http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Articles/Language/Translation A listing of the most recently indexed works about Articles and Language and Translation in the field of technical communication. en-us Copyright (c) 2005-08 by the EServer. All rights reserved. tclib-editorial@eserver.org (TC Library Editorial Board) webmaster@eserver.org (Geoffrey Sauer) http://tc.eserver.org/images/newlogo.gif http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Articles/Language/Translation http://tc.eserver.org/35832.html http://tc.eserver.org/35832.html When there’s a decision to be made and several gormim are consulted, a complication for the translator is that a גורם can be an individual or a whole department or company. Personally I sometimes get away with office as a translation because the גורמים can presumably all be found in offices of their own. But only sometimes. A גורם that you consult could also be a sample of schoolchildren, shoppers, or beachgoers. Sometimes גורמים can be stakeholders, but again only sometimes. http://tc.eserver.org/35668.html http://tc.eserver.org/35668.html If you have struggled with a good way to assess the countless translation agencies vying for your business or looked for a way to assess your current provider, you’re not alone. Companies around the globe have longed for a standard objective means by which to carry out their assessments. Some help has arrived in the form of European Standard EN 15038:2006, “Translation Services — Service Requirements.” http://tc.eserver.org/35682.html http://tc.eserver.org/35682.html It is not surprising that myths, half-truths, and misunderstandings abound regarding machine translation: It seems as if the experience most players in the translation field have with this technology does not go beyond toying a little with one of the free online translation tools. Almost every week, I come across an article informing its readers either that machine translation is and always will be a complete waste of time or that machine translation, while being a waste of time today, might actually be useful some time in the distant future. In the hope of setting the record straight, here is a closer look at some of the most common myths about machine translation. http://tc.eserver.org/35581.html http://tc.eserver.org/35581.html An article about machine translation was translated into Spanish by Google Translate (www.google.co.uk/language_tools?hl=en). In September 2009, professional translators evaluated the translation for fluency and for accuracy of meaning. http://tc.eserver.org/35422.html http://tc.eserver.org/35422.html People often ask us which commercial market is the most advanced when it comes to viewing linguistic diversity as a boon instead of a bane. Language service providers (LSPs) in other countries often point to the United States, which in 2010 will support an estimated market of US$765 million for telephone interpreting services, largely generated from organizations that sell goods and services to its multicultural residents. However, is the U.S. market truly 'mature' when it comes to embracing multilingualism? Not by a long shot. http://tc.eserver.org/35424.html http://tc.eserver.org/35424.html Optimizing the translation process has two basic components: improving the writers' source texts and improving the translators' process. For the moment, we'll focus on the writer's job. Dear Translator: Please remember that most writers never had any training at all about translation and usually know one lonely language. Many of them can only rely on the limited writing advice that they got in school. They're never aware of how they can make life hellish for translators and for international readers. So, don't blame them; help them out. Pass this list on to them and discuss it until they understand. http://tc.eserver.org/35275.html http://tc.eserver.org/35275.html Translation memory is not a burden to be vilified, but I do think translation agencies and some TEnT developers should think long and hard about their practices. We pay for our tools – not the agency. Why should we be paid less to use them? That just doesn’t make sense. http://tc.eserver.org/34970.html http://tc.eserver.org/34970.html The purpose of this research is to compare several machine learning techniques on the task of Asian language text classification, such as Chinese and Japanese where no word boundary information is available in written text. The paper advocates a simple language modeling based approach for this task. http://tc.eserver.org/34598.html http://tc.eserver.org/34598.html Over the past two years my team conducted an extensive review of translation process and costs, and we found a lot of ways to reduce translation time and costs. This including exploring use of machine translation. In the end, we found that machine translation created more hassles than it fixed. It was hard to explain to upper management, but the concept that helped most was explaining that translators aren't translating word for word, they're translating thought for thought. http://tc.eserver.org/34600.html http://tc.eserver.org/34600.html Have you ever wished you could remember everything you've written over the past few years, and reuse it whenever needed? Now that would be a valuable, timesaving tool. In the same vein, it would be worth a great deal if a translator could recall every sentence translated for a client, and recycle it wherever appropriate. Today there are tools that help translators do exactly that. These tools are programs, called translation memory software, which