Terminology and Computer Applications for Translation
Class Time and Place:
T, 4:25 - 7:05 Location: Satterfield 311, Section 001
T, 7:20 - 10:00 Location: Satterfield 311, Section 002
Instructors: Sue Ellen Wright and Jill R. Sommer
Office: Satterfield 306-E Tel: 672-2438
SEW Home Tel.: 330-678-2829; E-MAIL: sewright@neo.rr.com
JRS Home Tel.: 440-519-0161; E-MAIL: bonnjill@adelphia.net
Class & Lab Assistants: Emily Pierson, E-MAIL: emilypierson@hotmail.com
Fawn Homan, E-MAIL: fawn.homan@gmail.com
Office Hours:
SEW: T: 3:00-4:00; W: 2:00-4:00; H: 2:00-4:00
JRS: T: By appointment
Or by appointment. Please note that the 4:00-4:25 Tuesday and Wednesday is NOT reserved for office hours. This time is needed for class preparation and setup. Also note that there is very little time between sessions on Tuesday evenings. Please respect this break! We will need it.
Lab Troubleshooting: By appointment during regular office hours; contact Emily or Fawn for special problems.
Prerequisite: Graduate standing
MCLS 60009: Documents in Multilingual Contexts
Or by special permission of the instructor
Preliminary Handout: Class Description and Detailed Syllabus
Note: The syllabus is subject to ongoing modification. Changes will be posted on a regular basis to the course Web site, as will PowerPoint presentations. It is the responsibility of students to check the Web site on a regular basis to keep abreast of changes. The concept of ever-changing timelines and responsibilities mirrors the real world environment that this course is designed to reflect.
Course URL: ResourcePages/Courseware/Terminology_ComputerApps/60011Syllabus-2007.html
Table of Contents:
Course description
Detailed Syllabus Chart
Deliverables
Suggested Readings
MultiTerm Tutorial Resources
Final Exam
Quality Checklist
Terminology Management FAQ
Cardinal Virtues in Terminology Management
1 Course description
1.1 Terminology and Computer Aids for Translation (CAT)
The following types of applications will be discussed with emphasis on the role of terminology in these contexts:
* Terminology management systems
* Terminology extraction (term/information mining)
* "Screen scraping" -- creating real or virtual text corpora
* Finding and using text corpora for terminology management
* Text alignment
* Translation memory
* Tagged text editors
* Machine translation
* Other terminology database management programs
* Concept systems, thesauri, and ontology systems
Although translators today use a wide variety of different types of software, this course focuses on SDL-Trados WorkbenchTM as a fundamental working environment whose mastery will prepare students to go on in the second year to familiarize themselves more readily with a variety of other programs. This family of applications cannot be legally ported to students' own computers, unless students happen to own the software themselves. This means that working in the computer labs is essential for most students. Trados does offer student rates and demo programs, but care should be taken to ensure that any demos used will be fully operational and that data can be saved and submitted to the instructor as a required deliverable.
1.2 Terminology
Terminologies (sometimes called special languages or technolects) comprise the vocabulary used by subject experts in every area of specialized endeavor, from law to engineering to cooking to training a dog. The terms used in special languages provide the building blocks from which original technical texts and translations are crafted. Technical terminology is critical, not only for translators and technical writers as document producers, but also for teachers of special languages, who must be able to assist their students in acquiring the specialized knowledge they need to function in a wide variety of subject fields. The current exponential growth in human knowledge, coupled with the demand to codify related information in computer databases, requires the systematized study of terminology in virtually all areas. Starting from standardized terminology in such domains as engineering and law, terminological principles are today being applied to the social sciences and explored for use in the normalization of canonical texts for the translation of literature in the belles lettres. The precise definition of terminology and its consistent use is also a primary feature of Controlled Language and a prerequisite to any sort of effective high quality machine translation. Perhaps the most exciting feature of terminology management today is its application for information management itself and in the development of standardized data categories (field names and permissible values) and data models for use in developing the emerging Semantic Web.
