Recommendations for freelance translators. Beginning Translators: Tips for a Successful Start Reference and Information Materials

For the translation of any technical literature, including the instruction manual, there are a number of recommendations that help improve the quality of translation both at the stage of the actual translation and at the stage of post-translation editing. All recommendations can be divided into 3 groups:

· Rely on logic and context, and only then on the dictionary, since the definitions given in the dictionary in different contexts can acquire different connotations and shades of meaning.

· Analyze the sentence not only at the syntactic, but also at the logical level, in order to correctly place the accents. This is necessary so that there is no shift in logical stress.

· Eliminate English conciseness and implications that are unacceptable according to the norms of the Russian language. When translating, it is necessary to use additions and comments. But comments should not overload the text of the translation, they serve to clarify the meaning.

Break up long sentences. Long sentences containing complex logical connections make it difficult to perceive and understand.

Eliminate obvious synonyms. When translating instructions, the most important thing is to maintain the unity of terminology, so replacing the same term with synonyms is a mistake. If the term is repeated in the original text, then it should also be duplicated in the translation.

Decipher abbreviations.

· Translate text by referring to figures, graphs and tables.

· Headings should be translated last.

Monitor the style of presentation (avoid splitting the predicate, piling up passive forms of the verb, participles, as well as nouns in the genitive case and verbal nouns, the pronoun “this” and the preposition “for”).

· Finish the work with your own editing: the meaning is clarified, the terms are unified, omissions are found, the style is polished.

2. When translating technical literature, it is not recommended:

· Translate literally (i.e. translate word by word, copy syntax, forget about different compatibility in two languages ​​and about different management).

· The original text may also contain errors and typos, so you must carefully monitor the consistency and accuracy of the information presented.

3. When translating technical literature, it is prohibited:

· Introduce quotation marks and the words “so-called” that are missing in the original.

· Independently introduce synonyms-terms in order to avoid repetitions.

Omit obscure passages.

· Leave an incomprehensible and randomly translated fragment of the original without trying to consult with a specialist and warn the customer by highlighting this passage with color.

The instruction refers to documents of external use and is designed for a wide audience of specialists and not only specialists and must be translated at a high level of quality. The analysis showed that the texts of translations of instructions contain many lexical, grammatical and stylistic errors, primarily related to the literal translation and the lack of post-translation editing.

A possible solution to this problem could be the use of the Trados automated system, a system of one-to-one correspondences for standardized text segments, at least within individual firms. The program detects fragments in the translated text, the translations of which are already in the database, and replaces the original fragments with translated ones. This program does not translate for you, but only helps to optimize the translation process, which sometimes significantly speeds up the work. By speeding up the translation process, there will be more time for post-editing, thereby improving the quality of the translation.

Among the typical mistakes in translating texts of instructions from English into Russian, it should be noted, first of all, the literal translation. Moreover, such an error occurs both in the transfer of terms and in the transfer of grammatical structures. Another common mistake in translation is the violation of the unity of terminology, as well as the style of the target language and logic. However, all these errors are corrected at the stage of post-translation analysis.

Conclusion

The purpose of this work was to identify the genre and stylistic features of the instruction and the methods of their transmission when translating from English into Russian.

On the way to achieve this goal, the following tasks were set and solved:

1. The first task was to analyze the genre and stylistic features of the instruction text based on the characteristics of the official business style. The prerequisite for such an analysis was the fact that the instruction is one of the genres of official business style and, as a result, borrows its main features.

Based on the results of the analysis, the following conclusions were drawn: the instruction belongs to the genres of official business style, therefore, it is characterized, first of all, by accuracy, which excludes the possibility of interpretations, and the language standard. These features are expressed in the selection of language means (lexical, grammatical and syntactic) and in the design of business documents.

The pragmatic function of instruction, as a genre of official business style, is the function of obligation. The range of the function of duty within the framework of the macro environment under consideration is quite wide: from imperative to recommendatory.

This most general function is also reflected in the lexical, syntactic, stylistic and grammatical design of the instructions.

2. The next task was to determine what type of text, according to K. Rice's classification, the instruction genre belongs to. This classification was chosen because the type of text is a relevant criterion for determining the translation strategy.

Based on the studied material, the following conclusions were made: according to the classification of K. Rice, the instruction refers to the informative type of text. This type of text is focused primarily on the transmission of informative content. A content-oriented text requires invariance at the level of the content plan when translating, and the language design of the translation is oriented primarily to the target language.

3. The next task was to conduct a pre-translational analysis of the genre of instruction according to the model of Alekseeva I.S. In the course of this analysis, the following were determined:

Communicative assignment of instruction texts;

The information content of instruction texts.

All this contributed to the refinement of the translation strategy of the instruction genre.

4. The next task was to analyze the compositional features of the instruction genre. During the analysis, instructions for various household appliances, such as a mixer, blender, food processor, etc., were studied. and singled out the main sections and subsections of the instruction, their information content and features of translation.

5. The next task was to study the features of the translation of instructions and methods of transferring the features of English-language instructions into Russian. An analysis was made of the lexical and grammatical features of the translation of the text of the instruction.

From the point of view of vocabulary, when translating instructions, it is important to take into account the qualitative specifics of instruction texts, which is associated with a contradiction between the unpredictable (in some cases, rather low) educational level of the addressee and the possible complexity of the subject of the translated text. Because of this contradiction, the adequate translation of special vocabulary, that is, terms, in the texts of instructions for household appliances is a certain difficulty.

Thus, when translating instructions, it seems necessary to use translation transformations and various translation techniques. These primarily include:

Decrease in terminology;

Reception of generalization;

reception of concretization;

descriptive translation.

The main grammatical features of the translation of the instruction text are related to the specifics of the original language and the target language.

Thus, the translation of texts of instructions for household appliances is a special type of translation, which differs from scientific and technical in a number of features. The main one is the high probability of discrepancy between the complexity of the subject presented and the cultural and educational level of consumers. The resolution of this contradiction is carried out both by adapting the level of complexity of texts in the process of translation, and by gradually adapting the addressee to commodities, which over time turn from new into familiar ones.

6. The next task was to establish criteria for assessing the quality of a translation. There are two translation quality standards: acceptable translation quality for internal documents and high translation quality for external documents. The instruction refers to documents of external use, so its translation must be carried out at a high level.

7. In the practical part of the work, an analysis was made of two instructions for Braun food processors. First, the analysis of the original was carried out, i.e. instructions in English, and then the translation of this instruction into Russian. In the process of studying the translation, a number of lexical, grammatical and stylistic errors were identified. Most of these errors are associated with literal translation, with the absence of any translation techniques and transformations.

Then the analysis of the instructions for a similar device of the same company was carried out. This analysis showed that the quality of the second translation is much higher than that of the previous one. The question arose of what caused such a noticeable difference in the quality of translations. It has been suggested that the main reason for the low quality of the first translation is that there was no post-translation editing or it was superficial.

8. A possible solution to this problem could be the use of the Trados automated system, a system of one-to-one correspondences for standardized text segments, at least within individual firms. The program detects fragments in the translated text, the translations of which are already in the database, and replaces the original fragments with translated ones. This program does not translate for you, but only helps to optimize the translation process, which sometimes significantly speeds up the work. By speeding up the translation process, there will be more time for post-editing, thereby improving the quality of the translation.

According to the results of the tasks solved, the goal of the work was generally achieved.

In conclusion, I would like to say that the question of the features of the genre and the translation of the instructions has not been fully exhausted and requires further study.

Bibliography

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2. Barkhudarov L.S. Language and translation (Issues of general and particular theory of translation). M.: "International relations", 1975. - 240 p.

3. Borisova L.I. Lexical features of the English-Russian scientific and technical translation: theory and practice of translation: textbook. – M.: NVI-TEZAURUS, 2005. – 215 p.

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5. Introduction to the theory of translation. Teaching aid. /Aut.-Stat. Avksentievskaya M.V. - St. Petersburg: St. Petersburg IVESEP, 2008. - S. 32–34

6. Vinogradov V.S. Introduction to translation studies. - M.: Publishing house IOSO RAO, 2001. - 208 p.

7. Galperin A.I. Essays on the style of the English language. - M .: Education, 1999. - S. 431-442

8. Galperin I.R. Text as an object of linguistic research. - M .: Nauka, 1981. - ed. 5th - M .: KomKniga / URSS, 2007 - 144 p.

9. Grinev S.V. (1993) Introduction to terminology. - M .: Moscow Lyceum, 1993. S. 49–52

11. Zagorodnyaya V.A. Translation of verbs of broad semantics in scientific and technical texts from English into Russian. - M.: Publishing House of MGOU, 2005. - 144 p.

12. Klimzo B.N. The craft of a technical translator. On the English language, translation and translators of scientific and technical literature. 2nd ed., revised and supplemented - M .: “R. Valent", 2006. - S. 239-243

13. Koval S.A. Special vocabulary in translation for consumers of goods and services // Modern problems of linguistics, translation and intercultural communication. Scientific notes of SPbIVESEP. SPb., 2002 - Issue 5. - P. 55 - 63

14. Komissarov V.N. – Modern translation studies. - M.: ETS, 2003-2004 - S. 135-150

15. Komissarov V.N. General theory of translation. – M.: CheRo, 2000. – 253 p.

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17. Komissarov V.N. Theoretical foundations of the methodology of teaching translation. – M.: REMA, 1997. – 206 p.

18. Komissarov V.N., Koralova A.L. Workshop on translation from English into Russian: textbook. allowance for in-t and fact-t foreign. lang. - M .: Higher. school, 1990. - 127 p.

19. Kopteva N.Yu. Impersonal forms of the English verb: textbook-method. allowance - Volgograd: Volgograd. state un-t, 2002. - 96 p.; [Electronic resource]. – URL: http://sor.volsu.ru/library/docs/00000583.pdf (Accessed 03/15/2009)

20. Latyshev L.K. Translation course: Translation equivalence and how to achieve it. - M.: International relations, 1981. - 248 p.

21. Lashkevich Yu.I. On the translation of scientific and technical text [Electronic resource] / Yu.I. Lashkevich, M.D. Grozdova // Praktika Publishing House: [website]. - M., 2009. URL: http://www.practica.ru/Articles/scientific.htm (Accessed 10.04.09).

22. Lyutkin I.D. Scientific and technical translation from Russian into English: method. manual for translator-practitioner. Academy of Sciences of the USSR, All-Union Center for Translation of Scientific and Technical Literature and Documentation / edited by A.Ya. Shaikevich. – M.: VCP, 1991. – 125 p.

