Hi, I’m trying to get some advice or tips by the GALA communicty on an issue which we have for some time now, but were not able to find a solution so far. But I’m sure that we are not the only TSP facing this issue, so maybe you have a solution for us you want/can share.
What’s the issue now? We have a client in the medical devices industry, for whom it is absolutely necessary that the same sentence is ALWAYS translated the same way. Or an almost identical sentence keeps the major part of the previuos translation and only the actual difference in the source file is adapted, leaving the rest of the sentence unchanged.
Okay, you might say, work with a TM tool and your problem solved.
Unfortunately that’s not that easy. As there are people working on the files and not machines, translators or proofreaders decide from time to time to change an existing sentence, although they are told not to do this.
Is there a tool for automatically checking a translated file if it contains deviations from the TM?
I have not found a tool yet that is capable of doing exactly that. There are QA tools checking inconsistencies of matches within a file or a bunch of files, but none of these tools is back-checking with the TM itself, it the conistency with the TM is maintained.
In a first step it would be nice to have this done for 100% matches, but of course if that can be expanded to high fuzzy matches, the tool would be even more appreciated.
If you have any ideas, please let me (us) know.
Many thanks,
Johannes

Johannes Purer
Puretrans

Today more than ever clients want to see their brand maintained across all markets and in all languages. The problem is cost. No matter what system that exists there is a simple truth in transcreation terms. People have to do something as no machine tool exists that is capable of making decisions based on context, content and and above all local “Speak”.

True WISYWIG or visual localisation of artwork is today a capability of many systems, but in a design based, product lead marketing piece the clear opportunity is to create single source setting and content localisation whilst at the same time allowing users and studio alike to work concurrently on the same file via an on line real time system.

Problem solving and solution delivery

How many people out there have used a Papermate Pen, the worlds first pump action ballpoint. this Pens claim to fame and in deed its inception was space travel. Built so the US astronaut could write in space. The Russian Cosmonauts had a similar problem to the Americans. But, instead of spending millions of dollars on a Pen, they used pencils.

Today technology in translation is taking a far greater role than the translation itself, we read that Machine translation is now getting good enough and probably in some instances it is?

The real challenge that users face is a simple one, Use and re use of language based assets, removal of duplication and replication and in artwork terms, which after all is the client brand and finally the integrity of the artwork in both market and language terms.

Evolution and not revolution

System that manage transcreation need to work the way users work, do what users do, just do it automatically, simply and easily. This way a system will evolve around working practices and this means users will happily use them.

StorePOINT International Ltd

By Gary Prioste
VP, Technology Services
Welocalize

Gary Prioste, VP of Technology Services at Welocalize, comments on the Common Sense Advisory post “Industry Dreams of Open-Source TMS.” Is an open source TMS only a lofty dream? Get his thoughts on how GlobalSight can become a viable alternative to closed-source translation management systems in today’s changing global marketplace.

On October 23rd, Common Sense Advisory came out with “Industry Dreams of Open-Source TMS”, a blog post discussing the challenges of the GlobalSight Open Source initiative (www.globalsight.com). While it did raise several interesting points, the article brings up a few issues that require further discussion.

Total Cost of Ownership
The CSA article purports that “license fees account for 10% - 20% of the total cost of ownership,” and suggests that a free, open source GlobalSight license isn’t really consequential. Well given license fees are often 6-figures and most companies are looking at ways to reduce costs in this economy, our clients are telling us that the license fee is quite meaningful.
In addition, the important thing to remember here is that a company (LSP or enterprise customer), can install the product and, using the QuickStart Guide, be up and running in a couple of days with a pilot project. In a typical scenario, more pilot projects would follow, and results would guide how fast the system is moved into production – if at all. Likewise, the number and variety of projects and departments that are moved onto the system are guided by the success and confidence gained from its gradual use. Issues that can’t be resolved internally or by the open source community or through professional services will become apparent early on in this process, minimizing the investment risk.

We aren’t arguing that a company should download, install and commit a significant amount of resources from day one, just because the license is free. We are simply suggesting that the approach to innovation in this industry has been inefficient. It is time to “Collaborate to Innovate” instead of reinventing the wheel on both the client and vendor side each time we try to solve the same problem. Economics, freedom of choice, long-term security and the desire for collaborative innovation are driving the GlobalSight Open Source initiative. Participating companies will be in a position to try a sophisticated, enterprise-level TMS for very little cost. The downside risk to this approach is very small.

