Proofreading and fact-checking of texts

Quality proofreading by native speakers is an inseparable part of good translation. Not only does it eliminate possible errors but it generally improves the style of the text and makes it more understandable and readable.

A suitable combination of different proofreading types will not only ensure grammatical and terminological correctness but can also impact the style and overall readability of the final text. The purpose of the translated text is also a very important consideration. We recommend proofreading by a native speaker followed by prepress proofreading for texts intended for publication. We ensure various types of proofreading and will be happy to advise you in choosing the right ones.

BASIC PROOFREADING TYPES:

  • Grammar/Linguistic proofreading – correcting spelling and grammar errors
  • Stylistic proofreading – stylistic adjustments and proper word choice
  • Checking for factual errors – making sure that correct factual/technical translation terms are used
  • Checking for changes – translation updates tracking the changes or amendments made to the original text
  • Pre-press proofreading – elimination of typos prior to printing or publishing the text

Others:

  • Checking the source text – revision and elimination of possible shortcomings in the original text (typically preceding the translation or before its publication)
  • Contextual adjustments – adaptation of the translated text to e.g. the visual content of a website, on-line shop or application
  • Comparison (independent) checks – assessment of the correctness of translation against the source text (translation check)
  • Machine translation post-editing – professional human editing of machine translation (see below)

Machine Translation Post-editing (MTPE)

In the post-editing process, a professional translator or a post-editor will adjust machine-translated texts (raw machine translation) to make it meet the requested output quality. Such a process is mostly faster and more cost-efficient than common translation without using machine translation. However, it is always necessary to keep in mind that there may be specific cases where processing using machine translation may not be suitable for a given text and the overall cost-saving is not as high as we would like it to be.

Machine translation is becoming a common tool in today’s communication but despite great progress in the AI field, it is not always capable of capturing all the subtleties of human language. It is necessary to keep these limitations in mind. Machine translation is useful above all for time-saving (fast translation) but it does not always meet specific needs and requirements, especially for highly technical, creative or sensitive texts.

We will make sure that every word and phrase carries exactly the intended meaning. We will be happy to help you choose the right type of proofreading. Do not hesitate to contact us.

Did you know that:

Our proofreaders participated in the creation of the largest published orthographic handbook Pravidla českého pravopisu and they also handle the proofreading of a range of book titles published by Lingea. Lingea is also the supplier of the spellchecker used in the Microsoft Office products since 1995 and the author of the first Czech grammar checker.

A lot of practical information and advice on correct Czech can be found at: nechybujte.cz. An especially popular feature is the automated text checking and completion of Czech diacritics. Besides Czech orthographic rules the portal also features Slovník současné češtiny (Contemporary Dictionary of Czech) and Slovník českých synonym a antonym (Dictionary of Czech Synonyms and Antonyms).

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