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24. Maslovsky E.K. Actual problems of scientific and technical translation [Electronic resource] // Association of Lexicographers Lingvo: [website]. – [B.m., b.g.]. – URL: http://www.lingvoda.ru/transforum/articles/maslovsky_a1.asp (Accessed 10.03.09).

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For the translation of any technical literature, including the instruction manual, there are a number of recommendations that help improve the quality of translation both at the stage of the actual translation and at the stage of post-translation editing. All recommendations can be divided into 3 groups:

ü Rely on logic and context, and only then on the dictionary, since the definitions given in the dictionary in different contexts can acquire different connotations and shades of meaning.

ü Analyze the sentence not only at the syntactic, but also at the logical level, in order to correctly place emphasis. This is necessary so that there is no shift in logical stress.

ь Eliminate English conciseness and implications that are unacceptable according to the norms of the Russian language. When translating, it is necessary to use additions and comments. But comments should not overload the text of the translation, they serve to clarify the meaning.

b Break up long sentences. Long sentences containing complex logical connections make it difficult to perceive and understand.

b Eliminate obvious synonyms. When translating instructions, the most important thing is to maintain the unity of terminology, so replacing the same term with synonyms is a mistake. If the term is repeated in the original text, then it should also be duplicated in the translation.

b Decipher abbreviations.

ü Translate text by referring to figures, graphs and tables.

ь Headings should be translated last.

ь Follow the style of presentation (avoid splitting the predicate, piling up passive forms of the verb, participles, as well as nouns in the genitive case and verbal nouns, the pronoun “this” and the preposition “for”).

ü Finish the work with your own editing: the meaning is clarified, terms are unified, omissions are found, the style is polished.

ь When translating technical literature, it is not recommended:

ь Translate literally (i.e. translate word by word, copy syntax, forget about different compatibility in two languages ​​and about different management).

ь The original text may also contain errors and typos, so you must carefully monitor the consistency and accuracy of the information presented.

ь When translating technical literature, it is prohibited:

ь Introduce quotation marks and the words “so-called” that are missing in the original.

b Independently introduce synonyms-terms in order to avoid repetitions.

b Omit obscure passages.

ü Leave an incomprehensible and randomly translated fragment of the original without trying to consult with a specialist and warn the customer by highlighting this passage with color.

Among the typical mistakes in translating texts of instructions from English into Russian, it should be noted, first of all, the literal translation. Moreover, such an error occurs both in the transfer of terms and in the transfer of grammatical structures. Another common mistake in translation is the violation of the unity of terminology, as well as the style of the target language and logic. However, all these errors are corrected at the stage of post-translation analysis.

Moscow, 2012

Compiled by: N. Duplensky (NLP, SPR)

Editor: E. Maslovsky (SPR)

In the course of work on the second edition, new sections/appendices were prepared or significant methodological assistance was provided to Dm. Buzadzhi, Ph.D., head. Department of English Translation of the Moscow State Linguistic University, S. Gladkov, President of the Logrus Company, O. Davis, Editor of the Discovery Channel Broadcasting in Russian, Dm. Yermolovich, Doctor of Philological Sciences, Professor, Moscow State Linguistic University. Morisa Torez, Y. Litvinov, lawyer and translator, A. Lukyanova, secretary of the board of the UPR on legal issues, E. Maslovsky, chairman of the expert council of the UPR, G. Moiseenko, chairman of the board of the UPR, D. Tishin, general director of the Okey translation agency (Samara).

Some issues considered in these "Recommendations" may remain the subject of discussion, some issues of interest to the translation community may remain unaddressed. All interested persons are invited to continue joint work. Comments and suggestions should be sent to [email protected].

The electronic version of these "Recommendations" is published on the websites of the SPR (http://www.translators-union.ru/), Translation Forum of Russia (http://tconference.ru/) and NLP (http://www.russian -translators.ru/).

Revision 1.01 (revised) - July 2004

Revision 1.02 (amended and expanded) - September 2004

Applications

Appendix 1 About Editing a Translation

Appendix 2 Sample CV of a Freelance Translator

Annex 3 Determining the volume of text for calculating the amount of remuneration when performing written translations

Annex 4 Classification of translation errors and distribution of "weights" by category of errors

Annex 5 Translator as a subject of law

Annex 6 Standards, normative and reference documents in the field of translation

Appendix 7 Basic requirements for translations that require notarization of the correctness of the translation / authenticity of the translator's signature

Annex 8 Tables of practical transcription from English into Russian and from Russian into English

Annex 9 Russian and Latin transcription systems for Korean words

Annex 10 Some features of the application of punctuation rules in various languages. Roman and Arabic numerals

Annex 11 Recalculation of dimensions in the translation of technical texts

Annex 12 Abbreviations in drawings

Annex 13 Rules for writing the names of chemical compounds

Appendix 14 Units of physical quantities

Appendix 16 Translator Checklist

Annex 17 On the methods of formalized assessment of the quality of translation

Preamble

This document “Written translation - Recommendations to the translator, customer and editor. 2nd edition (hereinafter referred to as the "Recommendations") is a revised and supplemented version of the first edition of the reference and "normative" manual for translators and customers under the same name, issued in 2004. The recommendations were developed on the basis of summarizing the experience of Soviet and Russian translators, studying GOSTs, manuals and methodological recommendations of the All-Russian Digital Translation and Chamber of Commerce and Industry, internal instructions of Russian translation companies on ensuring quality control, foreign standards and other similar documents used in translation practice abroad.

The “Recommendations” have as their main goal to contribute to ensuring a consistently high quality of written translations by unifying the requirements for translation, formalizing and harmonizing the relationship between the customer and the translator at the stages of concluding and executing contracts for the performance of written translations and complement the commercial terms of such contracts.

The "Recommendations" offer standard solutions to issues that a translator/translation agency faces in the course of working on a translation and preparing it for delivery to the customer. The recommendations cover both translation from a foreign language into Russian and from Russian into a foreign language.

Translation agencies/end customers may use the "Recommendations" as a basis for developing requirements for quality control systems specific to their organizations.

1 Application area

source text,

Criteria for choosing an interpreter,

The interaction of the parties

translation organizations,

translated text,

Checking the quality of completed translations,

Organization of editing of translations in order to improve their quality.

The recommendations are intended for use in translating primarily business (in the broad interpretation of this term), as well as, with the necessary amendments, scientific and technical texts (recently, such types of translation in linguistic circles have been combined under the name special translation; this term covers, in fact, everything that does not fall under the concept of "artistic translation") and does not refer to the translation of texts of works of art. Taking into account the aforementioned exemption, they are recommended for use on the territory of the Russian Federation by all participants in the translation market.

2 Termsand definitions

Contract for translation (or editing)

An agreement between two parties, according to which one party (the contractor) undertakes to perform, on the instructions of the other party (the customer), a written translation of the source text into the target language (or editing the translated text) within the agreed time and at the agreed rate and deliver the result of this work to the other party (the customer) , and the customer undertakes to accept the duly executed translation or edited text and pay for it. By agreement of the parties, the contract may provide for the performance of additional works related to written translation (search in the literature, compilation of glossaries, design, etc.) for an additional fee.

Source text (original)

The text to be translated, presented on paper or in electronic form, in a format agreed between the parties.

Source language (original language)

The language in which the original text is written.

Domain Competence

Awareness in a certain special subject (thematic) area and proficiency in the professional language and terminology of this area, which are the result of translation experience and (or) special education and are sufficient for the translator to correctly understand the source text and adequately transfer it in translation.

Translation, translated text

The result of a written translation created by means of the target language.

Translation competence

The totality of linguistic and other professional translation knowledge, skills and abilities that allow the translator to equivalently and adequately convey the content of the source text by means of the target language, taking into account interlingual and intercultural differences.

Interpreter

An individual who directly performs the translation, possessing the necessary translation competence and competence in the subject area for this.

Written translation

An individual who, if necessary, edits the translation to bring it into line with the current norms, rules and requirements of the customer.

Reference and information materials

Texts in the source language and (or) the target language related to the source text by subject area or text type. As reference and information materials, in particular, earlier translations of similar texts, glossaries, articles on relevant topics, “translation memory” files, etc. can be used.

Translation language (translating language)

The language by means of which the content of the source text is transmitted during the translation process.

3 Organizationtranslation

3.1 General provisions

3.1.1 The parties to the contract are the customer and the translator (which may be called differently, depending on the type of legal relationship between them).

Contracts for the performance of written translations can be, in essence, labor or civil law contracts and are regulated, respectively, by the labor or civil legislation of the Russian Federation.

The parties may conclude an agreement that contains elements of various agreements provided for by law or other legal acts (mixed agreement). To the relations of the parties under a mixed contract, the rules on contracts, the elements of which are contained in the mixed contract, are applied in the relevant parts, unless otherwise follows from the agreement of the parties or the essence of the mixed contract.

The legal status of the translator, the scope of his rights and obligations, the extent of his responsibility, his social security, the form of taxation of the translator's income, as well as the rights and obligations of the customer/employer and other users of the result of the translator's intellectual activity depend on the correct definition of actual legal relations.

An agreement on all essential terms of the contract between the parties to the contract must be drawn up in writing, except in cases expressly provided for by the current legislation of the Russian Federation (for example, when using translations in periodicals). The conclusion of the contract in writing is of great importance for ensuring the interests of the customer and the translator.

The current legislation of the Russian Federation prescribes a simple written form for concluding an agreement between an individual translator (and a translator-individual entrepreneur) and an organization for those types of contracts, which include a contract for the performance of written translations.

The customer may send a brief written order to the translator for the translation, which, after being accepted by the translator in writing, together with such confirmation, creates a contract based on the implicit actions of the parties. Thus, the conclusion of an agreement can take place both in the form of a single document (actually the text of the agreement) with annexes, and in the form of an exchange of documents (customer's request, translator's response, order with provided materials) without signing the actual text of the agreement. Although formally this form of legal relations does not contradict the law, it is not recommended to use it in practice, as this can lead to conflict situations with customers, especially since the intellectual product created by the translator a priori is considered an object of copyright, and its use is possible only on the basis of a written agreement. Otherwise, there is a situation of non-contractual use of this intellectual product, which is contrary to the current legislation.

Any oral agreements between the customer and the translator are recommended to be confirmed in writing, since such correspondence, in the event of a dispute, can be considered by the court as “written and other evidence”, which any party has the right to bring, despite non-compliance with the written form of the transaction established by law.