The terminology component of the course will comprise:
* A theoretical aspect consisting of lectures and readings on terminology management
* A practice-oriented aspect based on the use of MultiTermTM 7.1.0.361 (http://www.trados.com/products.asp?ID=121)
* The practical aspect will include the following projects:
o Students will work in small groups to create a multilingual termbase treating the terminology related to Web and Internet standards. (See also Workbench projects).
o Students will also develop a project-related or subject-field-related individual terminology project pertinent either to a significant previous, current, or projected future translation project (for instance, the student's case study, a final project from a translation course, etc.).
o There will also be exercises involving the use of translation memory, term extraction (possibly), text alignment, etc.
o Several of the exercises will be based on a short paper delivered by Tim Berners-Lee concerning Internet and Web standards and issues of interoperability.
1.3 Translation Tools
1.3.1 Term Extraction
Traditionally, individual translators and terminologists have identified terminology units and entered them manually in terminology database management systems. Today a variety of term mining or term extraction programs offer semi-automated functionalities for retrieving at least some of the terms present in texts for translation. We will experiment with term extraction tools using the materials we collect for the Internet and Web project.
1.3.2 Text Alignment
Text alignment tools help you reuse previously translated material by creating a translation memory from source and target material and outputting it into a format that can be imported into a translation memory tool. Most tools examine source and target language texts and links sentence pairs they feel belong together to form segment pairs or translation units. After you have reviewed and edited the pairs, you can export the results to a text file, which can then be imported into a new or existing translation memory.
1.3.3 Translation Memory
Translation memory programs store translation units for reuse (leveraging) during translation. This allows you to work more quickly and more efficiently while translating. There are several excellent translation memory tools on the market such as Trados Translator's WorkbenchTM, SDLXTM [now merged in the same company, but still selling products independently], DejaVuTM, Star TransitTM, and WordFastTM.
1.3.4 Tagged Text Editors
Various programs protect text markup in html, xml, sgml, asp, jsp, FrameMakerTM and PageMakerTM files, as well as actual computer code in programs. This ensures that the tags are not accidentally corrupted or deleted during the translation process. Some tools like TagEditorTM (which is part of the SDL/Trados suite of tools) also include a range of plug-in utilities that support tag verification and spellchecking. We will use TextEditor together with MultiTerm in a short translation project involving our master Internet/Web standards text.
1.3.5 Other Applications
A variety of applications will be introduced or demoed over the course of the semester, such as AcrobatTM Professional, word count programs, mind-mapping tools, text editors, time management utilities, etc.
2 Textbooks and Supplemental Materials: See Readings below
3 Student Performance and Evaluation
3.1 Activities, Deliverables, and Examinations
Check the Deliverables List to ensure that you keep pace with the deliverables timeline. Missed or significantly late deliverables milestones will count against your final grade. Anyone having difficulty meeting a deadline should contact the instructors well ahead of time. Final deadlines for major projects (group project, individual terminology projects, final exam) are categorically non-negotiable. Note that students may turn in work for early examination or as a final deliverable at any time they wish during the course of the semester. Individuals are responsible for their own time management! It's not smart to put off work until the end of the semester.
3.1.1 Classroom participation:
* Classroom participation is based on actual class attendance and contributions during class, as well as on the student's mastery of electronic communications skills (e-mail, etc.). There may also be small projects that will be done on computers in or directly after class. Failure to submit these small projects in a timely fashion will impact the class participation grade.
3.1.2 Group tools-use project:
* Students will work together to create an English termbase documenting the terms used in the Berners-Lee Internet/Web standards text. They will then work together in language groups to create a multilingual terminological database using the simplified TBX-Lite format for terminology entries.. The resulting multilingual termbase will then serve as a resource for translating short segments of the document their various languages.Students will extract terms from the original English text and collect texts to build a small text corpus for everyone to use in a variety of languages. They will be responsible for creating term entries and adding language-specific information to a group termbase using the TBX-Lite data model.The object of this exercise will be to establish good team work habits and to integrate the various tools in order to experiment with integrated tools environments.
