In the world of
translations legal texts are certainly a special chapter not only by
the complexity of vocabulary and the sensitivity and impact of its content, but
also because often require much preparation before you can begin the translation
itself. This is why requiring translators public that guarantee
a translation accurate and faithful to the original.
In a typical project
that involves legal texts, whether certificates (birth, marriage, death, etc.),
commercial, labor and other contracts it receives first the original text,
which in the majority of cases papers are in poor condition, whether because they
are old, are wrinkled, full of signatures and seals on the text with
strike through parts, or just plain poor quality photocopies.
For optimal results, the
best way is to follow these steps:
1) preparation of the
file: the design team is responsible for scan the original document
using text recognition programs and recreating any kind of structure
as tables, forms, etc. But as we said these texts they tend to be very
"contaminated" with signatures, stamps and handwritten texts,
for which an extra step we need to "fix" what text recognition
software could not capture well.
2) pre-editing: in
this step the translator must compare the original texts with the converted
digital texts and correct all the words that were not well recognized. For
example, in the original says "lease" and says "acquirer
contralto" in the converted file. In addition to correcting such
errors, which makes the per-editing also replace images of stamps, signatures,
logos, etc. by their description in brackets, for example [signature], [seal of
the civil register of the city of XXX] or [XXX Logo]. In the same way are
marked as [illegible] the texts that cannot be read, whether hand-written
texts, very fuzzy seals, and things of that style.
(3) translation: Now,
with the properly prepared text can work with a CAT-tool (translation
tool) which facilitates the process by saving the translated in memory of
translation or TM (for its acronym in English) in addition to providing
access to glossaries and term bases.
(4) issue: It is
essential that a second linguist review the initial translation and correct any
errors either of meaning (the legal texts are full of "false friends")
as also of grammar or spelling.
(5) final review (or proofreading):
in this step a third linguist reads the translated text, because without
comparing it with the original, to make final adjustments and make sure the
text is impeccable.
6) DTP (or desktop
publishing): the finished text is sent back to the design department where any
format problem is arranged and prepared to deliver to the client.
7) certification:
this is a legal document signed by a notary, which guarantees that the
delivered text is a faithful translation of such language into such other
language and that it was made by a team of prepared and experienced translators
in the matter.
At Trusted Translations
we work hard so that each translation project counts with each step that will
ensure a professional, precise and quick result. We are at your disposal
for any question or request for quote!
