STC Quality Assurance 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which QA technique involves a second translator reviewing the translated text against the source without access to the original translator's notes?
- Back-translation
- Blind review (Correct answer)
- Linguistic validation
- Comparative analysis
Correct answer: Blind review
A blind review ensures the reviewer evaluates the translation on its own merits without being influenced by the original translator's choices or rationale.
Question 2: In QA for certified translations, what is the primary purpose of a terminology glossary?
- To list all source-language idioms
- To ensure consistent use of agreed-upon terms across the translation (Correct answer)
- To provide word-for-word substitutions for the translator
- To document translation errors for billing purposes
Correct answer: To ensure consistent use of agreed-upon terms across the translation
A terminology glossary standardizes key terms so that every occurrence of a source term is rendered consistently with the same target-language equivalent.
Question 3: What does a 'target audience review' specifically evaluate in translation QA?
- Grammar and punctuation errors
- Whether the translated text is natural and appropriate for the intended readership (Correct answer)
- The accuracy of numerical data
- Compliance with file format specifications
Correct answer: Whether the translated text is natural and appropriate for the intended readership
A target audience review assesses whether the translation reads naturally and resonates appropriately with the cultural and linguistic expectations of the end reader.
Question 4: When a QA reviewer finds that a translator has consistently omitted a recurring disclaimer in a legal document, this is classified as a:
- Minor stylistic error
- Systematic omission requiring global correction (Correct answer)
- Formatting issue
- Terminology inconsistency
Correct answer: Systematic omission requiring global correction
Consistent omission of required content is a systematic error that must be addressed globally throughout the document, not treated as an isolated oversight.
Question 5: In CAT tool-assisted QA, what is the function of a 'translation memory' (TM) consistency check?
- It checks spelling automatically
- It flags segments where the same source text has been translated differently (Correct answer)
- It validates the file encoding
- It compares word counts between source and target
Correct answer: It flags segments where the same source text has been translated differently
A TM consistency check identifies cases where identical or similar source segments have been rendered with different target translations, which may signal unintended inconsistency.
Question 6: Which error is most critical to flag during QA of a certified Spanish translation of a US court document?
- Minor stylistic awkwardness
- Mistranslation of a party's legal status or rights (Correct answer)
- Use of regional Spanish vocabulary
- Slightly informal register in procedural passages
Correct answer: Mistranslation of a party's legal status or rights
In legal translations, any mistranslation that alters the meaning of a party's rights or legal standing is a critical error with direct consequences for justice.
Question 7: What is 'functional equivalence' as a QA criterion in translation?
- The target text has the same word count as the source
- The target text produces the same effect on its audience as the source does on its audience (Correct answer)
- All technical terms are translated literally
- The formatting matches the source document exactly
Correct answer: The target text produces the same effect on its audience as the source does on its audience
Functional equivalence means the translated text achieves the same communicative effect, emotional response, or purpose in the target culture as the source text does in the source culture.
STC Quality Assurance 2
Which QA technique involves a second translator reviewing the translated text against the source without access to the original translator's notes?