3.1.3 Other computer applications:
* There will be a series of exercises, many of them related to specific applications. Some will be performed and submitted during class. The submission of these exercises is essential and counts toward the participation grade. Failure to submit these small projects can negatively impact the grade.
3.1.4 Final terminology project:
* Students will prepare an individual bilingual termbase consisting of around 40 entries treating a topic pertinent to serious translation topics, subject to instructor approval. Termbases email transfer of MultiTerm .mdb (package) files. (We hope to have a departmental LAN running again with space for students to store their work!)
3.1.5 Final exam requirements
There will be a final exam in the form of a written essay prepared prior to the time of the final exam according to the instructions included in the Final Exam Requirements. There will be a class meeting during the period scheduled for the final exam, during which students will make short oral presentations using PowerPoint outlining the approach they have taken in the formal written section of the exam. Participation in this group presentation is mandatory. Failure to attend this session can seriously impact the final exam grade.
It is not unusual for students to need additional tutoring or to seek advice on occasion. Students are encouraged to seek assistance from the lab assistants and instructors EARLY IN THE SEMESTER in order to ensure their progress. The IAL laboratory assistants will provide support for people with individual concerns. Take care, however, not to monopolize the time of the Lab assistants, and bear in mind that you are responsible for your own work. Also bear in mind that toward the end of the semester, everyone gets busy and it will be more difficult to schedule meetings.
*
Percentages for Class Activities and Projects
o Classroom participation
o Group terminology project
o Other computer applications
o Final terminology project
o Exam
10%
10%
30%
40%
10%
3.4 Policy on Incompletes and Absences
The only conditions under which an incomplete can be granted is illness in the latter part of the semester. At least 2/3 of the course work must have been completed satisfactorily prior to the request for an incomplete, and there must be clear evidence of illness to qualify. Completion of course work under conditions of incomplete is subject to a negotiated contract with the instructor.
3.3 Students with Disabilities
In accordance with University policy, if you have a documented disability and require accommodations to obtain equal access in this course, please contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester or when given an assignment for which an accommodation is required. Students with disabilities must verify their eligibility through the Office of Student Disability Services (SDS) in the Michael Schwartz Student Services Center (672-3391).
4 Detailed Syllabus
Links point to PowerPoint presentations and other resources.
See also Captivate Resources list [to be added].
Translation-Oriented Terminology and Advanced Computer Applications
Date Terminology and Applications Readings and In-class Activities
Week 1
SEW, JRS
2007-01-16 Introduction to Computer Aided Translation Tools
Keyboard Issues
1. Review the syllabus & course objectives
2. Group discussion: identifying terms in a sample special language text
Deliverable 1, 01/16 due via email to SEW at the end of class:: A copy of sample text (Stack of Specifications.doc) with terms, collocations, and set phrases marked for each group; add your names at the top of the doc file.
Deliverable 2, 01/22 due via email to SEW by 5:00: Email from each student to SEW with list of ALL the terms you have identified in the text.
Week 2
SEW
2007-01-23
Basic Principles of Terminology Management
Reading Selection No. 1: ISO 704 (pdf)
Deliverable 3, 01/29 due by 5:00: Find webpages in English and your other languages on the Internet and the World Wide Web standards and protocols. Send SEW an email with a list of the web addresses you've saved materials from.
Week 3
JRS
2007-01-30
Searching and Researching on the Internet
Using the Web to find terminology resources
Corpus management and terminology extraction from corpora Guest Speaker: Kelly Washbourne
[Slight class-time adjustment]
In-class exercises: Locating good bilingual (source and target) texts and learning how to mine terminology
Reading Selection No. 2 : Schmitz & Wright, "The Basic Principles of Terminology Management"
Deliverable 4, due 02/05 for SEW: Continue adding texts to the corpus in the LAN-based World Wide Web/Internet folder; each person send SEW a full list of terms extracted so far from collected texts.
Review Captivate Resources M?? before class (to be clarified -->Suggested Readings segment.
