Notice I said “better than average,” not perfect.

When read with a copy editor’s eye, even such august publications as the New York Times and the Economist are rife with errors.

Fellow translator Bill Lise used to say that the first and last time a document is fully understood is when it’s translated. We tend to notice all the errors and logical inconsistencies, because we’ve actually got to understand exactly what the author meant in order to translate the document.

Nevertheless, my point is that native readers of the source document generally navigate these problems in the source document with aplomb, and thus we should, too. The kinds of complaints you usually hear from beginning translators is that the source document is illogical, or that the exposition is poor, when often this is simply because the translator isn’t familiar with the conventions of the source language.

However important these documents may be to the client, they are too often not executed with due care. I see it as part of my job to address these issues where possible, though in the case of a notary’s document for which I am preparing a certified translation, there isn’t much I can do about the fact that he spells his client’s name five different ways in four pages.

Simply receiving a source document which has been spellchecked is a highlight of some days. It does not happen often. Clients who perform even the most basic competent QA on documents before sending them to me are held in the highest esteem.

My first draft is a literal translation of the text. I translate the meaning of the words and sentences into English, but the style still mirrors that of the original text. It is only during stage two of the translation process – careful editing – that I eliminate typically French sentence constructions and turn my translation into a more reader-friendly text in English.

I agree with you that the “poorly written source text” argument most likely boils down to the fact that the translator has not fully understood the source language text. The skill in translation comes from working out what the author has (often intelligbly) written, and producing a stylish, flowing translation in the target language.

If your translation sounds stilted, it is probably that you have completed step one of the translation process, but not step two. Re-read your work, try and work out exactly what the author is trying to say, and re-write it in your own words. Chances are that by doing this, you will inject clarity and style into your translations.