A guide to language editing. What is the difference between editing and proofreading?
Proofreading, editing and text adaptation can be crucial details that allow your text to ascend from being good to great. The three expressions have a lot in common, however, they all have slightly different meanings. This means that combining them may be necessary at times to produce a well-written text or translation. This article will take a deep dive into these various steps, looking at what proofreading, editing and text adaptation are and comparing differences and similarities between them.
What is language editing?
Language editing is an umbrella term describing different ways to review and revise texts.
It could be a text written by yourself or that someone translated for you. Language editing can however also be regarded as a separate step when working as a professional translator, whereby a proofreader or a language specialist provides a linguistic evaluation of a text. This includes moving around, shortening or reformulating an utterance when needed.
The language editor focuses on word choice and idiomatic expressions within the text, its layout and context. In other words, language editing involves checking and assessing a text to ensure it fits into its intended context.
Language editing is performed before the final review of the translated version, when the translation is compared against the original to make sure nothing is missing and specific guidelines were followed. Language editing can thus include all of the following: reworking, proofreading, checking the spelling or rewriting a text.
A common approach when dealing with language review is to let a person who has not worked with the text before read through it and suggest possible changes. Both language editing and proofreading contribute to a better and more accurate translation. It is not significant whether the translation and the language editing take place separately or are included in the same process. Proofreading is an important step in creating the perfect translation.
What is proofreading?
The primary purpose of proofreading is to improve a text from a lexical and syntactic perspective by correcting, for instance, incorrect grammar, punctuation or any spelling mistakes. It can be seen as a language review of a text at surface level. Proofreading is more often than not the very last step in the editing process to ensure a text is correct and well-written. For best results, proofreading should be carried out by a professional proofreader or translator in their native language.
Language adaptation or language editing of a text is, in most cases, more time-consuming than a ‘pure’ proofreading, because it does not just focus on spelling and grammar mistakes, but reviews the source message and objective as well.
Our Tip: Do not underestimate proofreading. Never skip the last linguistic check of the text, regardless of whether it is meant for the general public or industry-specific, no matter the text type or the purpose it serves.
Novoterms language editing services
Novoterm offers proofreading, editing and text adaptation performed by experienced translators and linguists who always work in their native language. We ensure that your texts are both grammatically and idiomatically correct, adapted to your target group and work as they should within a given context. Proofreading and language editing are always included in our translation services. It is our way of ensuring that our texts are accurate and fulfill their intended purpose.
For further information about our services and prices for proofreading, editing and text adaptation, please contact Novoterm today and we will be pleased to help you!
“The text above is written for online marketing purposes. The opinions are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Novoterm.”
