Target document formatting must be different to the Source formatting.
Thread poster: Daithi
Daithi
Daithi
Ireland
Jan 1, 2020

I am wondering how do professional translators deal with this issue and if there's anything CAT tools can do.

The task is to translate a regulation/guideline.

The issue is that the target has a very specific formatting requirements which are different from the source. For example the source is English and target is all languages spoken in Europe. Each country has a specific template and guide as to what the final translation document should look like e.x. Heading font
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I am wondering how do professional translators deal with this issue and if there's anything CAT tools can do.

The task is to translate a regulation/guideline.

The issue is that the target has a very specific formatting requirements which are different from the source. For example the source is English and target is all languages spoken in Europe. Each country has a specific template and guide as to what the final translation document should look like e.x. Heading font type, size, layout etc. In short, the source document is quite different from the target. So not only a translation is required but a translation into the final requested format and layout!

As I understand, this is something CAT tools cannot do. As CAT tools segment the source, create a duplicate for target which translated and then put together.

I think this must be quite a common issue for anyone translating multilingual legal documents, so was wondering how to Proz deal with this issue?

The only think I can think of is to use the CAT tool for the translation and then re-format the target document?
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Hans Lenting
Hans Lenting
Netherlands
Member (2006)
German to Dutch
Some ideas Jan 2, 2020

You can assign paragraph styles to the source document and change their definitions in the target documents.

Or: You can add markup codes during the translation and run the target texts through a markup code processor to create formatted documents.


 
Dan Lucas
Dan Lucas  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:07
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
Additional charges Jan 2, 2020

Daithi wrote:
The only think I can think of is to use the CAT tool for the translation and then re-format the target document?

That is what I would do. I would quote for the number of words/characters, and also quote for several hours of DTP/layout work on the translated document.

Since the formatting is not usually perceived to be high-value added work, I usually suggest that it will be cheaper for the client or the end client to perform that part themselves.

Regards,
Dan


 
Daithi
Daithi
Ireland
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks Jan 2, 2020

Dan Lucas wrote:

Daithi wrote:
The only think I can think of is to use the CAT tool for the translation and then re-format the target document?

That is what I would do. I would quote for the number of words/characters, and also quote for several hours of DTP/layout work on the translated document.

Since the formatting is not usually perceived to be high-value added work, I usually suggest that it will be cheaper for the client or the end client to perform that part themselves.

Regards,
Dan


Thanks for the reply. I am actually asking for someone else, so it's a second hand info, but I think the way it works with that client is that the price is predetermined for the entire job.


 
Daithi
Daithi
Ireland
TOPIC STARTER
Interesting approach Jan 2, 2020

Hans Lenting wrote:

You can assign paragraph styles to the source document and change their definitions in the target documents.

I see. So basically adjust the formatting of the source in accordance with the target template. Is there a way to apply a template or export and import formatting, in MS Word for instance? I'm going to Google a bit on that.

Or: You can add markup codes during the translation and run the target texts through a markup code processor to create formatted documents.

Can you elaborate on this one a bit? Sounds also interesting.


 
Daithi
Daithi
Ireland
TOPIC STARTER
Third variable to the problem. Jan 2, 2020

I also should have mentioned this.

When you are supplied the source text, you are supplied with docs and pdf. I suppose the pdf probably serves as a reference document? Now sure why reference documents are used if word can process pretty much all formatting.

Anyway, the problem is that the docs and pdf are not always the same! One or the other could contain lines not present in the other document. It's very rare, but happens sometimes. The translator is required to tran
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I also should have mentioned this.

When you are supplied the source text, you are supplied with docs and pdf. I suppose the pdf probably serves as a reference document? Now sure why reference documents are used if word can process pretty much all formatting.

Anyway, the problem is that the docs and pdf are not always the same! One or the other could contain lines not present in the other document. It's very rare, but happens sometimes. The translator is required to translate both.



[Edited at 2020-01-02 12:54 GMT]
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Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 00:07
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
@Daithi Jan 2, 2020

Daithi wrote:
As I understand, this is something CAT tools cannot do. As CAT tools segment the source, create a duplicate for target which translated and then put together.


Yes, the CAT tool assumes that either the source file is already properly formatted or that the user will properly format the target file afterwards. This means that you should do one of three things:
- reformat the source file so that it has the target formatting, or
- fix formatting errors after translating the source file, or
- extract the source text as plain text, then translate it, and then create a fresh new target file by formatting the translated plain text in the proper way.

Unfortunately this requires that translators need to know how to fix or apply document formatting, and many translators do not know how to do that -- they just hope the CAT tool takes care of that.


 
Daithi
Daithi
Ireland
TOPIC STARTER
Paragraph styles Jan 2, 2020

Hans Lenting wrote:

You can assign paragraph styles to the source document and change their definitions in the target documents.



They are supplied with a doxt file which is the template. Is loading the template into the source the solution you meant?

Thanks,


 


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Target document formatting must be different to the Source formatting.







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