No more than translation is to be regarded as a mere appendage to the content-publishing process should proofreading be viewed as an optional exercise at the end of the translation process. Rather, proofreading is an essential part of any publishing work, be it in a target language or the language of authoring. All texts translated by Native Translations undergo thorough proofreading, at least by the translator responsible, before delivery.

Technically speaking, there is a great difference between proofreading and editing. Proofreading, requiring mastery of both the source and target language as well as knowledge the topic at hand, essentially aims to ensure that the source text has been rendered as faithfully and flawlessly as is humanly possible in the target language. Editing, on the other hand, presupposes an excellent command of the target language but not necessarily any acquaintance with the original text. The object in this case is to optimize the literary style and make the text as readable as possible.

Yet for practical purposes, there is little difference between the two tasks. Clients will frequently present texts for "proofreading" which have already been translated by a third party or authored in the target language by a non-native speaker. We have no qualms about accepting such tasks and strive in every case to clarify at the very beginning the client's expectations. Once the job parameters are clear, the required work can be done, either to check for spelling and grammar errors, reword the text to better bring out the original meaning or even rework it entirely to express what the author was actually trying to say.

The amount of effort required in proofreading and editing is, therefore, very much dependent on the quality of the material presented. Please get in touch with us for a free quotation on your particular job.