GALA Blog

In April the W3C received a proposal to add a “translate” attribute to HTML. In essence, the proposal is to add an attribute to certain HTML elements (like <p>,  <span>) so that translation processes—human or machine—would know whether text should be translated or not. The proposal would produce code like this:

<p>Please return any containers marked with <span translate=”no”>“Produced in the United States”</span> for a full refund.</p>.

In this case the translate=”no” attribute would ensure that the quoted text is not translated (since users would need to identify the containers based on the actual text in the quotes). Currently there are a number of ways to indicate this requirement, but these are not standardized.

There was some discussion of this proposal after it was submitted and the decision was made to reject the proposal. It was later reopened, however, when some individuals pointed out that the proposed alternative solution (using language tags) did not address the actual requirement.

We believe that a standard attribute in HTML5 for translatability would be very beneficial for content creators, translators, LSPs, and tools developers by providing a way to ensure that translation requirements are honored in the content lifecycle without the need to support a variety of custom attributes, CSS hacks, or other approaches that may not be universally understood or honored. A standard approach would help improve the quality of translated text on the web, and improve integration between CMS tools and translation processes. In addition, the inclusion of translatability as an attribute in a core standard for the web would help raise awareness of best practices for content internationalization.

For this proposal to succeed, the W3C needs to see a demonstration that this new attribute meets a widespread need and that it is the appropriate way to handle this need. To read more about this proposal, please visit http://www.w3.org/Bugs/Public/show_bug.cgi?id=12417. If you feel that you can add to the discussion there—by showing use cases or demonstrating the requirement—you can sign up for a free account to comment on W3C issues at http://www.w3.org/Bugs/Public/createaccount.cgi. Since this is an issue that has the potential to impact almost anyone involved with localization, we believe that it deserves serious consideration by the industry at large and we encourage you to add your constructive comments to the discussion.

When LISA ceased operations on February 28, its portfolio of standards was left in a certain degree of limbo for legal reasons. GALA is now happy to announce that the former LISA has released its portfolio of standards—Translation Memory eXchange (TMX), Term Base eXchange (TBX), Segmentation Rules eXchange (SRX), Global information management Metrics eXchange – Volume (GMX-V), and XML Text Memory (xml:tm)—under a Creative Commons Attribution license, meaning that they will continue to be available under an open license to the localization community. While LISA designated ETSI as its legal successor for its standards (a step required by LISA’s statutes), the LISA Board and ETSI have agreed that the existing standards may be posted in this open license as a repository for the community. (Note that this donation means that LISA, even though defunct, does still retain copyright under this arrangement and is not releasing the use of trademarked logos or other trademarked assets, except for the names of the standards, without separate agreement.)

As part of this arrangement, I—as the former director of standards at LISA and the Standards Coordinator for the GALA Standards Initiative—was authorized by the LISA administration and Board to update the standards to reflect the new license agreement terms and to make them available to the public through appropriate online mechanisms. These documents are now available at www.gala-global.org/lisa-oscar-standards (with a mirror at www.ttt.org/oscarStandards) as a permanent repository of the versions current as of the time when LISA ceased operations. The versions posted at these URLs are technically identical to those originally published by LISA and all changes (updates to URLs and the copyright/license notes) are clearly marked in the documents, thus allowing implementers to easily identify the changes that have been made.

It is GALA’s hope that by providing these specifications to the public, we can help resolve the situation that for some months now no official copies of these specifications have been available even though the LISA/OSCAR standards have continued to be used and cited widely. Having them available should help implementers reference them and use them in ongoing projects. We invite feedback on any errors or issues that may be found with these copies of the LISA standards.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

W. CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa., July 15, 2011—A new ASTM International standard will provide useful, timely, reliable and reproducible tests of language proficiency for general communication purposes. ASTM F2889, Practice for Assessing Language Proficiency, is the first new standard approved by ASTM International Committee F43 on Language Services and Products. The new standard was developed by Subcommittee F43.04 on Language Testing.

ASTM F2889 describes best practices for the development and use of language tests in the modalities of speaking, listening, reading and writing for assessing ability according to the Federal Interagency Language Roundtable scale.

Dr. Bill Rivers, chief scientist, Integrated Training Solutions, chief linguist, National Language Service Corps, and chairman of F43, says that F2889 will be used by state and federal government agencies that purchase foreign language proficiency tests or that contract for test development or administration. In addition, the standard will be used throughout the broader language service industry in the private sector, as companies seek qualified individuals to work in the field. Customers looking to hire language expertise will also use F2889 to provide criteria for their search.

Rivers notes that because the language industry has grown so rapidly in the last 10 years, with more languages, more services and more customers, that the testing sector of the industry needs F2889 to keep up with growth.

“F2889 ensures that a test developed by Company A provides the same level of quality as a test developed by Company B,” says Rivers.

Committee F43 was formed in October 2010 to bring together members of the language services and products industry and all interested participants are invited to join in its standards developing activities.

“We have identified several activities that we believe need to be undertaken in the coming years, including standards for the development of diagnostic assessments, formative assessments, translation tests, interpreting tests, performance tests and a standard terminology for testing,” says Paul Tucker, vice president of assessment and research, Avant Assessment LLC and chair of F43.04. “Our plan is to begin with the terminology, as this will be an important foundation that will serve as a common point of reference for all of the other standards.”

To purchase ASTM standards, visit www.astm.org and search by the standard designation number, or contact ASTM Customer Relations (phone: 610-832-9585; service@astm.org). ASTM International welcomes and encourages participation in the development of its standards. For more information on becoming an ASTM member, visit www.astm.org/JOIN.

ASTM International is one of the largest international standards development and delivery systems in the world. ASTM International meets the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles for the development of international standards: coherence, consensus, development dimension, effectiveness, impartiality, openness, relevance and transparency. ASTM standards are accepted and used in research and development, product testing, quality systems and commercial transactions.

View this release on the ASTM Web site at www.astmnewsroom.org.
Technical Contact: Bill Rivers, Integrated Training Solutions, Arlington, Va., Phone: 240-529-7684; wrivers@itsnc.net
ASTM Staff Contact: Ashley Wiand, Phone: 610-832-9551; awiand@astm.org
ASTM PR Contact: Barbara Schindler, Phone: 610-832-9603; bschindl@astm.org Release #8916