diversity in localization (olga melnikova)
TRANSCRIPT
Diversity In Localization
Olga Melnikova
Summer School For Novice Translators And Interpreters
July 4, 2017
About The Speaker: Russian Experience
Degrees: MA in Creative Writing from Gorky Literature Institute and MA in Teaching French and English from Kaluga State University
2007-2014 – translator for Russian Translation Company (Ru, En, Fr)
2010-2012 – court interpreter (Ru, Fr)
2010-now – futureactually.com - volunteer
About The Speaker: US Experience
May 2015 – MA in Translation and Localization
Management, Middlebury Institute (MIIS), Monterey,
CA, US
May 2015 – August 2016: Localization Project
Management Intern at Venga Global, Inc.
September 2016 – now: Localization Project Manager
at Moravia, Monterey office
About The Speaker: US Experience
2015 – Amateur Winner of LocJAM, a non-profit worldwide game localization contest (www.locjam.org)
2016 – Pro Winner of LocJAM
2015 – now – performs with the O’NO band that plays songs in 10 languages.
Resources
• Multilingual.com
• Slator.com
• CommonSenseAdvisory.com (CSA)
• TAUS.com
• Companies blogs (e.g., Moravia)
Goal Of This Localization Class
Explain why localization is important and introduce the audience to main localization areas
Agenda
1. What is Localization and Why Is It Important?
2. Patchwork Localization (CAT Tools and TMS; Websites, Software And Mobile Apps; Games, Videos and Voice Recognition; Machine Translation and Crowdsourcing)
3. How To Become Successful Translator In The Modern World
Part 1: What Is Localization And Why Is It Important?
Is localization a part of translation or T9n is a part of L10n?
Localization involves taking a product or service and making it linguistically and culturally appropriate to the target locale (country / region and language) where it will be used and sold. It can mean “translation”, but not always. Localization is bigger than translation and it is related to technology.
(M. Troyer, L10n Professor)
Key words:
- product or service (business)
- culturally appropriate (take into consideration who are target users)
- technology (we live in the age of technology)
Is localization a part of translation or T9n is a part of L10n?
L10n
Internationalization
Engineering
Translation
Transcreation
In-Context Review
(Testing)
DTP
Is localization a part of translation or T9n is a part of L10n?
Translation
Localization
Three Localization Pillars
Language Business
Technology
Localization Is Language
Localization Is Business
A company has a product that it is successfully selling on one market (US)
Silicon Valley startups want to go global to boost profits (1 market vs 50 markets)
Google services, Facebook, Instagram, Airbnb, Uber, etc. now exist in many languages –those companies went global!
Many want to follow their examples
Localization Is Business: Going Global
Localization Is Technology
Translators face many challenges because the profession is changing.
The only way to cope with these challenges is to become tech savvy and learn how to use and combine
different translation technologies to keep up with the growing demand for
high-quality translation.
The key term is Technology; we now live in a world of technology
Today’s reality: if you do not know how to use technology as a professional, you will not be successful at the translation market
L10n is where language (arts) and programming (science) meet
Do NOT divide people into 2 groups of ‘humanities-bent’ and ‘science-bent’
Localization Is Technology
Overview Of Part 1 (What Is Localization And Why Is It Important?)
Language Business
Technology
L10N
Part 2: Patchwork Localization
Agenda
Language Industry: Past, Present, Future
CAT Tools and Translation Management Systems (TMS)
Website, Software, Mobile Localization (Concept of Content Management System, or CMS)
Game Localization
Video Localization
Voice Recognition
Machine Translation And Crowdsourcing
Language Industry: Past, Present And Future
Past Present Future (No one knows)
Products Books (Novels, short stories)PoetryPressDocuments / Legal
Technology:Websites, desktop and mobile appsMarketing Materials (online / printed)Cloud-based servicesVideos
Technology will continue boosting
MainActors
Publishing HousesTranslators
ClientsLanguage Service ProvidersFreelancers
Artificial Intelligence (AI)Machine Translation (MT)Post-Editors
Tools Paper DictionariesTypewriterOnline DictionariesMS Word
CAT ToolsTranslation Management Systems (TMS)Content Management Systems (CMS)
MT Engines (Neural MT technology)CAT and MT Combination (LILT)
Unit A word, a page String, segment String, segment
1. CAT Tools And Translation Management Systems (TMS)
CAT (Computer-Assisted Translation) Tools
CAT means “Computer Assisted Translation”.
