subject: How To Get Cheaper Translations But Consistent Vocabulary. [print this page] Anyone who is responsible for a company's technical documents - user manuals, service manuals, etc. - will be aware that the end user needs perfectly consistent vocabulary, to avoid any ambiguity. When it said "retaining bolt" on the previous page, why does it say "retaining screw" on this page? It is the same thing?
Great progress has been made in recent yearsin the standardization of vocabulary and terms in technical documents, and a great deal of that progress comes from the increasing use of translation memories.
You may have tried out some of the "on-line translation" systems available on the Internet. You will have seen that while it is often possible to understand more or less what the original text wanted to say, the language employed is usually not acceptable. You only have to translate a short text into a foreign language and then translate the result back into English to see what sort of a mess the translation is to the foreign reader.
Translation memory is totally different from that sort of "on-line translation". Translation memories record accurate translations made by qualified translators, so that the next time the same words occur in the original text, the translation memory automatically produces the same translation. This provides consistency of vocabulary and phrasing.
Translation memories are used by translation agencies and freelancers for two purposes:
1. To save time in translation, since the translator does not have to type the sentence again. This saves money. Like most service companies, translation agencies are selling time - the time that their translators take in typing out and checking a translation.
2. To ensure consistency, particularly in repeated sentences. This gives the reader confidence in the document concerned, since he or she sees identical phrases and vocabulary in various parts of the document. It also ensures consistency of vocabulary, so that no confusion can exist as to "Is this the same thing they were talking about on page 33 ?".
When various companies started to produce translation memories in the 1990's, they were mainly used by freelance translators to save time and to produce standardized translations.
Translation agencies, almost all of which use freelance translators when their in-house staff have too much work, then started to use translation memory systems for the same purposes. The cost of translation was sometimes reduced, since three categories of translation were used:
- Perfect match (when the sentence to be translated already existed in the translation memory - no action is required from the translator - the computer translates the sentence automatically) This category is often paid at 20% or 30% of "per word" price. - Fuzzy match (when the sentence to be translated is almost the same as a sentence in the translation memory; in this case the translator has to check it for differences). This is often paid at 50% or 60% of "per-word" price. - No match (when no such sentence exists in the translation memory). This is paid at 100% of "per-word" price.
Among some of the bigger companies in the world it became usual to work with translation companies or agencies who kept such memories on their behalf. Those big companies then expanded their translation staff to include specialist personnel who are responsible for the company's own translation memories.
Translation memories are now often used by translation agencies for their medium and small customers and the advantages as regards consistency are immediately apparent to anybody reading the technical documentation. Companies working with translation agencies who use these systems also often enjoy lower prices for their translations, in line with the three categories of "match" explained above.
However, when speed is of the essence, translations can normally be provided much more quickly by an experienced translator who can dictate the translation either directly onto the screen, using one of the speech recognition programs or else by dictating the translation into a recording machine to be sent to a typist, who can return the typed translation within an hour or two.
Almost everyone can speak much faster than they can type. In these cases where speed is the main requirement, the translation memory system would only slow down the process, since it requires the translator to type the translation directly into his or her computer.
by: John Hadfield
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