Back and Parallel Translations:

Managing Client Expectations

By Chris Lines

When I have the opportunity in the language business know that an

80% match in a back translation that
tions are especially important.
It is common for non-linguists to
for direct contact with representatives of
our client base, I am almost always was done by someone other than the think that translation involves word-
struck by their limited understanding of original translator represents a high for-word equivalence or something
the translation process. When my con- degree of correlation. And the more close to it. The idea that one word in
versation is with a corporate vendor dissimilar the language pair, the lower English may have multiple, context-
manager who routinely procures trans- the correlation figure is likely to be. dependent translations in the target
lation services, there is a triple focus language, or no direct translation at
on cost, turnaround, and accuracy. The Growth of Back Translation all, may be illogical and frustrating to
Cost and turnaround are precisely The previous example was an the client. This fact needs to be
quantifiable: the client seeks a cost- informal effort on the part of a client explained to the client patiently and
effective solution and on-time who wanted some assurance of accu- clearly, and, most importantly,
delivery, and a negative profit margin racy, but did not understand linguistic without any hint of condescension.
on our part or late receipt of the job by realities well enough to interpret the This is what I mean by managing
the client can be clearly measured. result. For some time, we have been customer expectations. It is well
seeing a growth in client demand for worth the time and effort it takes to
explain major linguistic differences to
the client (for example, verb finality
in Japanese, or the fact that the
...It is common for non-linguists to think that Japanese verb generally comes at the
translation involves word-for-word equivalence or end of a sentence). It might also be
helpful to explain that very visible dif-
something close to it... ferences in the lengths of correspon-
ding passages can be accounted for by
varying language structure and rich-
ness of vocabulary. (For example,
However, clients also require accu- formal back translation, despite the compare the English and Welsh texts
racy, which is harder to define within additional expense, as a means of veri- on a television license in Wales and
the spectrum between a literal, word- fying translation accuracy. This trend you will see that the Welsh version is
for-word rendition and a translation is particularly prevalent for documents nearly twice as long.) It is important
that has been freely paraphrased in the in fields where high translation for the client to gain some apprecia-
interest of maintaining the source integrity is critical, such as the phar- tion for the semantic and morpholog-
text’s literary style. Of course, scien- maceutical industry (especially drug ical factors that contribute to the
tific, technical, legal, and patent trans- datasheets and clinical trial participant degree of correlation between the first
lations of necessity need to adhere documents), industrial process opera- original and the back translation.
closely to the source meaning and read tions, information technology instruc- To illustrate these morphological and
as fluently as possible in the target lan- tion sequences, and key legal contracts. semantic variances, two examples of
guage. The balancing act that the When one of our clients requires a translation divergence are presented
translator and editor must achieve here back translation, we engage a second here. The first example shows the same
has been widely discussed. translator specializing in the relevant Russian→English translation performed
How does a non-linguist client knowledge domain to execute the task. by two different translators. The second
assess the accuracy of the translator’s After the result is edited (which is done example is an actual back translation of
product? Sometimes they perform a without the editor having access to the a clinical trial document.
back translation themselves, which first original in order to avoid “con-
leads to client comments such as: “One tamination” of the back translation), it Presenting Parallel Translations
of our engineers in Germany re-trans- is delivered to the client, who can then I use the term “parallel translation”
lated your text and his version was compare the back translation with the to describe jobs where the client
only 80% in agreement with the orig- first original. At this stage, client edu- requires the source to be translated
inal we supplied you.” Well, those of us cation and management of expecta- into two or more target languages.