allow translators to store and retrieve text. Using this software saves time and money and contributes to a better translation. http://tc.eserver.org/34602.html http://tc.eserver.org/34602.html When you have materials that need to be translated into a foreign language, how do you decide where to send them? Your basic choice is between an agency that uses only freelance translators or one that has employee translators in-house. Your decision on which to use should depend on the type of final product you are looking for and the subject matter of the material to be translated. This article describes the two types of agencies in more detail, to help you make an informed decision regarding the type of agency that will work best for you. We have tried to maintain an impartial view of both types while making potential clients aware of the industry and its various practices and levels of quality. http://tc.eserver.org/34603.html http://tc.eserver.org/34603.html Just as developing an English document may take months as it crosses the desks of subject matter experts, sales and marketing managers, and editors, so does producing translations. Documents to be translated can go before a translator, editor, subject matter expert, proofreader, in-country reviewer, and client before a final version is ready for distribution. http://tc.eserver.org/34589.html http://tc.eserver.org/34589.html Whether you are new at the translation business or a veteran of many globalization projects, a benchmarking study of your translation supplier(s) is a worthwhile endeavor. In benchmarking, you compare suppliers against one another based on specific criteria. The suppliers’ performance in the study can reassure you that your current relationship is a good one, or can lead to you a more compatible agency. http://tc.eserver.org/34590.html http://tc.eserver.org/34590.html There is no single factor that will determine your best choice of a translation agency. It should not be based on price alone, because as the old saying goes, “you get what you pay for”. Nor should it be based solely on the company’s size, number of employees, or any similar strictly objective measurement factor. Although such information may be important, and should be considered, it is just part of the total picture you need to adequately evaluate an agency. http://tc.eserver.org/34591.html http://tc.eserver.org/34591.html Your company's overseas personnel are important to its success. It's natural to want their input on translated documents. Including them in a review of the translation before it's published gives them a chance to contribute their knowledge. Understanding the purpose and structure of the review can help you avoid trouble down the road. Here are some details to consider in advance. http://tc.eserver.org/34593.html http://tc.eserver.org/34593.html Many methods and measures for evaluating machine translation (MT) systems have been developed over the years. The ISLE project, funded jointly by the European Union and the US National Science Foundation, is continuing the work started in the EU's EAGLES project on systematizing these methods and measures. http://tc.eserver.org/34594.html http://tc.eserver.org/34594.html As the global economy expands, American companies are translating large numbers of documents into multiple languages. As a technical writer, my job is to read documents in German, Italian, Danish, French, Spanish, Greek, and Polish among other languages. I also review documents in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, but the process is harder and less productive. This article will provide a few practical tips for "proofing" translations of Western documents. http://tc.eserver.org/34011.html http://tc.eserver.org/34011.html Machine translation (MT) is the automatic translation of text using only software without the help of a human translator. An alternative name for machine translation is automated translation. http://tc.eserver.org/34026.html http://tc.eserver.org/34026.html Money paid to qualified technical writers and translators in a localization project is money spent very well indeed. Why? Because the worst thing for a project is to have the customers or end users switch to another product since they either cannot understand the instructions and the way an interface works, or the localized copy contains embarrassing mistakes that damage the brand name and image. http://tc.eserver.org/33821.html http://tc.eserver.org/33821.html Machine translation often gives humorous translations or incorrect translations. Usually, a bad translation is because the source text is not clear in a way that a machine can 'understand'. If text is optimised for machine translation, machine translation gives excellent results. There are two sets of texts. The first set is written in standard English. The second set is equivalent to the standard English text, but it is optimised for machine translation. Google Translate was used to translate the texts into Bulgarian and into Spanish. http://tc.eserver.org/32274.html http://tc.eserver.org/32274.html Authors of scientific articles in one language are often required to provide abstracts of their papers in a second language, and they use a variety of ways to achieve this. http://tc.eserver.org/32206.html http://tc.eserver.org/32206.html Using a process called localization, language professionals translate the source document’s words and adapt its content to the needs and norms of the target country or market. Because language professionals can work only with what they are given, the document’s creator