Back Translation & Quality Control

August 1, 2022 / Natacha Bordier / Comments Off

A Double-Edged “Quality Control Process”

Once Mark Twain felt insulted by the translation of one of his short stories, “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” into French. Therefore, he decided to back translate the French translation into English to prove his point. And the story has it that it was even worse…

Back translation, also called reverse translation, is one method used to assess the quality of a translation. As with any quality control process, it must follow some guidelines. The purpose must be clear to be efficient.

Let’s dig into this professional service to understand it better and use it to your benefit.

What is Back Translation?

Definition

Back translation is a process whereby a translator retranslates a document translated into another language back to the original language. This “re-translation” must be done as much as possible in literal terms to reflect the translation’s meaning. The goal is to evaluate the quality of a translation.

Process

For the back translation method to be efficient, it must follow 3 steps:

Translating back into its original language: A separate translator, with no knowledge of the source, translates back into the source language as literally as possible.
Comparing the back translation with the original text: Another linguist compares both content. They flag any concept or meaning that may diverge. Then, the client is involved to verify that the meaning/intent of the original content was conveyed in the target language.
Reconciling any meaningful difference: If the linguist identifies any divergence, feedback is sent to the initial translator. They may suggest another translation and ask the client to clarify any ambiguity in the source. It can also be an error in the back translation. Finally, any necessary correction is made to the final translation.

Note: The back translation cannot be an exact duplicate of the original content. The initial translator adapts the content of the source linguistically and culturally, so the translation is readable to the target audience. That’s why, as Jorge Luis Borges said, an original can be unfaithful to the translation.

To Know About Back Translation

Back Translation for Creative Translation

In creative translation, the original translator must often retranslate the content produced from the target language back to its source language in literal terms. It’s a specific procedure used for items such as taglines, slogans, product names, etc. The implied meaning for one region doesn’t work for the other. It allows the content owner to see the creativity of the translator in the adaptation to its market.

Double Translation

In some cases, the translator will offer multiple options for the translation (with nuances and word variations). It’s called Double Translation. The content owner can then pick the one that reflects the most the message they want to convey. The initial translator will back-translate the options suggested too. Thus, the content owner can see the differences.

Blind Test

Sometimes, translation customers use what is called a blind test. They send a document to translate to one agency. Then, they ask another agency to provide a back translation. Finally, they compare the 2 versions: the source and the back translation.

The level of risk is very high with this process. Translators must do cultural changes to adapt content to their market. Errors can happen at any time, during the translation and the back translation. But both teams can’t speak with each other in this context. As a result, the process may be even more confusing and time-consuming for the client.

Also, note that only the initial agency can provide a certificate of accuracy, should you need one.

For Whom & Why?

Client With Highly Technical Content

In some industries, mistranslation could be a question of life or death. For some others, any errors could have large consequences. Here are some highly regulated industries that often use the back translation method:

Medical
Legal
Data
Finance & Insurance
Manufacturing or Product

Why? Because it helps to manage risk, meet regulatory requirements, and control the accuracy and the specific terminology needed.

It is sometimes a regulatory requirement: Ethics Committees, Institutional Review Boards and Regulatory Agencies request it for high-risk content.

Expectations to Keep in Mind

First and foremost, keep in mind that a back translation is a quality assessment tool. It’s not the only way to evaluate the quality of a translation.

There is no mathematical formula in linguistics. A back translation is not a back calculation. Thus, the reconciliation process is not an exact science.

So, what to look for in a back translation? You look for the accuracy of the concept and the message translated into the target language. It is NOT a quality control of the prose or the grammar of the translation.

Why Use a Back Translation Process?

To gain insight on your final translated product: It helps identify any potential ambiguity and the accuracy of sensitive details. It’s a tool to prevent errors and confusion.
To gain direct control of the content: Clients can review translation in languages they don’t read to assess the accuracy and manage risks. They can evaluate the equivalence of meaning between original and translation.
To get an audit trail: The back translation, the potential issues detected during the reconciliation phase and the error resolution tracker form an audit trail that can be useful for legal or technical requirements.

But don’t forget that a back translation is not relevant for:

assessing the quality of expression (prose)
identifying typos, grammatical, spelling and punctuation errors
determining any ambiguity related to a term interpretable in more than one way (such as “good” or “nice” in English)

A “Single-Edged Quality Control Process”

A back translation process can be a “double-edged sword”, confusing and time-consuming. Errors can happen at any time. But most of all, it can affect the quality of the initial translation.

Here are a few tips to successfully use the back translation method as a quality control process:

Use the same service provider, but not the same translator: A good agency will make sure to use two different linguistic teams for each phase. The linguist in charge of the back translation must not see the source. So, they can back-translate with fresh eyes. The reconciliation process is not complicated because both teams can communicate to get the best translation possible. If you need a certificate of accuracy too, only the people that did the translation can provide it.
Use professional linguistic services for a back translation to avoid false positives from machine translation. Human translators know to capture cultural singularities in the corresponding pair of languages.
Leave linguistic details to the translation team, such as grammar, typos and other. Agency employees and freelancers are professionals trained to review translation and handle the secrets of languages. It’s one of the reasons why you hire a professional.

As a Client, What Do I Do?

Remember that a back translation can’t match the source. We repeat it because it’s crucial – All languages have their world and words. Trained translators work with this in mind.
Ask the translation team about any discrepancy. Words have different meanings (such as “good” in English), or an error could have slipped in the back translation.
Assess the variations. Not all differences matter. Ask yourself if the difference is critical for your content (i.e., waste or trash?). It’s also why we use glossary and translation memory.
Double-check that the source document is clear before sending it for translation. Is it the final document you want to translate?

Conclusion

The back translation’s goal is to confirm the accuracy of the initial translation. It’s a process that requires time and involves a budget. Time, because it’s a second translation with a reconciliation phase. Budget, because it is a second full service. However, it can be a valuable check.

Other quality processes exist and require less time and budget. Ask us about them.

A translation that is true to your message is not always faithful to your original.

AOT is at your service for translation, back translation, and proofreading services. Contact us.