Week 4
SEW
2007-02-06
User-oriented Introduction to SDL/Trados MultiTermTM
Data Categories for Terminology Databases
In-class practice creating draft entries for the Internet/Web termbase
Reading Selection No. 3: Bowker, "Introduction", "Why Do Translators Need to Learn about Technology"
Deliverable 5a, due 02/05: Email SEW a MultiTerm package file .mdb with at least one English entry at the end of class
Deliverable 5b, due 02/12: Email SEW a MultiTerm package file .mdb with their assigned (six or seven) English entries
Week 5
SEW
2007-02-13
Term Formation & Selection
In-class practice studying existing entries and adding to existing entries in the Berners-Lee termbase
QA Resources for Terminology Management:
QA Checklist
Terminology Management FAQ
Reading Selection No. 4: Bowker, "Capturing Data in Electronic Form"
Deliverable 6, due 02/19: Each language group emails a single .mdb file with 1/3 of their entries from their assigned segments of the Berners-Lee article.
More info on MTW and other SDL/Trados products: http://www.trados.com/
http://www.translationzone.com/download.asp?menuItem=3
Week 6
JRS
2007-02-20
Text Alignment: Trados WinAlign
In-class exercise: Aligning source and target language texts and importing the sentence pairs into Workbench
Save the WinAlign Handout (choose File->Save Page As...) and this file (Russian students download this file instead) (Choose Save to Disk) to your Desktop
Reading Selection No. 5: Bowker, "Corpora and Corpus-Analysis Tools"
Deliverable 7, due to SEW 02/27: Each language group emails a single .mdb file with 2/3 of their entries from their assigned segments of the Berners-Lee article.
Deliverable 14, due 02/26 to SEW: First "deliverable for final project: Declare your topic to SEW for individual termbase and start collecting info in Notepad files
Week 7
SEW
2007-02-27
Creating your bilingual termbase file
Definitions and Contexts
In-class exercises: Creating and editing definitions; proper definition form
Reading Selection No. 6: Bowker, "Terminology-Management Systems"
Deliverable 9, due 03/05 to SEW: Each language group emails a single .mdb file with all of their entries from their assigned segments of the Berners-Lee article.
Deliverable 10, due 03/06 to Jill: Turn in in-class exercise as well as additional aligned bilingual texts (3 pages minimum, exported in .txt format)
Week 8
JRS
2007-03-06
Trados Workbench, Translation Memory
In-class exercises: Creating an empty TM, analyzing Word documents, translating source text documents, and cleaning up a translated document
Reading Selection No. 7: Schmitz/Wright: "Accessing Terminology Data"
Deliverable 11, due 03/14 to Jill: Turn in uncleaned Word document (3 pages, translated from English into your chosen language) and TM
Week 9
JRS
2007-03-13
Workbench, cont.
Advanced functions and tricks such as cleaning a file with an error message
Other CAT Tools (DejaVu, SDL, StarTransit, Wordfast)
Reading Selection No. 9
Wright: "Data Categories for Terminology Management"
Deliverable schedule for special project: Add the equivalent of 7 entries per week. Termbases will all be checked for a minimum 14 entries during spring break. Copies of Termbases folders named: "Termbases_Yourname", e.g., "Termbases_Wright" are to be saved to the "IndividualProjects" folder on the G drive by Monday morning 10:00 of the 27th of March.
Week 10
SEW
2007-03-20
Filtering Entries
Printing and Exporting Data (Multiterm export options)
(Termbase Models and Input Models)
Reading Selection No. 8:
Schmitz/Wright: Schmitz-Wright: "Planning and Implementing a Computer-Assisted Terminology Management System"
Deliverable schedule for special project:: Add the equivalent of 7 entries per week.
Spring Break
2007-03-27
Week 11
JRS
2007-04-03
Other CAT Tools (DejaVu, SDL, StarTransit, Wordfast)
Multiterm Convert - converting glossaries into Excel format and populating termbases
Reading Selection No. 11: HTM I: Galinski and Wright, "Copyright and Terminology"
Deliverable schedule for special project:: Add the equivalent of 7 entries per week.