Lack of Critical Mass in Open Source Community
The article states that “the majority of open-source initiatives fail to garner enough development energy to stay competitive with commercial efforts over the long haul.” This statement, on its own, is true. But here are some reasons we expect the GlobalSight initiative to have a different result:

• The fact that GlobalSight is a very complex piece of enterprise software, with over 1.5 million lines of code, does make it a challenge for the typical developer to modify and extend the core application. But in talking to typical users, we hear the most need is around filters or adaptors, custom reporting and dashboards, and integration into existing business processes. Most of this work, it is important to point out, can be done external to the core application – either through the web services API, or through other forms of external code. Therefore, the modifications most companies need become simpler to make, share with the community and secure for their future.

• Over 160 people have signed-up for the initiative so far, even before the product has been launched.

• 12 industry-leading clients have volunteered their time to be on the GlobalSight Steering Committee to help support the initiative’s success.

• A standing-room-only crowd attended the first GlobalSight community meeting at the recent Localization World in Madison, WI where many clients and LSPs requested to be included in the Beta testing.

• Welocalize is making a significant investment to modernize the technology (see http://www.globalsight.com/roadmap.html ), with a 12-person development team currently transitioning the source code to tried and true open source standards such as MySQL, JBOSS and OpenLDAP. So the effort to move to open source also has the consequence of making Globalsight a more robust and scalable application.

• Welocalize is committing its $50 million dollar services operation to using GlobalSight internally. This in itself will create momentum for the product through constant enhancements and extensions to the product. Using the web services API, Welocalize is developing a portal to allow customers to track projects and key performance indicators through dashboards and other types of business reporting.

The Conflict Between the Needs of Corporate Users and LSPs
While the needs of these two groups are sometimes different, a vast majority of the requirements are the same. Everyone needs robust, server-side translation memories, terminology management, editable workflow tools and flexible reporting to provide the tools one needs to manage a business. Everyone is looking for standardization around TMX, SRX and TBX. The rest can and will be developed by the open source community. There are over 30 LSPs who have signed up so far to be a part of this initiative, many of whom were part of the Idiom LSP program.

In Summary
Welocalize is absolutely committed to providing a robust, open source TMS to be released in January 2009, which both clients and vendors can use to support their business. Some might question our motives in providing technology to competitors, but our vision is to drive innovation and standards in the most creative, collaborative and efficient way possible, thus increasing the opportunity for the industry as a whole to grow the overall size of the market.

GALA’s executive director, Jim Hollan, recently wrote an opinion/editorial piece on the importance of communicating locally in the upcoming U.S. elections. The piece is provided below as a blog entry.

Overall the global economy may be in chaos but some specialized sectors are experiencing record growth and expansion. Take the localization and language services industry: 85 percent of respondents to a recent Globalization and Localization Association survey have seen work volume increase in the past year—more than half have had increases of 20 percent or more.

Why? Because multinational companies have gotten the message: Communicating locally is the way to succeed globally. It is no longer a cost; it is a necessity. In fact, 65 percent of multinational enterprises believe localization is either important or very important for achieving higher company revenues.

But what about government? This year’s candidates in the U.S. General Election might learn a thing or two from the small but growing language services industry. As a melting pot, the US is a sampling of the entire world. As such, it is critical that government officials and those wishing to serve the people in government communicate to them locally in the languages that they understand.

That is more evident this year than ever before. Fifteen percent of the population is Hispanic. While Hispanics do not vote in those numbers, one million more Hispanics are registered to vote this year than in years past, and nine million Hispanics are expected to actually vote—up from seven million in 2004. The Asian American vote is also expected to increase this year.

I commend the two top presidential contenders for the localization of their websites into Spanish. Over the summer, both the site of John McCain and that of Barack Obama were only localized on the surface, with the requisite “En Espanol” button on the home page that linked to one general page on the candidates and their issues. But links from the one Spanish page always brought the reader back to an English page, halting communication right there.

