STC Quality Assurance 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: According to ISO 17100, which activity must be completed before translation begins?
- Post-editing machine translation output
- Project analysis and preparation, including source text review (Correct answer)
- Proofreading by a native speaker
- Delivery of the final translation
Correct answer: Project analysis and preparation, including source text review
ISO 17100 requires that the project be analyzed and prepared—including reviewing source content for suitability—before the translation task begins.
Question 2: Which QA metric measures the number of errors per 1,000 words in a translated document?
- Translation memory leverage rate
- Error density or defect rate (Correct answer)
- Segment concordance rate
- Fuzzy match percentage
Correct answer: Error density or defect rate
Error density (or defect rate) is calculated as errors per 1,000 words and provides a normalized, comparable measure of translation quality across documents of different lengths.
Question 3: In the STC's quality framework, which of the following best describes 'fitness for purpose'?
- The translation passes automated spell-check
- The translation meets the specific communicative needs of its intended use (Correct answer)
- The source document has no ambiguities
- The translator holds a professional certification
Correct answer: The translation meets the specific communicative needs of its intended use
Fitness for purpose means the translation fulfills the communicative function it was commissioned for, whether that is informational, legal, literary, or technical.
Question 4: A QA checklist for medical translations should prioritize which item above all others?
- Elegant prose style
- Accuracy of dosage instructions, contraindications, and safety warnings (Correct answer)
- Consistent use of the Oxford comma
- Alphabetical ordering of references
Correct answer: Accuracy of dosage instructions, contraindications, and safety warnings
In medical translation, errors in dosage, contraindications, or safety information can directly harm patients, making accuracy in these areas the highest QA priority.
Question 5: What is the role of a 'style guide' in translation QA?
- It defines the pricing structure for translation projects
- It specifies preferred linguistic conventions, tone, and formatting standards for a client (Correct answer)
- It lists all source-language grammar rules
- It records the translator's credentials
Correct answer: It specifies preferred linguistic conventions, tone, and formatting standards for a client
A client style guide establishes preferred conventions such as tone of voice, punctuation style, number formatting, and register, ensuring the translation aligns with the client's brand or institutional standards.
Question 6: When reviewing a Spanish translation for 'register consistency,' a QA reviewer is checking that:
- All verb tenses are the same throughout
- The level of formality remains appropriate and uniform for the document type (Correct answer)
- The translator used only Castilian Spanish
- Acronyms are expanded at first use
Correct answer: The level of formality remains appropriate and uniform for the document type
Register consistency means the chosen level of formality—formal, informal, technical, colloquial—remains appropriate to the document type and does not shift unexpectedly.
Question 7: Which action best addresses a 'false friend' error found during QA of an English-to-Spanish translation?
- Flag it as a minor stylistic issue
- Replace the incorrect cognate with the word that accurately conveys the source meaning (Correct answer)
- Leave it if the reader can infer the correct meaning
- Convert the sentence to passive voice
Correct answer: Replace the incorrect cognate with the word that accurately conveys the source meaning
A false friend (cognate that differs in meaning) must be corrected by substituting the accurate Spanish equivalent so the target text conveys the intended meaning without misleading the reader.
STC Quality Assurance 3
According to ISO 17100, which activity must be completed before translation begins?