Editing consists in reviewing a translation already completed by a qualified translator. It is a usual step in the translation of material intended for publication. It involves making sure that:
- no text was omitted in the translation
- the terminology used by the translator is appropriate and consistent
- the translation is free from grammatical, spelling, or typographical errors
- punctuation is correct
- currency and unit conversions are accurate
Changes are usually made by overwriting the translated file. In Microsoft Word, it is also possible to highlight changes as they are entered. They can subsequently be accepted or rejected one by one or all at once.
Editing does not consist in rewriting a badly translated document. If a translation requires too many changes to be acceptable, then you might want to have it done again from scratch. If this situation should occur, I would inform you rapidly so that you can make a decision on what you want to do from there.
If editing is followed by desktop publishing (DTP), the final document should be proofread for minor errors that might have been overlooked or introduced during DTP.