Now the sites are localized much more deeply. On both sites, Spanish-language voters can get explanations of the issues in Spanish. On the McCain site, videos of regular Hispanic voters are available in Spanish. The Obama site has even translated its donation page—one wonders how that localization has translated into donations.

But the sites are only partially localized, missing important areas such as Obama’s tax calculator, which is only available in English, and neither campaign translates any of it volunteer pages, making it more difficult for enthusiastic Hispanic voters to volunteer to persuade Spanish-speaking friends and colleagues. A more important question is why the campaigns have not localized any content into major Asian languages. Older Asian Americans, who became citizens after being long-time residents, very often do not have a deep understanding of English. They are an important voting bloc that is still being ignored.

Fortunately the Help America Vote Act of 2002, and individual state election rules, have made it mandatory to provide voter information pamphlets in minority languages, such as Spanish, Korean, Vietnamese and Mandarin Chinese. But work still remains in the translation and transliteration of ballots.

Communicating to voters in ways they understand is the way to success.

Rapid globalization has had a profound effect on the documentation requirements of many forward-thinking companies. The need to quickly and accurately localize content for distribution to a host of different languages, while at the same time adhering to strict budgetary requirements, means that many companies have to rethink their legacy documentation technologies and workflows.

XML and single source publishing have revolutionized content management, document exchange, and multilingual communications by separating content structure from appearance. An XML-based documentation system can greatly reduce costs through facilitating ease of conversion for delivery to many different data formats and types of applications. However, in order to take advantage of the full benefits XML provides, changes must be made in the traditional documentation workflow process.

Throughout the documentation workflow, checks and balances are underway to ensure high quality content delivery. The single source concept ensures that these processes (i.e. conversion, edits, etc.) do not have to be repeated or reworked – that all content in the repository requires only minimal restructuring and promotion before being loaded to respective applications for delivery.

In a global setting, where documentation needs to be simultaneously distributed to a variety of different languages, archival XML source documents can easily be translated by applying translation scripts as well as rendering scripts that can localize formatting attributes based on language-specific requirements. In addition, translation and maintenance costs can be significantly reduced by normalizing content for an international market.

XML Documentation

XML has long been lauded by the publishing industry as a cost-cutting solution to many process-related issues in content production and delivery. Having content converted to XML allows for enhancements in content organization, indexing, linking, storage, reuse and delivery/display. But just having content converted to XML does not allow it to reach its full benefit. XML and its associated technologies call for redesigned workflows to demonstrate their enormous potential.

An optimized workflow for content publishers requires minimal process repetition. Once content is delivered, it is edited and converted to XML and stored in a centralized single source repository within the content management architecture. The XML files themselves will be minimally defined (tagged) so as to allow maximum flexibility. This repository now becomes the core storage mechanism for all deliverable content.

It is on the delivery side that this process model demonstrates its primary benefits. Storing content in the single source repository transforms exporting the content to different formats and applications for delivery into a primarily automated process. There is no need for additional conversions or edits each time content is to be delivered to a different medium. In addition, any complications that arise will now be instantly recognized as process-oriented rather than data-oriented.
Translation

Legacy translation memory databases attempt to modularize content by segmenting source and translated text and storing it in a searchable database for reuse. Though these partially automated systems have been proven to reduce costs when compared to manual processes, the fact that translation is generally done at the sentence level means that is often taken out of context and therefore often loses its meaning.

XML documents, on the other hand, are inherently modular and do not require the extensive parsing applied by traditional translation memory systems. In addition, XML assets can easily be encoded (with metadata, for example) and tracked throughout the translation process, ensuring that it remains closely associated with the contextual information often required by translators.

An XML-enabled single source publishing model is designed to leverage content reuse, enabling organizations to save significant time and money through reducing or even eliminating repeated translations. XML gives publishers the ability to conceptually segment content assets for translation purposes, while at the same time keeping them closely tied to context.

In the case of document frameworks, such as technical publishing, where text is often repeated in many different places, the ability to consolidate resources offers potentially enormous savings in translation costs alone.