is partly responsible for ensuring the localization process is effective. After all, poorly written English cannot be turned into good Japanese. http://tc.eserver.org/32220.html http://tc.eserver.org/32220.html How do you identify the many options available for localizing your products or materials, and how do you select the right ones for your company? http://tc.eserver.org/31647.html http://tc.eserver.org/31647.html A-dec Inc. is a dental equipment manufacturer headquartered in Newberg, Oregon. A 40-year leader in the dental products industry, A-dec/spl trade/ has targeted the international market as their growth market. The change in scope has brought with it the recognition that the A-dec Technical Communications team must address how to align their content to support an international audience, as well as clearly communicate the company's core values. The process has been ongoing and dynamic as new discoveries occur. They faced the challenge of understanding the differences between translation and localization, which started their education in the area of necessary requirements for competing in the international marketplace. This case study discusses their journey towards creating a globalized product. http://tc.eserver.org/31422.html http://tc.eserver.org/31422.html The issue of translation is a global one and doesn't just relate to mistranslations by American and British English speakers. Today, poor translation can be particularly dangerous given the speed at which events are reported. How dangerous? According to the Dow Jones Newswire of 12 May 2005, one mistake was worth several billion U.S. dollars. http://tc.eserver.org/30536.html http://tc.eserver.org/30536.html For software products to succeed in the international marketplace, the documentation team needs to plan for translation from the beginning of product development. Experience shows that the following factors can contribute to the elusive goal of simultaneous release of software domestically and internationally: early freeze of the product interface, a well-thought-out translation plan, agreed-upon procedures and goals, standard tools for creating art and text files, and early editing. This paper gives practical tips for avoiding problems in translation. http://tc.eserver.org/30492.html http://tc.eserver.org/30492.html Conservative estimates suggest that the translation market is currently over $1 billion and growing at a rate of 15% annually. The impact of an increasingly global economy continues to be felt by many business people, not the least of whom are the technical communicators who are charged with the mission of writing with international audiences in mind. Producing culturally appropriate, quality translations requires an awareness of how documents intended for foreign markets should be written. The purpose of the proposed Technical Translation and Software Localization PIC is to increase awareness of localization issues and to provide a forum for discussion, information exchange and education for those technical communicators who are involved in international communication. http://tc.eserver.org/30516.html http://tc.eserver.org/30516.html Machine translation, the use of computers for translating between languages, is only now coming of age, just at a time when there is increasing need for such technology. Views of machine translation range from realistic assessments to extravagant statements for and against the technology. The reality is that machine translation can provide high-speed automated quality translation depending on a variety of factors; it is not a panacea for all translation problems. Successful machine translation requires human-computer interaction which promotes the strengths of each. Machine translation has reached a stage at which it can contribute to multilingual technical communication. http://tc.eserver.org/30394.html http://tc.eserver.org/30394.html Caterpillar is developing an Automatic Machine Translation (AMT) system for translating product support literature into eleven languages. Source language authors write in Caterpillar Technical English (CTE) which uses a constrained English language domain and sophisticated spelling, lexical, grammar and disambiguation software. CTE tools are accessed through pull down menus in the author's text editor. Integrating the source language author into the translations process using CTE has allowed the development of the AMT system which completely eliminates the need for human post-editing of the translated service literature. http://tc.eserver.org/30348.html http://tc.eserver.org/30348.html Use active voice, because it is easier to understand. If the material is being translated into a language which frequently uses passive voice, such as German, the translator will make the accommodation for that language. http://tc.eserver.org/30349.html http://tc.eserver.org/30349.html Leverage, CAT, translation memory, and aligning are quite interrelated and build on each other in the process. http://tc.eserver.org/30343.html http://tc.eserver.org/30343.html The liability of a translated manual is several times greater than the English version. This increased liability can be tied directly to the accuracy of the translation. http://tc.eserver.org/30342.html http://tc.eserver.org/30342.html As more companies sell in the global market and recognize the importance of customer service and satisfaction, they are beginning to realize the importance of translating software and documentation into foreign languages. Once your own company realizes that it needs to translate its documentation, to