the means by which a translation service provider (TSP) can demonstrate conformity of specified translation services and the capability of its processes and resources to deliver a translation service that will meet the client's and other applicable specifications.
- Applicable specifications can include those of the client, of the TSP itself, and of any relevant industry codes, best-practice guides, or legislation.
- The use of raw output from machine translation plus post-editing is outside the scope of ISO 17100:2015.
- ISO 17100:2015 does not apply to interpreting services.
https://www.iso.org/standard/59149.html
Four Types of Editing
Copyediting to comply with predetermined rules
House style, spelling, syntax, punctuation, usage, and control language
Stylistic Editing to adjust vocabulary and sentence structure to the needs of the intended readership and to achieve a smooth text
Structural Editing for the physical structure of the text
Headings, lists, visuals, notes, paragraphing
Content Editing to check macro-scale content, factual errors, conceptual errors, and logical errors
Subject Expert and Tech Writer
Translator and Reviser
Reviser and Reviewer
Monolingual and Intracultural process to author the original source content.
Bilingual and Intercultural process to transfer subject matter into target content.
Monolingual and Intercultural process to finish adapted content.
Responsibilities of the Translator
The translator shall transfer the meaning in the source language into the target language in order to produce a text that is in accordance with the rules of the linguistic system of the target language and that meets the instructions received in the project assignment. -EN15038 Standard
Responsibilities of the Reviser
The revisor shall be a person other than the translator and have the appropriate competence in the source and target languages. The revisor shall examine the translation for its suitable suitability for the purpose. This shall include, as required by the project, a comparison of the source and target text for terminology consistency register and style.
The reviewer shall carry out a monolingual review to assess the suitability of the translation for the agreed purpose and recommend corrective measures.
Responsibilities of the Reviewer
Four Problem Groups
What do you think are the focuses of each common problem?
Physical Presentation
Meaning Transfer
Language and Style
Content
Layout, typography, and organization
Tailoring, Idioms, and Mechanical
Accuracy and Completeness
Logic and Facts
Transcript
The Review Rounds
- Did everything translate?
- Do you understand everything that was translated?
- Did you pay attention to the text layout and fonts?
Review and Compare
Open your project file complete these spot check reviews. Look over both the exam and the chapter you've translated.
Compare your work under Section 1: Types of Historical and Modern Governments for accuracy and completeness.
- Did you conduct outside research to confirm the accuracy?
- If there are any inconsistencies between your work, use the https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/government-type/ to explicitate and confirm the information.
Meaning Transfer
- Oligarchy
- Monarchy
- Constitutional Monarchy
- Dictatorship
- Democracy
- Direct Democracy
- Representative Democracy
- Parliamentary Democracy
- Presidential Democracy
Content
- Compare your content "Basic Principles of American Constitutional Democracy" and the answers to Exercise 2 for the logic and factual accuracy between the chapter and the questions.
- Answers are on the next slide.
B D C D A
How did you deal with the image translations on pages:
- 676
- 678
- 681
- 686
- 687
- 692
- 694
- 697
- 699
- 701
- 702
You also need to check the layout and all the graphics. Use your eye and skill as TCID students to update, recreate, or change the design to maintain the intent (functional translation) for the en.US audience.
The end of 2.6, Quality Review..Review
You've reached the end of this lecture.
Complete the mindmap assignment in Canvas for this topic to unlock the task and progress. Remember, you need to complete all tasks in a Unit before moving on to the next.
I don't have much more to add this week because the field of translation and localization is challenging in the nuance across locals (so we do need to do a lot of work) but not that complicated in the actual theories, concepts, and practices. So this week is repetition of the concepts as repetition is a key mechanism for longer-term memory and learning. Then there are questions to guide your quality review check on the CrowdIn project as you should be finishing that work.
For your Unit Project, you are responsible for the quality of the English-version as the monolingual reviewer at the end of the process. You need to run these QA checks with our en.US locale audience in mind.
Quality Control and Review Practices
Hayley Blackburn, PhD
Created on September 24, 2025
Start designing with a free template
Discover more than 1500 professional designs like these:
View
Fill in Blanks
View
Countdown
View
Stopwatch
View
Unpixelator
View
Break the Piñata
View
Bingo
View
Create a Secret Code
Explore all templates
Transcript
Quality Control and Review Practices
An a check for your project translations.
