The pros and cons of Kudoz Thread poster: Younes Mostafaei
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Hello everybody,
Kudoz system is a very useful tool but we need to be more watchful!
As a professional translator and interpreter it is essential to know how to treat the answers that are given to your translation questions.
When a term is asked through Kudoz system after a minute or so there will be a plethora of answers offered for the term in question. As people have different experiences in different fields, these answers sometimes can vary to a large extend. It can ... See more Hello everybody,
Kudoz system is a very useful tool but we need to be more watchful!
As a professional translator and interpreter it is essential to know how to treat the answers that are given to your translation questions.
When a term is asked through Kudoz system after a minute or so there will be a plethora of answers offered for the term in question. As people have different experiences in different fields, these answers sometimes can vary to a large extend. It can be a pain when you do not know which one is better/ the best or even more/ the most correct!
There is no objectivity for these answers based on which to assess the quality and correctness of them save the peer agreements and the discussion entries which somtimes are not taken seriously. But can we regard these agreements as an objective?
The answer is, in my opinion, yes but not always. The agreements can be the result of different factors such as: 1.Relationship with the answerer (less likely I guess) 2. sharing nearly the same experince with the answerer 3. Authority and the professinal status of the answerer 4. Colleagues peer agreements and 5. assurance of the correctness of the answer.
The first answers can also serve as a pre-translation version for some answerers, especially when an answerer rushes to submit the first answer which sometimes lacks quality. The first answer, if correct, can serve for a better rendering.
The asker can also choose his/ her answer because of any of the above-mentioned factors.
These factors can sometimes be useful but not always.
After all the thing is that we need to know how to choose the right answer and how to adjust it into the text. Many a time you may get different answers with different styles for your question. Different styles are the result of different experiences and somehow unique interests that people have. If the translator is ignorant of these stylistic differences and the answer is copied into the TT, especially into a literary text, the result may be a TT with a bulk of different styles and interpretations.
A bumpy translation, like a puzzle with some pieces sticking out, some not fitting into their places.
Modification!
Yes, modification may be a good solution. Any answer that we get needs to go through our own stylistic filters.
[Edited at 2012-05-10 19:10 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Giles Watson 
Italy
Local time: 15:28
Italian to English
In memoriam | Kudoz is not a lamppost | May 10, 2012 |
The quotation is attributed to various sources, but Kudoz is unlikely to be of much use if you regard it the way a drunk treats a lamppost - more for support than illumination 
| | | | 564354352 (X)
Denmark
Local time: 15:28
Danish to English
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| Use answers at your own peril | May 11, 2012 |
As long as you realise that you are the only person responsible for the choices you make in relation to the translation that you are (presumably) being paid to make, there is no real risk.
Any answer proffered by anyone at Kudoz (for whatever reasons, be they selfish or generous and kind) should be considered a suggestion, not a fact, that you need to research further if you want to do a professional job.
YOU are the expert (presumably) of the text that you are translat... See more As long as you realise that you are the only person responsible for the choices you make in relation to the translation that you are (presumably) being paid to make, there is no real risk.
Any answer proffered by anyone at Kudoz (for whatever reasons, be they selfish or generous and kind) should be considered a suggestion, not a fact, that you need to research further if you want to do a professional job.
YOU are the expert (presumably) of the text that you are translating, so don't panic over any useless answers you might receive. If you don't feel sure the answers are correct and 'safe', continue searching until you ARE certain.
Isn't that what any good translator does? ▲ Collapse
| | | | | The forums need a "like" button! | May 11, 2012 |
Gitte Hovedskov Hansen wrote:
As long as you realise that you are the only person responsible for the choices you make in relation to the translation that you are (presumably) being paid to make, there is no real risk.
Any answer proffered by anyone at Kudoz (for whatever reasons, be they selfish or generous and kind) should be considered a suggestion, not a fact, that you need to research further if you want to do a professional job.
YOU are the expert (presumably) of the text that you are translating, so don't panic over any useless answers you might receive. If you don't feel sure the answers are correct and 'safe', continue searching until you ARE certain.
Isn't that what any good translator does?
Nuff said!
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neilmac
Spain
Local time: 15:28
Spanish to English
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| Entertainment value | May 11, 2012 |
A large part of the interest in kudoz for me is the entertainment factor. Apart from being a useful forum to compare and contrast opinions and knowledge, I also value it as a source of fun and occasionally schadenfreude.
In fact I've just had a healthy chortle at one particular recent poster who seems determined to flaunt his galloping "wrong-end-of-stickness"...
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Language is certainly rum stuff in any language...
| | | | Neil Coffey
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:28
French to English
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| Treat the answers like anything else... | May 11, 2012 |
Any answer/opinion that you get on ProZ should be carefully weighed up, considering factors such as how verifiable that opinion is in other sources/examples of use, how much experience and knowledge in the field the poster claims to have...
...or in other words, you should be applying similar critical judgement to that which you would apply to *any* translation suggestion, be it in a mainstream dictionary, specialist glossary, web site, parallel corpus etc.
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