Deliverable 12, due 04/11 to Jill: Turn in a glossary found on the Internet in either Word or Excel format and a termbase containing the terms (successful import using MultiTerm Convert)
Week 12
SEW
2007-04-10
Data Modeling in Trados MultiTerm
Ad hoc job-oriented terminology management with TBX-Lite format
Troubleshooting problems in term entries
Reading Selection No. 10: Bowker, "Translation-Memory Systems"
Deliverable schedule for special project:: Add the equivalent of 7 entries per week.
Deliverable 13, due 04/16 to Jill: Turn in uncleaned TagEditor document (Your segment of the Berners-Lee document), translated from English into your chosen language) and TM
Week 13
JRS
2007-04-17
TagEditor - Translating HTML and PPT files
Reading Selection No. 12: Alan Melby, ATA Forum materials
Deliverable schedule for special project:: Add the equivalent of 7 entries per week.
Week 14
SEW
2007-04-24
Concept Systems and Ontologies
Copyright Issues
Reading Selection No. 13: Sue Ellen Wright, "Representation of Concept Systems"
Deliverable 14, due 04/30 to Jill: Turn in edited uncleaned TagEditor document (The total portion of the Berners-Lee document translated by your language group) and updated TM
Week 15
JRS
2007-05-01
Translator Tool Forum
A cast of professionals share their favorite tools & utilities
Reading Selection No. 14:
Alan Melby,
http://www.ttt.org/theory/mt4me/index.html
Deliverable Progress:
Deliverable 15, April 30: All students, final deliverable special terminology project, 40 entries
Finals Week
2007-05-08
Student descriptions of their final exam scenarios Section 001: 5:45-8:00
Section 002: 8:15-10:30
Return to 60011 Table of Contents
MCLS 60011: Deliverables
Version: 2007-01-07
Note:
1. Deliverables are to be submitted via email file transfer or to be stored in a specified directory on the IAL LAN, unless otherwise specified. Paper submission is unacceptable at any time.
2. Items submitted after stated due date will be subject to point reduction. Strict adherence to the deliverables schedule is mandatory! Note also that MOST due dates are the Monday before class on the next Tuesday after the deliverable description appears on the syllabus.
3. ALL deliverables count toward your grade. If you are having difficulty meeting deadlines, talk to the instructors. Never decide arbitrarily to just skip any set of deliverables because this can result in a very low or zero grade in one of the components of the grade, which will be disasterous for your final grade.
1 2007-01-16: Each ad hoc working group shall submit a copy of the term file with terms highlighted that they have found during class. The file shall be emailed to SEW at the end of the class session.
2 2007-01-22: Each individual student shall email an xsl spreadsheet with a list of terms for the entire document examined in class to SEW.
3 and 4 2007-01-29 and 2007-02-05: Each individual student shall save relevant webpages to the corpus collection folder on the IAL LAN for Web/Internet related files in the various languages. Each student shall email a list of URLS for the downloaded files to SEW.
5a and 5b 2007-02-05: Each individual student shall email a Trados .mdb file with at least one draft terminological entries to SEW.
2007-02-12: Each individual student shall email a Trados .mdb file with at least seven draft English terminological entries to SEW.
6
7
8
9 TBX-Lite Termbase Project
2007-02-19: 1/3 all entries from each language group; submitted as an .mdb email attachment to SEW.
2007-02-25: 2/3 all entries from each language group; submitted as an .mdb email attachment to SEW.
2007-03-01: Final review date for group terminology project
2007-03-05: Final Bermers-Lee termbase project, with correction of all comments, etc.
The requirements for these deliverables are as follows:
1. Each student will be assigned six or seven English terms from the Berners-Lee article to research. Data Category requirements include term, part of speech, context (provided), plus a definition if at all possible.
