Poll: When you encounter a blatant typo in a source text, what is your default "style"? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "When you encounter a blatant typo in a source text, what is your default "style"?".
View the poll results »
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I’ve been working with the same group of clients for ages, so I know how they react to my comments; it really depends on the client. In most cases, I correct the mistake without saying anything, but I have one or two clients who are a bit more “picky,” so I'll send them a message pointing out the typo.
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I normally inform the client, either right away or when I deliver the final document. Clients are, by and large, grateful. If I can correct the original text, I will.
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Occasionally it's just a simple thing, like here "commrent" (?)
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Luis M. Sosa 
Ecuador
Local time: 06:07
English to Spanish
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a note in the "Comment" field in the CAT tool. Not only typos, I also share a comment whenever I find a conceptual mistake.
| | | | WolfgangS
France
Local time: 13:07
English to German
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| If I had to notify | May 22 |
all the typos, mistakes, unclear, wrong etc. text occurrences (in English) to my best client, I'd barely have time to start translating.
| | | | jyuan_us
United States
Local time: 07:07
Member (2005)
English to Chinese
+ ...
| I'll correct it if my know I'm right | May 22 |
For example, if you see today's date typed as 05/22/20266, the easiest way is just to correct it. Any other approaches are a waste of time and make those involve embarrassed.
| | | | William Bowley
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:07
Spanish to English
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| Re-word the question? | May 22 |
Poor word usage from a website that is supposed to be focused on exactly that, words and translation.
"Blatant" suggests a deliberate error that is intentional and openly made. Why on earth would a source document contain such a thing? (Though in this day and age, given how standards have fallen far into the abyss, I wouldn't be surprised!)
[Edited at 2026-05-22 14:04 GMT]
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| For the defence (yes!) | May 23 |
I can't believe I'm stepping in to defend the wording of a ProZ poll question, but ...
William Bowley wrote:
"Blatant" suggests a deliberate error that is intentional and openly made.
No, it doesn't suggest that. Depending on the context, it might imply that, but being deliberate is not part of the basic definition of "blatant".
It just means that something is so obvious, you can't miss it - like the examples given in earlier posts here.
| | | | Oxana G
Local time: 14:07
Member (2021)
English to Russian
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| Leave as it is but comment when needed | May 29 |
Not always it is possible to fix the source text, and no point of wasting time correcting some small obvious errors... So, it depends on the situation, I comment sometimes, but if the error results in double meaning or creates ambiguity, then I ask the client.
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