Where are we headed? Integrated and Automated Translations

With technology rapidly changing and our need for instant gratification, the translation world as slowly evolved over the years to meet the demands of our fast paced life. The advent of CMS (Content Management Systems) has facilitated this process. It has allowed us to move content from one source to another with email exchanges and zipping files. However, these systems are not cheap, and smaller translations companies are finding hard to understand the integration aspect when a client says: "Can you work with our CMS?"

The complexities vary from one CMS to another, but the clients expectations are often the hardest for translation companies to meet. The integration process is usually the easiest part, if the client is willing to allow the translation company to access their CMS and "grab" approved content for translation. There are also integration technologies like "Global Link" by Translations.com that allow a "seamless" integration between Interwoven a popular CMS that is capable of dealing with translation and localization technologies and SDL Trados.

The bottom line is the amount of work and cost involved for both sides. Current FTP technology and Web based servers can create workflows that allow clients to export content form their CMS and get it to an FTP, and a notification is sent to the translation company, who then downloads the files. The translation company reverses the process for the translation (either through their CMS, or uploading files to their FTP). In this scenario most of the work is handled by the translation company. Overall, integration technologies are common palace and it's more about choosing he right fit then the integration process itself. The challenging part lies in having a editing module where clients can access the translation memory and get translated content as the create or update documentation. A simple integration/file transfer will not accommodate this process. Always test out new technologies first, most companies offer Free Trials, so it's a no brainer.

Multilingual or Not Multilingual, That is The Question? Right

Two weeks ago when it was ridiculously cold in Milwaukee, I had to jump start my car so I could get to work. While in the process of trying to jump start my car, the car's alarm decided to go off , and I frantically tried to disarm it. I could not find a way to disarm it, and I had to consult the owners manual. 8 minutes of deafening noise and evil-eyed neighbors later, I finally managed to disarm the alarm with a few coordinated clicks of the key less entry remote. In those 8 minutes of flipping through the owner's manual of my car, I was shocked to find that the bilingual manual was laid out in weird line by line sections without proper page breaks. So, as I continued to read a sentence at the end of one page and instead of continuing on the top of the next page, it continued to the middle of the next page, while the top section listed the instructions for operating the keyless entry for the trunk. This bizarre bilingual layout got me thinking about the best way to have multilingual layouts for manuals.

I think part of the problem was not planning ahead for a multilingual manual. The cover and index page were in English and since it was for the North American market and specifically the U.S., they decided to place Spanish translations below each English instruction and ignored the re-flow of text and page breaks causing text to jump from one section to another without re-adjusting the images that correspond to the instructions. I think the best way to create a multilingual layout is to have sections for each language. I have noticed that most manuals have this type of layout. The car company in question did revise the layout of the owners manual for the next model year to a trilingual sectioned setup. It looks much better, and it's easier to locate information. By the way, my neighbors still give me evil looks. Once again to those affected, I apologize for the noise.

ICD Christmas Party & Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year Readers. I promise to commit more time to the blog this year. Anyway, ICD had it's annual Christmas party/lunch at The Water Buffalo in Milwaukee. The restaurant was awesome and it was fun to relax and talk with everyone. We had a wacky waiter and Madeline got everyone to try a bottle of Pierre Jacques beer, from Goose Island Brewery. Apparently it had 10% alcohol content, and it was kinda sweet tasting. Besides that I would highly recommend trying The Water Buffalo, the prices are reasonable and the food is excellent.

2008 was a good year for ICD, we grew a little with the addition of Cheryl and Madeline. I got to know Catherine and Dany better and understand the business a little better too. Translation and localization just keeps growing, and the development of new industries and technologies will continue to impact the translation world. Here's to another great year. Welcome 2009.

Single-Sourcing, Translation Savings

If you output your content into different formats, you know how important single-sourcing is in content creation. When you consolidate recurring information and build your files from a single source regardless of formats, you are also able to maximize the leveraging power from your translation memories and minimize your costs. For instance, if you have a lot of content for brochures and marketing materials, you can re-use a lot of it for websites without re-writing it for html files. Therefore, the translations used for those brochures are re-used for the website.

Many of the current authoring tools offer the flexibility to single-source. Quark 8® offers the option to create XML based content and output files in Flash. Adobe FrameMaker® also allows outputting content for help files when the structured content is stored as raw content in XML format instead of a manual. When you consolidate your material and start single-sourcing, you are able to save time and re-use your content across your output formats. Translation consistency is also enhanced, and you are able to maximize the use of translation memories.

ICD on Facebook

ICD has a Facebook page now. We are trying to diversify our internet presence. Facebook is a large social network and we hope that you, the reader will join our Facebook page and hopefully it will get our name out. Facebook is a great tool to advertise a business and it allows interaction between fans who are interested in our company and us. You can post questions on the "wall" and post ideas or notes.

So, if you have a Facebook account, please join our Facebook page and help get the word out about our company and services, and hopefully we can keep the world connected through translation and localization.

Free Translations, Are you Really Saving Money? Jeff tells it like it is

Hi Readers, I am back after a two week vacation. Jeffrey Jorgensen, International Accounts Manager at ICD has written an article in World Trade Magazine about the hidden costs of having product materials translated by foreign distributors at minimal cost or free of charge.

Here is an excerpt:

As you decide whether or not to use distributors to translate your content, remember they often do not have the expertise and credentials to conduct professional translations. Even if the “translator” is a native speaker of the target language, that person may not be fully versed in such things as the correct grammar of the target language or idiomatic expressions.

The alternative is to use a professional language service provider (LSP) to translate content. With an LSP, you should expect the translator to have experience in the discipline of translation, be highly knowledgeable in the grammar of the target language, and be accredited by the American Translator’s Association (ATA).

You can read the full article if you are interested.

Unwanted Files

The horror of digging through files that are not required for translation and localization has made the idea of driving of the bridge seem like a dream. I understand that sometimes people don't really know what files they are sending, they request it from a department in their company, that dude zips everything and forwards it to you; you send it of to us, and it's a mess.

This is particularly true for websites. Websites are usually composed of various files that are supplied by different groups and compiled by the webmaster. So, when it is sent for translation, the webmaster usually sends the entire package without indicating what needs translation. Usually, html, flash, xml, and graphic files are translated. PDFs that relate to another document are not translated unless specified. CSS and RESX files are excluded because they do not hold any literary content. Well, please try to specify what needs translation when you send a bunch of files. Accurate navigation will help the translation process, and keep my car from crashing through the guard rails.