subject: Translation Technology [print this page] The technologies most frequently used for language translation can be categorized as data management or workflow/business process automation. A need that transcends both of these technologies is quality control. Regardless of what quality standard you subscribe to, it is likely that in some manner you collect and evaluate the quality of your translated content and process data.
Another rapidly growing need is for Content Management System integration. This requirement is born from the goal of streamlining the hand-off process from source content management to content translation
--two historically disconnected processes. This integration should not be a novel concept, really, to develop a single process workflow for both mono and multilingual content.
The default technology when one thinks of language translation data management is Translation Memory (TM). Regardless of your preference in vendors, most TM products operate in a very similar manner. Source text is stored in a local relational database with a direct association to a target translation. The TM technology was originally created and primarily used by translators for reuse of existing translations, improving consistency, and reducing costs.
Language translation workflow technologies vary significantly from vendor to vendor. Many Language Service Providers use home-grown workflow or collaboration tools to facilitate the global content workflow. Email is still a popular method of moving project files from one point to another. More recently, website project submission portals are growing in popularity. This may be a portal to submit project files and project-related data that is then processed in a traditional manner. Or a web portal may enable the project submission and also serve to communicate project status to users.
The assessment of language translation quality most often occurs at or near the close of the project by the Language Service Provider reviewer or client reviewer. This is an important step that not only helps improve the quality of the file(s) being translated, but can also help educate the translator on stylistic preferences for future projects. If the Language Service Provider is managing the quality review process and the client reviewer is performing the assessment of the quality, then the Language Service Provider will collect the data and pass it along to the translator, so the TM files with revised content can be repurposed on future projects.
A variety of technologies exist that enable data or application integration into other business systems. Some corporate clients may use existing technologies to facilitate workflow and rely on their Language Service Provider for data management using TM tools. Usually, the data itself is rarely used to serve other business functions outside of the tactical language translation process. Examples of how this can be done range from supporting many content types, serving the monolingual source data to authors in the content creation process, and streamlining the process by directly integrating with a CMS application. These examples represent strategies implemented by advanced language translation users. For the most part, users are unaware of the potential returns and value they can realize by integrating more broadly or approaching the entire translation process differently.
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