Proofreading involves examination of the final translated text or document to ensure the absence of spelling or punctuation errors, typos and other technical deficiencies, including any omissions or parts of the documents left untranslated. Proofreading is usually done by a professional linguist to help eliminate any mistakes or omissions of spelling or technical nature.
Editing, apart from elimination of spelling or punctuation errors, is aimed to improve the flow and overall quality of translation to ensure that the translation is absolutely adequate from stylistic mistakes and correctly renders the intended meaning of the source text. Professional editor will correct any obvious errors too, but the main goal is to use his or her expertise and intuition to ensure the document makes sense, cut down on wordiness, and clarify any ambiguity. Editing can be requested as a separate service but commonly it is an integral part of translating highly sensitive and important documents, like laws and official documents of government institutions and international organisations, as well as litigation and court documents.
While proofreading is an integral part of any translation and quality assurance procedure, editing can be treated as separate assignment requested by client or can form an integral part of a professional translation service comprising translation, editing, and proofreading (TEP) subject to specific agreement or contract with client.
Our team of linguists includes professional editors with extensive experience in editing official and legal documents. Do get in touch and we would be happy to help.