32 The Linguist Vol/54 No/6 2015
www.ciol.org.uk
INSTITUTE MATTERS
DIVISIONS & SOCIETIES
Judgement of errors
CYNTHIA STEPHENS REPORTS ON A TRANSLATING DIVISION
EVENT LOOKING AT APPROACHES TO REVISING TEXTS
The Translating Division event on
18 September, 'Dotting the I's and
Crossing the T's: A professional attitude
to revision', offered fascinating talks,
interaction and many interesting
questions from the floor. The audience
was welcomed to the Novotel hotel in
London by Michael Cunningham,
Translating Division Chair.
Chris Cox, from the Association for
Terminology and Lexicography, spoke
about ISO 17100:2015 requirements
for translation services. Within the
definitions of this standard, which
involves 27 countries, the translation
process has seven categories:
Translation, Edit, Review, Proofread,
Revision, Target Language Content and
Check. The meanings of these technical
terms do not necessarily align exactly
with the commonly understood
meanings, highlighting the difficulties
involved in getting agreement on the
definition of terms from so many
language communities.
Eyvor Fogarty, an experienced
translator, interpreter and terminologist,
ran a workshop of theoretical and
practical exercises. She started by asking
us to think about the difference between
'what makes a good translation?' and
'what makes a translation good?'. We
were in for a trip around the subtleties of
word order, grammar and style in the
English language. In one of the exercises,
we had to transcribe a text about the
1960s English rock band Procol Harum,
spoken in monotone, into English
suitable for a US publisher. We did our
best to interpret what punctuation was
required, which was difficult, and not
everyone agreed with the original author.
Revision, Evyor told us, is about
removing errors. We aim for improvement
but we do not change the style. In a later
exercise she gave us a real example of a
translation for revision involving the
storage of cleaning products. In the
absence of the source text, understanding
what was meant was a problem, and
some members of the audience felt that
translations such as this were dangerous.
There was also ample opportunity
for networking during the lunch and
coffee breaks. Overall, it was a wide-
ranging meeting in which the two
speakers approached the topic from
very different angles, although both
encouraged us to consider the various
complex and subtle processes at work
in producing a finished document that
is fit-for-purpose.
KEY
DIVISIONS
Business, Professions
& Government:
Interpreting:
Translating:
SOCIETIES
Cambridge:
German:
Hong Kong:
Lincolnshire:
London:
North West:
Scottish:
Spanish:
BPG
TD
CAM
GER
LINC
NW
SCOT
LON
SP
HK
ID
CONTACT DETAILS
Judith Ridgway,
bpg@ciol.org.uk
Christine Pocock,
id@ciol.org.uk
Michael
Cunningham,
td@ciol.org.uk
Leslie Ray,
cambridgesociety
@ciol.org.uk
Stephanie Tarling,
germansociety@ciol.org.uk
Francis Lee,
hongkongsociety@
ciol.org.uk
Candia Hillier,
lincolnshiresociety@
ciol.org.uk
Rannheid Sharma,
londonsociety@ciol.org.uk
Katrin Hiietam,
northwestsociety@
ciol.org.uk
Anne Withers,
scottishsociety@ciol.org.uk
Rebekah Rhodes,
spanishsociety@ciol.org.uk
BPG
ID
TD
CAM
GER
HK
LINC
LON
NW
SCOT
SP
February 2016
NETWORKING
LUNCH WITH
SPEAKER
Saturday 6 February
Wig & Mitre, Lincoln,
12-4pm
For details or to book,
contact Candia Hillier
on 01522 526695 by
30 January. Non-members
welcome. Please email
lincolnshiresociety@
ciol.org.uk to join the
mailing list.
Wig & Mitre, 30 Steep
Hill, LN2 1TL.
GUIDED VISIT TO
THE ARMOURERS'
HALL
Friday 26 February
City of London, 11am
A unique opportunity to
visit the Worshipful
Company of Armourers
and Brasiers. Dating back
to the 14th century, the
Armourers' Hall is the
oldest extant building in
London. Visitors will be
shown the splendid
rooms, armour and
artefacts, including silver
from the Armada.
£10; Coleman Street, EC2.
AGM
Saturday 27 February
Luneburg
Formal meeting. Time
and venue details tba.
LINC
BPG
GER
German
Society
study weekend
The 2016 event will be
held in Weimar. Details
will be announced in
the next issue.
LOOK AHEAD
BERNARD HUDSON
1920-2015
The German Society is
sad to announce the
death of its founder
member Bernard
Hudson. See ciol-gs.
de/information-page
for a full tribute.
CHALLENGE
A text about rock band
Procol Harum proved
hard to transcribe
GAYLE
DEE,
PROCOL
HARUM
IN
AARHUS,
DENMARK
2013,
VIA
FLICKR
(CC
BY-NC
2.0)