whom will it turn for project management? You, of course. The technical writer is in an ideal position to control the translation of documentation and the textual element of software. http://tc.eserver.org/30278.html http://tc.eserver.org/30278.html 'Syntactic cues' are function words and punctuation marks that indicate syntactic relationships. Research in psycholinguistics, reading, and reading in a foreign language has shown that readers rely heavily on these cues to help them analyze and predict sentence structure. Yet technical writers and editors routinely eliminate many of these cues from their writing in the mistaken belief that they are improving readability. This workshop will show you how to use syntactic cues not only to improve readability, but also to eliminate ambiguities that cause problems for translators. This approach does not require knowledge of grammatical terminology, and it will increase your sensitivity to many subtleties of the English language. http://tc.eserver.org/30154.html http://tc.eserver.org/30154.html The task of communicating in a global environment requires planning, sensitivity and expert help. The authors have developed a series of check lists and tips to guide writers, editors, and other members of the localization team through the process. http://tc.eserver.org/29662.html http://tc.eserver.org/29662.html Technical communicators have many potential advantages for managing the translation process. When the translation process is outsourced, the technical communicator can ensure that the translators have access to all the resources necessary to achieve quality documents. The same resources used to create the source document will be valuable resources to a translator. Also, the SME team can become an essential part of ensuring the quality and completeness of the translated documentation. http://tc.eserver.org/29692.html http://tc.eserver.org/29692.html When budget constraints prevent bringing overseas testers to the development lab to verify product translation, Web conferencing sessions allow the testers to work in their own countries but still communicate directly with the lab. http://tc.eserver.org/29198.html http://tc.eserver.org/29198.html This is a list of limitations of the types of automated audio translation offered by such services as Talkr.com. Since we do not see a list in their help center, we thought we would compile our own list and offer it as a wiki page for any customers to keep a list of limitations. http://tc.eserver.org/28285.html http://tc.eserver.org/28285.html The new European standard DIN EN 15038 on translation services will become effective on August 1, 2006. http://tc.eserver.org/26298.html http://tc.eserver.org/26298.html The field of machine translation (MT) was the pioneer research area in computational linguistics during the 1950s and 1960s. When it began, the assumed goal was the automatic translation of all kinds of documents at a quality equalling that of the best human translators. It became apparent very soon that this goal was impossible in the foreseeable future. http://tc.eserver.org/26300.html http://tc.eserver.org/26300.html This chapter introduces the main concepts and methods used for machine translation systems from the beginnings of research in the 1950s until about 1990; it covers the main approaches of rule-based systems (direct, interlingua, transfer, knowledge based), and the principal translation tools; and it concludes with a brief historical sketch. http://tc.eserver.org/26297.html http://tc.eserver.org/26297.html The example-based approach to MT is becoming increasingly popular. However, such is the variety of techniques and methods used that it is difficult to discern the overall conception of what example- based machine translation (EBMT) is and/or what its practitioners conceive it to be. Although definitions of MT systems are notoriously complex, an attempt is made to define EBMT in contrast to other MT architectures (RBMT and SMT). http://tc.eserver.org/26280.html http://tc.eserver.org/26280.html One of the main concerns of internationalization consists of separating the main source code from the texts, the labels, the messages and all the other objects related to the specific language in use. This article briefly explain the TMX standard and a simple TMX Java bridge. http://tc.eserver.org/26176.html http://tc.eserver.org/26176.html Machine Translation, though useful in certain cases, is still not, and may never be the one-size-fits-all solution for translation needs. Any translation used for commercial or professional purposes must be at the very least checked and double-checked by human translators. http://tc.eserver.org/25818.html http://tc.eserver.org/25818.html In China Su Manshu was mainly remembered as a pioneer of poetry translation, yet when it came to his translation of Les Misérables, the comments always centered on its unfaithfulness. No substantial study has ever been made to probe into the reasons behind such a practice. The research by such scholars as André Lefevere (1992, 1995) and Susan Bassnett (1995) on ideological manipulation of translation gives us some insight to rethink Su Manshu's translation of Les Misérables from the ideological perspective. http://tc.eserver.org/25823.html http://tc.eserver.org/25823.html An interview with the Lewis-Sebring Professor of Latin American and Latino Culture at Amherst College. http://tc.eserver.org/25819.html http://tc.eserver.org/25819.html These notes were triggered by an anecdote recently reported by trainee interpreters at