Translation as a Profession (Benjamins Translation Library)

Chapter 4. The translating profession 1155.2.8 ReviserThe reviser is a highly skilled experienced translator whose job it is to upgrade thetranslated material to all applicable quality standards and requirements. Both heand the translator are jointly and severally responsible for the ultimate quality ofthe translation.In practice, the job denominations of the ‘proof-reader’ and the ‘reviser’ (andeven sometimes ‘editor’) are used indifferently to refer to any person involvedin the post-translation quality control process. This is unfortunate, as it tends toblur the real differences in the respective levels of skills and experience required.Revisers (who often go by the name of ‘editors’, differ from proof-readers in termsof competence and authority. They are expected to have the skills and experiencethat the translators do not yet possess and are therefore recruited from the ranksof the most experienced and most competent translators while, as we said, proofreadingis generally a task for beginners.There are now more and more full-time in-house revisers because of theemphasis on quality: revision can, precisely, provide that extra quality. At thesame time, the emphasis put on revision by all translation quality standards isshaping up an environment with more and more professional freelance reviserscoming from the ranks of the highly-skilled translators. The provision in theEN15038 European standard that all translations be revised reinforces the need forprofessional revisers or ‘editors’ of all breeds. It is to be hoped it will also enhancetheir status . . . and consideration.To make the picture complete, one must add that there is also room forrewriters. A rewriter literally rewrites a translation either to bring it to requiredquality levels if it is hopeless or to create a (different) document with a differentfunction and/or for a different audience.5.2.9 Online QA operatorThe on-line QA operator, or tester, must have all the required linguistic, technical,and cultural skills plus a real fault-finding ability. Translators more and more oftendo the testing after the translated material has been integrated onto its supportmedium. This is a quite sensible proposition: they have the required skills to testthe various functionalities as anyone else would, and, on top of that, they have themore exclusive competences it takes to assess the quality of the embedded linguisticcomponents. Such testing is called online testing or online QA (i.e. online qualityassurance).5.2.10 Editor/integratorIn a broad sense, ‘editor’ generally refers to the person who is responsible forpage layout, illustrations, formatting, screen captures, message integration, codereassembly and any other task required in order to install the translated document