The process of Translation Quality Assessment (TQA) is a sophisticated and multifactor process which represents vital step in the bigger process of localization and translation. TQA is the process that guarantees the delivery of a final target text with a satisfactory benchmark of quality. One main factor in the process of TQA is Error Severity Categorization.
Errors found in a target localized/translated text are categorized into three main categories. Such categories are Critical, Major, and Minor. In this article we will get an overview on these categories, with examples on each of them.
- Critical Errors:
Critical errors are ones that could result in dangerous consequences that cannot be tolerated. Such consequences could be represented as follows:
1- Life-threatening consequences:
The first subcategory of critical errors is ones that could result in life-threatening consequences. We can see an example on that in the localization of medical devices.
Source (EN):
Adjust the intravenous (IV) injection device to 3 mL per minute.
Target (AR):
اضبط جهاز الحقن الوريدي على 3 سم في الدقيقة.
The unit of measure here was wrongly translated into (cm) instead of (ml), which could threaten the life of the patient.
2- Safety consequences:
The second subcategory of critical errors is ones that could result in safety consequences. Safety errors could be critical since they might jeopardize the safety of the user or the proper functioning of the product. We can see an example on that in electric devices.
Source (EN):
Connect the heater to a 110-volt outlet.
Target (AR):
قم بتوصيل المدفأة بمقبس بقدرة 220 فولت.
The voltage here was wrongly converted to 220 volts instead of 110 volts. This could jeopardize the safety of the used and the proper functioning of the device.
3- Legal consequences:
The third subcategory of critical errors is ones that could result in legal consequences. Legal errors could be critical since they might result in one party bearing legal liabilities by mistake. An example to that could be seen in service agreements.
Source (EN):
The Company shall not be liable to indemnify the other party under this Agreement with regard to any potential loss of data.
Target (AR):
تعد الشركة مسؤولة عن تعويض الطرف الآخر بموجب هذه الاتفاقية بخصوص أي فقدان محتمل للبيانات.
In this example, the expression (shall not) was wrongly translated as (shall), which would result in the payment of indemnifications by the company, contrary to what was stated in the original service agreement.
- Major Errors:
Major errors could be seen in mistranslation errors that alter the meaning and mislead the user/reader. Let’s see an example to that.
Source (EN):
The TV comes equipped with 3 HDMI ports.
Target (AR):
يأتي جهاز التلفزيون مزودًا بأربعة مخارج بتقنية HDMI.
The translation here stated that the TV has (4) HDMI ports instead of (3). This would mislead the user and cause confusion.
- Minor Errors:
Minor errors in localization/translation come in many forms, but the common factor about them is that they do not result in serious consequences or prevent the user from using the product. Subcategories of minor errors include grammatical and accuracy mistakes. Let’s see an example to that.
Source (EN):
The device can be used by 4 users simultaneously.
Target (AR):
يمكن استخدام الجهاز بواسطة أربعة مستخدمون بشكل متزامن
The word (users) here was translated in Arabic as (مستخدمون) instead of (مستخدمين), which is a grammatical mistake that won’t affect the meaning. The same goes also for the missing full stop at the end of the segment, which is an accuracy mistake.