SDL Users Group

Barbara Inge Karsch shares her experiences, opinions and general 'guru' knowledge on terminology management. After working in various terminology management positions at JD Edwards and Microsoft, Barbara now runs her own terminology consultancy.

[TOM] Hi Barbara, thanks for talking with us on the SDL blog. So, we’re talking about terminology management today and you’ve got some pretty extensive experience in this field, what’s your background?

[BARBARA] Thanks for the opportunity. I have really fallen on my feet when I landed in terminology management. It started at the Sprachen- und Dolmetscher Institut in Munich where I was one of three students who took a course in terminology management as part of my undergraduate studies in translation and interpretation (T&I). In Monterey, during my Masters in T&I I worked with French as well and compiled a trilingual glossary on EU terms by researching newspapers and official EU documents. Interpretation students told me years later that they were still using it.

After graduation, I joined J.D. Edwards where I officially took the job of German terminologist in 1998. Of course, I got a lot of practice there: designing a tool, teaching people how to research, and working with the ERP specialists on the terminology in English and German. But I also started studying the subject. When I was hired as terminology researcher at Microsoft, there were again lots of practical things to do in this field, starting with the creation of another proprietary terminology tool, teaching people enough basics and setting up thousands of entries.

[TOM] Great, I’ve been reading your blogs and I’ve definitely learnt a great deal from them. So, why do you think terminology management is so important?

[BARBARA] There are many angles that we could take. Let’s look at three.

1. Communication: a company must communicate clearly with customers to allow them to get the most out of their products

2. Clarity and consistency: a translator must assure that the translated text clearly and consistently communicates the intent of the author

3. Cost reduction: a team of technical writers or translators must use the same terms, and we wouldn’t want everyone to research the same thing over and over again.

[TOM] It’s definitely important then! So, can we just manage all of our terminology in a spreadsheet or is it more complicated than that?

[BARBARA] Well, a spreadsheet is better than nothing. For a small team with a small volume and only one or two languages, a spreadsheet is a good start. But be sure to set it up so that you can later integrate that data into a tool.

The more people need access, the more languages and products you cover, the more systematic you should go about it. And a terminology management system that allows many people to contribute, a few terminology experts to edit or approve the entries, and many people to use the entries will help you meet all three goals that we talked about earlier: communication, clarity and consistency, and cost reduction.

[TOM] So, is it important to integrate your terminology management process into your localization process? What about content creation, such as in technical communication, that must be important too?

[BARBARA] Many systems are set up specifically to serve translators or localizers. That is where the highest return on investment has been. Research it once, document it, use it in all documents, and in as many languages as you can.

But of course that is true for upstream processes as well. The source language must be clear and consistent. Not only because that enables the customer of source-language products. But the clearer the source language, the fewer problems you have later on downstream. For example, you have to eliminate fewer inconsistencies, fix fewer translation errors, deal with fewer questions or annoying e-mail threads. So, ideally you have the terminology management tool hooked into the authoring environment and give writers access to already standardized company terms or allow them to enter terms for new concepts.

[TOM] And how do you think terminology relates to branding for an organization?

[BARBARA] Terminology is all about branding. Why do you think Microsoft allows us today to download their corporate terminology in 99 languages? Branding.

Let me tell you what happened when I worked at J.D. Edwards. Some languages had a proliferation of target equivalents for the same concept. In Japanese, for example, the same technical concept could be expressed through three different terms used by one of the tech leaders, e.g. Microsoft, IBM or Apple. So, each time, the Japanese team had to make a decision what to go with.

Today, if a software company outsources a localization project from English into another language, smart translators will download the terminology from the Microsoft Portal and load it into their translation environment. Every time a Microsoft source term shows up in the source text, the translator gets the Microsoft equivalent as a suggestion.

So, because it is so easy to get to that terminology now, pretty soon, the tech world will speak Microsoft lingo in any language. If that wasn’t a smart branding move, I don’t know what is.

[TOM] Great thanks Barbara, it’s been fascinating getting such a ‘guru’ on terminology to talk with us. No doubt we’ll have you back on this blog very soon.

[BARBARA] My pleasure.

Barbara Inge Karsch holds a BA-equivalent in translation and interpretation from the Sprachen & Dolmetscher Institut in Munich and an MA in translation and interpretation from the Monterey Institute of International Studies. At J.D. Edwards and Microsoft, she worked as in-house terminologist for English and German, designed and implemented two large-scale terminology management systems, and trained hundreds of translators, international project managers, content publishers and terminologists. In May 2010, she started her own terminology consulting and training business, and is now solving the terminology puzzle for her clients. She can be reached at BIKTERMINOLOGY@GMAIL.COM

While travelling through Heathrow airport recently, I was fascinated to see in live action the much-talked-about full-body scanners, which are increasingly being deployed in many countries. These controversial devices are viewed as a blessing by proponents who point out that they are more secure, quicker, and don’t require people to be touched. Opponents on the other hand point to the potential violation of human rights through the virtual images that are created and the unknown long-term affects on health. The passengers on the whole seemed outwardly unperturbed by the virtual strip search - or perhaps they were only too aware of the consequences of non-compliance.

