Optimizing With Translation Memory
Getting the Most Out of a Useful Translation Tool

Your organization probably uses terms, phrases, bios of staff members, or certain paragraphs repeatedly in Web sites, documents and press releases. Perhaps you have order forms, product descriptions or technical instructions that are used again and again. In any of these cases, the application of translation memory tools to your material can provide significant cost savings and increase efficiency of the translation. One of the tools translation companies use when localizing Web sites and translating business material is a translation memory database. In the following section, we’ll take a look at the benefits achieved through the use of translation memory and how your organization can help build your translation memory.

Why Reinvent the Wheel?
In order to better understand the benefits of translation memory, here’s how these programs work with your material: Translation Memory programs, like Trados, SDLX, Déjà Vu or Transit, are database systems that store all translations and allow translators to use them in future projects. During translation, source language segments are saved together with their target language equivalents in a translation memory. Each segment to be translated is compared to the segments in the translation memory. If the same or a similar segment is found in the translation memory, the translation that was saved with this segment is offered to the translator. Translators use the context of the document and their own professional judgment to accept or modify the suggested translation. This recycling of previous translations increases consistency of terminology across many projects.

Translation memories can be used not only for Word and Excel documents, but they can also be used for files like HTML, SGML, PowerPoint and XML which are often used for localizing content, and file formats like FrameMaker, QuarkXPress and InDesign that are used for publishing. Tools, such as TagEditor, allow translators to distinguish between translatable text and non-translatable text tags, thus protecting the formatting and integrity of the content.

The Right Way to Get it Right
Using a translation memory will ensure that your company’s product names and terminology can be used consistently throughout all localized content. Memories are also a great way to help new translators get up to speed quickly. And, depending on the volume of translation, some companies are able to save as much as 30 percent consistently by leveraging translation memory.

If your team has done translations in the past that have not been entered into a translation memory, it would be a good idea to send these to your Language Service Provider (LSP) so that the project manager and translator can create an “aligned” document from the source text and the target language text. This newly created document can be processed through a translation memory so that you gain the benefit of translations completed before you started working with a translation memory. And if the translation team has some corrections and suggestions about how to improve these past translations, with your feedback and guidance, they can update the translation memory before a new project begins. This process will save a lot of time and effort for your team and the translation team right from the start!

Maintaining and Updating Your Translation Memory
After a project is translated and published, your LSP will ask the translation team to update your translation memories and glossaries with new words or terms used in the course of a new translation project. Any corrections that your team has requested during the course of the project will also be entered into the translation memory so that the memory always has the most up-to-date content.

Using and updating a translation memory this way will make future projects more efficient because all vocabulary and terminology updates will carry over into subsequent projects. Building and maintaining a translation memory not only helps ensure accuracy of future translations, but also reduces the time and effort necessary to complete similar projects. Your translation memory is updated to reflect the translation decisions made in the most recent translation. Since you won’t always be reusing content in future translation projects or producing new editions of large documents, not all translation projects are good candidates for the use of translation memory. However, those that are good candidates provide an excellent opportunity to build for future translation efficiencies. Thinking ahead to how you plan to use translated content in the future will save you time and maintain the accuracy you need by applying previous translations to subsequent projects.

For more information about the benefits of using translation memory for your documents, ask your viaLanguage representative. We think you’ll be pleased with the consistent results and long term savings!