This is a translation technology that assists humans in their translation.
HOW? - Using automation. Automation helps increase productivity and ensure consistency.
CAT Tools Are Based On Two Main Concepts
Translation Memory (TM)
Terminology Database / Base (TD or TB)
CAT Tools: How It Works
1) You translate a segment (sentence) in a CAT tool:
2) This segment pair (source and target) is automatically saved in Translation Memory.
3) Next time, if you start translation and get the same segment, you will re-use translation, meaning that the translation will be automatically added to the target column so that you do not have to translate the same thing over and over again.
4) However, if the new segment is slightly different, the TM will show <100 Match (known as Fuzzy match), and the unmatched words will be highlighted so that you could replace them.
5) Apart from Translation Memories, CAT tools also contain terminology databases, or glossaries. If you translate a word from the glossary, it will automatically pop up.
Thãnksgîvïng
CAT Tools: How It Works
Never translate the same thing twice
Consistency (of translation, terminology, style across projects, products, translators)
You can finish your translations sooner (=time saving)
Cost saving: if you outsource translation to someone, you will pay less (exact matches pay only 0-25%, fuzzy matches pay 25-75% compared to the basic 100% per-word rate)
Main Benefits Of TMs And TDs
CAT Tools Overview
SDL Trados Studio (paid)
memoQ (paid) Memsource (free and paid)
Wordfast Anywhere (free)
SmartCAT (free and paid)
MateCat (free and paid)
Project creation
Analytics
Vendors DB
Communication
Status management
File exchange
Finances (POs, Invoices)
Translation Management Systems (TMS)
Example: XTRF
Translation Management System
TMS Overview: Only Few Examples
SDL Worldserver XTRF
Plunet Crowdin
2. Websites, Software, Mobile Apps (Concept Of CMS)
Before: Websites, Software (desktop apps, or clients), Mobile Apps – different things
Now, those are just “different platforms”, but each product is existing on all the three platforms
Two separate worlds: online (servers, websites) and offline (desktop, mobile) are now being synchronized
Localization is being done in Content Management System (CMS), and then the translated strings get pushed to all the platforms
Concept Of CMS
Websites, desktop apps and mobile apps are managed via Content Management Systems, or CMS (the ”engines”), examples: WordPress, Drupal
CMS is where you manage the content that gets pushed to all the platforms
You can manage content (of your website, for example) even without being a programmer
CMS: What Does The End User See?
CMS: How Does The Backend Look Like?
CMS Overview: Only Few Examples
WordPress Drupal
Joomla Prestashop
CMS: How Is Content Extracted For Translation And Localized?
Identify strings in CMS (most often – upload strings that are the content updates)
Send them for translation to the Translation Management System (TMS) and / or a CAT tool
Once they are translated in a CAT tool and/or TMS and submitted by linguists, they are automatically uploaded to the corresponding part of the CMS, under the corresponding language
CMS: How Is Content Extracted For Translation And Localized?
Content that needs to be localized is pushed to TMS
Translation Management System
Our Association was represented by its President, Christiane Vdovenko.
Notre Association a ete represente par sa Presidente, Christiane Vdovenko.
Note importante
TMS (XTRF)
Content pushed to CATCAT Tool (Memsource)
File with “Our Association was represented by its President, Christiane Vdovenko” loaded to XTRF.
