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| Silvija Čičin Šain, translator |
A little bit of theory
Revising or language editing is the process of correcting and editing a text only in terms of orthography and language and linguistic consulting of the text's author.
Proofreading is the process of comparing the author's text and the text to be published, that is, checking if the reviser's changes have been implemented.
Copy-editing is the process of preparing, correcting and editing text for publication. It also involves semantic changes. This is the highest level of linguistic processing of the text and the copy-editor should be the person responsible for the delivered text.
And now for the practice
In practice, this division does not exist. The reviser is expected to perform proofreading and copy-editing as well, and sometimes even to be creative ("Write this so that it sounds well!").
Becoming a reviser
It's easy. For starters, it's good to have a degree in Croatian. It does not necessarily guarantee knowledge, but it's a good start. However, the challenge is to find work as a reviser, especially today when the financial situation is such that most daily newspapers do not have revisers, publishing houses expect that the translator is competent enough to revise his or her own text, there are no more language editing services on TV stations... In any case, be sure to do a great job on your first revising assignments because good reputation is essential in this line of work.
Once you've embarked on the adventure called revising it is important to continuously research, learn, discover, ask... This is really a profession where experience is crucial because every text is a great opportunity to learn something new. Also, be sure to go through various language usage guides (I am very biased and I always recommend those written by prof. Opačić), discussions, linguistic journals, etc. It is also useful to keep in touch with university professors and every now and then there is the odd education opportunity (patriotic plugging of the Applied Course of the Croatian Language for Language Editors and Translators held at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Rijeka).
I must not forget the possibility of working at foreign higher education institutions - the Ministry has just opened a call for applications for next academic year.
What would be very useful for the language editing profession and has just started to gain momentum is the introduction of revisers licences.
A few guidelines for revisers
- Given that we have the misfortune to have five different language usage guides that make our work complicated, what is most important when revising is not to be exclusive. In translation: choose a guide you will follow and stick to it (of course, I recommend the official one), but never correct the solutions offered by the guide the author uses. - Make sure to respect the functional style of the text!
- Do not go too deep in the text and respect its individuality
- A reminder: the reviser's job is to stick to orthography and language. Restrain from making any other types of changes or at least consult the author first.
- Tip: You'll need loads of patience. You might also consider getting an anti-stress ball. Why? Here are a few examples:
- Just take a look at this text, I need it tomorrow by 9. (NB: The text is 100 pages long and you received it at 4:30 pm.
- This doesn't sound Croatian. (NB: remark by a "satisfied" client after delivery)
- Please don't correct spa, phishing, resort, e-mail. Oh, and we spell Internet with a capital I so don't change it. (NB: No problem. Sure, now the text doesn't sound Croatian to me, but who am I to decide?)
- I'm sorry, could you tell me the difference between term x and term y? Could you tell me what is what? (NB: Of course. Other than being a language professor, I'm also an architect, mathematician, chemist and marketing expert. I'll be happy to waste a few hours finding the answer to this question.
- Most importantly: Love your work, even though it really can be Sisyphean. :)
Related articles:
- What do translators hate? (ciklopea.com)
- How to become a proofreader? (squidoo.com)





