BACK TRANSLATION

•Back translation can be defined as the

procedure wherein a translator or team
of professional translators interpret a
document previously translated into
another language back to the original
language.
 BACK TRANSLATION
•Comparison of a back
translation to the original text is
sometimes used as a quality
check on the original translation.
AN ANALOGY WITH MATH
• Mathematics also use the back
calculation method to check their
operations. If a mathematical operation
is successful, we should be able to do it
back-to-front to return to the original
number.
There is a case of back translation
by Mark Twain of one of his own
novels. As he felt insulted by a
journalist who translated badly his
novel The Celebrated Jumping Frog
of Calaveras Country into French.
The following may
be helpful tips in
back translating.
A back translation
should be done by a
professional translator
and edited by a second
professional.
A comparison of the
back translation with the
original document should
focus on the “differences
that matter.”
Ignore “differences
that do not matter”
Source text ambiguities
may arise that should
be resolved by the
author of the original
source text.
Original Source Premium (of an
Text: insurance policy)
English to Spanish
Prima
Translation:
Spanish to English
Female cousin
back translation:
Original Source
Water penetration
Text:
English to Chinese
水渗透
Translation:
Chinese to English
Water permeates
back translation:
Original Source
Physician
Text:
English to Spanish
medico
Translation:
Spanish to English
doctor
back translation:
 Genes are tiny things you
Original Source Text: can’t see that tell your
body how to grow.
Ang mga hene ay ang
mga maliliit na bagay na
English to Tagalog
hindi mo nakikita at
Translation: nagdidikta kung paano
(grow) ang iyong katawan.
Genes are the small things
Tagalog to English that you do not see and
back translation: dictates how your body
grow.
 The unauthorized
Original Source Text: employee and
supervisor were fired.
El empleado no
English to Spanish autorizado y su
Translation: supervisor fueron
despedidos.
The unauthorized
Spanish to English back
employee and his
translation:
supervisor were fired.