the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The anecdote has to do with the way interpreters handle idiomatic expressions and more generally what is known as "culture-bound" items, or realia. http://tc.eserver.org/25816.html http://tc.eserver.org/25816.html The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the great power of film translation. This aim is accomplished by presenting the major modes of film translation, their world distribution and history, which are then followed by an analysis of dubbing and subtitling from the perspective of domestication and foreignisation. http://tc.eserver.org/25815.html http://tc.eserver.org/25815.html Todavía no existe uniformidad por indicar un método universal ni una explicación al fenómeno de la entropía, la fatal pérdida de significado que ocurre siempre que pasamos de un texto a otro. Tradicionalmente, para superar este obstáculo, se ha intentado encontrar aquella equivalencia dinámica de la que habla Nida, guardando el mensaje y no la forma del original. http://tc.eserver.org/25817.html http://tc.eserver.org/25817.html The development of trade and industry has always given rise to changes in the evolution of communities, bringing about new social forms and stratification of society. This in its turn accelerated the appearance of businesses and factories, arrival of new professions, and urbanization. Since the times of Perestroika (which was started in 1989 by Mikhail Gorbatchev) Russian society has been experiencing dramatic changes that affected the country's politics, economy and social life. In the past 15 years people's attitudes to certain things have changed gradually but profoundly. We have gotten so used to these new attitudes that it's hard to believe it hasn't always been like this. http://tc.eserver.org/25792.html http://tc.eserver.org/25792.html The European Association for Machine Translation (EAMT) is an organization that serves the growing community of people interested in MT and translation tools, including users, developers, and researchers of this increasingly viable technology. http://tc.eserver.org/25788.html http://tc.eserver.org/25788.html Machine translation is a sophisticated technology. However, it is not as sophisticated as human language. Understanding how MT works on the Web helps designers and developers prepare Web pages for MT. Preparatory tactics improve the usability of MT output. http://tc.eserver.org/25713.html http://tc.eserver.org/25713.html Machine translation is somewhat like the child who, when good, was very nice to have around but who, when bad, was just awful. For some guidance in deciding whether machine translation is likely to succeed in your particular environment. http://tc.eserver.org/25712.html http://tc.eserver.org/25712.html Translation is difficult, even for people. To begin with, you have to know two languages intimately. And even if you speak two or more languages fluently, it is not a trivial matter to produce a good translation. http://tc.eserver.org/24951.html http://tc.eserver.org/24951.html In 2002, LISA examined Translation Memory (TM) usage and trends. In 2004, LISA returned to the subject with an expanded survey that revisited the questions of 2002 and added questions on specific tool use and interest in new developments of TM. The report, The LISA 2004 Translation Memory Survey, is available free of charge from the LISA website. In this interview, we asked Arle Lommel, LISA’s Publications Manager and author of the survey report, about the significance of the findings and what they mean for the industry. http://tc.eserver.org/24441.html http://tc.eserver.org/24441.html The demand by the global market for products which have been localized has brought a whole set of issues and concerns to international technical communication. Of particulur interest is the need to translate technical documentation into a number of languages without sacrificing the necessary timeto-market. Old solutions and processes are insufficient. This paper explores some of the computational tools now offered by the machine translation industry for the facilitation of multilingual document translation as modern corporations need it. http://tc.eserver.org/24168.html http://tc.eserver.org/24168.html Machine translation has improved greatly over the years, but one type of human communication, figurative language, remains difficult for computers to tackle. When we hear 'You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink,' we know that the speaker is probably commenting on human, not equine, nature. http://tc.eserver.org/23488.html http://tc.eserver.org/23488.html Although research has been conducted by several institutes on how to process written text for minority and vernacular languages, no academic research project thus far seems to have produced a usable, functional, authoring or translation tool for end-user native speakers of these types of languages. On the other hand, a set of software programs has been in the making for twenty years outside of academia. http://tc.eserver.org/23475.html http://tc.eserver.org/23475.html On December 9, 1997, Digital Equipment Corporation and SYSTRAN A.G. launched AltaVista Translation Service, the first European language translation service for Web content. For the first time, non-English speaking users can translate information on the predominantly English speaking Web in real time. http://tc.eserver.org/23483.html http://tc.eserver.org/23483.html Even if the attainable quality of automatic translation systems is insufficient under certain conditions, and despite careful preparation of