28 The ATA Chronicle ■ October 2006

These jobs are often formatted in a zluqlar hiss olunur; Azərbaycan ‘oriental music’ (to which they also
spreadsheet with a column for each musiqisində böyük tersiya temn- relate Azerbaijan music) there exist,
language. The source-language text erasiya tersiyasına nisbətən qısa, kiçik apart from the full tone and the semi-
appears on the left and the translated tersiya isə temperasiya tersiyasına tone, 1/3 and 1/4 of a tone as well.
text for each language appears in the nisbətən geni`dir. Yarımton temn- This opinion must not apply to
columns on the right for easy compar- erasiyalıdan geni`dir. Fərq təxminən Azerbaijan folk music, in which the
ison. The side-by-side juxtaposition bir komma qədərdir.” smallest interval is a semitone. An
of the same text in multiple languages octave in Azerbaijan music, just as in
makes differences in text length and The website provides a Russian European, comprises 7 diatonic and 12
word order easier for the non-linguist version that serves as the original for chromatic levels. The difference is that
client to recognize. This type of com- this exercise: the levels of an octave in European
parison will inevitably lead the client music are uniformly tempered, and the
to ask more questions that the transla- “Gj vytyb/ vepsrjdtljd> d ‘djcn- levels of an octave in Azerbaijan
tion company must be ready to answer jxyjq vepsrt’ !r rfrjdjq jnyjczn b music are also considered tempered,
in order to manage client expecta- fpth,fql;fycre/ vepsre@ rhjvt but non-uniformly. Therefore when
tions. wtkjuj njyf b gjkenjyf ceotcndetn playing Azerbaijan melodies on tem-
tot 1#3 b 1#4 njyf. "nj vytybt yt pered instruments (especially on the
Translation Divergence: Azeri, ljk;yj rfcfnmcz fpth,fql;fycrjq piano), a certain disparity is felt in the
Russian, and English yfhjlyjq vepsrb> d rjnjhjq yfbv- level of the tones, especially of thirds
The following example is taken from tymibv bynthdfkjv zdkztncz and sixths; in Azerbaijan music the
the book Principles of Azerbaijan Folk gjkenjy. Jrnfdf d fpth,fql;fycrjq major third is tempered, and the minor
Music, written by the outstanding vepsrt nfr ;t> rfr b d tdhjgtqcrjq> third is more widely tempered. A
Azerbaijan composer Uzeir Hajibeyov cjlth;bn d ct,t 7 lbfnjybxtcrb[ b semitone is wider than a tempered
(1885-1948). The Azeri version of the 12 [hjvfnbxtcrb[ cnegtytq. Hfpybwf one. The difference is approximately
text is available online at http://musbook. pfrk/xftncz d njv> xnj cnegtyb one comma.” (154 words)
musigi-dunya.az/musbook/content_ jrnfds d tdhjgtqcrjq vepsrt
az.html. Here is the first part of the hfdyjvthyj ntvgthbhjdfys& cnegtyb Now, for comparison, here is the
Azeri text describing the sound system ;t jrnfd d fpt,fql;fycrjq vepsrt English translation provided by the
of Azerbaijan folk music: nfr;t cxbnf/ncz ntvgthbhjdfyysvb> website:
yj ythfdyjvthyj. Gj'njve ghb
“Musiqi`ünasların fikrincə, ‘~ərq bcgjkytybb fpth,fql;fycrb[ “According to musicologists, ‘oriental
musiqisində’ (Azərbaycan musiqisini vtkjlbq yf ntvgthbhjdfyys[ bycn- music’ (to which Azerbaijan music is
də buraya daxil edirlər) butöv və hevtynf[ !jcj,tyyj yf ajhntgbfyj@ related) has 1/3 and 1/4 tones, in addi-
yarım tondan ba`qa 1/3 və 1/4 ton da xedcndetncz ytrjnjhjt ytcjjndtnc- tion to complete tones and semitones.
vardır. Bu iddia ən kiçik intervalı ndbt d dscjnt njyjd> jcj,tyyj This tendency should not be applied to
yarım ton olan Azərbaycan xalq nthyjds[ b ctrcnjds[& d Azerbaijan folk music where semitone
musiqisinə aid edilə bilməz. Avropa fpth,fql;fycrjq vepsrt ,jkmifz is the smallest interval. Octave in
musiqisində olduğu kimi, Azərbaycan nthwbz e;t ntvgthbhjdfyyjq> vfkfz Azerbaijan music, as well as in
musiqisində də oktava 7 diatonik və nthwbz - ibht ntvgthbhjdfyyjq. European music contains 7 diatonic
12 xromatik pərdədən ibarətdir. Fərq Gjkenjy ibht ntvgthbhjdfyyjuj. and 12 chromatic grades. The only dif-
ancaq bundadır ki, Avropa Hfpybwf - ghb,kbpbntkmyj jlyf ference is that the octave’s grades in
musiqisindəki oktavada pərdələr rjvvf.” European music are equally tempered,
müntəzəm, Azərbaycan musiqisində but in Azerbaijan music, however, the
isə qeyri-müntəzəm temperasiya Before accessing the English trans- octave grades are tempered unequally.
olunmu`dur. Ona görə də tem- lation provided by the website, I com- Therefore, while playing Azerbaijan
perasiyalı musiqi alətlərində (xüsusilə pleted my own translation from melodies on tempered musical instru-
fortepianoda). Azərbaycan havaları ifa Russian into English as follows: ments (especially on the piano) one
olunduqda, xüsusilə tersiya və seksta feels some discordance in the pitch of
tonlarının ucalığında bə’zi uyğunsu- “In the opinion of musicologists, in tones, particularly in the thirds and ➡