If a translator formalizes an employment relationship with an employer, then the translations made by him acquire the character of official works, that is, “... works created in the course of performing official duties or an official task of the employer”, and the legal relationship between the translator and the employer is governed by the provisions of Art. 1295 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. This means that between the employer and the author there must be a legal relationship of an official nature - the author must be an employee hired by the employer to perform translations, and be part of the staff of the employer's organization. Employment contracts concluded upon hiring, by law, should include, at the request of the employee, a provision on additional compensation for service works that will be created by the employee (translator, in this case) and used by the employer by reproduction or otherwise.

When translators work under civil law contracts under which their copyright is not transferred to the customer, then their rights and obligations are regulated, as a rule, by Ch. 37 and 39 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. When, together with the material carrier of the translation text, the translator cedes to the user all or part of his exclusive right, as a rule, one of the types of copyright agreements is drawn up (see Chapters 69 and 70 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). It is not recommended to conclude an alienation agreement, since in this case the translator actually waives his exclusive right completely and forever.

Although the laws of the Russian Federation governing legal relations in the field of intellectual activity are fully applied to translations of a “business” nature, performed by translators mainly on behalf of companies, in practice, the parties proceed from the fact that the customer uses the received translation for the purpose of conducting his production activities, and the translator receives consideration for the non-explicit transfer of his rights to such use of the translation in the form of a one-time monetary reward for the work performed (this does not apply to translations of books and similar texts that are planned to be published and sold for profit - such legal relations should be regulated solely on the basis of copyright agreement). For the legal registration of actually arising relations, it is recommended, by virtue of the provisions of Article 421 of the Civil Code, which allows the conclusion of the so-called. of the mixed contracts mentioned above, include in the contracts for the performance of written (on "business" topics) provisions regulating the transfer by the translator to the customer of the property right to use the written translations performed by him under the contract with appropriate restrictions. In more detail, the issues of ensuring the copyright of a translator within the framework of the legislation in force in the Russian Federation are considered in Appendix 5 "Translator as a subject of law".

When concluding a contract, the parties must act in strict accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation and not seek to obtain unilateral advantages by imposing conditions on the other party, which, if the claim is considered in court, will be considered null and void by the court due to their contradiction to the law.

An example of such an insignificant provision from the point of view of the law is any provisions of the contract that restrict the freedom of action of the translator in choosing customers - often translation agencies try to include articles in the text of the contract prohibiting translators from performing any work (written or interpreting) for such customers of the translation agency, in in whose interests the translator has previously performed work through this translation agency, and providing for the imposition of a fine on the translator in case of violation of this requirement.

Both the translator and the customer must understand that the choice of a counterparty under a contract is a manifestation of freedom of contract - a fundamental principle of civil law (Article 421 of the Civil Code), therefore any restriction on this principle is void. This means that, even after signing such imposed provisions, the executing translator may subsequently refuse to comply with them, and in court (if the customer sues) prove their nullity.

At the claim of the injured party, the court may also invalidate a bonded transaction (for the definition of a bonded transaction, see Art. 179 of the Civil Code).

On the other hand, those provisions that are not prohibited by law can be freely included in the contract, in which case the parties are obliged to comply with their obligations.

An example of such obligations that a translation agency may try to impose on a translator are obligations under the so-called. “General terms and conditions of the transaction” (similar documents prepared by a translation agency to unify relations with translators are often called “Instructions for translators”), which serve as an important addition to the contract concluded between the translator and the translation agency (but do not replace it), and which, at the request of the translation agency, are also signed by the parties. Although such instructions are designed to uniformly regulate the technical and organizational issues of interaction between translators and the customer, it is not uncommon for them to include issues of a financial nature (such as remuneration rates, a method for determining the amount of work performed, a method of payment, penalties for violation of the rules for interaction between the parties formulated by the customer) . In this case, the parties should proceed from the fact that there are no prohibitive provisions in the law regarding the inclusion of such provisions in the General Terms and Conditions of the Transaction, and if the parties have agreed to them, then they assume the corresponding obligations.

Citizens and legal entities are free to conclude an agreement, and coercion to conclude an agreement is not allowed (Article 421 of the Civil Code), therefore, all aspects of the future relations of the parties in a civil law transaction are subject to negotiations and are subject to agreement between the parties. The terms of the contract are determined at the discretion of the parties, except when the content of the relevant terms is prescribed by law or other legal acts (Article 422 of the Civil Code). In the course of negotiations, all financial aspects of future relations between the translator and the customer should be reflected in the contract, and appropriate changes should be made to the “General Conditions of the Transaction”. By virtue of the freedom of contract, the argument that the “General Terms and Conditions of the Transaction” are adopted by a special corporate procedure and are invariable provisions (representing the so-called “accession agreement”) is void. Any internal corporate documents are binding only within the company.

For failure to fulfill an obligation under a contract or its improper performance, an interpreter - in cases provided for by the current legislation of the Russian Federation (in particular, Article 393 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation) - may be recovered from the losses caused to the customer, the composition of which is defined in Art. 15 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Recovering damages in court is not an easy task, as the plaintiff must prove in court the losses he claims to have incurred as a result of the breach of contract. To overcome this difficulty, contracts, by agreement of the parties, may include a provision on a penalty, that is, on a sum of money paid in case of violation of an obligation. Since the obligations under the contract can be violated by both the translator and the customer (the first, for example, by not delivering the translation on time, and the second, for example, by delaying payment), the penalty clause - mutatismutandis- applies to both parties to the contract. The amount of the penalty and the grounds for its application must be expressly provided for in the contract. If a contract does not exist in writing or if the contract does not contain provisions for a penalty, then the penalty cannot be applied.

In the chain "translator - translation agency - end customer" for the translator, the only customer is the translation agency, so if it accepted the completed translation, considering it to meet the task of communicating, then the translator's obligation under the contract becomes fulfilled, and the translation agency cannot further present any claims to the translator on the basis of possible remarks of the end customer, since, as stated in clause 3.3.2, the customer's financial relations with any third parties are not essential for fulfilling his obligations to make payment to the translator for the completed translation.

Taking into account the cases of paying BP to translators remuneration "in an envelope", that is, without observing all the procedures provided for by the Tax Code and the customer making proper contributions to social funds, those translators who enter into contracts with BP as individuals, and not as individual entrepreneurs, are recommended include in the contracts a provision directly indicating the obligation of the customer to comply with the relevant requirements of tax legislation in relation to the translator, and after the expiration of the calendar year (in January of the next) apply to the accounting department of the customer's organization for a certificate of income received and taxes withheld (Form 2-NDFL). The obligation to issue such certificates is assigned to customers by the current tax legislation.

An individual translator, agreeing to receive remuneration "in an envelope", deprives himself of social protection in terms of such payments, and in a more general sense, of the evidentiary part in case of possible disputes.

3.2 Choosing an interpreter

3.2.2 A professional translator is a qualified professional working to improve his or her translation and subject matter competence. However, when concluding a contract with a translator, the customer chooses a contractor for solving his production tasks, and therefore it is recommended that he take some steps to make sure that the translator is properly qualified.

3.2.3 Since, under the legislation of the Russian Federation, a license is not required to conduct translation activities, the translator may / must provide the customer with other and sufficient evidence of his translation competence and ability to perform the proposed work. As a rule, the relevant information is set out in the translator's professional resume (see Appendix 2). At the request of the customer, the translator provides complete and truthful information about himself, which is necessary for the customer to be able to select an interpreter, taking into account, in particular, the following aspects:

Profile and special (including additional) education of a translator;

His general and professional special experience, including experience in translating texts on relevant topics, confirmed, upon request, by feedback from previous customers (if any);

His translation competence in relation to the required combination of languages;

Technical equipment of the translator and software owned by the translator;

Ability to deliver a translation at the appropriate level of quality within the required time frame.

3.2.4 The customer can offer the translator to perform a free trial translation of about a page - for an experienced editor this is enough to make a judgment about the professional level of the translator being tested.

If the customer considers it necessary to perform a trial translation of more than one page, for example, to clarify the competence of the tested translator in specific subject areas, then such a trial translation must be fully paid for on terms previously agreed by the parties, regardless of whether the customer considers it a basis for further conclusion by the parties contracts for the entire proposed scope of work.

The text proposed for trial translation should be an extract from a larger text, and not a finished document, have content and compositional completeness, and the correctness of its understanding and translation should not depend on familiarity with other sections of the same text or with other texts and documents inaccessible to the translator; otherwise, such sections or documents must be provided to the translator for review.

3.2.5 A common mistake is to mechanically transfer the procurement of conventional goods to the procedure for finding and selecting an interpreter and apply a "tender" approach to this process. Translation is a specific and very individual service. The quality of a translation largely depends on the personality of the translator, so it is important to know not only the name of the translation agency, but also the name of the translator performing the translation. If the client company has found a good translator, there is no need to look for a cheaper one. Constant work with a good translator saves the customer's money.

3.2.6 When receiving an order for editing someone else's translation, the translator is recommended to request the text to be edited to determine the degree of suitability for editing before concluding a contract. Based on established editorial practice, it should be considered that a text that requires (estimated) more than 30% editing is not suitable for editing and should be translated again.

3.2.7 The rate for translation editing depends on the number of participants involved in the work. To calculate it, it is recommended to use the following empirical formula:

T p = 0,5 T p × √ N p,

Where T p- rate of payment for editing, T p- transfer fee, √ is the square root sign, and N p- the number of translators of the edited text.

3.3 Agreements between the customer andtranslator

1) The customer orally or in writing sends a request to the translator chosen by him. This request must contain either the source text or sufficient information about the source text (an indication of its subject matter, specifics, form, volume, media type and file format in the case of an electronic version, the intended use of the translation, etc.), as well as the main requirements to the terms and form of presentation of the translated text. If in the future, upon closer acquaintance with the source text, it turns out that the information provided initially by the customer about it was not sufficient, then this may serve as a basis for revising the terms of the contract (translation deadlines, payment).

2) After receiving the source text or sufficient information about the source text, the translator, either orally or in writing, gives the customer an answer about the possibility of performing the translation in accordance with the terms of the request or proposes to change these conditions.

The translator must adequately assess his level of professional skills and his current workload and not take on work that exceeds such a level in complexity and which he cannot complete within the desired (agreed) time.

Prior to reading the text, the translator should not assume any obligations, since only after receiving and studying the text can one assess its real volume, state (the degree of completeness, which determines the likelihood of the customer making additions and changes in the course of the translator’s work on translation, readability, etc.) and the labor and time that will be necessary for its translation.

A translator should not take on a translation if his competence in the subject area and translation competence are insufficient to perform such a translation.