the original text, nevertheless the translation provides a useful basis for a technical translator. The automatic translation greatly simplifies the production of a foreign language text and leads, all in all, to an efficient translation process. For example, the translation of a customer Website with the help of an automatic translation system (i.e. post-edited machine translation) cost us only a third of the time, which we had previously calculated as pure 'manual work'. http://tc.eserver.org/23490.html http://tc.eserver.org/23490.html The easiest way to cope with existing language barriers undoubtedly is the use of translation programs, electronic helpers that translate texts automatically. However, with high expectations meeting poor quality translation results in the past, press media regularly concluded that users had better learn the language themselves or employ at least a human translator. Yet a closer look at modern machine translation (MT) programs allows a more subtle view. http://tc.eserver.org/23477.html http://tc.eserver.org/23477.html Instead of 'translation', AltaVista offered me unbelievable junk, evidently, an unedited MT version of American promotional material. The text was unreal, the result of a myth: You click a button and the translation is staring at you. You are in the middle of a jungle. http://tc.eserver.org/23473.html http://tc.eserver.org/23473.html As one of the first users of commercial MT in the United States, and as a senior professional translator, I see MT as one of many 'tools.' As an independent expert without connections to the industry I can be objective. Since 1980 I have used one system for years and have worked on and tested others. Few translators have years of experience in both the conventional and the MT fields. http://tc.eserver.org/23480.html http://tc.eserver.org/23480.html Looking at escalating costs and short deadlines for foreign-language documentation, we decided over two years ago that the time had come for a hands-on study of translation tools and their practical benefits. Machine-translation systems such as Systran and Logos were not an option; instead, we directed our attention toward Translation Memory tools. http://tc.eserver.org/23461.html http://tc.eserver.org/23461.html The language industries are rapidly embracing the use of translation tools such as automatic terminology lookup, terminology mining, terminology consistency checkers, and machine translation. Authoring tools that involve access to a termbase are also appearing, at least in the context of controlled language, but will over time no doubt also be used in the authoring processes where the syntax is less controlled. http://tc.eserver.org/19993.html http://tc.eserver.org/19993.html For many corporations, growing international is almost a must. Obviously, human translators play a key role in this difficult venture. A range of computer tools aimed at expediting the translation process are now being used by translators. However, whether or not translation tools are used, translators feel frustrated and blame technical writers for their flaws. Authoring does not seem to be done with translation in mind, and the linguistic issues to be solved up front are sometimes countless. An efficient, cost-effective, and high-quality translation requires the right combination of ingredients, and proper authoring will have a major impact on the entire process. http://tc.eserver.org/18695.html http://tc.eserver.org/18695.html The past decade has seen significant advances in machine-translation (MT) technology. While MT is still a ways off its goal of replacing human translators, today it is used successfully in several industry sectors (incl. automotive, aerospace, defense) with lots of documentation to be translated. http://tc.eserver.org/10724.html http://tc.eserver.org/10724.html For many people, setting up a Web site is their first experience with publishing documents for an international audience. It's true (for now) that most of the computers on the Internet are in the United States, but the Net includes computers in more than a hundred countries. If you put information on the Web, people from all over the world can read it. At least 15 percent of the visitors to the EEI Web pages are from outside the United States. In the first few days of the new year, pages were viewed by people from two dozen countries, including Croatia, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. It's not called the World Wide Web for nothing. http://tc.eserver.org/10373.html http://tc.eserver.org/10373.html More and more technical writing is being translated from English into dozens of languages for use worldwide by readers who have varying degrees of fluency in English. More and more technical documents are translated using computer-assisted or machine translation and are then post-edited by human translators whose first language usually is not English. As a result, more than ever before, technical writers need to be aware of syntactic ambiguity in order to ensure the most accurate, timely, and cost-effective translation. This manuscript explores an approach to writing unambiguously that is based on research from several disciplines. In addition to facilitating translation, the syntactic cues approach improves the readability of technical documents for both native and nonnative readers of English. The manuscript discusses considerations for integrating the syntactic cues approach into established documentation processes and also provides a procedure that helps technical writers learn to use syntactic cues effe