#18694
Tips For Developing Smarter Documentation 
Eight tips for preparing documentation that might require localization at some point in the future.
Lingo Systems (2002). Design>Language>Localization>Documentation
#31782
Toward a Critical Perspective of Culture: Contrast or Compare Rhetorics 
Kaplan's framework of contrastive rhetoric has been widely accepted in the field of cross-cultural technical communication. However, in the last four decades, contextual factors such as economic globalization trend and the advances of communication technologies are changing our ways of interacting with others. As a result our understanding of culture and cultural differences need to be adjusted. In this research, I start by recommending a workable definition of culture in the present context—culture as a process, which establishes a foundation for cross-cultural rhetorical research in the new era when communication across cultures transcends national boundaries. Based on the critical perspective of culture, I continue to point out the limitations of contrastive rhetoric and argue that contrastive rhetoric's view of culture and its research purpose and methodology need to be modified to overcome its constraints and better meet the needs of the present social context.
Wang, Junhua. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2008). Articles>Language>Rhetoric>Cultural Theory
#26297
Towards a Definition of Example-Based Machine Translation
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).
Hutchins, W. John. IAMT (2005). Articles>Language>Localization>Machine Translation
#25814
Translation and Interpretation Work for the LNG Tangguh Project in Papua, Indonesia
Translation and interpretation are communication skills that a person acquires through involvement in actual translation and interpretation work. One who knows two or more languages is not necessarily a good translator or interpreter, because not only linguistic issues, but other communicative and cultural aspects are also involved. Accordingly, a translator or interpreter always faces linguistic and non-linguistic challenges in performing a job if they come to it unprepared.
Morin, Izak. Translation Journal (2005). Careers>Language>Translation>Technical Translation
#24176
Translation and Localization Trends in the Baltic States
When I first got into the business twenty years ago, most translation work was limited to the FIGS languages: French, Italian, German, and Spanish. But today, to reach markets opened by the collapse of the Soviet Union and the opening of the Chinese economy beginning in 2001, competitive businesses must tap into 'minor' languages.
Frievalds, John. Intercom (2004). Articles>Language>Localization>Eastern Europe
#30342
Translation and the Technical Writer
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.
Tunsley, Roger A. Boston Broadside (1993). Articles>Language>Translation>Technical Writing
#18493
The Translation Glossary: Stepping Stone to a Quality Translation
If your company is new to the process of translating their documentation, chances are little groundwork was laid for the process. One thing you can do to improve the quality of the translation in this situation is to create a good translation glossary. A translation glossary ensures consistent terminology in the translation; that a term in English always becomes the same term in the translated text. It eliminates the problem of referring to the same concept or same component by different names in different places in the documentation. Technical writers are in a good position to create the glossary. They constantly deal with questions of terminology. They probably wrote the manual being translated and already had to make decisions about terminology for the English version.
Wright, Ami. SDL International. Articles>Language>Localization>Glossary
#14107
The translation kit includes articles contributed by STC members. Some contributors have worked with translators extensively. Other contributors are affiliated with translation agencies.
#23030
Translation management is becoming a common task for the technical writer as companies enter the global marketplace. It is challenging and interesting, but at the same time it is generally a complex project management task and is not to be taken lightly. This paper discusses a real-life translation project and points out some of the problems that you may encounter.
Tunsley, Roger A. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Language>Localization>Project Management
#24951
Translation Memory 2004: Room to Grow
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.
Lommel, Arle. LISA (2004). Articles>Language>Localization>Machine Translation
#25817
Translation Problems in Modern Russian Society
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.
Khutyz, Irina. Translation Journal (2005). Articles>Language>Translation>Russia
#24284
The Translation Process: From Concept to Final Version
The process of translating a technical document from English to another language is challenging. Problems in the source language can create numerous difficulties for the translator. Other problems center on localization, language, and production. Localization issues arise in selecting an international team and translators and in considering cultural differences and foreign audiences. Language issues involve grammar, sentence structure, terminology, and text used in headings and in graphics. Production issues include fonts, layout and design, and production media. The translation process can be greatly facilitated if you analyze all of these issues before beginning your project.
Sánchez, Otilia and Nancy Parra. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Language>Localization
#19695
Some grammatical structures in English can pose problems for translators, particularly if those structures can be interpreted in more than one way. Murphy’s Law says that your reader will often use the wrong interpretation, resulting in mangled translations. Spoken language allows supplemental methods—like voice intonation, facial expressions, and physical movements— to convey meaning. However, print communication lacks the support of those nonverbal clues. To ensure clear meaning, writers must avoid expressions that require supplemental, nonverbal clues. They must depend on good structure and correct grammar to communicate their meaning.
Maaks, Betsy M. Intercom (2003). Articles>Language>Localization
#14605
Nagy discusses what the translation industry can expect during the new year, including trends in Web site translation, language sensitivity, and agency management strategies, as well as the effects of increased competition.
Nagy, Charlene. Intercom (2003). Design>Language>Localization>Web Design
#26182
Translation Word Count: Why Do Word Counts Vary From Agency to Agency?
From generating a word count using the Word Count tool in MS Word, or using a counting tool such as PractiCount and Invoice, to using translation tools such as Trados or Wordfast, it's hard to produce similar results when each of these tools have their own way of counting.
Bologna, Sandra. WTB Language Group (2004). Articles>Language>Localization
#15215
Reviews two trends in translation software: machine translation (MT) and translation memory (TM).
Altanero, Tim. Intercom (2000). Design>Language>Translation>Machine Translation
#25714
The Translator's Home Companion
Information about resources available on the Internet and elsewhere for translators, interpreters, and all those interested in the arts and crafts of foreign languages.
#14640
Bacak, the executive director of the American Translators Association, provides an overview of some important trends in the translation profession.
Bacak, Walter. Intercom (2000). Design>Language>Translation>Localization
#23480
Two Years Later: The Triumphs, Trials and Tribulations of Life
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.
Kreitmeier, Peter. TC-FORUM (1998). Articles>Language>Localization>Machine Translation
#18695
Understanding and Planning for Translation Services 
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.
Heuberger, Andres. TECHWR-L (2002). Articles>Language>Localization>Machine Translation
#30733
Unexpected ROI (Return on Investment) from Terminology
Personal experience shows that all localization clients are interested in terminology--without exception. Only very large organizations, however, actually seem to maintain terminology databases.
Wittner, Janaina. Multilingual (2007). Articles>Language>Localization>Controlled Vocabulary
#24168
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.
Intercom (2004). Articles>Language>Localization>Machine Translation
#18505
#25621
The Unicode Character Database
The site lists most of the codepoints ordered in different tables, by block, category, their bidirectional value or by some of the additional properties defined in the original UCD. All as plain Html, the version of each character is shown. Especially the ordering by category is helpful to find characters from different blocks.
Auer, Juergen. SQL und XML (2004). (German) Resources>Language>Standards>Unicode
#22387
ISO 10646 ist ein Zeichensatz, der Schriftzeichen binären Codenummern zuordnet. Unicode hingegen ordnet den 2- bzw. 4-Byte-Code denselben Schriftzeichen zu, ergänzt die Definition aber um Zeicheneigenschaften, Implementationsregeln und Hinweise. Unicode ist eine private Organisation verschiedener kommerzieller Unternehmen, akademischer Einrichtungen und Anwendergruppen. ISO (International Standards Organisation, eine Unterorganisation der UNO) und Unicode arbeiten seit 1991 zusammen, um Diskrepanzen zwischen ISO 10646 und Unicode zu vermeiden.
