Expecting quality translations is normal for everyone. However, few realize that the translator alone is not responsible for ensuring the quality of the translated content. The concept of garbage in – garbage out also applies here. We see how and why the source documentation needs to be made properly to enable accurate translations.

1. 
Quality Communication Commitment| |

2. 
Making a Difference to
60+ Fortune 500
Companies

3. 
Why the Quality of
Source Content is
Important for Accurate
Translations for
Documentation

4. 
Agenda
• How one word can make a difference
• Inverted Funnel Concept:
• The Biggest Picture First: Why?
• Where does it effect?
• What Affects Source Quality
• An Example of “Example” and many other examples
• Early Planning in Development Life Cycle
• What Else can you do?

5. 
Just One Word….
• Only he told his mistress that he loved her. (Nobody else did)
• He only told his mistress that he loved her. (He didn't show her)
• He told only his mistress that he loved her. (Kept it a secret from everyone else)
• He told his only mistress that he loved her. (Stresses that he had only ONE!)
• He told his mistress only that he loved her. (Didn't tell her anything else)
• He told his mistress that only he loved her. ("I'm all you got, sweetie--nobody else
wants you.")
• He told his mistress that he only loved her. (Not that he wanted to marry her.)
• He told his mistress that he loved only her. (Yeah, don't they all...).
• He told his mistress that he loved her only. (Similar to above one).

6. 
The Inverted Funnel Concept
Why (Relevance)
What (Cause-Effect)
Where

7. 
The Biggest Picture First/ Why?
• Cost (Also based on stage)
• Time /Cycle time
• Time to reach market
• Reputation
• Morale

8. 
What Affects Source Quality
• Standardization (According to Common Sense
Advisory, “48 percent of survey respondents
reported over 50 authors in-house and only one-
third had fewer than 20 authors.”)
• Style Guides
• Glossaries
• Writing with Translation as final goal

9. 
What Affects Source Quality
• Slangs and Abbr.
• Sentence Structure
• Spellings, Grammar & Punctuations
• Final and Ready English version fully edited
• If it’s old it’s not Gold – but make sure you make it

10. 
Effect on Final Output/ Where?
• Mobile Phone Strings
• Software UI
• Print-Ready Output – DTP challenges
• Learning and Training
• Medical Devices
• MT Output

11. 
An Example of “Example”
• In how many ways can you say “For Example”
• At least 30 different ways:
• Imagine the translation for each of these

12. 
An Example of “Example”
• Such as
• For instance
• Let’s say….
• Examples include
• One example is
• Including
• In a similar case
• In the following example,
we will see how …. relates
to ….
• To Illustrate
• By way of illustration
• If you look at ….
• E.g.
• This can be seen when …..
• Particularly …
• ….. as seen in ….
• which is made apparent
when ….
• These include
• This includes
• As an example
• As a case in point
• Especially
• An example being …
• Namely
• In addition to
• Like this
• Another way of putting it …
• That is to say …
• i.e.
• Which is made apparent
when …
• In other words …
• As in …

13. 
N-Ways for the Same Sentence
• My sister, who lives next door, is a doctor.
• My sister who lives next door is a doctor.
• I hit the man with a stick.
• I hit the man with a stick
• What is the difference in meaning for these two
sentences?

14. 
Early in Development Life Cycle
• Planning for your writing
– Space and Length Considerations
– Graphics and DTP considerations
– Cost and availability considerations
– Should you translate everything?
• Use of TM to optimize Source
• Controlled Authoring

15. 
Bad
Diagram

16. 
Good
Diagram

17. 
What else can you do?
• Short and crisp sentences
• Active vs Passive voice
• Standard English word order (Subject – Verb – Object)
• No Styles or single style – not literary etc.
• Be sensitive to Locale settings(Dates, Currency etc.)
• No Phrasal Verbs (Verbs with > than one word: Blow-up vs. Explode)
• Take care of length – where to fit in the output
• Use pronouns for further qualification (E.g. “That”)
• Follow basic ID Principles (Instructional Design)

18. 
Who am I?
• Biraj Rath – CEO, Braahmam Net Solutions, Estd
2000
• Content Transformation Company
• Delhi | Dublin
• GALA (Globalization & Localization Association)
Ambassador

19. 
GALA’s Role
• What is GALA?
The Globalization and Localization Association (GALA)
is the world's leading trade association for the
language industry. As a non-profit organization, we
provide resources, education, advocacy, and research
for thousands of global companies.

20. 
GALA’s Role
• Voice of the Language Industry
• Resource for the Language Business
• Creating Communities
• Championing Standards
• Sharing Knowledge
• Advancing Technology

21. 
References
• http://www.city-data.com/forum/writing/1115620-
two-sentences-have-same-words-but-2.html
• http://www.myenglishteacher.eu/question/other-
ways-to-say-for-example/

22. 
Get In Touch With Us!
+91 9810316539
sales@braahmam.net
www.braahmam.net