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August
Cheerful through the crisis? The current financial and economic crisis tops all others in terms of its dimensions and impact. Managers are faced with emotional challenges that they are ill equipped or not equipped at all to deal with. Emotionally competent managers are not afraid to speak the truth regarding the facts and their feelings about the crisis. They do not go on about their hopes and dreams, but focus instead on what is there. People who are capable of expressing everybody’s feelings earn respect. Strong leadership can come to the fore and shine in times of crisis. Those who wish to lead others should first be capable of finding their way through the crisis. How is this done? www.tcworld.info/index.php?id=185
Technical communication is a quite stable area Dr. Michael Fritz is manging director at tekom. tcworld spoke with him about the effects of the global financial crisis on the organization and the technical communication sector as well as about tekom’s increased efforts to collaborate with organizations internationally. www.tcworld.info/index.php?id=186
TermWiki: A new collaborative terminology management solution The development of TermWiki provides organizations with an open-source, easy-to-use environment for managing terminology. Uwe Muegge explains the benefits of this system and how it works. www.tcworld.info/index.php?id=188
tekom study: Cost and effectiveness of terminology work The subject of terminology work often causes controversial discussions within companies. Some look at it mainly from a cost and investment related angle, whereas for others terminology work is a definite must in order to achieve an improvement in quality and efficiency. To solve this conflict tekom conducted a cost and effectiveness study on terminology work. www.tcworld.info/index.php?id=187
July
Managing time and success for technical writers Time is a constant given by nature and cannot be altered by human beings. We all have the same amount of time at our disposal. And even rich people cannot buy more time, which is totally fair, too. However, many technical writers feel that the pressure of deadlines that weighs on them is unfair: this is usually precipitated by impending market rollouts, poor groundwork by other technical departments or authoring processes that are not regulated precisely. www.tcworld.info/index.php?id=178
Collaboration and localization In The World Is Flat, Thomas Friedman divides modern history into three periods. Globalization 1.0 occupied the years between Columbus’ 1492 voyage to the Americas and the 1800s. It is characterized by collaboration at a country level. That is, things were generally accomplished within a national scope, and people were concerned with how their country fit into the world. www.tcworld.info/index.php?id=180
Using insights gained from brain research for technical documentation Almost every week, new results from brain research are being published. Neurobiology has already been hailed as the science of the 21st century. Brain-friendly learning is the name of the new paradigm for didactics. What are the basic findings from neurobiology and can technical communication use these in a productive manner? www.tcworld.info/index.php?id=179
Canadian Translation Standard – CAN/CGSB-131.10-2008 The Association de l’industrie de la langue/Language Industry Association (AILIA) is Canada’s industry representative in all matters pertaining to the language industry, including sectors such as translation, interpretation, terminology, training and technology. In 2008, AILIA launched the first ever national standard for translation services, CAN/CGSB-131.10-2008, Translation Services. www.tcworld.info/index.php?id=184
Expectations and responsibilities of technical communicators In the corporate world, expectations and responsibilities play a very important role. Throughout all levels – from top management down to the individual employee – expectations and responsibilities are set. An organization places a certain set of expectations on each of its business units. In accordance with the organizational goals the business units then set their expectations. To meet these expectations, the business unit performs the task of delegating responsibilities to all teams and their respective team members. The desired responsibilities can be met well, if all individual team members understand exactly what is required of them. www.tcworld.info/index.php?id=181
June 2010
Localizing in times of economic downturn The global recession has companies stuck between a rock and a hard place: While the belt is being tightened all around, localization budgets are re-evaluated to achieve short-term savings. However, those cutting down on localization efforts might miss out on life-saving business once the economy picks up. www.tcworld.info/index.php?id=176
Translating for humanity: Interview with Translators Without Borders Founder Lori Thicke Translators Without Borders (TWB, Traducteurs Sans Frontières) was founded in 1993 by Lexcelera, a language service provider based in Paris, France, and its General Manager, Lori Thicke. Over the years, TWB has provided quality humanitarian translations through a network of trained translators to vetted NGOs who focus on health, nutrition and education. On average, TWB volunteers translate 1 million words per year, focusing on humanitarian translations. www.tcworld.info/index.php?id=173
Comparison of online machine translation tools Which is the best online translation tool for language learners and general users of freeware? A recent research paper evaluates the quality of the three popular online translation tools Google Translate, Bing (Microsoft) Translator, and Yahoo Babelfish. Among other findings, the data reveals that while Google Translate is widely preferred when translating long passages, Microsoft Bing Translator and Yahoo Babelfish often produce better translations for phrases below 140 characters. Also, in general Babelfish performs well in East Asian Languages such as Chinese and Korean and Bing Translator performs well in Spanish, German, and Italian. www.tcworld.info/index.php?id=175
Snap shots from the GALA conference 2010 From 9-12 May Robert Etches attended the GALA conference in Prague. He captured his impressions and thoughts in his in-depth conference report. www.tcworld.info/index.php?id=174
