Isabelle: Multilingual Technical Communication
- 1. Multilingual Technical Communication tcworld India 2011 Conference, Bangalore Isabelle Fleury, Fleury & Fleury Consultants
- 2. Challenges Number of document types increases MORE Number of versions and variants grows FURTHER Number of languages grows FASTER Product life cycle gets shorter Quality awareness grows BETTER BUT: Budget does not increase accordingly 息 Fleury & Fleury GbR, www.fleuryfleury.com 2
- 3. High Complexity Technologies Exchange Processes Develop Author Localize Test Launch Your Stakeholders Client organiza-tion Suppliers Exchange 息 Fleury & Fleury GbR, www.fleuryfleury.com 3
- 4. Solutions: Reduce complexity and workload Tools Document structure Standardize Text Workflows Communication Data Centralize Process steps Exchange of data Automate Administration 息 Fleury & Fleury GbR, www.fleuryfleury.com 4
- 5. Two areas of leverage Technical Writing Localization 息 Fleury & Fleury GbR, www.fleuryfleury.com 5
- 6. Technical Writing Localization 息 Fleury & Fleury GbR, www.fleuryfleury.com 6
- 7. Objectives for Multilingual Technical Writing Standardized document and information structures Enable reuse at a high level Clarity of expression Avoid misunderstanding, queries, errors and rework Consistency in style and terminology Reduce amount of new text, queries and enable reuse Translation-oriented authoring Allow for market-specific contents and enable processing by CAT-Tools 息 Fleury & Fleury GbR, www.fleuryfleury.com 7
- 8. Consider Cultural and Market-Specific Characteritiscs while Writing Connotations: Cultural and historical references Meanings of colors Use of pictures Formal requirements: norms and directives Qualification profile of users 息 Fleury & Fleury GbR, www.fleuryfleury.com 8
- 9. Mind the Interdependences between Writing and Localization Command of authoring tools Impacts the degree of reuse of translated materials (match rate) Authors are not native speakers Causes comprehension issues Degree of completion at the start of localization Leads to rework and higher process complexity Education and experience as technical writer Awareness and ability to write for various target groups 息 Fleury & Fleury GbR, www.fleuryfleury.com 9
- 10. Please enter start date before or equal to the end date. Please enter a start date earlier than or the same as the end date. Please enter an actual start date earlier than the actual end date. The Start Date cannot exceed the End Date. The End Date cannot precede the Start Date. End Date must be later than Start Date. End date must be equal to or later than the start date. The end date must be later than or the same as the start date. End Time must be later than the Start Time. The valid grade's end date must be later than or equal to its start date. Please enter an End Date that is later than or the same as the Start Date. Competence end date has to be later than or equal to the start date. The start date cannot be later than the end date. The appraisal end date must be later than or equal to appraisal start date. The Effective start date cannot be later than the Effective end date. Date from cannot be later than date to. The start date must be on or before the end date. The Start Date cannot be after the End Date. Your end date must be after your start date. The end date cannot be before the start date. Start date must be before end date. Your start date must be before your end date. Enter a Start Date that is on or later than &LL. 息 Fleury & Fleury GbR, www.fleuryfleury.com 10
- 11. Best practices: Which rules are useful? 息 Fleury & Fleury GbR, www.fleuryfleury.com 11
- 12. Technical Writing Localization 息 Fleury & Fleury GbR, www.fleuryfleury.com 12
- 13. Tool Landscape Authoring Translation CMS Translation Memory Systeme Authoring tools CAT-PM-Tools MS Office Terminology-Tools Layout Tools Machine translation systems SW Development Quality control tools Image processing Online dictionaries tools 息 Fleury & Fleury GbR, www.fleuryfleury.com 13
- 14. 息 Fleury & Fleury GbR, www.fleuryfleury.com 14
- 15. Translation Memory Tools Some TMS providers: SDL, STAR, across, MultiCorpora, Kilgray Advantages: Never translate a sentence twice Increase consistency Context sensitive suggestion Processing of various authoring formats Knowledge-base available across departments Risks: More interfaces mean new sources of errors Reuse of wrong translations Too much faith in technology: Loss of criticism 息 Fleury & Fleury GbR, www.fleuryfleury.com 15
- 16. Language specific aspects Alphabets and their various special characters, some use double byte characters Writing direction (bi-directional languages) Punctuation Dates and numbers Measurement units Text expansion ISO 639 Unicode 息 Fleury & Fleury GbR, www.fleuryfleury.com 16
- 17. Parameters to Keep in Mind when Defining and Assessing Translation Quality Languages are not homogeneous Various registers: formal, informal Dependable on target group: technicians, end users, teens, IT early adopters Terms are not always translatable as in source language Umbrella term: snow, screw No corresponding concept Synonyms in source and target languages Languages are subject to change Language is highly subjective Strong identification with own language 息 Fleury & Fleury GbR, www.fleuryfleury.com 17
- 18. Process Landscape in Localization Projects CHANGE MANAGEMENT CLIENT CORRECTIONS LOCALIZATION Engineering Translation DTP Publication QUERIES DATA MANAGEMENT PROJECT MANAGEMENT Projektdefinition Definition Planning Controlling Closure Request Execution Delivery 息 Fleury & Fleury GbR, www.fleuryfleury.com 18
- 19. Process Modules and Steps Translation DTP Engineering Proofreading of source Internationalization Internationalization Copywriting Textexport, import Pre- / postprocessing First translation Layout Functional Testing Peer-review Image processing Linguistic QA In-country review Linguistic layout QA Software development Subject Matter Expert In-country layout QA CAT Engineering 息 Fleury & Fleury GbR, www.fleuryfleury.com 19
- 20. Criteria to Define Localization Process Depending on Source document and objectives File format of source and target document Quality of source document (text and form) Level of text complexity Target group and quality objectives Liability risks Depending on Localization process: Expertise and availability of resources Cost and time frame Translation technologies used 息 Fleury & Fleury GbR, www.fleuryfleury.com 20
- 21. Specifics of International Teams Different cultures (geography and company) Language barriers Different concepts of time Acceptance and display of emotions Handling of rules and instructions Yes or No? Hierarchy and gender Humor 息 Fleury & Fleury GbR, www.fleuryfleury.com 21
- 22. Key Success Factors for Multilingual TC Standardize documents and source text to support reuse of content and translation Document the defined processes and procedures and deploy them across departments Control application of defined rules and processes Establish technical writing and localization as own steps in the product life cycle Mind cultural and language specific aspects while writing and communicating 息 Fleury & Fleury GbR, www.fleuryfleury.com 22
- 23. All the best for your next multilingual projects! Isabelle Fleury Tel: +49 2104 8089920 E-Mail: info@fleuryfleury.com Internet: http://www.fleuryfleury.com