3) The order is made by the customer in writing. When concluding an agreement in the form of a single document, two copies of the signed text of the agreement are made, containing all the conditions agreed on in clauses 3.3.2-3.3.9, as well as the agreed commercial conditions (amount of remuneration, term and form of payment, etc.); the translator signs both copies of the contract and returns one copy to the customer; when concluding an agreement in the form of an exchange of documents - two copies of the signed order are made, containing all the conditions mentioned above.

No order accepted for execution should remain unconfirmed. An unconfirmed order is void, does not create any obligations and does not entail any legal consequences for the parties.

Together with the order, the customer gives the translator the reference and information materials necessary for translation, the composition of which is agreed in advance.

The customer must clearly define, and the translator clearly understand, the scope of the translation, since the original may contain hidden text (for example, from the previous version of the operational document, from the speaker's notes to the presentation slides, etc.), which may or may not be displayed depending on various software settings (for example, the word processor MS Word), on the computers of the translator and the customer, text blocks, the volume of which is not calculated by means of MS Word, and slide notes that are not displayed on the monitor screen in the normal slide view mode in PowerPoint.

4) All changes that one party wishes to make to the terms of the contract are subject to written confirmation by the other party.

5) The translator must follow the instructions received from the customer in writing - this will prevent the occurrence of disputes in the future.

6) The parties are advised to agree on the payment by the customer of compensation to the translator in case of cancellation of the order (not through the fault of the translator) after it is accepted by the translator or in case of partial fulfillment for a good reason (for example, in case of illness of the translator), indicating the procedure for calculating the amount of such compensation payment.

3.3.2 Timing

1) The customer and the translator must determine the following terms:

The term for the translator to receive the source text and all agreed reference and information materials;

The term for the customer to receive the translation in the agreed form;

Payment due date for completed work.

With regard to the payment term, the parties to the contract should proceed from the fact that the contract exhaustively defines the relationship between the parties, therefore, the financial relationship of the customer with any third parties is an insignificant circumstance for the customer to fulfill the obligation to make payment to the translator for the completed translation.

2) A necessary condition for the translator to comply with the agreed deadline for the delivery of the finished translation is the provision by the customer of the source text and all agreed reference and information materials at the disposal of the translator within the period established in accordance with clause 3.3.2.(1). The deadline for delivery of the finished translation is extended in proportion to the delay in providing the customer with the source text and specified materials to the translator. Failure to comply with the deadline for delivery of the finished translation due to the fault of the translator is a non-performance (improper performance) of the contract by the translator and may serve as a basis for the application of penalties, which the parties must agree on at the stage of concluding the contract (see clause 3.1.1).

3.3.3 Form and method of obtaining source materials and delivery of the finished translation

The customer and the executor agree on what medium and by what means of communication/information transfer the source text is sent and the translated text is submitted.

The Parties shall immediately confirm in an agreed manner the receipt of the source materials and the finished translation when they are transmitted by any means of communication.

3.3.4 Hardware and software

If the execution of an order requires the use of certain hardware and/or certain software or a certain version of the word/image processing program, the customer and the translator must discuss and agree on these requirements in advance.

Special software may be necessary to fulfill the order if some elements of the source text transferred to the contractor in the form of an electronic copy cannot be processed by standard means of the most common software packages (such as MS Office). In this case, the parties may agree on the form of providing the source text (for example, on exporting files to a format readable by the translator's application programs) or on the free provision of additional software by the customer on agreed terms.

3.3.5 Additional work

In cases where, in addition to the translation itself, the translator is additionally required to perform other types of work related to the translation, the customer agrees on this with the translator in advance (if the translator has the appropriate technical skills and resources).

Additional types of work of this kind include, in particular: complex formatting of the translated text (layout according to the layout of the original), which goes beyond the usual requirements; complex graphic design of the translated text (working with diagrams, graphs, non-editable inscriptions on figures, drawings, formulas, complex tables, scanned images), converting the source file into an editable format, replacing bibliographic references in a foreign language with corresponding links to Russian-language publications, etc. e. These types of work are very labor intensive and are paid in addition to the basic remuneration for the translation.

Additional remuneration is also paid for such work as, for example, finalizing the translation in the event that the customer makes changes to the source text after the delivery of the finished translation in accordance with the terms of the contract; development of terminology (creation of glossaries, thesauri, etc.) for the customer and editing of translations made by other translators, localization (translational adaptation in order to achieve pragmatic equivalence) of the translated text, notarization of the authenticity of the translator's signature.

3.3.6 Price and scoping

1) The price of translation is established in the contract between the customer and the translator. As a unit of account, the remuneration rate for a word, a line, a conditionally standard (accounting) page containing a certain number of printed characters (characters) is used - with or without spaces, bibliographic information in a foreign language and numerical tables, the author's sheet of the original or translated text, or hourly rate (for example, when performing additional types of work and works of a special type, which include the translation of presentations in Power Point format) or any other - by agreement of the parties. Most often in the Russian Federation, the translated text is taken as the basis for calculating the amount of remuneration, but some companies calculate remuneration based on the original text. The principles and practice of determining the length of the text for calculating the amount of remuneration when performing translations are set out in Annex 3.

2) Additional types of work are paid separately from the main translation work, and their price is calculated and indicated separately.

3) In the case of special requirements of the customer (urgency, work at night and on weekends), it is recommended to apply increasing coefficients to the remuneration rates determined by one of the above methods, or to apply higher remuneration rates - by agreement of the parties.

4) At the conclusion of the contract, the customer and the translator stipulate all issues related to overhead costs. Such agreements should be formalized in the form of relevant provisions of the contract.

3.3.7 Resolution of complaints about the quality of the translation

1) It is recommended that the parties clearly define the quality criteria for the text of the translation at the stage of concluding the contract - the customer must determine the quality requirements (and confirm that the qualifications of this translator fully satisfy him), and the translator must confirm the understanding of the customer's requirements for the quality of this work and undertake to fulfill work within these requirements.

2) There is no law in the Russian Federation that establishes the criteria for the quality of written translation. The principles of its definition, however, are developed in detail and set forth in the works of such leading theorists and practitioners of the Russian translation school as V.N. Komissarov, A.D. Schweitzer and others, as well as the American Eugene Nida, founder of the transformational model of translation, author of The Theory and Practice of Translation. These are the principles of dynamic equivalence and adequacy. A high-quality translation is an adequate translation, i.e. a text that performs by means of another language the pragmatic task inherent in the original (realizing the functions of the original and, if possible, reproducing its communicative effect) and at the same time is as equivalent to the original at the semantic level (level of lexical meanings) and syntactic level as possible without violating the norm and usage of the language translation . Thus, translation quality requirements are determined by translation professionals, not by the market. Quality, like freshness, can be one thing - the first, it is also the last. The current market practice of "ranking" the quality depending on the funds available to the customer to pay for the translation has nothing to do with the quality of the translation. There is no such quality category as "machine translation with post-processing", but the following categories: draft translation, working translation and translation for publication, with the first two categories describing the intermediate result of the translator's activity, and the last - the final result, usually achieved by involving an editor in the work on the translation.

At the same time, it is obvious that the practical activities of end customers, translation agencies and translators themselves require the definition of the concept of a translation error, the existing types of translation errors, the number/type of errors allowed in translation (for all categories). The solution of these issues is of purely practical importance for an objective assessment of possible claims of the customer against the translator and determining the appropriate remuneration for the work performed; thus, out of necessity, approaches to assessing the quality of translation are being formalized.

Appendix 17 describes some schemes of such formalization used in the work of translation agencies. An exhaustive classification of translation errors is given in the work "A new look at the classification of translation errors", which is recommended for use by all translation agencies and translators in their practical work. A generalized listing of translation errors by category is provided in Appendix 4.

3) Due to the admissibility and necessity in a number of cases of using the means of achieving translation equivalence, which provide for a deliberate deviation from the structural and semantic parallelism between the source and target texts (translation transformation), only a qualified linguist can give an expert assessment of the quality of the translation by comparing the source and translated texts.

4) If the customer has motivated claims to the quality of the translation, he shall state them in writing, substantiating his opinion properly. Justified claims are accepted by the translator, and he corrects the mistakes or inaccuracies in the translation at no additional charge; at the same time, depending on the seriousness of the mistakes/inaccuracies made, it is possible to reduce the amount of the previously agreed payment, if this is expressly provided for by the contract, and the limits of such a reduction are stipulated in it.

5) If the customer's claims to the quality of the translation turn out to be unfounded, then the translator has the right to reject such claims and give a reasoned written justification for his disagreement with them, which is subsequently used to resolve the dispute between the customer and the translator in court, if another way to resolve the dispute is impossible.

6) In general, the procedure for resolving a dispute between the customer and the translator regarding the shortcomings of the work performed under the contract is set out in Article 720 of the Civil Code "Acceptance by the customer of the work performed by the contractor" .

3.3.8 Return of submitted materials

Upon completion of the contract and signing by the parties of the work acceptance certificate without reservations, the translator returns to the customer (at his request or in accordance with the terms of the contract) the source text and reference and information materials.

3.3.9 Privacy

The translator undertakes not to disclose information that became known to him in the process and in connection with the translation, and to ensure that such information is not available to third parties.

If the customer needs special confidentiality, which exceeds what is usually expected from the translator, then the customer offers the translator to sign a confidentiality obligation.

If the translator accepts the order, he/she is not entitled to evade signing such an obligation.

3.3.10 Purpose of the translated text

Based on their needs, the customer informs the translator about the purpose of the translated text and determines additional requirements related to the intended way of using it, which will allow the translator to take into account such requirements in the course of working on the translation. The customer may, for example, inform the translator that the translation will be used as an official document in court, in arbitration, or published, etc. The purpose of the translated text may be an important factor in the translator's choice of translation style and vocabulary used. The establishment of additional requirements by the customer may be the basis for the translator to demand an increased payment.

The customer is not entitled to make claims to the quality or style of the translation based on the executor's failure to take into account the purpose of the translated text, if information about this purpose and additional requirements for the translation was not provided to the executor in advance.

3.3.11 Specific terminology

If the customer wants the translation to use specific terminology (in particular, accepted for use in the customer’s organization), then he specifically stipulates this when concluding an agreement / placing an order for translation and without fail provides the translator with the appropriate lists of terms, glossaries and other reference and information materials - such as, for example, internal company rules for paperwork or an internal translation guide.

If there is no glossary or other reference and information materials and the translator relies solely on his own experience and knowledge, then the common lexical units should be uniform throughout the text (in all documents of this order / in all documents for this customer), that is, throughout the entire text (in all documents of a given order, in all documents for a given customer) use the same translation of a typical word, phrase, sentence or part of a text.

