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Introduction Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text
by means of an equivalent target-language text.
Technical translation is a type of specialized translation involving the
translation of documents produced by technical writers (owner's manuals,
user guides, etc.), or more specifically, texts which relate to technological
subject areas or texts which deal with the practical application of scientific
and technological information.
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Computer Aided Translation (CAT)
Computer-assisted translation, computer-aided translation or CAT is a form
of language translation in which a human translator uses computer software
to support and facilitate the translation process.
Computer-assisted translation is sometimes called machine-assisted, or
machine-aided, translation (not to be confused with machine translation).
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Translation Memory System
Translation memory programs store previously translated source texts and
their equivalent target texts in a database and retrieve related segments
during the translation of new texts.
The basic concept of TMS is that it helps the translator during translation by
comparing the text to be translated with the available translated segment
pairs as part of TMS.
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Translation Memory System
TMS are particularly useful for types of documentation that are repetitive
and regularly updated such as user manuals, websites and product
catalogs.
The Translation process will start with the import of a document into the
TMS.
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How writing for translation leads to greater translation efficiency
The Five factors that lead to a higher reusability of the segments, and thus
more efficiency and consistency in translation of source texts.
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No Sentence Variants
Variants of a sentence with identical information content. The difference
may be a comma, a filler word, or a group of words with little information
content.
Example:
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Consistent Terminologies
Usage of standardized corporate terminology in which authorized terms and
forbidden synonyms are defined.
Example:
Site Plan
Siteplan, SitePlan, siteplan, site plan
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Consistent Spelling
Certain words or expressions may have different spellings. Hyphen, upper
case or lower case may vary and lead to slight differences in the document
and thus to a fuzzy match. Standard spelling and writing rules help produce
more uniform texts.
Example:
1. Drop-down list
Dropdown list
2. Pop-up menu
Popup menu
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Consistent Phrase Structure
The reuse of existing translations can be increased for certain types of
information, such as instructions, if they are written in a standardized way.
Example
Press the F1 to get help
Press the F2 key to print your document.
If you wish to print your document, press F2
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Adequate Segmentation
Some characters such as a hard return, colon, or tab lead to the
segmentation of a sentence into segments if they have been defined as
separators in the TMS settings. If these separators occur with a sentence
this can lead to mismatches in the translation memory, because each
language has a different syntax and the sentence chunks do not follow the
same order
Example:
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Process involved in TMS - Import
Import
The source file(s) has to be shared by the Technical Writer
The translator starts the TMS and imports the source file(s) into the system.
The import filter separates text and format and presents the text to the
translator in a uniform manner independent of the format of the source
document.
TMS divides the document into segments
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Translation Management in Siemens
ST4 has TMS interface as standard. This is used to export and import
content for translation. This interface provides filters which allows only the
contents of specific nodes to be exported. For example, you can export only
the content of the nodes which have changed since the last translation
export
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TR = Terminology representative
TW = Tecnical writer
TG = Terminology group (to be determined)
TW TWTW
Collection
1
1
Excel list
Terminology list
Terminology list
Terminology list
Research
3
3
Definition
4
4
TG
6
6
Deployment
7
Import
7
CLAT
(Controlled
Language Authoring
Technology)
CLAT
(Controlled
Language Authoring
Technology)
5
5
Release
MultiTerm
MultiTerm
2
Choice
2
ca. 15Terms
TR
Terminology Management Workflow
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TMS Statistics
All TMSs can generate statistics about the volume of text to be
translated. Depending on the TMS used, the statistics are expressed in
words or in characters, or can be configured according to the preferences of
the user
Statistics are important for estimating the cost and time needed for a
project
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Translation Management Translation Tools
Analysis and translation are very easy
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Best Practices
Some practical steps to create translation friendly texts:
Shorten your sentences. Try to limit the sentence length to a maximum
of 15 words. Include only one action or instruction per sentence. If a
sentence is too long, break it up into two or more statements.
Use the active voice.
Make sure that the sentence is not divided by hard returns because this
causes problems with the translation memory tools.
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Best Practices
Avoid pronoun references (it, this) for the same reason
Write out technical words entirely (not ‘device’ but ‘measuring device’)
Eliminate superfluous words.
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Best Practices
Replacement of text with illustrations, images, and charts also promotes
reduction of costs. A picture is worth a 1000 words.
When working with table cells in, for example, Excel or similar computer
tools, short, specific definitions and notations are crucial
It is desirable that files are presented in an editable format, which
eliminates the necessity of additional file conversions
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Attributes of a Translator
a very good knowledge of the language, written and spoken, from which
he is translating (the source language);
an excellent command of the language into which he is translating (the
target language);
familiarity with the subject matter of the text being translated;
a profound understanding of the etymological and idiomatic correlates
between the two languages; and
a finely tuned sense of when to metaphrase ("translate literally") and
when to paraphrase, so as to assure true rather than spurious equivalents
between the source- and target-language texts.