The ATA Chronicle ■ October 2006 29

Back and Parallel Translations Continued

sixths. In Azerbaijan music the major two versions. This type of divergence tion on these work sheets and update
third is narrower than tempered one. is also what fuels client reaction and the sheets if necessary. The informa-
The minor third is wider than tem- leads to comments like the one at the tion on these work sheets should be
pered one. Semitones are wider as beginning of this article about the back filled in as required once your child
well. The difference is about one translation not being a 100% match. receives the vaccine up to 42 days fol-
comma.” (139 words) lowing the second vaccine. You must
A Real Back Translation: complete work sheets A and B of the
To assess the two texts for the Spanish Clinical Trial Instructions participant folder within approxi-
degree of correlation, we adopt a Our second example involves a mately 28 days after the first vaccina-
method of averaging the total number clinical trial translation, which is a tion. Work sheets C and D must be
of words (154+139)/2 = 146.5, and typical document associated with completed before the visit after the
expressing the number of divergent patient participation in clinical trials second dose, which will take place
words as a percentage of this average of new medications. Trial sponsors approximately 28 days after the
word count (53 words/146.5x100 = display heightened concern regarding second dose. Work sheets E and F
36.2%). We then can take the degree translation accuracy due to the need must be completed up to 42 days after
of correlation as the complement per- for clear, unambiguous, and accurate the second dose. The trial personnel
centage (100-36.2 = 63.8%). There is, instructions to trial subjects, together will try to schedule in advance the
of course, some subjectivity in the with the legal exposure inherent in exact date and time for each follow-up
process of determining the number of clinical trial activities. meeting. The trial personnel will
divergent words. We are also I will give the source English text and answer all your questions or concerns
assuming that the English translation the translation into Spanish. The Spanish about the trial during these contacts. In
on the website derives from the translation will be followed by the back these meetings, please notify the trial
Russian and not from the Azeri, since translation, which was completed by a personnel of any unusual or alarming
event you have observed. Please do
not sign these work sheets until the
trial personnel have reviewed the
...The idea that one word in English may have information with you.” (224 words)

multiple, context-dependent translations in the Spanish Translation:

target language, or no direct translation at all, “Este cuaderno contiene varias hojas
de trabajo diseñadas para recolectar
may be illogical and frustrating to the client... información sobre la medicación que
recibe su niño, así como sobre cualquier
enfermedad y/o eventos médicos signif-
icantes que el niño pueda experimentar
the book was originally written in different translator (me) without looking tras recibir una vacuna del estudio. Es
Russian in order to reach a wider at the original English text. extremadamente importante para el
readership (first edition, 1945; second éxito de este estudio completar estas
edition, 1957). The book was not English Source: hojas de trabajo. Por favor, registre
translated into Azeri until 1962, with a “This folder contains various work información precisa y completa en estas
second translation completed in 1965. sheets designed to gather information hojas de trabajo y actualice las hojas de
This exercise provides a clear indi- on the medication your child is ser necesario. La información de estas
cation of the different renditions that receiving, as well as on any illness hojas de trabajo debe completarse según
two translators can produce from the and/or significant medical events the lo requerido una vez que su niño reciba
same source. Upon careful examina- child may experience after receiving a la vacuna hasta 42 días después de la
tion, it is apparent that the two ver- trial vaccine. It is extremely important segunda vacuna. Usted debe completar
sions say the same thing, but a for the success of the trial that these las hojas de trabajo A y B del cuaderno
non-linguist will most likely focus work sheets be completed. Please del participante aproximadamente
more on the differences between the record accurate and complete informa- durante 28 días tras la primera vacu-