3.3.12 Language options

If the customer wants a specific national language variant to be used (for example, American English, or Canadian French, or Argentinian Spanish, or Brazilian Portuguese), then the customer must explicitly state this in the contract. Similarly, in the case of the temporary existence of several spelling norms in a particular language, the customer and the translator agree in advance on the rules (according to the old or new spelling) for the translation.

Unless otherwise agreed, the translator himself chooses the language variant that is the same for the entire translated text.

3.3.13 Customer assistance

In an effort to obtain a high-quality translation from the translator, the customer provides the translator with the necessary assistance by:

Providing reference and information materials;

Transfers to the executor of the source code only in finished form, and not in the form of one of the options on which work is still ongoing;

Discussions with the translator before starting work on the content of the source text, explaining the specific terms, abbreviations and abbreviations used in it, and obligatory providing the translator with the opportunity to receive advice from the customer/persons specified by the customer in the process of work. The requirement to provide such consultations may be specifically stipulated in the contract, while the customer and the translator agree on a form acceptable to both parties;

Establishing reasonable deadlines for the completion and delivery of the work, since sufficient time is required for a quality translation. The speed of work depends on the degree of familiarity of the translator with the topic. At the same time, one should proceed from the fact that usually an experienced translator translates 6-7-8 standard (account) pages per day without loss of quality (see Appendix 3) of medium complexity, which is approximately 2000 words of the original (in English). , for example). The UN norms provide for the translation of at least 5 pages (250 words each) per working day, which is then submitted to the editor for further work. The Department of Linguistic Support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation has a norm - 8 conditionally standard (account) pages per day.

3.4 Documentation

In order to resolve possible disagreements with the customer, the translator is recommended to keep all documents and letters exchanged between the parties in the process of concluding and executing each contract (subject to clause 3.3.8).

4 Source text

The customer must be aware that the quality of the translation largely depends on the quality of the source text. A flawed source text cannot form the basis of a good translation; in addition, low-quality source text increases the time of work on the translation and may be a reasonable reason for the impossibility of the translator to meet the agreed deadline for handing over the work to the customer.

The translator is not responsible for those possible translation errors that are caused by the flaws and shortcomings of the source text - its inconsistency with the general requirements of the language, lack of internal unity of the text, style, readability.

If such flaws, as well as repetitions, contradictions, inaccuracies or errors, etc. are found in the source text, the translator immediately informs the customer about them. If it takes a significant amount of time to make an agreed decision on how to act in specific situations, then the deadline for the delivery of the finished translation is accordingly postponed.

In the case of receiving the original in electronic form, the translator is not expected to translate hidden fragments of the source text (not displayed on the computer screen in normal software operation, for example, slide notes in a presentation in Power Point format) in the absence of an explicit indication of the customer on the need for translation in the contract hidden text.

5 translated text

5.1 General provisionsand style

5.1.1 The translated text must comply with the rules of spelling, grammar and word usage of the target language - be impeccable in terms of the requirements of the target language.

5.1.2 With regard to translation into Russian, this means, in particular, that punctuation marks must be placed in accordance with the rules of Russian punctuation, and not mechanically transferred from the source text in a foreign language.

5.1.3 The translated text must stylistically correspond to the source text (for example, when translating legal and economic texts, special vocabulary and phrases should not be replaced by synonymous lexical units and phrases of a neutral style, the translation of technical texts is carried out in compliance with the norms of the style of technical texts in the target language, etc.). d.).

5.1.4 When translating source text fragments describing similar phenomena, it is necessary to observe syntactic uniformity. Headings, section titles, list items and other similar constructions should have the same syntactic structure, even if they are worded differently in the original test. To describe the sequence of actions, it is not allowed to use the imperative and indicative mood alternately.

5.1.5 For scientific and technical Russian-language texts (as opposed to fiction), the rigor of presentation is characteristic. It manifests itself in the observance of the neutrality of style, the uniformity of terminology, the unambiguity of descriptions and the syntactic uniformity of homogeneous fragments of the text.

The neutral style of presentation involves the rejection of figurative and emotionally colored linguistic means, and is also characterized by certain lexical and syntactic restrictions. It is not allowed to use expressive means of word formation, for example, diminutive suffixes.

Unlike foreign-language technical documentation, which often contains an appeal to the reader personally, the neutral style of Russian presentation prescribes the use of impersonal predicative constructions and the imperative mood of verbs instead of personal forms ("do" or "should do" instead of "you must do", "do" instead of "please do", etc.).
In cases where this cannot be avoided, the translation should not contain references to the gender of the reader. For example: "I accept the terms" instead of "I agree to the terms".

When describing actions related to technical means, one should avoid anthropomorphic expressions - personal constructions in which the action is attributed to these means, for example, "the program calculates the result."

5.1.6 When transferring national realities in translation, i.e. specific words and expressions related to history, geographical and climatic conditions, peculiarities of everyday life and social life, etc., it is necessary to be guided by the principle of preserving national identity to the maximum extent possible, with obligatory observance of the norms and rules of the target language.

5.1.7 As a result, the customer is presented with the final and correctly formatted text of the translation in accordance with the requirements of clause 5.3.2 without typos, grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors and untranslated text fragments. The translator gives only one translation of individual words, terms or expressions; it is unacceptable to give several translation options at the customer's choice.

5.1.8 The translated text must have all the characteristics fixed in the contract in the form of customer requirements, and, unless otherwise specified, comply with the general rules of the target language and the conditions formulated in this section.

5.1.9 In the entire text of the translation, the unity of terminology inherent in a given field of knowledge or field of activity must be observed. For example, when translating technical texts, it is recommended to use the terms established by the relevant state terminological standards, or the terms contained in terminological appendices to state standards, and in the absence of such, terms from the Collections of Recommended Terms of the Committee for Scientific and Technical Terminology of the Russian Academy of Sciences and similar documents. It is also recommended to use special bilingual and monolingual explanatory dictionaries as an authoritative source of technical terms.

Non-standardized terms should follow the terminological guidelines of international organizations such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

5.1.10 It is unacceptable to use terms accepted in the professional colloquial language (professional jargon), with the possible exception of cases of the use of similar lexical units in the source text, but with the mandatory observance of the principle of translation equivalence.

5.1.11 When translating, it is necessary to be guided by the International System of Units (SI) and use units used on a par with SI units, as well as the metric and Russian departmental systems of units, including multiples and submultiples, formed accordingly.

5.1.12 Official names of organizations, international treaties and conventions, trade names, trademarks, nomenclature designations and units of other lexical categories regulated by generally recognized national and international standards, agreements and recommendations should be used.

5.2 completeness

5.2.1 Subject to the provisions of clause 3.3.7(2), the translation of the text is carried out in full, without omissions or unreasonable abbreviations of the original text. The entire text presented in the original language is translated: the table of contents and the content of the document, the elements of the document form, headers and footers, inscriptions on seals or stamps and handwritten inscriptions, with the exception of working and technical notes that are not related to the content of the document. Only parts explicitly indicated by the customer are left untranslated.

5.2.2 If the text contains numbers, the translator transfers them to the final document without distortion. Since the format for representing numerical values ​​is different in different languages, the rules of the target language should be followed (see clause 2.3.9). When translating into foreign languages, one should take into account the practice of writing numerals established in a particular target language. For example, in American English it is quite common to write numbers less than 100 in digits and more than 100 in words (this does not apply to scientific and mathematical texts).

5.2.3 Subject to the provisions of paragraph 3.3.7(2), unless otherwise specified and to the extent possible in relation to the original text, all footnotes, annexes, tables, lists and images must be reproduced in full, and text elements in images in tables must be translated.

5.3 Decor

5.3.1 General

When making a translation, the requirements of the relevant GOSTs are decisive ( GOST 6.38-72 and GOST 6.39-72), as well as the wishes of the customer, fixed in writing in the contract. The general design principles are set out in paragraphs. 5.3.2-5.3.9.

5.3.2 Printing

1) In the absence of special instructions from the customer, the printed design of the translated text must correspond to the design of the source text - it must be formatted as closely as possible to the source text, the division of the text into chapters, paragraphs, etc. must be preserved in it, and the principle of headings and subheadings using digital numbering and alphabetic rubrication, font and other methods of selection; paragraphs of the translated text must match the paragraphs of the source text.

2) In case of technical impossibility or declared by the customer undesirability of preserving the design elements of the source text in the translation text, and also if the source text was received by the translator in the form of unformatted text, it is recommended, in the absence of other instructions from the customer, to translate in the MS Word text editor format (as the most widespread) subject to the following rules:

Translation text font - Times New Roman or Arial;

Size - 12;

Margins: left - 35 mm, right - 8 mm, top - 20, bottom - at least 19 mm ( GOST 6.39-72), or 2.54 cm from each edge (the Western standard that has received circulation in the Russian Federation);

See also Annex 10.

5.3.3 Lists

Alphabetical lists are sorted in the translated text in alphabetical order, usual for the target language (unless, by agreement with the customer, the sorting order adopted in the source text is not preserved). When translating into Russian, the punctuation in the lists must comply with the rules of Russian punctuation.

5.3.4 Words and sentences not in the original language

Common words and sentences not in the original language must be preserved in a translation in the appropriate language, and their translation is placed either directly in the text in brackets or in a footnote.

When translated into Russian, well-known Latin expressions ( de facto, de jure etc.) may not be translated. Some names from the field of medicine, biology and chemistry are preserved in Latin spelling, as they do not have translation equivalents or are not translated according to tradition. The names of species of bacteria, animals, plants, etc. are preserved in Latin spelling.

When translating into a foreign language, Russian-language equivalents of well-known Latin expressions can be replaced with original Latin expressions, if there is sufficient confidence that the target audience of the translation will perceive it.

5.3.5 Arrangement of tables and images

The arrangement of tables and images in the translated text must follow the original text, unless other conditions are agreed by the customer in the contract or if, due to the different length of the text in the source and translated text, it is not necessary to place them elsewhere. In this case, in the appropriate place in the text, a link is made to a table or image located elsewhere in the document. If the text in the original does not flow around the illustration, then the drawing from the original must be inserted into the translated text without breaking the sentence preceding it.

Graphic elements contained in the original with text in the source language - diagrams, graphs, drawings, drawings, etc. - are recommended to be processed as follows. In the case of transferring the text to the translator in electronic form, which makes it possible to call the original program for processing graphic data, the inscriptions inside such elements are replaced by inscriptions in the target language. If this is not possible, then under the graphic object, the translator creates a table of two columns, in the first (left) of which he places the inscriptions of the source text, and in the second (right) - the corresponding translation, while the number of lines in each of the columns of the table corresponds to the number of words / phrases located in the graphic element.

