• Never assume you understand the source text perfectly.
• Never assume your understanding of the source text is detailed enough to
enable you to translate it adequately.
• Always analyze for text type, genre, register, rhetorical function, etc.
• Always analyze the source text's syntax and semantics, making sure you know
in detail what it is saying, what it is not saying, and what it is implying.
• Always analyze the syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic relationship between
the source language (especially as it appears in this particular source text)
and the target language, so that you know what each language is capable and
incapable of doing and saying, and can make all necessary adjustments.
• Always pay close attention to the translation commission (what you are asked
to do, by whom, for whom, and why), and consider the special nature and needs
of your target audience; if you aren't given enough information about that
audience, ask; if the commissioner doesn't know, use your professional judge-
ment to project an audience.