Standards

A growing number of emerging standards are designed to aid in the localization of document frameworks. Methodologies for translation workflows and document exchange are designed to streamline content management architectures for multilingual environments. These include:

• Translation Memory eXchange (TMX) – a vendor-neutral XML standard for the exchange of translation memory data between tools and/or translation vendors
• Term Base eXchange (TBX) – an open XML-based standard for exchanging structured terminological data
• Open Lexicon Interchange Format (OLIF) – an open, XML-compliant standard for the exchange of terminological and lexical data
• XML Localization Interchange File Format (XLIFF) – an XML-based vocabulary for the exchange of localizable software and document-based objects and related metadata (XLIFF is also represented in the DITA Translation Subcommittee)
• Translation Web Services (TransWS) – specifies the calls needed to use Web services for the submission and retrieval of files and messages relating to localization projects
• XML-based Text Memory (xml:tm) – an open XML standard for embedding text memory directly within an XML document using XML namespace syntax

The extensible nature of XML lends itself to the creation of a wide variety of industry specifications, many of which enable businesses to streamline business processes and improving communication.

Formatting

In today’s global marketplace, organizations are often challenged with having to produce content in a variety of different languages. In a traditional documentation workflow model, this is an extremely arduous process. Legacy publishing software such as Quark, PageMaker, FrameMaker, etc. require expensive and resource-intensive desktop publishing and engineering processes for repurposing. In addition, these page layout applications are generally not well suited for delivery to multiple output formats.

XML is inherently extensible, offering an infinite number of ways to define and structure markup. This flexibility also enables it to handle arbitrary data structures and convey information for both human users and machines for processing. In addition, XML also provides broad support for Unicode characters, enabling the automation of text normalization processes and making it natively accessible to multilingual environments.

An XML documentation framework offers significant productivity enhancements to the localization workflow. The separation of content from structure and appearance that is inherent to XML gives companies the ability to translate text while at the same time maintaining the document structure dictated by an XML Schema or DTD. Any additional formatting that is required can also be simultaneously implemented through the application of XSLT and/or XSL:FO stylesheets.

Altova® Tools for XML-based Single Source Publishing in a Global Environment

There are, of course, several different methods for internationalizing content with XML technologies. Included below are just a few of examples of how Altova tools can be used to streamline global publishing workflows.

Multiple Output Formats

StyleVision® is a graphical stylesheet design tool that enables users to create one design for simultaneous output to HTML, RTF, PDF, Word 2007 (OOXML), and Authentic® electronic forms.

Language-specific Stylesheets

StyleVision also supports user-defined parameters that allow designers to maintain the modularity of their XML assets through the application of variables. This enables publishers to add unlimited new languages to their documentation by importing language-specific stylesheets and leaving XML content untouched.

Of course, this approach to multi-lingual publishing can lead to the creation of an enormous number of stylesheets that are increasingly difficult to maintain.

SchemaAgent®, Altova’s XML-based file management system offers advanced support for managing XSLT (as well as XML Schema and WSDL) document relationships in a large publishing environment.

XSL Lang() Function

StyleVision also supports the XSL lang() function, which pulls the correct translation from XML source document(s) based on the xml:lang attribute. In this scenario, the translations could be stored together in one XML instance as specified in the xml:tm standard, or stored separately in language-specific directories.

WYSIWYG Authoring Tool

Authentic gives content contributors the opportunity to edit XML directly through e-Forms based on the stylesheet design created in StyleVision. Authentic is available through a free license so that it can be deployed to an unlimited amount of users without increasing costs. This enables translators to work directly with XML, rather than having it transposed at a later date for publishing.

Authentic also includes a multi-lingual spell-checker that references built-in dictionaries in 18 different languages and vocabularies, allowing writers and translators to ensure the accuracy of their work.

Conclusion

Single source publishing calls for the creation of a centralized store of content that can be accessed, reused, and deployed to a variety of different mediums. This enables the integrity of the content to be maintained throughout an infinite number of iterations. In a large documentation localization pool, the ability to adapt to different language and formatting requirements provides significant business advantages.

There are several different approaches to maintaining single source content for a global audience. A careful and informed approach to preparing and storing content assets can ensure a variety of benefits including increased quality and consistency, reduction of translation costs, and increased longevity of translation investments.