If the material was transferred on paper or in a scanned form, then the translator is not obliged to transfer graphic elements into the final text (unless otherwise specified in the contract). In this case, the translation is executed as indicated above, and the table is built not under the graphic object, but instead of it.

5.3.6 Signatures, seals, stamps and forms

The concepts of "print" and "stamp" are different from each other. The translator should not substitute one term for another in the translation.

Unless otherwise stated, then:

• Handwritten signatures should not be deciphered. In place of the signature in the translation should be the word "Signature" (in square brackets) - [Signature]. If the original contains a transcript of the signature, in the translation the word "Signature" in square brackets is preserved along with the translation of the transcript of the signature. The inscriptions on the seal/stamp are translated. The translation of inscriptions is preceded by the word "[Seal]" or "[Stamp]" (in square brackets) followed by a colon.
• The content of the form is translated, as well as the text contained in the form. At the same time, at the beginning of the translation in the upper left corner, “Done on the form” may be indicated in square brackets. The last recommendation does not apply to translations intended for notarization.

The numbering and arrangement of references and footnotes in the translated text should follow the source text as far as possible from the point of view of the target language.

1) Bibliographic references (intratext, subscript and transtext) in translations from Western European languages ​​are left in the original language, and from Eastern and other languages ​​with non-Latin graphics they are printed in Russian transcription.

2) Off-text bibliographic references are drawn up in the form of a list of references according to the rules adopted in the country of the target language. In Russian, references to numbers in the list are given in square brackets (for example, in work; according to M. Johnson). Additional information for bibliographic references should be translated and placed under the appropriate numbers after the list of references. Intratext bibliographic references, indicated by numbers, are indicated above the line (for example: according to J. Smith 15 , in work 2).

4) When translating into foreign languages, it is necessary to follow the rules adopted in the respective languages ​​for the design of various elements of the text, which are given in various authoritative reference books.

5.3.9 Symbols, units of measurement, numbers, formulas, equations, mathematical and conventional signs

1) Symbols, units of measurement, numerical values ​​in formulas, formulas and equations are reproduced in the translated text in the form in which it is accepted in the target language. Formulas are entered, for example, using the formula editor of the MS Word text editor or similar software tools. Indexes containing words (for example, P net, ∑ allowable) are translated if the customer does not wish to keep indexes in the original language. The reason for keeping indexes in the source language may be the lack of input matches in the target language.

2) Units of physical quantities in translation and their international and Russian designations must comply with GOST 8.417-2000 "Units of physical quantities". According to this standard, units of the International System of Units (SI), as well as decimal multiples and submultiples of them, are subject to mandatory use. With numbers, non-metric units are written both in full and in abbreviation, and the designations of international units are written in accordance with GOST 8.4I7-2000 (see Appendix 4).

In principle, all numerical data in the source text and in source units can be kept in their original form in order to avoid possible complications when the translation is subsequently used, for example, to place an additional order for equipment. However, at the request of the customer, non-metric British and other national units can be recalculated and given in units allowed for use by GOST 8.417-2000. This is negotiated and paid extra.

In practice, there are situations that require a special approach. For example, the 7.62 mm weapon caliber dimension is usually translated into English as .30 in in special military texts. At the same time, in fiction, Colt .45 will be translated as Colt 45 caliber, but in military special texts it is a weapon of 11.43 mm caliber.

The provision on the necessity/desirability of recalculation is not absolute. More detailed guidance on this matter is provided in Appendix 11.

3) Pipe and bolt diameters given in non-metric units (in inches) are not converted. Two dashes for inches and a dash for feet are not allowed.

4) When recalculating non-metric measures used in the USA and Great Britain, it should be borne in mind that in some cases the values ​​of some quantities denoted by the same term in these countries do not match.

5) The symbol denoting the name of foreign monetary units ($, £, etc.) and standing in the original text before the number, in the translation into Russian, is recommended to be replaced by the words “US dollars”, “f. Art. " etc., which, in accordance with the norms of the Russian language, are placed after the number.

6) It is recommended to replace Roman numerals in translation with Arabic ones, if they are not used for numbering sections of the text and if such a replacement does not contradict the tradition of using Roman numerals in some languages. For example, in Russian, by tradition, Roman numerals denote: a) the numbers of congresses, conferences, congresses, b) the numbers of international associations, c) the numbers of anniversaries, d) the numbers of sports competitions, centuries, e) the numbers of the elected body, f) calendar quarters.

7) When translating, one should take into account the peculiarities of the use of some mathematical symbols:

a) the sign of the breakdown of multi-digit numbers (more than four significant digits, starting from the decimal point to the left and right) into three-digit groups:

Space (164 842) - Russia, France (dot is also used in legal texts in French);

Point at the bottom of the line (468.843) - Austria, Germany;

Comma at the bottom of the line (844,346,218) - US, UK, Japan.

In Russia, multi-digit numbers (more than four significant digits) are divided by a space into classes of three characters each (with the exception of numbers denoting numbers and calendar years) in accordance with GOST 7.3-77 “Original text copyright and publishing”. Four-digit numbers are divided into classes only in the columns of a digital table containing numbers with five or more characters;

b) multiplication sign:

A dot in the middle of the line or the sign ´ - (44 36; 23´13) - Russia, Austria, Germany;

Point at the bottom of the line (94.33) - France

Sign ´ or * (74 ´ 28, 74*28) - USA, UK;

c) decimal sign:

Comma at the bottom of the line (0.02) - Russia, Germany, France (a dot is also used in the accompanying technical documentation in French and in the drawings);

Point at the bottom of the line; zero integers are often omitted (.05) - US, UK, Japan, Austria;

d) division sign:

Colon (89:14) - Russia, Austria, Germany, France;

Colon or sign ÷ (57÷13) - USA, UK;

e) sign of proportion:

Sign = (24:6 = 4:1) - Russia;

Sign: : (12 + 3: : 24 + 6) - Great Britain.

When translating into Russian, one should use the mathematical symbols adopted in the Russian Federation.

5.4 Elements of the text that require translation in special
rules

5.4.1 Proper names

Names and titles require special attention in translation, since they play an important role in distinguishing some individual objects from others. Part of the unique identification properties inherent in proper names (IP) in their original language environment is lost when this name is transmitted in another language. If you do not know or ignore these features, do not comply with the requirements for the transfer of the content and form of proper names, then the identification of the bearer of the name will be difficult, and sometimes impossible.

There is no unified, unified and “official” system for the transfer of foreign IP into Russian and Russian IP into foreign languages, which could be satisfactorily applied in all cases. The systems developed abroad and in our country, for many reasons, cannot be recommended as a standard to be followed - some suffer from the artificiality of the design, others from the use of invented combinations of diacritical marks with letters to transmit sounds, others have a narrowly limited scope (for example, GOST 7.79-2000 “System of standards for information, librarianship and publishing. Rules for transliterating Cyrillic letters in the Latin alphabet”), the fourth - due to internal inconsistency and inconsistency in the application of their own postulated principles (for example, Appendix 7 to the Instruction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation on the procedure registration of foreign passports for citizens of the Russian Federation, 2009), etc.

Under these conditions, the reasoned position of experts who enjoy authority in this field of knowledge is of particular importance. Such an expert in the Russian Federation is D. I. Ermolovich, Doctor of Philological Sciences, Professor of Moscow State Linguistic University, who for many years has been dealing with this problem in its theoretical and, which is especially important for translators, practical aspects. The first systematized generalization of the approaches he developed was the monograph Proper Names at the Crossroads of Languages ​​and Cultures, which served as the basis for the all-encompassing work Proper Names: Theory and Practice of Cross-Linguistic Transmission with the application of the rules for the practical transmission of names and titles from 26 European and Oriental languages. Without the results of the theoretical development of the provisions of translation onomastics contained in the book, practical solutions in the field of interlingual transmission of proper names cannot be adequately regulated. In 2009, D. I. Ermolovich outlined the main provisions of translation onomastics in the form of a separate manual focused on a practical translator - "Methodology for the interlingual transmission of proper names". The second monograph (2005) is recommended by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation as a textbook for undergraduate and graduate students of linguistic universities and faculties of foreign languages.

In this section of the “Recommendations”, it would be desirable to reproduce verbatim the contents of the manual “Methodology for the interlingual transmission of proper names”, but since this is impossible, with the kind consent of the author, some of the provisions from this manual are summarized, which, in combination with the monograph “Proper names: theory and Practice of Interlingual Transmission” should be in every translator and in every translation agency.

Methods for transferring proper names: a) direct transfer method(i.e. writing the name in the translation text with exactly the same characters as in the source text), b) explication method(i.e. the introduction into the text of the translation of a word or phrase that explicitly designates the subject category of IP), c) transcription methods(establishment of one-to-one correspondences between phonemes or sounds of the source and receiving languages), transliteration(establishment of the closest correspondence between the graphic units of the source and the receiving language) and practical transcription(the method, the appearance of which is due to the fact that in European and Russian languages ​​there are significant differences between the spelling and pronunciation of words, it is focused on the transmission of the sound of IP, but allows deviations from both strictly phonetic and phonological principles, including elements of transliteration) , G) morphographic modification method(consists in adding to the basis of IP, for example, feminine or plural endings), e) tracing methods(i.e., the creation in the language of translation of a correspondence similar to the original IS in structure and lexical-semantic content is used in cases where the IS includes common words), and functional analogy(when the correspondence in the receiving language is constructed in such a way as to reflect the actual functional role of the referent word; it is used mainly in the transmission of microtoponyms and institutional IP), f) onymic substitution method(IP transfer without formal likeness) and g) transposition method(use of IP from the onymic fund of the host language, which has a common etymology with the original IP).

Techniques such as transcription and transliteration are used to generate regular (i.e., rule-formed) matches, but there are a large number of so-called traditional matches that generally take precedence over regular transmission.

The “Methodology” sets out detailed and well-founded recommendations for the transfer of frequently encountered and representing a noticeable difficulty in transferring IP categories: anthroponyms, female personal names, personal names of European origin, Russian personal names, derivatives of Russian personal names, surnames, Russian female surnames, Russian patronymics , anthroponyms of other ethnicity, toponyms, Russian toponyms, institutional IP, names of institutions and organizations; names of international organizations, Russian institutional IP, abbreviations and abbreviations denoting the organizational and legal form of companies, names including a memorial anthroponym, classifying words and toponyms as part of the names of companies and enterprises, names of publishing houses and media, names of literary and artistic works.

In Appendix 8, as an example of the rules for the practical transfer of names and titles, several tables from the "Methodology" relating to the pair "English-Russian" are given.

