Translating source text inside square brackets — are there any conventions? Thread poster: Fábio Romaneli
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Hello,
Are there any established and detailed conventions about source text inside brackets for content to be translated and localized? I've received a test result for a Gaming project stating that my translation was indeed good, but the only issue was that I didn't translate a word inside square brackets. Naturally, I wrote a note about leaving the source word as it was due to internal processing and offered a translation in the comments. The reviewer stated that they "thought" the... See more Hello,
Are there any established and detailed conventions about source text inside brackets for content to be translated and localized? I've received a test result for a Gaming project stating that my translation was indeed good, but the only issue was that I didn't translate a word inside square brackets. Naturally, I wrote a note about leaving the source word as it was due to internal processing and offered a translation in the comments. The reviewer stated that they "thought" the brackets were meant to have a highlighting purpose, but I've never seen such purpose around this industry. If that's the case, a better text formatting would fit. Have anyone seen such thing in IT/Gaming field projects? ▲ Collapse
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| they should have... | Jul 29 |
... let you know the mark-up convention for this specific text.
Square brackets for bold text... I see it for the first time too.
[Редактировалось 2024-07-29 22:15 GMT]
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Stepan Konev 
Russian Federation
Local time: 11:04
English to Russian
| You should have asked them either | Jul 29 |
Even if your client didn't tell you why they used brackets, it is you who should have asked them about their conventions and your doubts before you start translating the text.
Words in brackets can be not only bold or underlined text but also hyperlinks for example:
**Setting Form access permissions for projects is available for... See more Even if your client didn't tell you why they used brackets, it is you who should have asked them about their conventions and your doubts before you start translating the text.
Words in brackets can be not only bold or underlined text but also hyperlinks for example:
**Setting Form access permissions for projects is available for all [Premium](https://domain.com/premium), [Business](https://domain.com/business), and [Enterprise](https://domain.com/enterprise) customers.**
OR variables:
Navigate to the integration page on the admin panel: **https:/[Instance Name].domain.com/admin#/integrations/available**
[Edited at 2024-07-29 21:42 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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... asking right additional questions at the test job is a good sign of an expert, it shows that you know more than they expect
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Stepan Konev
Russian Federation
Local time: 11:04
English to Russian
| Asking questions as part of test | Jul 30 |
Sergei Leshchinsky wrote:
... asking right additional questions at the test job is a good sign of an expert, it shows that you know more than they expect
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Fábio Romaneli
Local time: 06:04
English to Portuguese
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TOPIC STARTER | They listened to me | Jul 30 |
I've sent them an email yesterday saying that I've never heard about this issue before, and that the highlighting thing should be done through more adequate means. Today they decided to send my test to another reviewer.
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Fábio Romaneli
Local time: 06:04
English to Portuguese
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TOPIC STARTER
They ghosted me. Anyway, moving on. Thank you for the comments, guys
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Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 09:04
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
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Fábio Romaneli wrote:
The reviewer stated that they "thought" the brackets were meant to have a highlighting purpose, but I've never seen such purpose around this industry.
I've seen it, but it's rare. In a software text, words in any kind of brackets tend to have a special function. The client should tell you how to deal with such words. However, if the client doesn't, then I suppose you have to do whatever you think is the right thing to do, based on your experience, and just point this out when you deliver.
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Fábio Romaneli
Local time: 06:04
English to Portuguese
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TOPIC STARTER
I added a comment in the test stating that words or strings between square brackets use to be left alone, but offered a translation just in case. However, what intrigues me is that this "issue" sounds like a scam.
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expressisverbis
Portugal
Local time: 08:04
Member (2015)
English to Portuguese
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| A style guide or any reference material | Aug 21 |
Next time that you take a translation test, read the test first and ask questions if you have any doubts.
Another important thing is if the translation agency has a style guide or any reference material from the client, ask them to send it to you.
These documents will serve as an auxiliary reference and proof in the event of any flaw/error/misunderstanding, no matter how minor it can be.
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