Tech12_Rendering_Guidelines_for_Contractors.pptx

DLPT5

Rendering Guidelines

Test Review & Production Division

DEFENSE LANGUAGE INSTITUTE FOREIGN LANGUAGE CENTER

Bottom Line The overall objective for the rendering is to convey what the target language text says, in as natural and accurate English as possible. The audience is assessment specialists (ILR specialists, test-item reviewers, PMs, and editors) who may or may not understand the target language.

Footnotes are encouraged, when necessary.

Bracketed explanations are encouraged, when necessary.

Main Purpose Reviewers need to

Understand the passage Confirm content accuracy of

Confirm Inaccuracy/Unkeyability of

- Distractors

Rendering (1) Characteristics of a good Rendering:

1. Proper American English mechanics (punctuation, italicization, quotation marks, etc.)

2. Proper American English article & preposition usage, especially where needed for clarity

3. [REC] to indicate TL words recognizable from knowledge of English in RC and LC

4. [footnotes] to provide necessary background information

Rendering (2)

5. An English rendering needs to be an accurate and faithful representation of the target language original. Nothing should be added or removed by the renderer.

6. The aim of a “good” rendering is to represent the target language original as if it were written for an English-speaking audience.

Rendering (3)

It should be possible to use the English rendering as a litmus test:

If all characteristics 1 through 6 are present and the English rendering is still incomprehensible to a reader unfamiliar with the target language, then the passage may not be suitable for testing purposes.

Rendering (4) The ordering of words and ideas in the rendering should match the original as closely as possible, but not take precedence over clarity. For example:

DO: Today at 10:30 a.m. we will announce the result of our [University of Thai] chamber-of-commerce poll on the impact of the Euro that was conducted with entrepreneurs.

DO NOT: Today at 10:30 [a.m.], we will announce the impact of the Euro which we have surveyed the entrepreneurs in the [University of Thai] chamber of commerce Poll.

Rendering (5) In instances in which the target language wording varies significantly from the English, a note should ideally be made in the footnotes.

For example:

Ten thousand representatives of the Ironland united territorial community are electing 13 village leaders [1] to the country’s parliament.

Footnotes [1: The term translated as “leader” literally means “sovereign” in the TL. However, the word “leader” is used throughout rendering.]

Rendering (6) Potential sources of confusion in the TL passage that might be obscured by a straightforward English rendering should be noted in a bracket or footnote.

For example:

GM: Den Mann hat der Hund gebissen!

EN: The dog bit the man! [1] Footnote: [1: It is the man whom the dog bit.] Low-Level readers may think it means, “The man bit the dog!”

May be dependent on ILR level!!

LC: Gender ID All Listening renderings will identify the gender of the speaker(s)

Gender is indicated by:

- M (Male) F (Female)

- (M) or (F) [in parentheses] when following some other identification, e.g. “Reporter (F)”

- M1, M2 or F1, F2 when there are several speakers of the same gender

Gender ID: Example M: Hello?

F: Hello, who is this?

Visitor (F): How do I find the museum?

Resident (M): Just follow this road.

M1: Can you tell me how to get to the park?

M2: Turn right and go for two blocks.

Brackets (1) Use square brackets [ ] not parentheses ( ) to indicate explanatory information.

Example:

above the horsehair [hanging by a thread]

Brackets (2)

DO:

Provide clarifying information when necessary; for example:

But it [sales rate] is affected by the influence of New Year outings.

DO NOT:

Introduce faulty interpretations; for example:

Almost 10 thousand are participants of elections [eligible voters].

[In TL context, “Participants of elections” = people who actually voted in an election; VERSUS “Eligible voters” = population who is allowed to vote but may not actually have voted]

Brackets (3) Avoid lengthy explanations in brackets, keep it brief (four words or fewer).

DO:

sherwal [baggy trouser-like garment]

DO NOT:

sherwal [A baggy trouser-like garment worn by Kurdish men]

Footnotes (1) Explanation that requires more than four words should be put into a footnote.

Footnote numbers in the running text are shown full-size within square brackets [1], [2], etc. Do NOT use superscript.1, 2, etc.

Example:

If there is a shutter-down strike [1], families of workers may go hungry.

Footnotes (2) Footnotes start two line spaces below the rendering and are preceded by the same full-size number, followed by a colon. The closing bracket should follow the last footnote.

Example:

[1: All shops, factories, and offices closed in protest.

2: Protests caused widespread unrest.]

Footnotes (3) Footnotes should be as concise as possible, i.e. including only the most pertinent information.

Do not copy-paste entire Wikipedia entries:

[2: Viktor Yanukovych, president of Ukraine February 2010–February 2014, fled to Russia under duress from the Maidan protests. Yanukovych supporters have argued that the democratically elected president was illegally removed from power in a coup, while his opponents (and ultimately Ukraine’s parliament) argue he abdicated power when he fled to Russia.]

RC: Background Color When the stem of an RC item targets a word or phrase from the TL passage, the exact word or phrase that will be tested must be highlighted by changing the background color to gray in the Stem AND in both the TL passage and the rendering.

TL: […] attraverso quella che viene chiamata «staffetta generazionale».

EN: […] called [a] “generational [REC] relay race.”

Stem: What is the reason the author criticizes the idea of «staffetta generazionale»?

Spelling of Place Names Use American English conventional spelling for place names.

If in doubt, consult the NGA (National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency) GEOnet Names Server (GNS) at https://geonames.nga.mil/namesgaz/ Exceptions will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

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