5.4.2 Names of professions, positions, academic titles, titles, etc.

The names of professions, positions, academic titles, titles are translated in cases where the target language has an unambiguous corresponding concept or spelling, for example: Lord Hamilton - Lord Hamilton, Dr. Johnson - Dr. Johnson, Mr. Townsend - Mr. Townsend .

In some cases, at the first mention of the name in the text, it is acceptable to give an explanatory translation for better understanding and (or) give the original spelling of the name in the source language in brackets or in a note.

5.4.3 Abbreviations and abbreviations

1) When translating into Russian, the abbreviations that occur in the source text are deciphered and translated in full, while at the first mention can be given (1) the transcript of the abbreviation in the original language, then (2) the full translation of such a transcript into Russian, then (3) either an abbreviation established in the target language, if any, or compiled by the translator himself from the first letters of the deciphered and translated original abbreviation, if there is no established equivalent. If the abbreviation cannot be deciphered, then it is left in the original language and the note must indicate that this abbreviation could not be deciphered.

2) When translating into a foreign language, instead of the Russian-language abbreviation, an abbreviation in a foreign language is written, created according to the first letters of the full translation, which, at the first mention in the text, is indicated in brackets. In the future, both the abbreviation and the full translated name are used.

3) The abbreviated names of brands of machines, devices, instruments, etc. are usually not deciphered and are left in the original spelling in translation, for example: BORAX - BORAX reactor.

4) In alphabetic abbreviations, which are a combination of letters and numbers, the latter are written together with the abbreviation, if they are located before it, and through a hyphen, if they are behind the abbreviation, while quotes are not used, for example: 315NCR - device 315NCR, SQ 71 - device SQ-71.

5) The numbering of standards in translation into Russian is left in the original spelling, for example: ISO 24614-1:2010, and in translation from Russian it is transcribed in Latin, for example: GOST R 34.11-94 with the separation of the alphabetic parts and the alphabetic part of the number from the numerical characters of the inseparable spaces (Ctrl+Shift+Space in MS Word) to prevent breaking the integral number during hyphenation.

6) In alphabetical abbreviations combined with numbers and whole words, the latter are transcribed in Russian letters, and the abbreviations remain in their original spelling. Such combinations in translation are enclosed in quotation marks, and the first word and proper names are written with a capital letter, for example: Phillips DS 714 - Phillips DS-714 device.

7) Letter abbreviations of the names of institutions and organizations are written without quotes and with a capital letter. If it is impossible to decipher the abbreviation, it is saved in the original language or given in Russian spelling in accordance with the established tradition, for example: ENEL - ENEL company or ENEL company, Air Force - BBC company (names of news agencies are written without quotes), FIAT - FIAT company or Fiat company.

8) When translating abbreviations from Russian into a foreign language, one should be guided by the norms and usage of the target language, avoiding dissonant and incomprehensible combinations of letters in this language. In some cases, it is advisable to decipher such an abbreviation for understanding by the recipients of the transfer.

5.4.4 Specifying dates and times of the day

The translated text should use the format adopted in the culture of the target language for indicating dates and times of the day (unless otherwise follows from the specific requirements for the use of the translation). In particular, in Russian, the day, month, and then the year are written first (16.7.04), and in American English, the month, day, and then the year (7.16.04) are written first, so when interpreting the date written in this way, difficulties arise if the number representing the day is less than 12.

5.4.5 Citations. Titles of books, documents, etc.

When translating quotations from public literary works, documentary sources, periodicals, etc., the translator should check if a translation of this text into the target language is available and accessible. If such a translation is available, it is recommended that the quotation in the target language be taken from it and cited with the source indicated.

Particular care should be taken when a quotation in the source text is taken from a translation from the target language. In this case, you should not do a reverse translation, but you need to find the original source and take a quote from such a source. If the text in a foreign language mentions, for example, the name of a Russian law or an official document, then such a name should not be translated - it is necessary to find the original name in Russian and give it.

This approach, however, can be implemented if sufficient time is available for translation. The parties to the contract, especially the customer, must take this condition into account when concluding the contract.

If the text contains the name of an international document or a document of the country of the source language, the translator should find the textual expression that is used to refer to this law or document in the official documents of the country of the target language, and only if one cannot be found, then translate by doing, if necessary, relevant translator's note.

When a quotation in the source text is taken from a translation from the target language, but it is impossible to find the original text for objective or technical reasons (for example, the text contains a short quotation from the works of a Russian author, but there is no exact reference to the source, while the customer is not able to provide such reference, and the search for a quote from possible sources is associated with an unproductively large expenditure of time and effort), then the translator is recommended to translate such a quote on his own, but in indirect speech (without quotes) and inform the customer about this in the comment “For the information of the customer” ( 5.7).

5.5 New terms

The translator has the right to form a new term only in the case when, after a search in the reference literature and other verification, it is established with a sufficient degree of certainty that the word for the expression of this concept does not exist in the target language. In this case, the translator makes a note.

The search for suitable Russian equivalents requires a high competence of the translator in the subject area of ​​the translated material, knowledge of its established and used terminology practically from the very foundations. Inventing a “new” term by a translator instead of an unfamiliar one due to poor knowledge of the relevant subject area is a gross terminological mistake and seriously reduces the assessment of the quality of the translation.

5.6 Translation of texts intended to be spoken aloud

Special requirements apply to written translations intended to be spoken aloud (for example, translation of the soundtrack of a TV show). The translator needs to take into account the specifics of this type of translation, in particular, differences in the length of sentences and ways of expressing thoughts in different languages, as well as different styles of written and spoken language. The general principles for performing this type of translation are set out in Appendix 15.

5.7 Translator's notes

All comments to the translated text are submitted as a separate document "For the Customer's Information - Translator's Notes" and are attached to the translated text. Only by agreement with the customer, the translator's notes can be made in the form of footnotes or in the text. In this case, the translation notes should end in the translation with the phrase “Note. transl."

If the translator finds a semantic error in the source text, he translates the fragment in accordance with the source text, and puts his comments about the error in the translator's notes mentioned above. However, if there are spelling and grammatical errors in the source text, they should not be transferred to the translated text, unless such errors in the source text are intentionally made for the purpose of stylization.

6 Inspection, delivery and acceptance translation

6.1 Before delivery to the customer, each translation must be checked by the translator according to the following parameters:

Completeness of the translation, including the presence of all necessary graphics and tables in the text;

Correct transfer of content and terminology (equivalence and adequacy of translation);

Compliance with the rules of spelling, grammar and compliance with language usage;

The absence of typos and other errors, including spelling errors that are not automatically detected;

Compliance with other agreements with the customer regarding the features of the translated text.

6.2 Annexes 16 and 17 describe some formalized translation verification schemes. These techniques can be used both by translators themselves and by editors and customers.

6.3 In confirmation of the fulfillment of all the conditions of the contract and the absence of mutual claims on the part of the translator and the customer, an “Acceptance Certificate of work” is drawn up.

7 Statementabout compliance

The translator can make a “Declaration of Compliance with the Recommendations”, i.e. declare that it makes transfers in accordance with these "Recommendations". This statement means that the translator guarantees the performance of written translations in accordance with the requirements of the "Recommendations". Such a “Declaration of Conformity” increases the confidence of customers in the quality of the translation, since compliance with the quality requirements of the “Recommendations” is verifiable for each individual translated text.

The requirement of the customer about the desirability or necessity for the translator to follow the provisions of these "Recommendations" imposes on the translator appropriate obligations and grants him certain rights provided for by the "Recommendations". In this case, the provisions of these "Recommendations" must be fully observed by the customer.

Accordingly, translation agencies in their relations with end customers may mention the fact that they use the "Recommendations" in their work as an additional confirmation of the quality control program implemented in BP.

8 Translation editing

As an example, we can mention GOSTs, the subtitle of which is “Terms and definitions” (“GOST 27.002-83. Reliability in engineering. Terms and definitions”, “GOST 21014-88. Rolled ferrous metals. Terms and definitions of surface defects”, etc. d.). Such GOSTs provide definitions in Russian and their equivalents in English and French for many terms and concepts. The peculiarity of the standard as a source of information is that referring to it ensures the accuracy and "formality" of the translation of the term.

The preamble of this GOST explicitly states that “... the rules of transliteration by means of the Latin alphabet ... are applied wherever it is required to ensure an unambiguous representation of the Cyrillic text in Latin letters and the possibility of algorithmic restoration of the text in the original Cyrillic record, in particular when transferring documents over computer networks. The standard does not apply to the rules for the transmission of the sound image of words written in Cyrillic in Latin letters.

Ermolovich D.I., Proper names: theory and practice of interlingual transmission. - M.: "R-Valent", 2005, 414 pages.

For example, " accounting about tech ness" instead of " accounting about tche ness» or putting the noun / adjective in the wrong case, etc.

In the process of translation, we often asked ourselves the questions “what is the right way?”, “how is it better?” and found some patterns. On this page we systematize the experience and share it.

The following disparate points should not be interpreted as hard and fast rules that are punishable by [cut by the Thought Police], but that is what we expect each other to do when translating. Of course, these points can be discussed. We would be interested to hear different opinions on these issues or suggestions for improvement - write to.