On this particular day, the devices did not seem to be speeding things up and so my mind wandered. Wouldn’t it be handy if the device could scan people to read their minds or predict future actions? A bit like in the film, Minority Report, starring Tom Cruise? Think of the opportunities for marketers around the world if it were possible to read the minds of their customers. Neuromarketing scientists claim to be able to do just this by using brain-imaging technology to look into people's heads and discover what they really want. This technology is successfully being used to gauge people’s likes and dislikes for adverts, packaging, early product designs, etc.

But what about global content? Is it possible to ensure that content is relevant, of sufficient quality, and consistent with local stakeholder preferences? In reality, the application of the magical mind-reading scanner to content, language and style preference may be some way off. If only it were that simple! However, there is much that we can do as localisation professionals to learn about and cater for the needs and preferences of the end customer throughout the content lifecycle. Here are five best practices that will deliver fast, high-impact wins:

1) Creating a dialogue with in-country reviewers
One of the most important practices that is, at best, neglected and, in worst case, overlooked. Many companies appoint members of their local sales and marketing teams to review translated content on a part-time basis. They are inserted into the content lifecycle in a linear way that does not allow for a dialogue between translator and in-country reviewer. The result can be: miscommunication, re-work, quality concerns, delays, confusion and general frustration. The alternative: by building a dialogue and feedback loop between translator and in-country reviewer, a strong relationship can be built that adds significant value to the translated product and does not overburden the reviewer. In-country reviewers are closest to the customer and a great source of market and customer knowledge. A vendor with on-staff, in-country translators can appoint a lead translator who can regularly visit the in-country reviewer, be on hand to support them, and remain fully dedicated to the relationship while building up an understanding of their preferences and a deep product knowledge.

2) Terminology and style guide management
Relevant source and target language terms can be captured and managed in a terminology database using automated tools. This allows, for example, approved and forbidden product terminology to be maintained in a structured way and made accessible online as a reference to authors, translators, and reviewers alike. Any terminology changes can be captured and shared instantly across the corporation. Likewise, style preferences can be captured and documented within customer and country-specific style guides and translation memories (TMs).

3) Translation quality sampling
Where translation volumes are large, time-to-market is critical, and in-country review resources are limited, periodical sampling of translated content is a robust solution. This means that, for example, one in ten files (or a certain volume of words) is randomly picked for review to score the quality of the translation and provide feedback if needed through a score card process. One of the challenges involves determining which metrics to use and agreeing a way of quantifying and justifying quality measurements. A number of standards exist that can be used as guidance including the LISA QA Model and the automotive standard SAEJ2450. A knowledgeable translation vendor can provide guidance on customising these standards to your needs.

4) Streamlining the review process
A Translation Management System (TMS) provides an automated workflow process with an online interface that facilitates the work of everyone involved in the translation process, including the in-country reviewer, who can easily apply changes and comments to files that are captured in an audit trail. Such an automated solution ensures tight version control. Other functionality available to translators and reviewers in a TMS includes: access to TMs and online terminology databases, spelling and grammar check functionality, the possibility of in-context preview to reflect the final published content, and more. Such a rich environment allows the in-country reviewer to provide maximum input while speeding up the review process.

5) On-demand access to machine translated content
The largest projects often take weeks and months to translate even with the slickest processes. As content strategies such as topic-based authoring and web-based delivery of content become more mainstream, companies can automatically publish chunks of source and target content gradually, as it becomes available. Why not empower customers by providing access to on-the-fly, machine-translated content while they await the final human-translated version? Taking this one step further, why not give the customer the power to decide whether the machine translation suffices or request a human translation when needed? Intelligent retrieval and data-mining technologies exist to give users what they want, when they want it, or as much or as little as they need. Let them tell you what they want and listen carefully to maximise customer satisfaction.

It may not always be possible to read the mind of our customers or predict their tastes for translated content outright – at least not without a magical scanning apparatus. Nonetheless, there is much that can be done to indirectly get into the mind of our customers by giving local stakeholders a strong voice throughout the content delivery process. Once we are hearing and listening to needs, likes, and dislikes, all we need to do is learn and act accordingly.

