FIT Quality Assurance in Translation 3 â Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the main purpose of a 'style guide' in a translation quality assurance framework?
- To list prohibited source words
- To standardize tone, register, and writing conventions for the target language (Correct answer)
- To automate segment alignment
- To set machine translation engine parameters
Correct answer: To standardize tone, register, and writing conventions for the target language
A style guide ensures that all translators working on a project apply consistent language conventionsâtone, punctuation, capitalizationâaligned with client expectations.
Question 2: In error severity classification, which level would typically describe an error that causes misunderstanding of safety-critical information?
- Minor
- Moderate
- Major/Critical (Correct answer)
- Preferential
Correct answer: Major/Critical
Errors that alter meaning in a way that could cause harmâespecially in safety, medical, or legal contextsâare classified as critical or major severity.
Question 3: What is 'postediting quality assurance' primarily concerned with?
- Checking translator credentials after project completion
- Verifying and correcting machine translation output to meet quality standards (Correct answer)
- Auditing invoice accuracy after delivery
- Updating translation memories post-project
Correct answer: Verifying and correcting machine translation output to meet quality standards
Post-editing QA involves human review of machine-translated content to correct errors and ensure the output meets defined quality thresholds.
Question 4: Which metric is most commonly used to quantify translation quality in a standardized, scoring-based QA model?
- Word count per hour
- Error per word (EPW) or error density score (Correct answer)
- Source file size in megabytes
- Number of translation memory matches
Correct answer: Error per word (EPW) or error density score
Error density scoresâerrors per unit of text (e.g., per 1,000 words)âallow objective comparison of quality across different projects and translators.
Question 5: A 'dual-review' workflow means that:
- Two translators independently produce separate full translations
- The target text is reviewed both bilingually and monolingually before delivery (Correct answer)
- The QA software runs twice on the same file
- The client approves the translation in two separate rounds
Correct answer: The target text is reviewed both bilingually and monolingually before delivery
Dual review combines bilingual revision (accuracy check) with monolingual proofreading (fluency and naturalness check) for comprehensive quality coverage.
Question 6: What does 'fitness for purpose' mean in the context of translation quality?
- The translation uses the fewest possible words
- The translation meets the communicative needs and expectations of the intended audience and use case (Correct answer)
- The translation exactly mirrors source sentence structure
- The translation is free of any cultural adaptation
Correct answer: The translation meets the communicative needs and expectations of the intended audience and use case
Fitness for purpose evaluates quality relative to the specific contextâa marketing brochure and a legal contract have different quality criteria.
Question 7: In CAT tool QA checks, a 'number mismatch' error is flagged when:
- The translation contains more segments than the source
- A numerical value in the source text differs from the corresponding value in the target text (Correct answer)
- The file format changes between source and target
- Word count exceeds project estimate
Correct answer: A numerical value in the source text differs from the corresponding value in the target text
Number mismatch QA alerts catch cases where figures, dates, or codes in the source were accidentally changed, omitted, or mistyped in translation.
FIT Quality Assurance in Translation 3
What is the main purpose of a 'style guide' in a translation quality assurance framework?