Overview of the Localization Process,
Technical Writing and Translation
Doug Pearson
Localization Engineer
ENLASO Corporation
dpearson@translate.com
ENLASO Webinar
July 2007

Overview of the Localization Process,
Technical Writing and Translation
• Today’s audience
• Ask Doug questions!
– Doug will answer your questions at the end of the presentation
– Any questions not addressed will be answered in writing and posted to
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• Webinar recording:
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• Contact:
– Chris Raulf at chris@translate.com or by phone at 303 516 0857 x103

Overview of the Localization Process,
Technical Writing and Translation
Doug Pearson
Localization Engineer
ENLASO Corporation
dpearson@translate.com
ENLASO Webinar
July 2007

TECHNICAL WRITING
• Authoring of documents that describe operation,
functionality, safety issues, etc. of hardware /
software (not just computer hw/sw)
• Concise, descriptive; not really “creative”
• Generally includes design of formatting / layout
based on existing “template” (desktop publishing)
• Can have a large effect on the ease or difficulty of
localizing technical documentation

Advice for Technical Writers
• Know your authoring/publishing software!
– FrameMaker is the only real option for large-scale publications
– Smaller-scale: Word, Quark, InDesign, PageMaker (obsolete), etc.
– Word to FrameMaker conversion
– XML and other “raw” sources
• Know how to make your documents “localization-friendly”
– Be aware of sentence fragmentation
– Minimize floating text or (worse) floating graphics
– Minimize text that appears in graphics (Illustrator, Photoshop) files
– Grammar of variables, cross-references, conditional text, etc.
• \"Controlled English\" document authoring will play an ever-expanding
role in technical writing as AI algorithms become continually better at
recognizing appropriate vocabulary, grammar and phrasing.
– Sometimes a difficult transition for tech writers to make.

Controlled / Simplified
English Authoring
• Simplifies the translation & authoring process by:
– Restricting vocabulary
– Simplifying grammar
• This makes both consistent throughout a
publication or group of publications.
• New tools are getting better at “enforcing”
controlled English during document authoring,
offering the writer immediate options.

Controlled / Simplified Technical
English Authoring
• Vocabulary usually limited to fewer than 1,000 terms
• About 20 verbs are used
• “Active” voice used – “Passive” voice avoided
– Wrong: Tap the hydraulic line fitting thread
– Correct: Use a rubber hammer to tap the rotor surface
• Use of same word as verb and noun avoided
• Controlled English can reduce word count and also leads to more
“exact” matches from Translation Memory, reducing costs
• Larger companies have developed their own “vocabularies” by
data-mining existing documents and refining the phraseology,
smaller companies have started to rely on third-party content-
management and document modularization tools (such as DITA)

Sample text before and after using
Controlled / Simplified
• BEFORE - Original text: Three phase power is
provided by three separate generators. They are the
main source of power for the main AC buses and the
whole electrical power system. Two generators are
driven by the engines and one generator is driven by
the auxiliary power unit (APU).
• AFTER – Controlled English: Three generators
supply 3-phase electrical power. These generators are
the primary source of power for the primary AC buses
and the electrical power system. The engines operate
two of the generators. The auxiliary power unit (APU)
operates one generator.

Graphics Authoring
• Keep text out of graphics files, and in main text
flow, whenever possible by using references to
“callouts” in the body text
• Be careful of numbers & units of measurement -
(1.000 vs. 1 000 vs. 1,000 ; English vs. metric)
• Be aware of cultural issues regarding Icons,
symbols, and other and images

Documentation L10N Process
Allows linguists to focus on translation, not formatting
Media Services / QA
Engineering
Import Format
Format Final
Pre- Post- 2 and
Screens
1 and QA and
Process Process Format
Localize
Print Review
Proof
Graphics
Final
Grab
Translate Edit
Proof
Screens
Translation
Engineering Translation

Project Management
Responsibilities
• The Project Manager (PM) takes a project from start (after
sign-off) to finish
• The PM is the client contact for all aspects of in-progress
jobs, including content/context Q&A relaying and delivery
scheduling
• Manage linguists
• Create schedules to coordinate linguistic, engineering, and
media services resources
• Provide updates to projects
• Create Change Orders when in-progress job’s scope
changes