Technical Communicators on Track, p. 158
Transcript
Why (theoretically) are loan words challenging in intercultural communication?
Encoders and decoders have different culture, knowledge, and production influencesSigns are arbitrary as they depend on the context and changeRelevance adjusts based on context and processing effort
Theory for Quality
The theory of analysis moved from the transfer of the... what across our ages of translation? Do you remember the three big focal points?
to pragmatics (intention, text function, speech acts).
language structure (lexical units, sentences, paragraphs),
form and style (genre, literal virtuosity, register)
Meaning in texts is determined by the content as a subject of debate such as information, reference, and technicality, and by the ideological setting, for example, political positioning, discourses, values, and cultural norms.
[Anne Lange. The Routledge Handbook of the History of Translation Studies]
Remember?
EQUIVALENCE
Relevance Theory
Focuses on the sender-to-receiver dynamic to describe how well the “two texts share purpose and understanding.”
Explicitation: Some statements must be expanded in the target text so the new audience understands
Please refer to the FAQs on our site for more.
You can find more details in the Frequently Asked Questions section on our website.
Implicitation: Some statements can be deleted or shortened without a loss of meaning.
We have compiled a list of answers to common questions on our website. Please visit the website frequently asked questions to find the information you need.
For more information, visit our website.
Defines communication as that which fulfills the needs of encoders and decoders.
Translational Action Theory
The Skopos Rule
The Coherence Rule
The Fidelity Rule
Hear from interpreters doing this work!
NLPs still need quality review checks.
Practical Implications of Quality
Editing and Review Focus
https://www.iso.org/standard/59149.html
Four Types of Editing
Copyediting to comply with predetermined rules
House style, spelling, syntax, punctuation, usage, and control language
Stylistic Editing to adjust vocabulary and sentence structure to the needs of the intended readership and to achieve a smooth text
Structural Editing for the physical structure of the text
Headings, lists, visuals, notes, paragraphing
Content Editing to check macro-scale content, factual errors, conceptual errors, and logical errors
Subject Expert and Tech Writer
Translator and Reviser
Reviser and Reviewer
Monolingual and Intracultural process to author the original source content.
Bilingual and Intercultural process to transfer subject matter into target content.
Monolingual and Intercultural process to finish adapted content.
Responsibilities of the Translator
The translator shall transfer the meaning in the source language into the target language in order to produce a text that is in accordance with the rules of the linguistic system of the target language and that meets the instructions received in the project assignment. -EN15038 Standard
Responsibilities of the Reviser
The revisor shall be a person other than the translator and have the appropriate competence in the source and target languages. The revisor shall examine the translation for its suitable suitability for the purpose. This shall include, as required by the project, a comparison of the source and target text for terminology consistency register and style.
The reviewer shall carry out a monolingual review to assess the suitability of the translation for the agreed purpose and recommend corrective measures.
Responsibilities of the Reviewer
Four Problem Groups
What do you think are the focuses of each common problem?
Physical Presentation
Meaning Transfer
Language and Style
Content
Layout, typography, and organization
Tailoring, Idioms, and Mechanical
Accuracy and Completeness
Logic and Facts
Transcript
The Review Rounds
Review and Compare
Open your project file complete these spot check reviews. Look over both the exam and the chapter you've translated.
Compare your work under Section 1: Types of Historical and Modern Governments for accuracy and completeness.
Meaning Transfer
Content
B D C D A
How did you deal with the image translations on pages:
You also need to check the layout and all the graphics. Use your eye and skill as TCID students to update, recreate, or change the design to maintain the intent (functional translation) for the en.US audience.
The end of 2.6, Quality Review..Review
You've reached the end of this lecture.
Complete the mindmap assignment in Canvas for this topic to unlock the task and progress. Remember, you need to complete all tasks in a Unit before moving on to the next.
I don't have much more to add this week because the field of translation and localization is challenging in the nuance across locals (so we do need to do a lot of work) but not that complicated in the actual theories, concepts, and practices. So this week is repetition of the concepts as repetition is a key mechanism for longer-term memory and learning. Then there are questions to guide your quality review check on the CrowdIn project as you should be finishing that work.
For your Unit Project, you are responsible for the quality of the English-version as the monolingual reviewer at the end of the process. You need to run these QA checks with our en.US locale audience in mind.