2. Students will be assigned a portion of the text to translate into their non-English language. During the terminology research component of the project, they will be responsible for documenting all the terms that appear in their segment of the project. They will be provided with a file that contains all the terms that have been documented during phase 1 of the project. They will submit their terms as .mdb files according to the schedule listed above.
3. A complete entry consists of a term in English plus the term, context, and possibly a definition or other additional information in your other language (French, German, Japanese, Russian, or Spanish).
4. SEW will review your work and send you evaluation comments, which are to be incorporated into edited versions of your databases. This review takes place on a staggered basis, with roughly a third of the class reviewed each week. Should problems arise with review, the final deliverable date for corrected files will be extended.
10 Turn in in-class exercise as well as additional aligned bilingual texts (3 pages minimum) in a stored WinAlign project
11 Word document should be at least 3 pages and translated from English into your chosen language. Please turn in the uncleaned Word document and the zipped TM (Note: the TM consists of five files - not one!)
12 Glossary can be in any subject and preferably in your language pair. Please turn in the glossary as either a table in Word or an Excel file and a new termbase containing the terms (Note: the TM consists of five files - not one!). I will be making sure you understand how to convert the text to table format and import it into a termbase using MultiTerm Convert.
13 Turn in uncleaned TagEditor translation of Berners-Lee text. Load the terminology file that you have prepared and use it in tandem with TagEditor as you work. Submit the zipped TM (Note: the TM consists of five files - not one!)
14 2007-02-22: Final date to submit topic for personal terminology project; the topic should ideally be one that will be relevant to some major project you are going to do in the future or to some aspect of your current work or strong personal interest.
Weekly thereafter: complete at least 7 entries per week. Save your files as .mdb packages in the SpecialProjects Folder in 60011 on the G drive. SEW will check files on a rotating basis, expecting to find the correct number of completed entries at any given time, and supply you with comment by email.
1.
The personal terminology project should consist of 35 terminological entries, 90% of which are complete with en term, Language B equivalent, definition, and context, along with other related information.
2.
Documentation should come from a variety of sources, not just from a single serendipitous glossary you may have found somewhere. There should be an ample mix of both hardcopy and Web-related sources for definitions and contexts.
3.
There will no doubt be entries for which you cannot find all the possible data, i.e., definitions or contexts will be missing. If these entries exceed 10% of the database, you should add more entries to balance out the completeness of the project.
4.
Students are expected to have completed the equivalent of seven entries per week and post an updated folder in the Special Projects folder by 5:00 each Friday. Projects will be checked on a random basis, and students will be informed of their progress. Grade reductions will apply if you do not keep pace with the dates on the schedule. The final project is due no later than 2007-05-02.
FINAL Final exam due SEW as a Word file submitted by email attachment no later than May 9 before the final exam meeting..
The class will meet in the time allotted in the finals week schedule. The assignment for that evening (aside from submitting any deliverables that have not yet been submitted) will be for students to make short (not more than 3-4 minutes!) PowerPoint presentations to the class describing the scenario they have adopted for the final exam. The scheduled meeting times are is 5:45 to 8:00 and 8:15 to 10:30. (We will try to organize a modification of the schedule to move some of the presentations into an earlier time slot.) Participation in the final exam discussions is factored into your grade for the final exam.
Return to 60011 Table of Contents
MCLS 60011: Readings
Required Text:
Bowker, Lynn. Computer-Aided Translation Technology: A Practical Introduction. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 2004.
The Bowker text can be obtained from http://etarich.cc.uottawa.ca/press/pexod/bookid/0084
Supplemental Texts: (made available as pdf files stored in the 60011 directory on the GRADS drive)
Schmitz, Klaus-Dirk, and Wright, Sue Ellen. (Forthcoming) Computer Assisted Terminology Management.
Wright, Sue Ellen, and Budin, Gerhard. (1997) The Handbook of Terminology Management, Vol I. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Wright, Sue Ellen, and Budin, Gerhard. (2000) The Handbook of Terminology Management, Vol II. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Anyone from outside the IAL referencing these Web pages may purchase the books from John Benjamins Publishing Company: http://www.benjamins.nl/cgi-bin/t_bookview.cgi?bookid=Z%20HTM%20S.
