Translation Translation Quality Assessment 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What does the term 'fitness for purpose' mean in translation quality assessment?
- The translation matches the source text word for word
- The translation effectively serves its intended communicative function (Correct answer)
- The translation has no grammatical errors
- The translation preserves the style of the original author
Correct answer: The translation effectively serves its intended communicative function
'Fitness for purpose' means the translation successfully fulfills its intended communicative role for its target audience and context.
Question 2: Which quality evaluation framework was developed specifically for use in ATA certification exams?
- ISO 17100
- LISA Quality Assurance Model
- ATA Framework for Standard Error Marking (Correct answer)
- Multidimensional Quality Metrics (MQM)
Correct answer: ATA Framework for Standard Error Marking
The ATA Framework for Standard Error Marking is the American Translators Association's system for evaluating translation quality in its certification exams.
Question 3: What is a 'target-oriented' approach to translation quality assessment?
- Evaluating a translation by comparing it strictly to the source text word-for-word
- Evaluating a translation based on how well it functions in the target language and culture (Correct answer)
- Assessing quality only by counting grammatical errors
- Using automated tools to compare translations against a reference corpus
Correct answer: Evaluating a translation based on how well it functions in the target language and culture
A target-oriented approach judges quality by how naturally and effectively the translation reads and functions in the target language, rather than by closeness to the source.
Question 4: What does 'back translation' primarily serve in quality assessment?
- To create a new translation from scratch in the source language
- To verify accuracy by translating the target text back to the source language (Correct answer)
- To compare two different translations of the same source text
- To evaluate the translator's stylistic choices in isolation
Correct answer: To verify accuracy by translating the target text back to the source language
Back translation involves translating a target text back to the source language to check whether the original meaning was preserved accurately.
Question 5: Which ISO standard specifically addresses quality requirements for translation services?
- ISO 9001
- ISO 17100 (Correct answer)
- ISO 639
- ISO 3166
Correct answer: ISO 17100
ISO 17100 defines requirements for all aspects of the translation service process, including translator qualifications and revision procedures.
Question 6: What is the primary purpose of 'revision' in professional translation workflow?
- To translate a text for the first time from the source language
- To perform a bilingual check of a translation for accuracy and quality against the source (Correct answer)
- To proofread the target text for spelling and punctuation only
- To adapt a finished translation for a different target audience
Correct answer: To perform a bilingual check of a translation for accuracy and quality against the source
Revision involves a bilingual review of the translation against the source to check accuracy, consistency, and adherence to client requirements.
Question 7: In the LISA QA Model, what are the two main categories used to classify translation errors?
- Syntax errors and semantic errors
- Critical errors and non-critical errors (Correct answer)
- Source errors and target errors
- Terminology errors and fluency errors
Correct answer: Critical errors and non-critical errors
The LISA QA Model classifies errors as either critical (major impact on usability or meaning) or non-critical (minor issues that carry smaller weighted penalties).
Translation Translation Quality Assessment 1
What does the term 'fitness for purpose' mean in translation quality assessment?