When working on a research paper, the experts at Scientific Publications distinguish between the concepts of "academic translation" and "proofreading". It would seem that both processes are aimed at improving an academic article in English and are interrelated. Generally speaking, we always distinguish between them in this way: the first is a translation into English considering the specialist terminology, and the second is proofreading by an academic-language speaker and correcting the text. But if we take a closer look, the process of academic translation and proofreading involves a lot of subtle nuances, which we are going to discuss in this article today.
Difficulties of independent academic translation
Translating scientific material into academic English is difficult to overestimate. After all, a poor translation can "ruin" even the most innovative research. The author's thoughts will remain misunderstood, and the scientific article most likely will not pass the reviewing stage. It is also worth bearing in mind that a good command of English at an everyday or conversational level does not ensure publication success. After all, it is the knowledge of specialized terminology and scientific style that is required.
Main difficulties that occur during independent translation:
- Grammatical errors, such as comparison degrees, and number formatting.
- Incorrect abbreviations or acronyms of highly specialized terms without specifying the full form.
- Spelling errors, especially in the presence of homonymic words.
- Incorrect text formatting.
- Punctuation errors, such as extra commas and quotation marks format.
- Inappropriate paragraph and sentence structure formatting.
It is the academic translation procedure that minimizes these inaccuracies.
Proofreading as academic translation analytic
Solving the above-mentioned errors is only the first stage of working on the translation of a scientific article. After correcting them, a deeper analysis of the research material should be carried out, which includes:
- Analysis of the usage of the specific term, including categorical definitions.
- Semiotic and linguistic analysis.
- Normalization is strictly according to the scientific style.
- Improving the overall quality of the text.
- Conducting a comparative analysis in the context of the terminology used.
- Final proofreading by a native-speaking specialist.
A scientific article is ready for submission to a journal only after these issues have been resolved, which is ensured by the proofreading procedure.
Comparative analysis of academic translation and proofreading
|
Academic translation |
Proofreading |
Working with the text |
Initial text processing is done |
Requires secondary, in-depth translation analytics |
Contractor |
Professional translator |
Subject matter expert with knowledge of specialized terminology, who is a native English speaker |
Formatting |
Formatting paragraphs, sentences, and the overall structure of the work |
Improving the quality of the text |
Error correction |
Correcting typical grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors |
Linguistic and semiotic analysis of the work |
Research thought |
Providing a translation procedure based on the norms of the English language |
Work with the meaning of the text to realize the scientific purpose of the author |
Preparing the article for the submission |
The role of the professional translator is to make sure the article meets the minimum criteria |
Eliminating inconsistencies in the work and improving it, which contributes to the successful passing of the review procedure |
Understanding the categorical apparatus |
The translator has a basic knowledge of the topic |
The native speaker makes sure that profile terminology is used correctly, with a comparison of thematic glossaries |
How comparative analysis is conducted |
Virtually nonexistent, can be used to address point issues |
A comparative analysis is performed with the subject area texts to minimize all possible discrepancies |
While providing services for clients the "Scientific Publications" company employs many specialists, including academic translation and proofreading. This ensures the successful review and publication of the work in the magazine and indexation.
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Let us remind you that the material "Exclusion of journals from Scopus (October 2022). An update to the list of indexed journals" has been released recently.