30 The ATA Chronicle ■ October 2006

nación. Las hojas de trabajo C y D deben 28 days after the first vaccination. The This example of back translation
completarse antes de la visita tras la worksheets C and D must be completed again illustrates how two translators
segunda dosis, que tendrá lugar aproxi- before the visit after the second dose, will find different word equivalents or
madamente 28 días tras la segunda which will take place approximately 28 forms of expression to convey the same
dosis. Las hojas de trabajo E y F deben days after the second dose. The work- meaning in what is a relatively
completarse hasta los 42 días tras la sheets E and F must be completed until straightforward text. The differences
segunda dosis. El personal del estudio 42 days after the second dose. The study may seem, and indeed be, semantically
intentará programar con antelación la personnel will try to program before- insignificant, but the tendency of non-
fecha y horarios exactos para cada hand the exact date and times for each linguist clients to query them should
reunión de seguimiento. El personal del follow-up meeting. The study personnel not be underestimated. These queries
estudio contestará a todas sus preguntas will answer all your questions or con- should be met with a clear explanation
of the translation process. With partic-
ular reference to the items queried, it is
often necessary to arrange for someone
...Time and effort expended in educating the non- fluent in the relevant language pair to

linguist client is a worthwhile investment in the answer the client’s questions. That
person also needs to be able to
management of client expectations... empathize with the client’s concerns,
as any hint of academic arrogance will
be very counterproductive.

o inquietudes sobre el estudio durante cerns about the study during these con- Better Understanding Leads to
estos contactos. En estas reuniones, por tacts. At these meetings, please inform Greater Client Satisfaction
favor, informe al personal del estudio the study personnel about any unusual In terms of client satisfaction and
cualquier evento inusual o alarmante or alarming event that you have better understanding (with fewer
que haya observado. Por favor, no firme observed. Please do not sign these queries) in the future, time and effort
estas hojas de trabajo hasta que el per- worksheets until the study personnel expended in educating the non-lin-
sonal del estudio haya revisado la infor- have reviewed the information with guist client is a worthwhile invest-
mación con usted.” (238 words) you.” (216 words) ment in the management of client
expectations, the consolidation of the
English Back Translation: Assessment client relationship, and securing the
“This notebook contains various By assessing the two texts for the prospects of obtaining further busi-
worksheets designed to collect informa- degree of correlation using the same ness in a very competitive market-
tion about the medication that your method as before, we find that the place.
child receives, as well as about any ill- average number of words is The payoff for such an investment
ness and/or significant medical events (224+216)/2 = 220, and that the number is perhaps best summarized by an e-
that your child could experience after of divergent words as a percentage of mail I recently received from a client.
receiving a study vaccine. It is this average word count is 36/220x100 I had spent almost an hour on the
extremely important for the success of = 16.4%. The degree of correlation is phone with her explaining the transla-
this study to complete these worksheets. the complement percentage 100-16.4 = tion process and answering several
Please record precise and complete 83.6%. As opposed to the English and specific questions about aspects of a
information in these worksheets and Russian from the first example, there is Flemish medical translation we had
update the sheets as necessary. The a higher degree of correlation between just delivered. She wrote: “Thanks so
information in these worksheets must the English original that was translated much Chris! It was really interesting
be completed as required once your into Spanish and the English back and instructive talking with you yes-
child receives the vaccine until 42 days translation. This is to be expected since terday about the translation process.
after the second vaccine. You must com- the linguistic disparity between Russian Thanks for taking the time.”
plete the worksheets A and B of the par- and English is much greater than
ticipant notebook approximately over between Spanish and English.

The ATA Chronicle ■ October 2006 31