International measures “58.42 cm (23”) Full HD Monitor with 50:000:1 contrast and 5 ms”: technical details for many electronic products read something like this nowadays. What exactly does the specification “58.42 cm” signify? Were we not happy so far with the “23-inch monitor”? Since the beginning of the year, the EU lawmakers have been proposing more uniformity. www.tcworld.info/index.php?id=177
May 2010
From the segment to the context In the last 15 years, Translation Memory Systems or TMS have made a definitive contribution towards streamlining translation processes. Since the potential of a conventional TMS appears to have been exhausted, many manufacturers are revamping their solutions in search of further ways of rationalizing them. www.tcworld.info/index.php?id=167
Translations with the quality stamp Reliable, constant quality is possible only through defined and traceable processes. Standards such as the ISO 9001 and EN 15038 are used as differentiators against competitors in the translation industry. But what do these standards add to the quality of translations? What benefits can clients expect through their application? And what is the role they play in selecting service providers? www.tcworld.info/index.php?id=168
Internationalizing Code: Early involvement and education of localization experts is key Internationalization of code – and how developers can work better with localization experts – was the subject of a recent panel discussion in Silicon Valley hosted by Rubric, Inc. The event, the seventh Rubric Birds of a Feather discussion, was intended to bring localization and internationalization professionals together to hear industry leaders discuss an important industry topic and to network with their peers. www.tcworld.info/index.php?id=166
Winning and keeping your customers in the translation and localization industry In most cases, we do not accurately record the true cost of a sale – it is not reflected in the monthly balance sheet. Yet the cost of customer acquisition and retention should be one of the key measures for any organization. So, how much money could companies save by reducing the financial and time investment associated with identifying and securing new customers, and focus more on increasing business from existing customers who may be the target of advances from the competition? www.tcworld.info/index.php?id=169
April 2010
How to choose a translation vendor When a company identifies a need for documentation to be translated into new languages for both existing and new customers, it is important to ensure it chooses the right translation vendor. To do so, it is necessary to identify options (with associated costs and risks) for meeting current demands, processes for handling future translation requests, and a big-picture strategy for documentation translation needs across product lines and worldwide needs. www.tcworld.info/index.php?id=158
Running a successful in-house translation department If translation was a fairy tale, it would be like the following scenario: Everything is running smoothly and we spend our time at work by clicking a “Submit” button every now and then. Translations roll in and out and everybody in the company is happy. Costs are minimized, controlling leaves us alone, because they know that everything is optimized and no project could shock the translators no matter how harsh the deadline is or how inferior the source language quality might be. The reality – of course – still looks slightly different. However, at Translation Management at SMA we keep this scenario in mind, as this is what we are aiming for. www.tcworld.info/index.php?id=159
A global look at cloud computing We have seen revolutionary computing technologies come about roughly once each decade in the modern era of computing since around 1945, when computing came to mean computations performed by a machine, not by man. From the mainframe era of the 1960s to the advent of minicomputers in the 1970s, the personal computer (PC) in the 1980s, the growth of the internet and the web in the 1990s, and the explosion of cell phones and other smart, web-connected devices in the past ten years, computing has been reinvented in many ways over time. www.tcworld.info/index.php?id=157
Intercultural Coaching: The next big thing Intercultural coaching has the same basic tenets as standard professional coaching but also takes into consideration the coachee’s cultural perspective, and those of the people around him/her. Intercultural coaching focuses on creating an ‘intercultural climate’ that allows the coach and coachee to become more culturally aware and adapt their behavior and expectations as appropriate. www.tcworld.info/index.php?id=160
Terminology to suit the master plan Terminology in line with a plan, tapping synergies, overcoming technical hurdles and not losing sight of the big picture, namely, overall multilingual communication: Is all this just a pipe dream or just a question of perspective and approach? A lot of things that corporate managers have hoped for with regards to terminology management are already feasible in terms of technology and work process. www.tcworld.info/index.php?id=162
tekom Spring Conference 2010: Discover Schweinfurt The Spring Conference on the 29th and 30th of April is guided by the motto “Successful in times of change”. At the Hotel Mercure and Schweinfurt Main Island Conference Centre, exhibitors, participants and visitors can find out how Technical Communication is changing through the effects of the economic crisis and other factors, and how to overcome the newly emerging challenges. www.tcworld.info/index.php?id=161
March 2010
Technical communication: Content is the key Recent years have seen more and more capable authoring tools with an ever-increasing number of smart features. But what about the art of writing good content? Has the focus on highly-developed software applications shadowed the need for writing comprehensive, high-quality content? www.tcworld.info/index.php?id=148
Quality in the eyes of the customer Customers want—and expect—quality. This certainly states the obvious! But probe a little deeper, and you will find that what this really means varies greatly from client to client, and even from project to project with the same client. So why do language service providers define quality the same way for every client? www.tcworld.info/index.php?id=149