An online tutorial resource for Trados MultiTerm is being prepared. An updated syllabus will be issued as soon as the specifics for logging on to the resource are available.
1 ISO 704:2000, Terminology Work--Principles and Methods*
2 Schmitz/Wright: "The Basic Principles of Terminology Management"*
3 Bowker, "Introduction", "Why Do Translators Need to Learn about Technology", pp. 3-21
4 Bowker, "Capturing Data in Electronic Form", pp. 22-42
5 Bowker, "Corpora and Corpus-Analysis Tools", pp. 43-76
6 Bowker, "Terminology-Management Systems", pp. 77-91
7 Schmitz/Wright: "Accessing Terminology Data"*
8 Schmitz-Wright: "Planning and Implementing a Computer-Assisted Terminology Management System" *
9
HTM II, Sue Ellen Wright. 2000. "Wright: "Data Categories for Terminology Management" 552-571
Wright, Sue Ellen, and Budin, Gerhard. (2000) The Handbook of Terminology Management, Vol II. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
10 Bowker, "Translation-Memory Systems", pp. 92-128
11 HTM I, Christian Galinski and Sue Ellen Wright, "Copyright and Terminology," 281-302
In: Wright, Sue Ellen, and Budin, Gerhard. (1997) The Handbook of Terminology Management, Vol I. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
12
Alan Melby, ATA Forum materials
http://www.atanet.org/conf2002/TAC_Handout.pdf
http://www.atanet.org/conf2002/TAC_Form.pdf
13 HTM I, Sue Ellen Wright, "Representation of Concept Systems," 89-97
In: Wright, Sue Ellen, and Budin, Gerhard. (1997) The Handbook of Terminology Management, Vol I. Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
14 Alan Melby,
http://www.ttt.org/theory/mt4me/index.html
Return to 60011 Table of Contents
MCLS 60011: Final Exam
Write an essay not less than 3 pages long and not more than 4 pages long (double-spaced, 1-inch margins, 12 point type) that describes the following scenario. The essay is due on Tuesday of finals week.
It is five years since you finished your MA in translation at Kent State University. You have completed some sort of traineeship or apprenticeship and have established yourself in the field of translation, terminology, or localization. You have just been hired in-house or contracted as a consultant / out-house translator/terminology management consultant by Megabucks International (or some other enterprise of your own devising), a major conglomerate that manufactures/designs/or publishes a product or offers a service of your choice (examples: automobiles, airplanes, computer software, chemicals, etc.). After many years of mismanaging their translation, terminology, or localization needs, they have come to the realization that their requirements in technical writing, translation, materials management, information management (data processing and information retrieval), software localization, communications, etc., can only be met if they implement state-of-the-art translator's work stations, including all the state-of-the-art features for supporting translation, text production, terminology management, and project management functions. You have been hired as either a member or a leader in a team of company experts to coordinate the creation of an in-house translation and terminology management system that will serve the needs of designers, materials management, writers, translators, information managers, manufacturing systems, marketing, etc.
Describe the factors that you must analyze and the solutions that you propose. The following questions may help you. You do not have to address them all, however, and there may be others that are more relevant to the application you envision.
o What factors must you take into consideration in your work?
o What kind of training will your work group have to have in order to do their work efficiently? What principles must they consider?
o What computer tools will you need to consider?
o What resources do you anticipate the company already has that may be useful to you?
o What benefits will the company obtain as a result of your efforts?
o How will a translator's or tech writer's workstation be configured under your new system? What steps will a translator go through to process a text?
o How will the terminology management system benefit materials and information functions within the company? How can the system save the company money?
o How do you sell the entire package to management?
Your observations should be well documented with bibliographical references to articles you have read in the course of the semester or with reliable WWW resources that support your stated position. The papers will be evaluated on the basis of effective writing style and especially information density. Begin planning your project early and keep notes on articles as you read them!