Building up dictionaries (glossaries) and databases
Challenges met in the translation of large volumes of design documentation:
- Keeping to tight deadlines;
- Fidelity and consistency of terminology within the project;
- Consistency and conformity of translation to observe technical style for documentation;
- Rational spending of funds on rather expensive translation services.
A specialised translation application for professional use facilitates the achievement of these tasks and challenges for large-scale orders. The operational basis of the application is formed by Translation Memory technology and the Terminology Management system.
Translation Memory is a continuously-growing database storing all completed translations. Further, it may serve as a “linguistic memory” for a particular product or the company’s business as a whole. With each translated document entered, the memory bank is built up. Cumulative memory is shaped to recognise corresponding or similar passages in work on further projects, whereby the system’s time-saving abilities increase and costs are accordingly reduced.
This tool provides for the fast translation of repetitive fragments, thus saving money and time otherwise spent on voluminous technical texts. Apart from facilitating translation work, Translation Memory ensures fidelity and consistency of terminology through all of the customer’s documents using the customary language of the plant.
Transtech implements Translation Memory technology in the SDL Trados framework. The support offered by client-server architecture makes this system the best option to meet the challenges faced. A large corporation will especially appreciate this advantage, since the Translation Memory databases of any size accessed via the Internet as well as LAN can be used for rapid and seamless interaction in a large team of translators and editors, working in the office and on a freelance basis. This solution also makes it possible to carry out centralised management, track the resources used and ensure the user’s server-end access control. In addition, SDL has an authorised partner in Russia — T-Service, an approved Russian reseller of SDL products providing product support.
Apart from translation memories, our company builds up and maintains terminology databases, i. e. dictionaries and glossaries designed for a particular project that are essential for consistent and high-quality translation. The SDL MultiTerm Server solution is the main tool for working with dictionaries.
The dictionary (glossary) is an accumulation of terms and abbreviations used in translated documentation together with proper translation. A well-elaborated and ample glossary provides great assistance to the translation and editing team in assuring the fidelity and consistency of terminology within a project. The glossary is built up by a team of project dictionary-makers and a project editor-in-chief. Dictionary-makers assess and process the available materials, search for terms and lay the foundation for the project dictionaries. The editor-in-chief applies their extensive knowledge in translation and editing in a particular domain to check, edit and approve the project glossary entries prepared by the dictionary-makers. A project glossary may be built up before and during translation. The customer’s materials can also be used for glossary building. It may refer, for example, to inscriptions on dashboards that have been translated and engraved on an article and cannot be altered.
If the customer wants the terminology in our translations to match the terminology of earlier translations performed by other company, our dictionary-makers will export the necessary terms from original and translated documents into the target glossary. The project glossary may be converted into any format convenient for the customer, e. g. MS Word or MS Excel, and submitted for review/approval.
After many years of using SDL Trados and SDL MultiTerm, Transtech has a large translation and terminology (dictionary) memory bank on a wide range of topics.