TRANSLATION METHODS
• Traditional (manual) translation
– Time- and labor-intensive (pre-electronic era)
• Machine (automated) translation
– Fast and inexpensive …
– … at the cost of accuracy (see: babelfish)
– Not suitable (yet) for medical / legal / safety documents
• Translation Memory (TM) - “Best of both worlds”
– 100% matches translated automatically
– Linguists review “fuzzy” matches with differences highlighted
– All “approved” new translations can be new sources for 100%
and/or “fuzzy” matches

Authoring Tool / TM Interfaces
• Linguists do not work directly in original files
– FrameMaker < > MIF (S-Tagger)
– Structured FrameMaker < > XML
• Text Extraction process places text in RTF or XML files for TM tool
• Text Merge process places translated text in formatted files.
• Rainbow: ENLASO-developed open-source (Okapi) text extraction
and merge tool
– Recognizes tags in HTML/XML files
– Converts between character encodings
– Batch processing of files (extract, merge, conversion)
– Creates RTF files for Trados
• TM Software (such as Trados) can “pre-translate” 100% matches

Building Translation Memory
Usefulness of TM
1 2
Authoring
Increases Over Time.
and
Pre-Processing: Translation: Translator
TM is more than a system
Revising:
Prepare the source files for makes new/initial translations,
Tech-writers
to store and retrieve text. It
translation by Text Extraction, and uses existing translations
generates new
collects and applies
which results in bilingual files in TM to increase speed,
material or
statistical data from
for translation quality, volume and re-use.
updates
translated texts, builds a
existing
database of source and
materials
target languages. Once the
Translation
database has been built for
Memory
a small set of texts, the
4 3
system’s performance
Post-Processing: Localized
TM Update / Alignment:
improves as it is used.
bilingual files are “cleaned”
Engineers use bilingual files
(or Merged back to
to update TM, or Translators
monolingual source file type)
align the final localized files
Speed, Quality,
and made available for
with the source to reap future
formatting. Localized files
benefits of leveraging
Volume, Re-Use
are delivered to reflect the
look and feel of the source
= Cost Savings
files

Translation of Source
Leverage from Internal
Repetitions
RTF Example
1. Before translation begins,
Glossary is created and imported
in a term base
2. Source file is pre-processed to
RTF format, which along with
workbench translation memory
and glossary term base is made
available to Translator
3. At end of project a final
translation memory is created
using file cleanup / alignment

Translator Workbench
Translation Memory is Active
Workbenches are an
integrated suite of
products which
usually package
glossary-building
tools, and translation
memory within an
editing environment
Source in teal
Target in green

Revision of Source
RTF Example
Exact Match in green
Fuzzy Match in magenta

Benefits
• TMs allow electronic mechanisms using standardized file types to be in
place, making it easier for vendors to integrate their services with a client’s
processes
• TM can optimize the work of translators by improving their individual
productivity, efficiency and the quality of their output
• Leveraging: allows optimal exploitation of translations which are currently
held in the organization
• In addition to just terms and synonyms, Glossaries can include contextual
information to ensure that the correct terminology is used for the correct
product lines
• Formatting and filtering utilities are provided so that text can be extracted
and sent to a variety of publishing environments. These filters and the ability
to retain formatting information during the translation process are among the
most productive features of translation suites (workbenches)
• TMs help preserve the look, feel, and voice of a company’s products

Industries ENLASO translates for
• Medical (pharmaceuticals, implants, instrumentation)
• Computer / Electronics (hardware & software)
• Legal (contracts, patents)
• Service Industries (airlines, banks)
• Public Websites (dating & other social networking)

Audiences ENLASO translates for in
the Medical industry
• Doctors (MD’s)
• Nurses, NP’s, Orderlies & other medical staff
(non-MD medical personnel)
• Administrators, supervisors & management staff
(MBA’s, etc.)
• Equipment Technicians & Maintenance Personnel
(Engineers, etc.)
• Lab / Bio Technicians & Researchers
(Scientists)
• Patients / General Public (lay-men, -women, and -children)

Additional Resources
http://www.translate.com/ltc/educational_resources.html
My contact: dpearson@translate.com

Thank you!
Doug Pearson
dpearson@translate.com
(510) 208-2842
Chris Raulf
chris@translate.com
303 516-0857 x103