1. Animation. Avoid using words denoting inanimate objects with active verbs denoting actions performed by animate objects. A blog can't tell (you can tell in a blog). The article cannot prove (you can prove in the article). However, the plane may well fly, and the fish - swim.
2. Sentence structure in Russian is different from English. It is worth focusing on the fact that the text of the translation is perceived by the Russian-speaking reader as close as possible to how the English-speaking reader perceives the original text. If you feel that something is obviously missing in your translation, describe in the comments to the fragment the points that caused difficulty. So there is less chance that the unfinished version of the translation will be released.
3. Typical mistakes: ubiquitous translation of it as "this", you as "you" (or, oh horror, "you"), frequent repetitions (the English language is much more tolerant of them). And also - not always "and", but sometimes "a".
4. Appeals and more. If possible, appeals to the reader should be avoided if the proposal does not prompt him to act. More about this and about other nuances of translations from English: rgo: Translation guide.
5. The letter "yo". The article must be in the same style. In new articles, we have refused to write "ё" where it is not required (this is the majority of cases). In old articles, the letter "ё" is present where its spelling is optional.
6. Typography. Pay attention to punctuation and typography. If you are using Windows, download Ilya Birman's layout (ib: Typographic Layout) and learn how to use it; if using Linux, learn how to use XCompose (Ubuntu Linux manual: sm:Ubuntu Typographic Keyboard Layout).
7. Abbreviations. Abbreviated words in accepted abbreviations (“because”, “i.e.”, “etc.”, “etc. etc.” and other similar ones) and names (for example, “D. E. Rosenthal ”) do not “stick together”, that is, a space is written between them. ( Generally speaking, this should be one of the non-breaking spaces, but we do not take into account such subtleties of typography in releases. Still, we are not typesetting a book.) More: g:How to abbreviate words correctly? .
8. ellipsis is a single character (...), not three dots (...).
9. Quotes. According to the norms of typography in Russian, quotation marks-herringbones are used: “something”. Quotation marks-paws are used as second-level quotation marks (from below and from above, paws outward): "something with" something "". Please note: these quotes differ both from those used in programming ("Hello, world!"), And from English paws (only from above and paws inside - “something”). Quotation marks are not required around English words unless they constitute a quotation. Exceptions might be names or phrases with punctuation ("What If?") and some special cases like letter names ("X"). More details: w:Quotation marks .
10. Dash. In ranges, not a hyphen is put, but a dash. In numerical ranges (written in numbers) - middle dash (short dash, en dash) without spaces. In all other cases, the em dash is used. See w:Dash and w:Range_characters for details. ( See also the translation of Robert Bringhurst's Basic Typographic Style (note footnotes 14 and 94).)
11. Apostrophe. It's better to use a non-breaking apostrophe with the \" syntax than just a quote " .
12. Numeric separators. In Russian, a comma is used as a decimal separator, and a thin space is used as a separator between digits (between numbers: \ , then a space). Commas between digits and dots between integer and fractional parts are not allowed in the translation.
13. Surnames. When transliterating surnames, try to use the "native surname" rule. According to him, Mark Zuckerberg transliterated as Mark Zuckerberg, but not Zakeberg because it is a Jewish surname. English surnames are transliterated from English, French - from French.
14. Footnotes and lists. The footnotes themselves are formatted in accordance with ww:Footnotes#Style guidelines . Please note: the footnote sign is not placed after the dot and after the comma. You can read about the design of lists dp: Rules for the design of lists and ww: Lists inside the article. Please note: footnotes at the end are independent sentences, must begin with a capital letter, and must end with a period. Lettered footnotes ([^a]) are automatically appended with text - Note. per. .
15. Captions for pictures can be independent sentences - start with a capital letter, end with a dot (or another sign corresponding in meaning), or they can be notes or exclamations of one or two words and, in this case, be formed with a small letter and without a dot at the end. There are no intermediate options.
16. Release question. Do not put a period after the name of the questioner. Here we are guided by the rules for the design of epigraphs. Read more: g:Question #255035 . In interrogative sentences beginning with "What if", we put a comma after "what", as this option is considered preferable, and also for uniformity of punctuation of articles.
17. Links to articles must be drawn up in accordance with Russian, and not foreign traditions. Although the issue is not a scientific work, the basic rules for designing reference lists must be followed. i.e. “Author: Article Name, The Journal. Addition information" or "The Journal. Author: Article Name. Addition information" becomes "Author. Article title // Journal. - Additional Information". More details: g:How to make a bibliographic reference and compile a bibliography? .
18. Names. If a proper name - the name consists of several words, then only the first word is written with a capital letter (except for cases when the name includes other proper names). There are exceptions to this rule, for example, the names of currently existing countries. So, in the previous paragraph, "Article Name" was translated as "Article Name". See g:Capital letters and ds:Names for details. Article titles are written in quotation marks. We write the name of our project with a question mark, without a comma and put quotation marks: “What if?”.
19. Percent sign do not need to be separated from the number by a space. GOST established a norm that had no connection with reality. The traditional spelling is continuous, so we draw the percent sign close to the number.
20. Writing dollars. We write dollar sign before a number such as "$30 billion". This spelling is much more familiar, although less formally correct. You can also write in a word: "30 billion dollars." It is better to escape the dollar sign with a backslash so that there is no confusion with formulas.
21. Conditional mood(would, would) is sometimes formulated in translation using future tense verbs to avoid the ubiquitous "was" and "would". Example: "What would happen?" can be translated as "What will happen?" and "What would happen?"
22. Formatting links. Try to avoid percent encoding of Russian letters in URLs to make the link more readable. In the pop-up text, we apply a style like “Page Title | Resource" or, for English pages, "Title Translation (English) | Resource" (round brackets can be replaced with square brackets for readability if the title text contains formulas with brackets).
    • Cyrillic is adequately copied from the address bar if you highlight the URL without the last letter. For Firefox, setting network.standard-url.escape-utf8 to false in about:config also helps.
23. Sources of knowledge. Much of the above is in the "Handbook of Spelling and Literary Practice" by D. E. Rosenthal, 5th ed. If you want to write competently, then it is useful to have it at hand. And, of course, you should learn how to use the gramota.ru portal. They don't have a very good search for questions and don't seem to have a search for existing help topics. Study the site navigation, see what topics are covered in each of the help sections.
24. Do not be shy ask questions and respond to criticism.

The 3rd edition of the document "Written translation - Recommendations for the translator, customer and editor" is offered to the attention of the translation community. During its preparation, Appendix 5 “The Translator as a Subject of Law” was substantially revised in order to reflect the changes in the field of copyright regulation that appeared in the current legislation of the Russian Federation after the publication of the 2nd edition of the “Recommendations” in 2012, and amendments were made to Section 3 "Organization of translation". The comments and suggestions received by the compiler from translation companies and individual translators were also considered and taken into account.

The idea to write "Recommendations" arose in 2003 during one of the meetings of the documentary and business translation section of the SPR. Colleagues with knowledge of the German language made a report on the state of the translation industry in Germany and talked about the existence of a standard DIN 2345 for written translation. He was very interested in everyone, since there was nothing like this in our country, and the idea seemed very worthwhile. The standard was translated into Russian and work began.

The “Recommendations” were prepared on the basis of summarizing the experience of Soviet and Russian translators, studying GOSTs, manuals and methodological recommendations of the All-Russian Digital Translation and Chamber of Commerce and Industry, internal instructions of Russian translation companies on ensuring quality control, foreign standards and other similar documents used in translation practice abroad. It was necessary to process many different sources, to meet with many specialists, translators, heads of translation agencies. Thus, the document was born as a result of the efforts of many translators/specialists and was an expression of their great practical experience and theoretical knowledge.

The "Recommendations" were brought to the attention of the translation community in 2004 after their adoption at the 5th Congress of the UPR. They served, it seems, a good service to translators, but over time, voices began to be heard in our community, reasonably suggesting that this reference-"normative" document be updated.

In 2012, the 2nd edition of the "Recommendations" was published. What made it different from the previous one?

1. When working on the second edition of the "Recommendations", the section was revised and significantly supplemented, which deals with the issues of contractual relations between the translator and the customer, taking into account the experience accumulated in this area - both positive and negative.
2. Brand new is the section on translation copyright.
3. Particular attention was paid to the analysis of the topic of quality and the classification of translation errors.
4. A section "For the editor" has been added, which provides appropriate recommendations, which, of course, can also be used by the translator.
5. The part of the "Recommendations" that deals with the transfer of foreign proper names by means of the Russian language and, accordingly, the transfer of Russian proper names in foreign languages, has been completely revised.
6. A new section has appeared on the peculiarities of translating texts intended to be spoken aloud (by announcers or actors).
7. Also new are the sections that deal with the methods of formalized assessment of the quality of translation existing in the industry.

Thus, the updated version of the "Recommendations" contained much more valuable information for the participants in the translation process. Removed from the 2nd edition were those passages that no longer corresponded to the realities of the market or turned out to be unclaimed in practice.

"Recommendations" are addressed to both translators and customers. They can be likened to the "Rules of the Road", which prescribe to drivers (who have already completed driving courses) how they should behave on the road so that traffic runs smoothly and without incident. The same goes for the “Recommendations”: they do not teach how to translate – this is taught at the translation faculties of the relevant universities, but they represent a “set” of rules related to the organization of the process (organizational interaction of the parties and contractual legal relations between them), and to the translation itself in many of its aspects.

These rules make it possible to obtain high quality translations with high reproducibility. It is obvious that if a translator/BP starts constantly, without failures, to “give out” translation products that favorably distinguish him from the rest of the market participants, then after some time this will begin to bring quite tangible material results.

The “Recommendations” are also important for students of language universities who are preparing to start earning their living by translating - they sometimes have very poor knowledge of how the market works, what requirements it will place on them, what translations need to be done, etc. d.

Of course, it is possible and, probably, it is necessary to point out certain flaws in the drafted document. But, as you know, only the Lord God is sinless and - as Catholics believe - the Pope of Rome. Everything that was created by the hands of people who are sinful by their very nature - if you follow religious dogma in this matter, in principle, cannot be perfect. Still, the practical benefit that translators will be able to derive from the "Recommendations" is likely to outweigh the shortcomings of the document, which can rightly be pointed out.

The first edition of the "Recommendations" was published under the auspices of the SPR, which was quite natural, since in 2004 the SPR was the only organization that united translators in its ranks. The "social base" of the 2nd edition of the "Recommendations" has been significantly expanded - they were officially approved by the boards of the SPR and NLP, supported by the Translation Forum of Russia 2012 and are recommended for use by all participants in the translation market. The same applies to the 3rd edition.

Preamble

1Application area

2Terms and Definitions

3Translation organization

3.1 General provisions

3.2 Selecting an interpreter

3.3 Agreements between the customer and the translator

3.4 Documentation

4Source text

5translated text

5.1 General provisions and style

5.2 Completeness

5.3Design

5.4 Elements of the text requiring transfer in translation according to special rules

5.5 New terms

5.6Translating texts intended to be spoken aloud

5.7 Translator's notes

6Inspection, delivery and acceptance translation

7Declaration of Conformity

8Translation editing

Applications

Annex 1Editing the translation

Annex 2 Sample CV of a freelance translator

Annex 3 Determining the volume of text for calculating the amount of remuneration when performing written translations

Annex 4Classification of translation errors and distribution of "weights" by category of errors

Annex 5Translator as a subject of law

Annex 6 Standards, normative and reference documents in the field of translation

Appendix 7 Basic requirements for translations that require notarization of the correctness of the translation / authenticity of the translator's signature

Appendix 8Tables of practical transcription from English into Russian and from Russian into English

Appendix 9 Russian and Latin transcription systems for Korean words

Annex 10Some features of the application of punctuation rules in various languages. Roman and Arabic numerals

Annex 11 Recalculation of dimensions when translating technical texts

Annex 12 Abbreviations in drawings

Appendix 13 Rules for writing the names of chemical compounds

Appendix 14 Units of physical quantities

Appendix 16 Translator Checklist

Annex 17On the methods of formalized assessment of translation quality