Where translation specialists meet!
Where translation specialists meet!
Explore the diversity of languages and cultures around the world
Translation and localization are fundamental processes within any Global Information Management (GIM) solution. Moving content through the localization supply chain consists of many different tasks, but they all fall into two broad categories:
Activities related to the translation and localization of content, and activities associated with managing the tasks and processes needed to support localization.
Translation and localization activities include all linguistic tasks related to the actual rendering of source words into target languages. These tasks require someone to know the context of the content and have access to translation assets, such as translation memory and terminology. Translation management delivers the contextual information to the translator, provides access to centralized translation assets, improves the quality and consistency of the localized material, and reduces translation costs.
Transaction activities include project management, vendor administration, workflow, costing, content and translation asset management, quality assurance, and other activities as content passes through the entire localization process. As content becomes more modular, updates more frequent and the end-to-end process more complex, translation management handles these complexities, applies consistency to the processes and significantly reduces transaction costs.
It is a key requirement for modern organizations to reduce translation costs and improve consistency while reducing lead times. It is possible to reduce costs and increase efficiency and consistency by reusing previous translations for future translation projects. Translation memories are an invaluable asset for a company's success because they deliver instant returns. Without a translation memory to capture this repeated content for future reuse, your translators will be localizing the same phrases time and time again. This can slow down project completion and cause you to pay for the same translation multiple times. Not using a translation memory can also reduce the quality of localized content and lead to customer dissatisfaction.
Translation memories can aid the localization process and dramatically improving both quality and efficiency. All of a customer’s previous translations can be stored for future reuse so that the same sentence never needs to be translated—or paid for—twice. Furthermore, the acceleration of project completion will mean that you will be able to accept more work and increase your revenues.
Beyond practical advantages, language acquisition fosters empathy and cultural appreciation, breaking down barriers between communities.
A translation memory is a linguistic database that continually grows and learns from the translator.
All previous translations are accumulated in source and target language pairs called translation units. This information is stored in the translation memory and is reused so that the same sentence never has to be translated twice. The more the translation memories are built up, the faster translators can work, the faster you can deliver your translation projects, and the more money you make.
Using Trados 2011 Suite as an example, the translator would open the source file and applies the translation memory so that any “100% matches” (identical matches) or “fuzzy matches” (similar, but not identical matches) within the text are instantly extracted and placed within the target file.
As the translator works through the source file, the "matches” suggested by the translation memory can be either accepted or overridden with new alternatives. If a translation unit is manually updated, then it is stored within the translation memory for future use as well as for repetition in the current text. In a similar way, all segments in the target file without a “match” are translated manually and automatically added to the translation memory.
Translation memories should be used by anyone who translates text from one language to another. They are most effective when localizing documents with a high level of repetition.
Translation memory is also very helpful when translating content out of context. An increasing number of organizations rely on Content Management Systems (CMS) to manage their information. A CMS allows individual blocks of text, rather than entire documents, to be created, edited, and then published in a variety of different formats. A translation memory helps to make this process quicker and more consistent.
Furthermore, even if a translation memory is not being used, the dedicated translation environment allows translators to extract text from the source file and focus on localizing the text without worrying about the tags. For example, with an HTML file, all of the coding will be hidden so you do not have to waste time searching through unnecessary lines for the text that requires translation.
Delivering content into different languages is a complex process that involves people across the world. The investment in delivering such content should not be wasted. This is where the Alpha TransTech translation memory comes into effect.
Storing all previously translated content into a single, virtual, multilingual repository allows a corporation to take advantage of previously translated content when delivering new information to a global audience.
When new content is delivered for translation, the first step is to compare that content against any information already stored within the translation memory. Any content that has already been translated is reused, leaving only a small component that needs to be delivered to human translation across the global translation supply chain.
A translation memory tool stores segments of text as translation units in source and target pairs. A segment can consist of a sentence or paragraph.
A terminology tool, on the other hand, is a searchable database that contains a list of multilingual terms and rules regarding their usage. Terminology is typically used in conjunction with a translation memory.
Machine translation automatically translates a document without any human input.
These kinds of tools are fast, but they result in a poor translation because a machine cannot understand the subtleties or contexts of language. As a result, quality and accuracy tend to be around fifty to seventy percent. Therefore, it is not advisable to send the raw form directly to your customers. In addition, machine translation can be used for only a limited number of supported languages.
With translation memory software, such as Trados 2011 Suite, the number of supported languages is unlimited, and the actual translation is performed by a professional translator. The translation memory assists by presenting 100% matches and fuzzy matches from the legacy translation database so that the translator can work with greater efficiency, consistency, and quality.
Terminology is the study of terms and their use. Terms are words and phrases which describe products, services, or industry jargon. They frequently drive competitive differentiation. Most companies use an increasing number of words that are unique to their industry or organization. These unique words need to be accurately stored, shared, and translated. Terms could be anything from a product name to a marketing tag line.
A termbase is a central repository, similar to a database, which allows for the systematic management of approved terms in both source and target languages. It also allows you to control the terms you define for your business and therefore helps you control your brand consistency. Use of a termbase alongside your existing translation environment ensures that your business can become more efficient and produce more accurate and consistent translations.
It is important to manage your corporate terminology so that you can guarantee that a consistent and accurate message is conveyed in all customer touchpoints and languages. Without managing terminology, it is likely that inconsistencies will occur with both source and translated content. Such inconsistencies confuse and frustrate your customers, damaging your brand and negatively affecting customer satisfaction and loyalty.
By centrally managing multilingual terminology, multiple departments and translators are able to access the approved company terminology and apply it consistently across documentation, ensuring a consistent global brand.
For global organizations with multiple content creators operating around the globe, successfully maintaining a consistent brand message in multiple languages is no easy task. Inconsistent terminology causes issues such as the following:
By successfully managing your corporate terminology, not only are you protecting your organization’s global brand, you are also creating a foundation for consistent communication and knowledge sharing throughout your organization.
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