Asking about a touchy subject: English ability


I am working with some Japanese authors and doing translations of their works,
and in communicating with them I have frequently run into the need to ask them
to review my translation _if_ they have sufficient English skills.

The issue here is that I think the average Japanese person has some English
skills, but I am not sure each author can comprehend enough to be of any use
in the review process. I want to say this in a polite (probably indirect way),
without upsetting them.

My first crack at this would be the below:

[code]

    〜さんの英語力はよく分かりませんが、よかったら英訳を校正していただけないでしょうか？
    
[/code]

However I think this is not necessarily the most natural phrasing, and may be
also considered rude. Another more indirect way could be:

[code]

    ある程度の英語力は必要ですが、よかったら英訳を校正していただけないでしょうか？
    
[/code]

Also, probably unnatural. One more that is even less direct:

[code]

    ご興味があれば、英訳の校正の方も是非手伝って頂きたいと思います。
    
[/code]

I am guessing that it will be hard for me to find a polite expression if I
choose to explicitly say "if you know English well enough".

If anyone can offer any suggestions on whether it would be safe to use the
above phrases, or can offer any more appropriate ones, I'd appreciate it.




I don't think there is any language in which these kind of sentences would not
be very rude.

It's like if I told you in English :

> I don't know if you are good enough, but....

You are translating their work, they want it to look good.  
So just ask them if they want to review it or not.  
If they say no, it is because they don't believe it will do any good with
their level of understanding of the English language.  
If they are confident in their capabilities, they will accept... Most likely.

If you are not getting paid, I don't think you should worry too much but if
you are getting paid, asking them to review your translation might in some
cases gives the image that you cannot do what you were paid for properly.  
The end result is in English and you are the best placed to know if it is good
or not. If you have a doubt, it means that you think you didn't comprehend the
Japanese text properly.  
You should note these down, and clarify these part only with them(They don't
need English skills for that).  
Be careful not to ask them about doubts that only rely on Japanese skills, you
should search about these yourself. Only ask to clarify complicated things
relating to their work, company or very advanced area of expertise.(No shame
in wanting to properly understand how to explain about rocket propulsion
system work etc...).

I did do some translating jobs for a traveling company for about a year, but
stopped because of all the headaches. Translating bus stop names from the
country side that cannot be googled and that none of my Japanese co-workers
could read was killing me.




I don't think there is any language in which these kind of sentences would not
be very rude.

It's like if I told you in English :

> I don't know if you are good enough, but....

You are translating their work, they want it to look good.  
So just ask them if they want to review it or not.  
If they say no, it is because they don't believe it will do any good with
their level of understanding of the English language.  
If they are confident in their capabilities, they will accept... Most likely.

If you are not getting paid, I don't think you should worry too much but if
you are getting paid, asking them to review your translation might in some
cases gives the image that you cannot do what you were paid for properly.  
The end result is in English and you are the best placed to know if it is good
or not. If you have a doubt, it means that you think you didn't comprehend the
Japanese text properly.  
You should note these down, and clarify these part only with them(They don't
need English skills for that).  
Be careful not to ask them about doubts that only rely on Japanese skills, you
should search about these yourself. Only ask to clarify complicated things
relating to their work, company or very advanced area of expertise.(No shame
in wanting to properly understand how to explain about rocket propulsion
system work etc...).

I did do some translating jobs for a traveling company for about a year, but
stopped because of all the headaches. Translating bus stop names from the
country side that cannot be googled and that none of my Japanese co-workers
could read was killing me.