CMS
TMS
CAT
CMS, TMS And CAT: Possible Integrations
Source
SourceSource
Source
Target
Target
Target Target
3. Patchwork Localization: Games
Games are designed to be unique (very creative, a lot of artwork)
Games are also being designed for different platforms (online, game consoles, desktop, mobile), but unlike software, the same game may look very different at different platforms as if these are different games.
In case of games, there are game engines for game development and there are localization kits
Game Localization Kit
Game Localization Kit:
Strings in xml format (to put to a CAT tool)
Context is very important
Handwritten text, signs, artwork
Sound, music, spoken text
4. Patchwork Localization: Videos
Subtitles Voice-over Dubbing
1 Translate the text and produce a script
Translate the text and produce a script
Translate the text in such a way that the words used match the lip movements of the actors (lip syncing) – a very expensive translation
2 Produce a subtitles file with an appropriate time coding and formatting
Record the voice-over track using voice talent’s services
Comprehensive recording process (involving qualified actors and recording technicians)
3 Produce finalized subtitled video (localization engineering)
Sync the video and the audio (localization engineering)
Comprehensive localization engineering – putting everything together in one video
5. Patchwork Localization: Voice Recognition (PAs)
Apple: Siri
Microsoft: Cortana
Amazon: Alexa
Google: Ok Google
6. Machine Translation And Crowdsourcing: Are They Enemies Of Professional Translators?
Neural Machine Translation (NMT) - a giant leap in quality improvement compared to SMT
MT engine – any company and even a person can train their MT engine
Big companies each have their MT engine trained (Google, Facebook, Amazon, eBay)
99% of all the translation volume is being done by the machine
Will translators disappear soon?
Neural Machine Translation
MT coupled with AI (artificial intelligence) represent a new paradigm in machine learning that is not based on flat data collection and analysis, but rather on mirroring the complex, multi-layer structure of a human brain and its learning models.
Machine Translation Is Not Your Enemy!
Ray Kurzweil and the concept of singularity (human levels of MT by 2029)
To the question of whether or not NMT means the end of the translation profession, the answer is “Not Yet”
Business / Marketing content still needs to be localized / transcreatedby human beings who are experts in target culture and its nuances (and how to make people buyers)
MT can be a powerful tool to make you highly productive; it is a base for emerging technology like LILT (adaptive machine translation, combination of MT and CAT tool).
Crowdsourcing
Crowdsourcing –what is it?
Examples: Skype, YouTube
Voting system
Impact on Quality
It is not your enemy because the contributors are not professionals, thus cannot ensure a high level of quality
In modern world, quality is important as corporations do not want their products to look bad or funny to other markets (which can have huge negative impact on their reputation and profit)
Part 3: How To Become A Successful Translator In Modern World
7. How To Become A Successful Translator In Modern World
Platforms: LinkedIn, ProZ
Credentials (degrees, certifications)
Specializations (marketing, legal, HR)
Resume (detailed experience)
Tools (CMS, TMS, CAT Tools, good with technology, ready to learn)
Skills (hard skills and soft skills)
Endorsements and Mentions (including clients reviews)
Keeping names of your clients confidential
Membership in Professional Associations, networking
Readiness to take many non-paid tests and spend a lot of time on self-promotion
What Matters To USA Companies (Your Clients)?
4 main things:
• Excellent target language skills
• Excellent English skills (to understand the source correctly)
• In-country, not out-of-country: culture nuances, transcreation
• Excellent product knowledge
Some other considerations:
• Work hard while you are a student
• Use business language (know how to write good emails in English)
• Be responsive
• Be reliable
• Be flexible
• Be professional
Conclusion: Where Art Meets Science
As far as the language industry goes, there is nothing but localization in modern world, and if you combine old-fashioned love for words (arts) with being strong in technology and CAT tools (science) and reinforce this combination with great business skills, you will be successful in-demand professional.
Recap: Three Pillars Of L10n And Resources
Language Business
Technology
L10N
• Multilingual.com
• Slator.com
• CommonSenseAdvisory.com
(CSA)
• TAUS.com
• Companies blogs (e.g., Moravia)