What are your experiences with the inclusion of customers and in-country reviewers in the content lifecycle?

I was just talking to a co-worker of mine the other day about the future of localization. She’s a user experience designer on the SDL WorldServer team. She asked me what the ideal translation tool would be, if there were no limitations. I replied quickly, "That's easy. The universal translator."

I grew up watching old Star Trek re-runs with my family so I always think of that version first, but the concept has been around in science fiction since Murray Leinster's 1945 novella, First Contact.

I'm not sure how long it will take us before science mimics science fiction, but I know the moment is rapidly approaching. I don't know exactly what that moment will look like when it arrives, but I've got a pretty good hunch as to what it will likely include:

1. Automated Translation - This is the obvious choice. I don't know if the automated translation used will look anything like the options we have available today, such as SDL Language Weaver, but I'm hopeful that SDL will have a hand in making this moment a reality. One thing is clear though, the tool has to automate the translation process enough that it feels instantaneous to its user.
2. Speech Recognition - The tool has to understand what is being said before it can translate it into other languages. This is highly subjective of course in a variety of ways: quality of the recording device, clarity of the speaker, the tool's ability to determine context. Plenty of companies are making inroads with these areas, and mobile devices are integrating better hardware all the time.
3. Text Recognition - The tool has to understand language in any form it comes in, not just audio. It will need the ability to process text whether it's already digital or not. That means OCR capabilities of some kind.
4. Ubiquity - The tool has to be accessible at all times from any location. To me, that means cloud-based processing with a mobile-friendly interface. It needs to be on every mobile device out there (at least until someone invents wetware that won't be susceptible to viruses).
5. Human Validation - Like humans, computers are fallible, if for no other reason than they are programmed by humans. That requires then that machine-generated results be made available for human validation. If the tool is good, this validation becomes unnecessary eventually. However, I think letting people control their interactions with technology, instead of the other way around, is always important.

So why am I even talking about this right now? When I answered my colleague, I thought about it as unattainable, something in the far distant future. But when I stopped to think about it, I had to realize just how close we are to this moment. We've got sophisticated automated translation tools, and they're available in the cloud. We've got rich mobile platforms like Apple's iOS and Android (not to mention the upcoming Windows Phone 7) that are deployed on capable hardware. And then I read this article, which helped spark all of these musings: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/pleco-2-2-chinese-dictionary-translates-text-in-real-time-using/. To think, we're so close to achieving this moment!

We live in exciting times when it comes to the future of localization. I can't wait for my Universal Translator. I'll be able to tell my grandkids that "back in my day" we couldn't just communicate with anyone, anywhere, at any time, and they'll gasp in shock and incredulity. And I'll just smile as we watch old Star Trek re-runs together... in any language we want.

This is a plee to all those wonderful people that write, edit and manage technical documentation to come forward and participate in our latest survey and research into the field of technical documentation: The Global Authoring Survey 2010. You can join in here. It shouldn't take you more than 5 minutes, so you can do it over your coffee break. Meanwhile, here's some more info about the survey and why you should take part:

There's a fantastic prize of a WHOLE set of the 9 different coloured SDL stress buddies on offer for one lucky participant! You can get involved in our Buddies site by taking photos of them at home, in the office, on holiday or wherever you like and we'll post it up. Alternatively, if you're stressed at work, just squeeze their heads. It definitely makes you feel better!

We are collecting responses from those involved with technical communication and focusing on global documentation, tools, quality content, terminology, style guides, DITA and content management amongst other things. So, basically the wide spectrum of everything that concerns you technical writers and editors out there.

Hopefully, you'll be interested in what your peers have to say and how the landscape of technical communication is changing. So, once we have collected the results in September we will share them with you first.

We are also conducting this survey to members of the Society for Technical Communication (STC) and the Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators (ISTC) . If you're already a member of these groups, no problem, you can get involved early and fill it in today.

Happy survey-filling-in!

Internet usage has grown substantially in the last 10 years. Now, mobile phone internet usage is showing a growth too. Countries such as Japan have been actively using the internet via mobile devices for many years now, but the rest of the world has taken longer to adopt it. Recent research by different groups shows the trend is increasing, particularly in the last 6 months.

It could be due to pricing models changing in different countries, making it more accessible, but likely is also linked to the technology being improved on phones and for accessing the internet on those phones.  This is probably also of benefit to the countries that have not had the infrastructure to support the internet - 3rd world or developing countries for example are likely to jump straight to mobile internet.

But of course, companies still need to think about how they structure and organise their information, how they ensure all the people around the world understand the information and how they ensure that people on the move have access to the most relevant information as possible, so they don't spend time searching.