#14105
Global Talk was printed quarterly through Spring 2002, with a final printed issue in Fall 2002. Earlier issues are in PDF format in the Global Talk archive.
#14106
STC International TC SIG Bibliography
The SIG bibliography includes all the resources listed in the Global Talk newsletter, Spring 2000 through Spring 2001, as well as additional resources. It was compiled in July, 2001. Items added since then are designated as 'added,' with the month and the year.
STC International TC SIG (2001). Resources>Bibliographies>TC
#14108
Ten Things To Remember When Translating Documents 
There are many ways you can help your translation projects go more smoothly. It's important to trust the translation provider you've chosen, and to communicate your needs clearly. With an attitude of cooperation and partnership, you can iron out details and come up with a system that works for both of you. Here's a list of ten fundamentals that will contribute to the process.
Smith, Jackie. STC International TC SIG. Articles>Language>Localization
#14107
The translation kit includes articles contributed by STC members. Some contributors have worked with translators extensively. Other contributors are affiliated with translation agencies.
#34588
STC International Technical Communication: Resources
Includes articles contributed by STC members, some of whom have worked with translators extensively. Other contributors are affiliated with translation agencies.
STC International TC SIG. Resources>Directories>TC>International
#34589
Benchmarking Translation Agencies
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.
Finan, Jill. STC International TC SIG (2001). Articles>Language>Outsourcing>Translation
#34590
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.
Nagy, Charlene. STC International TC SIG (2001). Articles>Language>Outsourcing>Translation
#34591
Client Language Review—The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
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.
Smith, Jackie. STC International TC SIG (2001). Articles>Language>Translation
#34592
Evaluation of an XML-Based Content Management System in the Translation Process
Translation companies typically embrace innovations in methods for efficiently creating final formatted documents. About a year ago a client asked if we would be interested in testing and evaluating a content management system (CMS) and how it would relate to our translation process.
Argondizzo, Peter. STC International TC SIG (2008). Articles>Content Management>Translation>Assessment
#34593
Evaluation of Machine Translation
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.
Klein, Fred. STC International TC SIG (2001). Articles>Language>Translation>Machine Translation
#34594
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.
Ribert, Roger. STC International TC SIG (2005). Articles>Editing>Translation>Language
#34595
How to Save Money on Translation By Editing the Source Text
If translators had a list of FAQ's, the number one question would undoubtedly be "What can we do to cut the cost of our translations?" There are a number of answers to this question, but the simplest is to reduce the number of words in your documents before translating. Translation is usually priced by the word; therefore the fewer words for translation, the less it costs.
Smith, Jackie. STC International TC SIG (2001). Articles>Editing>Translation>Localization
#34596
Managing Product Translation: One Technical Communicator’s Experiences
As Documentation Manager, I was recently responsible for selecting a subcontracting company to localize one of our applications and its related manuals into three European languages: French, German, and Spanish. Concomitantly, R & D hired quality control testers, with fluency in each of the three languages.
Carmel, Patricia. STC International TC SIG (2003). Articles>Project Management>Translation>Case Studies
#34598
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.
Brewer, John. STC International TC SIG (2005). Articles>Content Management>Translation>Language
#34599
When the cost for translation on support documentation for a foreign sold machine continues to go up, what can be done to minimize the cost of this EU mandated requirement?
McDowell, Elizabeth C. STC International TC SIG (2001). Articles>Content Management>Translation>Localization
#34600
The Translation Memory Advantage
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.
Smith, Jackie. STC International TC SIG (2001). Articles>Language>Translation>Machine Translation
#34601
Translation Management: In-house or Outsourced
The suggestions that follow are culled from 10 years of experimentation and note-taking by a client in the translation game. I have tried to arrange them in logical groupings, but real coherence is difficult to achieve when it involves such a compilation. Although the company I work for has found it advantageous to move away from dependence on translation agencies, complete hands-on management of translation projects is not for the neophyte. Easing into it one language at a time, however, may be attempted after becoming intimately familiar with the basic translation process.
Whitman, Michael. STC International TC SIG (2001). Articles>Content Management>Translation>Machine Translation
#34602
What Type of Translation Agency Staff is Right for You?
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.
Nagy, Charlene. STC International TC SIG (2001). Articles>Language>Outsourcing>Translation
#34603
Where Writing and Translation Meet
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.
Kramasz, Deb. STC International TC SIG (2003). Articles>Language>Translation>Writing
#34604
Internationalization is the basis for ease of localization and includes support of international character sets, separation of localizable features such as translatable character strings from the code, and provision for locale-specific features and functions.
STC International TC SIG (2001). Articles>Language>Localization
#34605
Bug Reporting in Localization Projects
Don't turn down a project just because part of it requires work in another language. With a little forethought, you'll see that it's not "rocket science" after all, and that it's not so different from testing the original version of the product. In fact, the quality assurance team that works on the original version of the product is the one best suited to testing the localized versions.
Watts, Edward. STC International TC SIG (2005). Articles>Language>Localization
#34606
Designing for a Non-English Audience
Through experience, I've discovered that foreign language typesetting can be very challenging--even when using the right software and platform, or having the help of a very experienced foreign typesetter. Through solving the problems encountered in the process, I also developed a new appreciation for simple, "internationalized" designs that are much easier to "localize" than others. Many problems can be avoided if the graphic designer keeps in mind that the document may be later translated into other languages. Sometimes, an attractive and very professional design in English can be a "nightmare" in other languages.
Bratu, Felicia. STC International TC SIG (2005). Articles>Document Design>Localization>Language
#34607
Effective Update Management in the Localization Process
Whether one is localizing documentation or translating Web sites into multiple foreign languages, managing updates is a major component of the localization process. Content development often involves constant updates. Therefore a localization methodology must have the infrastructure to manage change seamlessly, efficiently, and accurately. It must also offer complete flexibility to accommodate each project’s unique schedule, requirements and development cycle.
Shapiro, Tom. STC International TC SIG (2003). Articles>Content Management>Localization>Translation