Effects of the global financial crisis on India A financial crisis occurs whenever changes are encountered including a sudden drop of the exchange rate due to new financial market conditions. The latest financial crisis in the United States has influenced markets across the world, including India, which saw the growth of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) declining. www.tcworld.info/index.php?id=150
Caution against “suitable handling" “Why bother with writing a chapter on safety when no one is going to read it anyway?” A justifiable question indeed. In most cases, the reason quoted is escaping legal consequences. And that is exactly how safety notes would come across to readers: legally motivated dry patches, as if this is precisely what the author intended to achieve, namely, that the notes should go unread. An approach that has serious consequences, because the quality, the didactic design of the notes based on the latest inputs from science and technology, is crucial in effective safeguarding. www.tcworld.info/index.php?id=152
Practical tips for Word 2010 – where text and image exist in unison Towards the end of November 2009 Microsoft released the beta versions of the next generation Office applications, namely, “Office 2010” for downloading. The text processing with Word is worth taking a look at where technical documentation is concerned. What does Word 2010 have in store for technical documentation? In what way is it different from the predecessors? www.tcworld.info/index.php?id=151
February 2010
English in Chinese and Japanese – Adopting loan words in foreign languages Loan words are part of each language and they enrich its vocabulary and texture. Some are used to explain new words and fields, some are used just because they are cool. Today English is the international lingua franca. So let’s have a look at how the Chinese and Japanese languages incorporate English terms and how they are used. www.tcworld.info/index.php?id=141
Keys to producing user-friendly manuals for the Japanese market In today’s Japanese market, winning the customer’s trust in one’s company and products requires placing ever more attention to after-sales service. For instance, the corporate image is often determined by the quality and reliability of the after-sales service when problems occur after buying a product. With a wide variety of products to choose from, helpful and comprehensive operation manuals are a particularly important aspect of after-sales service. This article highlights points to be considered when producing printed operation manuals for the Japanese market. In addition, it provides concrete examples to illustrate these points. www.tcworld.info/index.php?id=142
The future of the language services industry Olga Pechnenko-Kopp became Chief Executive Officer for McElroy Translation (of Austin, Texas USA) last October. As an under-40 leader with deep entrepreneurial experience, she brought a fresh perspective to the venerable language service provider. In this interview with her, we learn about changes in the industry and how it recovers from the economic downturn. www.tcworld.info/index.php?id=140
Implications of increasing Europe’s trade with China Is English still the language of business? There is no simple answer to this question, but there is also no doubt that China is investing more and more outside its borders, including the European continent. Companies and governments around the world with no significant economic ties to China in the last decade of the twentieth century are now trading with this giant, some of them heavily. How then are these countries doing business with China? Is it in English, the so-called “language of business”? Or is it through language services? If the latter is the case, who has adapted to whom? Are Chinese entrepreneurs learning other languages or are people in other countries learning Chinese? Are language service providers (LSPs) translating more from Chinese into European languages or vice versa? www.tcworld.info/index.php?id=135
GALA 2010 focuses on global content delivery The Globalization and Localization Association (GALA) will hold its second Language of Business conference from May 10 to 12 at the Intercontinental Praha in Prague. “GALA 2010: The language of business. The business of language.” will bring together suppliers, technology providers and consumers of translation and localization services to collectively share and debate the latest technologies and advancements in localization, language and global content delivery. www.tcworld.info/index.php?id=139
January 2010
Ten good reasons for using a translation memory More than 20 years after the first commercial translation memory products became available, surveys indicate that while the vast majority of those surveyed do use a translation memory system, less than 30 percent of translators use this type of tool for every translation project or on a daily basis. Even studies of translation memory usage among the most advanced users show that it is still not well understood that the benefits of using a translation memory go well beyond re-using existing translations. www.tcworld.info/index.php?id=129
2009 ends with hope for future growth Language service providers around the globe have been heavily impacted by the economic downturn, but optimism for growth next year has increased substantially, according to the Globalization and Localization Association’s (GALA) most recent quarterly survey. For the seventh straight quarter, GALA asked its members (language services and technology providers) about the economy and its impact on business, allowing the association to draw a picture of the effect the recession has had on the language and localization industry. www.tcworld.info/index.php?id=131
Using social media in technical communication In our daily activities, we see an increase of information exchange, both in our personal and professional lives. Social media like forums, blogs and wikis have a great impact on the user, turning him from content consumer into content producer. A large number of today’s content users, belonging to various professions and walks of life, have started to dig deep into online information sources. Apart from their regular profession of writing user manuals, technical writers are also becoming increasingly keen on writing information in social media applications. www.tcworld.info/index.php?id=130
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