#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
#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
#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
#27926
Turn Off The Tap: Limiting Word Wastage
Sophie Hurst explains how, rather than leaving it all to the translators, authors can influence how their texts appear in other languages.
Hurst, Sophie. tekom (2005). Articles>Documentation>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
#30641
Understanding Usability Issues of Bidirectional Bilingual Websites
Over the past ten years, there has been an ever-increasing amount of usability recommendations for improving website design. Much of the data has focused on navigation of single-language websites. But few studies have tackled the problems of bilingual sites, and virtually no information has been gathered about usability of bilingual or multilingual sites where the languages are not written in the same direction (for example, English, which is read from left-to-right, and Hebrew, which is read from right-to-left).
Guren, Leah. Usability Interface (2007). Articles>Web Design>Localization>Usability
#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
#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.
#23961
United Nations Multilingual Terminology Database
This database was compiled over the years in response to diverse and wide-ranging demands of United Nations language staff for terminology and nomenclature. It is being put on the Internet to facilitate the efforts of people around the world who participate in the work of the United Nations but do not have access to the Secretariat's intranet.
United Nations. Reference>Dictionaries>Glossary>Localization
#26888
Use the Unicode Database to Find Characters for XML Documents
The Unicode consortium is dedicated to maintaining a character set that allows computers to deal with the vast array of human writing systems. When you think of computers that manage such a large and complex data set, you think databases, and this is precisely what the consortium provides for computer access to versions of the Unicode standard. The Unicode Character Database comprises files that present detailed information for each character and class of character. The strong tie between XML and Unicode means this database is very valuable to XML developers and authors. In this article Uche Ogbuji introduces the Unicode Character Database and shows how XML developers can put it to use.
Ogbuji, Uche. IBM (2006). Articles>Language>Localization>Unicode
#30345
User Interface Design: An International Approach
A well-thought-out design and well-written content reduces the time required for good international products and saves money. As a bonus, most internationalization issues apply across all languages and usually help improve the quality of the American-language product as well.
Swain, Cindy. Boston Broadside (1997). Design>User Interface>Translation>Localization
#26188
User Interface Issues (part of Globalization and Localization Issues)
Loads of tips on how to design world ready user interface. It addresses issues that might occur in messages, menus and dialog boxes, icons and bitmaps, access and shortcut keys as well as user interface controls.
Microsoft (2004). Articles>User Interface>Localization
#18446
Users from Other Cultures than the U.S.
This paper introduces general recommendations and guidelines for website developers about accommodating diverse users, in particular users from other cultures than the US. The paper shows how cultural differences might affect the usability of the websites. It also provides sample for good websites and some useful links for practitioners on how to create universally usable websites.
Elnahrawy, Eiman M. Universal Usability (2001). Design>Language>Localization
#10376
My paper discusses the specific challenges associated with designing a Chinese-English Web site in Taiwan for both local and English-speaking audiences abroad. My paper seeks to answer this umbrella question: How can we integrate the Chinese and English portions of the site into a single, consistent presentation? Using an extended case study of a Taiwan-based company, I explore how technical communicators working on this bilingual Web site project (1) developed content in English that is suitable both for native English speakers around the world; (2) reconciled different audience responses to visual communication strategies; (3) tackled the technological challenge of a bilingual Web site; and (4) addressed the cultural and political challenges of developing a Web site for diverse audiences.
Chu, Steve W. Technical Communication Online (1999). Design>Web Design>Localization
#28803
Using In-Country Reviews to Ensure Quality Translations
Too often, in-country translation reviews are overlooked, even though they can document valuable feedback and save customers time and money on translation projects. The author provides several criteria for deciding whether such a review is right for your project.
Deschamps-Potter, Catherine M. Intercom (2007). Articles>Language>Localization>Methods
#25203
Using Macromedia Flash MX as a Multilingual Authoring Tool
This tutorial offers procedures and strategies that allow you to adapt a Macromedia Flash MX movie to the language and culture of a target audience. Macromedia Flash MX supports localization through Unicode and the various ways in which you can include different languages in a movie.
Adobe (2004). Design>Web Design>Localization>Flash
#18494
Using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) Software with CAT Tools
The function of OCR Software is to improve the scanning process with the transfer of hard copy documents into workable electronic text. Despite some high quality OCR software packages now available, the scanning process is still not perfect. This imperfection can greatly diminish from the performance of your CAT tool if it is not properly addressed. When combining these two processes (scanning and translation via CAT tools), it is important that you know which OCR software package to use and exactly how to use it most effectively. In fact, if you do not have the proper OCR software, or if you are using your OCR software incorrectly, you may actually negate the potential benefits that your translation software can offer.
#25726
UTF-8: Documents With a Lot of Character
Did you ever built a webpage in Homesite and then you didn’t encode the html-entities? Then, probably when the client has a look on it, all the german Umlaut characters look awkward on a mac? And did you figure out why? It’s because of the charsets and the encoding of the characters in the saved file!
Opitz, Pascal. Content with Style (2005). Design>Web Design>Localization>Unicode
#26167
Visibility in Italian Search Engines
Visibility in Italian search engines is a matter of content, design and organization just as it is in the English-language engines. As Jill often points out to us, the better your content is, the more targeted traffic your Web site will generate.
WTB Language Group (2005). Articles>Web Design>Localization>Search