In addition, the XML-enabled single source publishing model facilitates document repurposing for delivery to a variety of different formats, making it accessible to end-users in HTML, RTF, PDF, Word 2007 (OOXML), etc. Incorporating this system within organizations documentation workflow processes enables the presentation accurate, consistent, and standardized information. XSL transformations apply format-specific processing instructions while ensuring that document content and structure remain intact.

Migrating content to XML-based single source publication workflows requires some initial planning and technology investment, but the rewards are numerous. Cost reductions in translation and type-setting, faster time-to-market, and the ability to adapt to new language and data structures requirements in the future make the relatively small investment worthwhile.

Discover how single source publishing can optimize your global documentation workflows. Download a free 30-day trial of StyleVision today!

*Please note that StyleVision and the other products mentioned above are available as part of Altova’s software bundle, MissionKit™, which offers XML and data management tools for distributed publishing environments. Click here for more information on the MissionKit.

Internationalization Webseminar Announcement

Is your software global-ready?

- Can it be efficiently translated into multiple languages?
- Can it support Asian languages?
- Can it work in multiple date/time formats or handle address, phone number and other information that will vary worldwide?

Not sure? This interactive two-hour online course is definitely right for you then. Join us for a live WebSeminar and learn how to make internationalization - the process of adapting source code to support worldwide locale requirements - a smooth effort and avoid iterative, pernicious, and expensive delays to global releases and revenue.

WebSeminar: Global-Ready Applications / Programming for the World

Please email webseminars@lingoport.com for information on a GALA discount.

GALAxy recently published an article about test translations and their potential (or lack thereof) of providing a true test of the quality of a company’s work. What do you think about test translations?

Read the full article at this link: http://www.gala-global.org/GALAxy-article-why_sample_translations_break_all_the_rules-8668.html.

GALA Technology webinars have provided a platform for tool providers to give an in-depth introduction to their tools. Many of you will have attended a GALA webinar and have contributed to their success over the last few years. These have been non sales events where you got a good overview of the tool from the people who built it. This year we have decided to extend this program. We now have expert presentations as well as the presentations from tool providers.

GALA will shortly be announcing the 2008 series of webinars. Among the tool providers who have already committed to presentations are across, Alchemy, Plunet, Beetext, AIT and Kilgray. The expert presentations will start in March with a presentations from Richard Sikes called ‘Global Customer Satisfaction – Quality at the Source’. We will also have Yves Savourel from Enlasso on ‘The Internationalization Tag Set (ITS)’. XLIFF has recently become an official OASIS standard and I will be giving a presentation on it called an ‘Introduction to XLIFF’. Balázs Kis from Kilgray will be talking about ‘Term Extraction Algorithms’. Adam Aasnes from Lingoport has confirmed that he will be giving a presentation and towards the end of the year we will have David Pooley from SDL will give us an ‘Introduction to TMX’.

These are just some of the presentations which have been lined up so far. We are very interested in seeing your ideas for improving this series. If you want to suggest an expert presentation or are a tool provider who would like to take part in this please contact Amy who will work with you on this.

I hope you enjoy this series of presentations.

If you are new to software localization and visit the web sites of software tool vendors, they will tell you that What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get (WYSIWYG) is an extremely important feature. We all know it is important for desktop publishing. WYSIWYG editing eliminates the need to print a flyer again and again to see how changes look. But why is WYSIWYG important to software localization? [Read More on The Localization Tool…]

Localization Certification Program and Localization Certification Test

This first-of-its-kind Internationalization, Localization and Global Ecommerce Certification Program was designed for busy professionals that cannot attend live classroom training. This complete and practical courseware on CDs offers more than 8 hours of training, 212 slides, detailed narration and extensive written commentary that cover the same topics presented in the live training programs for a fraction of the price. All courseware is in a multimedia format, with audio, graphics, slides, and a lot of content in 2 CDs. This program has been used by leading technology companies such as PalmSource, Medical GE, WebMD and many universities. See a list of academia customers below. Also the US Library of Congress has recently acquired the certification program on CD.

“Before taking the Localization Certification Program I looked around and this course is the best one I found regarding internationalization and localization” - Ivбn Arredondo-Castro, Software Engineer, Healthcare Services Group, WebMD Health.

Relative information: http://www.tgpconsulting.com/certification-program.htm
http://localization.blog.co.uk/2007/08/09/the_world_s_foremost_network~2783044