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Paul asks: <<Is it common practice to break up a translation like this?>>
It's not likely to be ideal to send out a translation in parts (and
especially risky if parts are sent to more than one translator), but there
are mitigating circumstances. If you're settled consistency issues in your
own mind and applied them carefully to the work, then you're less likely to
need to change what has already been translated. In other words, the success
of the part-translation question rests on the quality of the workmanship at
your end. Second, every good translator or translating agency asks for a
style guide and glossary up front. That means you specify what words mean
and what you want done among the choices available. Generally this requires
some negotiation with the translator because you may not be well aware of
the translation style options. Third, when all else fails and you do need to
revised translated material, if your translator plugged the previous text
into a translation memory, that will spit out the text that remains the same
(no translation) and the text that needs to be translated. Eases the job
for you, and definitely lowers the cost associated with re-translation.
~ Bill
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